Author Topic: Slate Blue Gargoyle (Read 14054 times)

admin · « **on:** December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM »

Ball NPS Score: 100.00
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Description:

When the lanes are too dry for reactive bowling balls, the Slate Blue Gargoyle feels right at home. Designed with fried lanes in mind, this hard urethane will get past those burnt heads and make a smooth, but powerful arc to the pocket.

Most information gathered from Manufacturers promotional material.
* All bowling balls less than 13 pounds are ABC/WIBC approved for sanctioned competition.

Specifications:

Line Gargoyle
Color Blue
Coverstock Urethane
Core 2-piece Asymmetrical
RG 2.59
Differential 0.038
Factory finish 1500 Polished
Lane Conditions Light Oil

bossron · « **Reply #1 on:** September 19, 2003, 02:14:31 PM »

let me know as soon as anyone has a review on this
ball @ bossron@sbcglobal.net

D McLaughlin · « **Reply #2 on:** September 21, 2003, 01:28:51 PM »

Got mine delivered Friday. Drilled it up and just got in from my first practice session throwing it. Drilled modified pin-axis to provide some much needed control in my aresnal.

Ball certainly performs as advertised. Clears the heads easily being pearl urethane, but the Gargoyle core really provides some pop. Hitting power was in no way sacrificed with this ball. If you are looking for something to put in your hand when the heads start to toast.....this is without question the ball for you. 10 out of 10 based on what the ball was designed for.

louie · « **Reply #3 on:** September 29, 2003, 03:14:01 PM »

This is a 14 lb ball with a 3 inch pin and just over 3 ounces of starting top weight. It is drilled with the pin about 1 inch above and half an inch right of the ring finger (righty). The cg was kept near the grip center. The ball was tested on two different conditions. I first tried it in a synthetic house with a very short pattern and very strong backends after a league had finished. The ball shined here. I was able to play a normal swing shot instead of lofting the gutter with my reactive equipment. The ball started in the midlane and just kept on coming in a nice steady arc. The ball was very easy to keep in the pocket. Light hits didn't carry as well as they do with reactive balls, but pocket and high flush hits carried much better than usual. Very few 4 pins or 8 and 9 pins. You can definitely tell this isn't reactive by its greater deflection. Great ball on a short wet/dry pattern if you hook the ball a lot.

I next tried the ball after some open play in an all wood house known for its burnt out track area. I still had a better look with the Slate Blue Gargoyle than I did with my stronger equipment. The ball would take off if I didn't project it far enough right. It would grab those worn boards and take off! If I did get it out to the 3 to 5 board I could strike at will. I just couldn't afford to miss left.

I've been waiting for a ball like this for years. A ball for dry that carries well! It also flares about 4+ inches which I like because I track very high and sometimes clip the hole of a low flaring ball.

Overall, I think this ball is great for the heavy handed on short patterns and second shifts. It's still to much ball for truly toasted heads if you have hand. For those who don't hook the ball a ton, You can use this ball on dry and stay right where you are comfortable rather than try to swing the ball. Just be aware that you may never see enough dry in league to use it if you are rolling an Icon 300 on a league shot.

Good bowling to all!

Update 06/2005

I've been bowling in a tough wood house lately. Heads and backends are very grabby. It's tough to find any area here if you're heavy handed. A much easier house for the lower rev player. This place can quickly become an over under hell. In any case, I needed something to help blend the shot. After trying literally 8 different balls, I decided to use my Slate Blue Gargoyle. In its polished state the SBG is great when the lanes are quite dry. There is head oil here, so I threw it on the spinner and hit it with gray scotchbrite. I have to play a little further right than normal, but I think I've found the area I've been lacking. The SBG is more than a dry lane ball. Dull the surface and you have a great control piece for hooking lane surfaces with trickier patterns.

The SBG is a great control ball dull as long as there isn't too much oil!!
--------------------

Why does everyone laugh when I bowl?

louie

wrap7 · « **Reply #4 on:** October 12, 2003, 12:10:07 PM »

Waited a month for this thing to show up on my door step. 16lb 2-3" pin and 2.9 oz top wgt. Wanted complete control so drilled the ball pin in the center of my grip and cg kicked to the left with a weight hole.This ball will not dissapoint you on the right condition!In comparison to my burgundy hammer it hooks about half as much. In comparison to my Thunderflash pro it hooks about 1/3 as much. If you want a ball to go dead straight and still have hit this is the ball for you.This is my first Visionary ball and I am looking to buy a few more after throwing this gem!

BowlProJr · « **Reply #5 on:** October 14, 2003, 01:38:48 AM »

Attention crankers!

If you are still searching for a dry lane ball, then look no further! the pearlized urethane coverstock on the Gargoyle Slate Blue will give you that extra needed length, and containing a performance weight block, it will give you the hitting power to carry. Unlike using a low end ball.

As a cranker, I have been looking for a solution to conquer the dry lanes for all too long. Finally I have found the missing ingredient. When I threw the Gargoyle Slate Blue on fresh medium conditions for the first time, I threw it just as I would any medium to oil ball. It slid right into the gutter! Then I tried to play down and in with it, and it would hardly move but a mere 2-3 boards. Unless I threw granny speed, the ball would not come back. After having thrown it on dry lane conditions, I was able to stay in play without over-exerting myself.

Using a 3 1/2" x 4" drilling layout, I received length and control.

If you are a cranker, and need a good dry lane solution, I recommend getting this ball.

As for tweeners and strokers, this too would be a fantastic ball for you! BUT, keep in mind that you would need 'true' dry lane conditions, to receive optimal performance out of this ball. When the lanes are so dry, that it is like bowling in a parking lot.

BowlProJr

www.discount-proshop.com
bowlprojr@hotmail.com

beeker · « **Reply #6 on:** November 29, 2003, 02:28:44 PM »

Great dry lane ball. It compliments the Green Gargoyle very well. When the backends are too dry for the Green switch to the Slate Blue and play the same line. They both get through the heads very well and go about the same length. The difference is when they hit the backend. The green has a skid/snap reaction that is awesome when the backends are fresh. The slate is NOT skid/snap. It makes a nice smooth, put powerful, arc to the pocket that is very easy to control. It hits hard, not as hard as reactive equipment but much harder than normal cheap urethane balls. In fact, I actually prefer the way it hits. I tend to leave a lot of 8's and 9's with the Green Gargoyle because it drives so hard to the pocket. I didn't leave one with the Slate. I will post an update once I throw a few more games with it. But as of now I rate this ball a 10 out of 10! It works perfect for what it was designed for, dry lanes!
If you haven't given Visionary a chance you should. Just read their specs on the balls. What they say the ball will do is dead on. I now own 5 Visionary balls and all of them react exactly the way Visionary said they would!

Update 12/01/03: The shot tonight on the all wood lanes was great until the end of the second game when they started to dry out. So I tried to switch from the Green Gargoyle to the Blue Slate. That didn't work at all! Because the mid lane was dry as well as the backends the Slate was grabbing earlier and hooking more than the green! After two shots hitting brooklyn I switched to the Blue Gryphon which gave me the reaction I was looking for. So to update my original review, when there is head and mid lane oil but the backends are getting dry then the Slate should work well. But when the mid lanes start to dry out as well as the backs then the Slate hooks more than I would like. Maybe once it soaks up some oil it will hook less, but as of now it hooks a lot more than what I needed in my bag. Louie, see below posts, hit the nail on the head, "this is still too much ball for toasted heads if you have hand." So far, I couldn't agree more!

Aud21946 · « **Reply #7 on:** December 26, 2003, 03:23:09 AM »

I recently received this ball to try a different path to the pocket at a bowling center I am struggling at. With Brand new Syntechic lanes and no idea of a house shot( The house has a 22 by 5 men's leauge with no 200 averages,and they tell people to adjust!) The best look is to play the gutter( I am a righty) and use the dry boards to the pocket.After drilling this ball with a 5 by 3 layout, I got a consistent look to the pocket with this ball.Visionary was right on with this ball in it's own review. I once again thank Visonary for the oppotunity to throw their equipment.
--------------------
Visionary Test Member
P.b.a. Southwest Regional Member
Don Jonietz Pro Shop
San Antonio, Texas

leftyjimbo · « **Reply #8 on:** February 21, 2004, 02:21:52 PM »

15#
Pin:2-3
T.W. 2.8 oz.
Drilling: 3 3/8 x 4 1/2 no extra hole needed and 3/8 side weight
Lefthanded stroker w/ low to med revs and med speed
Typical house shot: 38 feet with dry backends, but been more of a reverse block lately...dry in the middle and out of bounds outside 5

I got this ball to play up the boards between 5-10. This ball goes long and has a controlled arc on the back end and hits as hard as the other gargoyles. This is a great addition to visionary's line and a must have if you bowl on dry lanes.

Great Job Visionary

BigDaddyBear · « **Reply #9 on:** May 06, 2004, 09:32:33 PM »

Well I recently recieved my Slate Blue Gargoyle from Visionary. I took it and got it drilled Leverage drilled with a hard arc on Tuesday. If you look at the drill specs on Visionary's homepage. http://www.visionarybowling.com It is the one in the middle at the 1:30 position. I put alot of hand into my ball. Sometimes alittle too much but that is my worry not yours. So let me get back to my review. So I showed up for my league later that night and got out my Granite Gargoyle and got ready for practice. I threw my first ball and it hooked straight across the lane. Just the lanes I really needed to try out my Blue Slate so back to the bag and pulled it out. I threw a few shots to get a feel for it. It worked great but I wanted to see how it worked during gameplay. I bowled a 257 228 and a 203.. 688 set right out of the box. Not bad at all. So far this ball seems to work great. It doesn't snap like crazy as if you were throwing a reactive ball. But don't think this ball will not snap. I stand at the second set of dots and about five boards to the right of the last dot. My target is the 15 board or thrid arrow and it worked great. A few times I placed it out past the ten and it came back with authroity. You can imagine how dry the lanes were. Well I will update later after a couple of weeks using the ball. But I like it and think it is a great ball addition to my bag..

Quick Review
Top Weight 2.72 Pin 2-3 Weight 15.lbs
I give this ball at this point 8 out of 10 total points.
A great ball for dry lanes.
Will snap for you if given a chance.
Worth the money.
Also a cool looking ball. Almost as cool as the Granite Gargoyle.

So don't over look Visionary for your next ball purchase..
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Good Luck, Good Bowling, High Scores!!!
Jerry Dowd
Visionary Test Staff

htotheizzo3561 · « **Reply #10 on:** May 09, 2004, 12:59:35 AM »

Drilled this urethane bad boy straight up. Hooks a little more than what I expected, hits hard. Well as hard as a urethane can. Would recommend this one to anyone in the need of a dry lane ball.

RevLefty · « **Reply #11 on:** September 22, 2004, 06:35:47 PM »

Does exactly what meant for. Great fried lanes ball which is good seeing I dont think Mid Michigan knows what oil is.

I drilled this with pin bout an inch under the ring finger and cg kicked a little to positive side. Wanted to get it revving a little earlier I have high ball speed. It did eactly what I expected to do. I can play straight down the boards on fried lane conditions with hard smooth arc to pocket and hits better than any urethane ball I have ever seen. I shot 733 with it right out of the box on my league last night. Not bad for not throwing it before. Recommend this ball to any high rev player out there that is looking for a dry lane ball that they want to play where resin or particle cant. Dont have to worry bout carry you in pocket they all going to fall. I am mainly a brunswick/hammer fan this is my first attempt at drilling visionary and am quite impressed with it. 9 out of 10.
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Welcome to the land of the lefties, where there is a wall and the carry is endless!!!!!

joebagman · « **Reply #12 on:** February 27, 2005, 02:41:44 PM »

I drilled this ball straight up for dry lanes and waited for a "sunday morning shot" so the lanes would be fried. I played right up the ten board and to my astonishment this ball cleared the heads like silk and had a smooth arc to the pocket. It hits like a truck and carries well. I have a 190 average and shot a 214/182/259 for a 655 series right off the press. As I bowled, a number of sunday morning scratch players started to watch my games. It felt great to put up a 259 with a little crowd gathered, and many had their pens out and made notes on this ball. I guess my local pro will owe me a few beers, because he'll probably sell 20 of these in the next month. I would like to thank the people at Visionary for making a urethane ball with a modern weight block. I now feel that I can bowl on any dry or fried condition and still maintain power and carry.

L7H2N · « **Reply #13 on:** April 21, 2005, 10:48:04 AM »

I have two of these bowling balls. I have them both drilled the same one left box finished and the other I have dulled. I used these to play the extreme outside - down and in. When I play no-tap tournaments, I take these out and point shot the night way. Great for dry and burned out lanes. Still have punch in the end. Leave these in the bag if there is medium-light or heavier conditions.
--------------------
L. Nelson
Visionary Test Member

The Swede · « **Reply #14 on:** June 22, 2005, 02:50:34 PM »

Hi, Im a high rev player with medium ballspeed, so my problem have allways been dry lanes but Slate Blue has solve that problem perfectly. It clears the front part of the lane whitout a dout and snaps home more then i thougt. I strongly recommend this ball to high rev players ho wants it to go loooong and not turn to early.