drilled up my detour last thursday...and let me tell ya you better be pretty firm with this ball because it will eat the backends alive when it gets there....started out 229,279 first two games before starting to throw the ball terrible and then shooting a horrible 148 but i was throwin three different balls that games.....but it has a smooth breakpoint, good roll through the point and like to finish with a lot of energy never had a problem gettin the corner out unless if was self-inflicted on a bad shot so i would have to give this ball a 8.5 out of 10 because it is a pretty good ball...will post later

Drilled this up after a friend drilled his.  He told me "Detour" is a very accurate name.  Said that the ball got through the heads as cleanly as a plastic ball...he actually thought it was going so clean that it would never make a turn....he thought that 40' into his first shot, this ball is a dud, it doesn't hook....and then all of a sudden....POW!  Backend city!

His was glassed up a bit on the spinner in the shop, but I left mine in the box condition, which looks to be about the same surface as the first TiMessenger.  Mine did seem to grab the lane a bit more than his did in the heads (anything is greater than zero), which I like, but the backend was no different....POW!  Backend city!  I put this ball on the rack in league (second shift) after my Alter Ego (read my review) fried the right out.  Started off playing 20 and the ball flipped, recovered and carried great.  No signs of rollout and no signs of losing power or not having enough guts to turn the corner.  Drilled mine with pin @ 5" above and to right of ring finger...CG at 5 1/4 about 3/4 above midline (going by memory here, ball is in my trunk right now).

If you want a nice mid priced ball with a full-priced backend snap, this is the one.  If Columbia's intention is ever to phase out the Messenger Ti line, the Detour could assume its position in the line more than adequately, and maybe even better!  Geez, I'd hate to think of the damage a TiDetour could do  hehehe

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ARE U KIDDING!!!!
The ball arrived yesterday from Buddies Pro Shop 15.4 lbs 2" pin with 2 1/2oz of top weight. I'm a very high track bowler so I kept the pin in the safe zone above the ring finger w/1/2oz of side weight. This ball is so easy to control I almost feel like i'm cheating. My span is 5 1/4 throwing 15.5 to 16 mph. letting the ball go on 10 out to about 4 and watch it work...
I threw about 12 frames w/o scoring just to work out my thumb and all but one was a strike.
Can't wait till Thurs. league.
WoW! what a ball
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"I refuse to tiptoe through life only to slowly arrive at death"
Carl

This ball i would put up against anything on the market.  Talk about a great rolling, hitting, and well priced ball!  Columbia is giving you exactly what they advertised with this one.  Strong rolling, and hard arc on the backend.  This is also one of the best carrying balls i have thrown in a long time.  I have thrown in on the slick, your avg house shot, and dry, and this ball is all around unbelievable.  I wouldn't recommend it for too much dry because it is fairly strong on the backend.  I drilled my Detour with the pin under my fingers, and the cg kicked out just 1/2 inch.  So the numbers would be 5 x 4 1/2.  As i said before, throw your favorite layout on this ball and you won't be dissapointed.  Thankyou Columbia for the DETOUR!!!

Mike Hardesty
West Texas A & M

Drilled - Pin under bridge,
Cg kicked out, small xHole down
Coverstock - Box condition

One word describes most every Columbia ball, RECOVERY. Drilled the Detour for ABC Nationals, a go long & recover drill pattern. WOW, this ball rolls strong! Easy length thru the fronts, and makes the one of the strongest moves at the breakpoint than any ball Ive ever thrown. Almost too strong a move to be called 'flippy'. It revs the hardest just passed the midlane, handles carrydown easily with almost no sign of squirt. A definite cheater ball. The pattern in Reno is a fairly long pattern. Without having thrown it before, I used it all 9 games. I played inside from 4th to 5th arrow, had recovery from about the 5 board. The carry was incredible (except for 9pins).

Games were:
171-225-169
242-257-225
228-167-300
1984 All Events

The bad games were because I didnt make the correct moves when they broke down. Nothin else in my bag wouldve given me that much room right. Away from Reno, Ive had alot of success on synthetics, because of my ball speed, I havent used this ball on wood (too much friction). Inexpensive ball doesnt mean straight ball, the price tag is as impressive as the ball itself.

Bought this ball to compliment my Full Throttle. First thing I would like to say is that this ball has the hardest, most angular backend of any ball that I've seen on the lanes. Here are my specs:

Weight: 15 lbs.
Pin: 3"
Top weight: 3 oz.
Drilling layout: stacked leverage w/ weight hole
Style: Tweener, 15-16 mph, medium revs, 30-90 degree axis of rotation
Condition: House shot, heavy oil synthethic.


Control: 8/10

This ball is a house shot killer. On a forgiving pattern, the move this ball makes is ideal and generates great angle of entry into the pocket. It also clears the heads really well. However, dislikes spotty lanes, carry down, and extreme wet/dry conditions.


Carry: 8.5/10

Hits great on a fresh pattern, but tends to leave some 10's when the lanes start to wear down and the oil pushes to the back of the lane. Still hits hard though, but not quite as hard as say, the Full Throttle.


Hook: 10/10

This is where this ball shines. The Detour is an absolute monster on the back end, giving u lots of room to play on the lane. Wanna play hard and straight? Stay under the ball more and it'll do the work for u. Wanna play the deep inside line? Increase your axis of rotation by rotating around the ball more, and the ball will recover.


Overall: 9.1/10

Great house shot ball for those league nights. Would also work well on a tournament pattern with a fresh backend. I recommend this medium/medium heavy oil ball to everybody. The Superflex coverstock has been proven to be great, and the combination of that with the inverted stair step core makes this ball a great choice for any arsenal.

Rebuilding arsenal and decided to start with this ball as the baseline/middle of the road ball. 15lb, 3 1/2 pin, drilled w/ pin  3 3/8" from PAP (stacked leverage drill) w/ pin even with finger grips.

Great middle of the road ball!! Performs exactly as advertised. On typical house shot, ball really pushes through the heads and midlane well and reads dry transition predictably. Can play the dry bump well with this piece and not have to worry about it overreacting. Be warned though, when it reads dry, it really turns!! Handles inside 'tugs' well and carry with this ball is great. Keeps pins low and really mixes well on light shots. As the lanes break down, I can move inside and still score well, but if there's long oil/carrydown this ball does tend to not make it back sometimes. At that point it's time to pull something else out of the bag. I can usually stay with this ball for an entire shift of league. Overall a great piece of equipment!