recieved my ball from visionary on thursday had it drilled friday and used it second shift friday night.

first drilled the ball lable because didn't really know what it was going to do. it is a 1:30 over the lable drill with a 1/2 side and 3/4 finger. used it box surface. i can tell you this that the ball does not like oil. if i tugged it it went straight. it is a even rolling ball with no big snap to it. i had 13 to the gutter, but had to get it out in order for it to come back with any power. have to bowl again tonight and will post again real soon on the out come.
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Put all the rev's on the ball that you can and spray the lane and hope to carry the ten pin!!!

3/25/2005 2:50:16 PM
Thank You, Visionary
Lane Conditions: Medium Oil
Typical Conditions: House Shot
Type of Lane: All Wood
What part of the lane did you play? Second Arrow
Did the ball track out? Normal
Weight of bowling ball: 16
Surface of bowling ball: Factory/Box
Likes: Like every other Visionary ball I have used, the pins stay low to the deck and the move to the pocket is very predictable.
Dislikes: That Visionary is not PBA registered.

You'll have to forgive me on this review. I'll give you the specs now but this is more of a story and a testimonial than it is a tech sheet on how the ball responds to my style of play.

pin is 4 inches from CG located about 45 degress out and above the right finger hole. ball was 15.8 pds. before drilling. not a cranker, more of an even flowed down and in shot......

okay, now the story:

i made a commitment when i got the new Visionary balls to come in to the bowling alley an hour early and throw a few practice games on unrelated lanes to our league. it helps a lot. normally, ten minutes before official league play the lanes are turned on for practice. with ten people all wanting to get a shot on the same pair of lanes, you're lucky if you get two balls thrown on each lane. so while others are in the process of loosening up, i'm all ready to go.

in practice, i was throwing the Violet Gargoyle. after two open frames i rattled off ten in a row for a 258. i felt that the conditions would be similar on the other side of the house where i was actually going to bowl league, so i decided to dance with the one who brought me when league play came around.

my first game was solid enough. one open frame on a silly ten pin i over compensated for. on the night, i left four of them and made three. all of them happened in the first game. by the tenth frame, i made the proper adjustment and stepped back half a step.....no more ten pin.

the second game was amazing. my father was all the way down on lanes 27 and 28 while i was up further at 13 and 14. i had thrown the first six strikes and calmly walked down to see my father.

"i'm half way home." i said, "six in a row."

"great!" my father said to me.

"i don't know what it is. i just feel it tonite. i'm going to do it." i told him.

i watched him throw his Centaur and hammer the pocket. man, when that ball hits....it hits. i walked back down to my pair and prepared for my next shot. i stood at the approach and went through my routine of slapping my waist prior to every shot. even if my mind wanders, it is practically automatic. once i go through that motion, my mind is set back on bowling.

i threw the seventh ball.....WHAM!!!!!

i walked back down to 27 and 28 and raised seven
fingers up to my father. he shook his fist at me with approval. Jack Clifton, a bowler on my father's team, a man who i have a lot of respect for said to me, "if you get up in that twelvth frame and you feel the slightest tremor, move left just a bit. you'll be tight and you'll need to compensate for it. if you don't feel any shaking, play your game."

that was advice i was going to need.

i came back down to 13 and 14 to prepare for the next ball. right after the strikes in eight and nine, i went back down to see my father again. each time raising one more finger than the last.

then the tenth frame. three balls seperated me from what once seemed like only a dream. everything was in place. i was throwing Visionary, i was in position for my first 300, and the best part of all, my father was here watch it. i got up for the first ball. took a deep breath, slapped my waist and put my left hand over the top of the ball. when i released it, i knew.

"that wasn't so bad." i said to myself.

i refused to look behind me. i knew a lot of people were there. it felt like alot of people had stopped bowling because i didn't hear anything except my breathing. perhaps others were but i was zoned. again, i took a deep breath, slapped my waist, put my left hand over the top of the ball (didn't give myself a chance to think) and took off. the release was as smooth as cream again. as soon as the ball made it's break for the pocket, i could hear shouts and screams behind me.

whew....ten more down....one more ball....

i walked back to the ball return refusing to look up. i knew my father was behind me someplace. this was everything to me. i'd come from a family where all the guys were raised on bowling. one of my biggest goals was to have my father, who guided me (and even encouraged me to come back to bowling when i left for eight years), to see me bowl my first 300. when i was younger he used to beat up on me all the time. i remember at one point being totally frustrated winning only 3 of 76 games i had bowled against him. he would smile, taunt that
he was the champ, and i would do my best to come back next game and beat him. this process would recycle itself many times throughout my life.

i stepped up onto the approach and i felt the slight tremor Jack Clifton talked about. i took a small step left of where i had been standing the whole night, took a deep breath, slapped my waist, put my left hand over the top of the ball and then took off. Jack Clifton was right. half way down the lane the Violet made its march toward the pocket and i could hear people behind me cheering that ball on.

that ball was probably the most dead on ball i had
thrown the whole game. all ten pins.....gone. my arms flailed and i turned around to find my father running right for me. i hugged him and cried.

"that was for you." i told him, "none of this could have happened without you."

i opened my eyes again and there was a huge amount of people behind me congratulating me, shaking hands, slapping high fives and the like. even after we started the next game, i was still in shock. i ended the night with a 214-300-244 for a 758 series. that was fifth highest of the year and the 300 was the first of the season, the first of my career.

the moment was unforgettable. the strike and the
excitement that followed. God does answer prayer as i learned again. this was a dream that came true. thank you as well, Visionary, for being a part of one of the most memorable moments of my life. i am still going to harp on you to get PBA registered again!!!!! you've sold me on your products (Green Pearl last week 279-739 and now Violet Gargoyle 300-758) and now i want to use them and not have to retool the arsenal when i go to regionals next year. help me here!!!!!
please!!!!!!

Edit on 4/2/2005

Just as a further testimony to this ball....I rolled the second 300 of my career one week later (3/31/2005) with the same ball, Visionary's Violet Gargoyle. These guys rock. You do not know what you are missing until you give on of these a shot. This company rocks!!!!!

Matthew P. Klein

On the "Late" Edit....

Three 300's with this baby in four months....hahaha

Many thanks to Max and Lee at Bowling Ball Australia for the chance to throw these great balls.

Drilled up with the pin 5" from PAP below fingers at 90 degrees. 1500 grit polish out of box finish left on the ball.

Very easy through the heads with any trace of oil, and delivers a very strong, hard arc. If you drilled it up to flip, I'm sure this baby will. Could very easily shoot 20 at the arrows out to 5 with plenty of ball to spare, or firm up and play straight up the boards with a solid pop at the deck. Not sure how it would handle heavy soup with the polish, but for your average league pattern, it would be a perfect additon to any bag.

Turned quite a few heads with the colour (think of a brighter Hammer High Rev)... The ladies will love it.... beleive me  The guys were a little worried about it, until they saw it roll.

Only downfall I could find was carrydown. STAY AWAY FROM IT! That's what other balls are designed for.
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Visionary - They're not imaginary!

This is a great ball especially for the price.  I recentlly joined the visionary test staff along with abunch of the other visionary user's out there.  I have my visionary violet gargoyle drilled leverage ill get a picture on here in a few weeks but onto the review.  On my third day throwing my visionary stuff i took it with me to the first MJBT (Minnesota Junior Bowlers Tour) event of the season.  With the Violet i managed a 707 in the first 3 games of the 9 game qualifying block and a 654 for the second 3 games the last 3 didnt matter much due to i already locked up a qualifying spot for match play and finished at 1957 or +157 for 9 games.  I was able to use the violet for the whole 9 games of qualifying averaging 217.  Early on when everyone was struggling to find a line i started off with a nice 268 playing straight up 10 board the lanes were fairly oiled id say just a standard 40ft oiled shot anything outside of 6th board was out of bounds.  towards the end of the last game of the 9 game block the lanes dried up so much that i had to put the ball away.  For having only thrown the balls 2 times before finishing 8th in a 80 person scratch event isnt that bad.  for the medium oil this ball was great carried almost everything i got to the pocket which was nice to watch when the carrydown was affecting all of the storm/track/lane1/roto people

Ball Specs: 15 lbs
Drilled: Pin above ring finger/ CG swung the right about 1 1/2"/  weight hole on axis 3/8 ounce removed
Pin: 3"
Cover: OOB

The main thing that caught my eye about this ball is the color.  To think of it that is the main thing that has caught the eye of most of the bowlers I know.  First impressions of this ball were; easy to control, and forgiving.  With the drilling that I have with this ball it gives length with a well defined turn.  This ball is quite a conversation starter.  I use this ball when I want to play up the boards with a swing from about 10 to 12 at the arrows, out to about 6 or 7.  I get a good consistent reaction and a lot of hitting power.  Again with the Visionary balls I have used I get good pin action.  Any adjustments that I do make tend to be about 1 board  to the left and keep the same mark.  This would be a great benchmark ball for just about any one.
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J. Pedersen
Visionary Test Staffer

Violet Gargoyle
Test Staff Review

Bowler Specs:
Speed: 12-14 mph (12.5 mph aver.)
Revs: 250-400 rpm (300 rpm aver.)
Axis Tilt: 10-15 degrees (10 aver.)
Axis Rotation: 10-75 degrees (45 aver.)
PAP: 5” over 3/8” up (Semi roller)
Style: Tweener
Ball Specs: (Pre. Drill)
Wt: 15.20 lbs
Top Wt: 2.97
Pin: 2-3”
Finish: 1500 Polished (oob)
Ball Drill:
105 degree control
Pin 1” above and 1/8”right of ring finger with CG kicked right at 105 degree angle 1/4” below fingers and slightly right of the center of grip line. (Note: Both fingers are drilled 2” deep leaving .8 finger wt and no wt hole)
Pin 4 1/2” from PAP 4 1/2” above and 1” right of grip center.
CG 4 3/4” from PAP 1 3/4” above and 1/4” right of  grip center.
http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=4367558
 


Review:
First House
Lane Conditions: Medium oil 10 x 10 35’ buffed to 40’ with OB outside 5 @ 40 ft.
Lane Surface: All wood house with striped backends.
Second House
Lane conditions: Medium Heavy Oil 5 x 5 40’ buffed to 45’ dry outside 5
Lane Surface: Brunswick Pro Avilane
First House
Standing 22-23
Slide 20
Target 17 at dots
Line 17 -8 @ 40’ – 42’
On the Fresh Shot I can the same line as my centaur AMB Solid with the Violet Gargoyle only thing being different is the Violet will Travel a couple feet longer and produce a sharper angle of entry to the pocket. I like the look of the Violet so I change the surface (light scuff with a green scotch brite pad) of AMB solid to handle a bit more oil and roll sooner so now the two don’t overlap as much as they did with them both in the OOB finish.  My Violet Gargoyle clears the heads very easy and picks up a nice late-mid lane roll and has good pop on the backend around the 42’ mark.  The Violet allows me to get a great read of the pattern and is very predictable on most medium volume shots. The Violet can be a little over under with the polish on it if I come around the side but as long as I stay behind the ball the violet picks a nice roll late in the midlane and produces a nice crisp backend reaction. Coming around the side of the ball makes the violet not read soon enough on shot missed inside, leaving 2 pins, flat 10’s or combos of 2-10’s, and push down a few feet longer and turn sharper on shot missed out having to much energy at the break point resulting 4’s, 9’s and ringing 10’s.  As the lanes start to break down I’m able to move right to find some more head oil and the Violet is still Strong enough to kick out the ten. I can normally move 5-6 boards right keeping the same break point and still have the Violet kick out the ten before I start to seeing flat 10’s and I have to charge break points and or hand positions or balls, ( Immortal Pearl fits Great here).  I used my Violet Gargoyle for our associations’ city tournament for doubles on a broken down house shot (3 games of 5 man team) and shot 765 starting with a 289 helping to with the double portion with a total of 1637 with partner with handicap. I was 150 pins over average and my partner was 156 pins over.  I was able to play 19-8 normal speed (12.5mph) standing and sliding at 24 to start moving to 25 start and slide and playing 20-8 at the end with a bit more speed (14mph).

Second House
Stand 21
Slide 21
Target 13 at dots
Line 16-10 @ 45’
This is a house where I just started to use my Violet as it seams they have been putting a less volume of oil out than they were in the beginning of the season. When it seams there is less volume I’m able to use my Violet the whole night playing 16-10 with a nice arc on the backend.  When there is a higher volume of oil I use my violet after I open up the lanes with my AMB solid after a game. The Oil caries down on the after the second game and begins to affect reaction causing the Violet enter weak so my adjustment is to move right finding more head oil moving my break point inside to 12 board to get away from the hang. The Violet is strong enough to carry from inside and has a nice strong roll to the pocket.

Overall:
The Violet is a true benchmark ball that handles a medium volume of oil extremely well producing a crisp backend. The Violet allows me to get a good read of the lanes and allows myself to play in my comfort area on most medium volume patters. When the lanes are dryer up front the violet will burn up in the dry heads but if you can find some oil the violet will allow you to swing it on lighter volumes of oil.  Heaver Oil will cause the violet slide to far down lane and either not finishes enough or to turn to sharp on the back leaving ringing tens but cover alterations can allow the violet to pick up sooner in oil producing a more even arcing reaction.
Rating:
Hit: 9 – 10
Versatility: 9 – 10
Forgiveness: 8.5 – 10
Recommended Lane Conditions: Medium Volume – OOB, Medium-Heavy sanded 600-800.
Overall: 9 – 10
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I play with HAND when need be or straight when it scores

What ever the problem you have when bowling the answer is always more L.O.F.T (Lack of Freaking Talent)

Have had a chance to throw my Violet alot during the summer in Sport league and practice, and it is quickly becoming one of my all-time favorite balls. Nothing fancy on how I drilled it up- basic label leverage, cover at 800 grit. Very smooth rolling ball that can be used on a wide variety of conditions. The Violet will handle a good amount of oil, but it's best as a med/heavy ball without cover alterations. Too dry and it'll burn up fast. I haven't polished mine as I have a Greenie for when the lanes dry up, but coverstock is easy to alter. Too bad this one has been discontinued, because in my opinion this ball is a perennial benchmark ball for someone looking for an even-rolling, predictable, hard-hitting mid-priced ball to build an arsenal around! Grab one if you can...


Spike