I received a few e-mails from Visionary with the information on the new green Centaur.  It's going to be a solid reactive like the Charcoal Executioner with the DC core.  They said it will be the most versatile ball in their line up.  I ordered 2, one for myself and one for my pro-shop owner.  He doesn't carry Visionary so I am buying him one to try out. They are not shipping them until April 28.   Unfortunately it will be here after my league is done for the year.  At least I will have all summer to practice with it.  I will post a review once it comes in and I roll a few games with it.

I'm not sure where it will fit in the Visionary line up.  I'm looking for a control ball that I can use for an entire set on light/medium wood lanes.  My favorite control ball so far has been the Burgundy Gryphon.  The only problem with the Burgundy is it needs a lot of head oil.  So most nights on all wood lanes I am lucky to get one game out of it before it starts turning in the heads.  On synthetics I can roll an entire set and then some but wood lanes break down too fast.  I usually switch to the G-3 next but sometimes the backends are flying and that makes the G-3 hard to control.  So out comes the Green Gargoyle which works well when the backends are too strong for the G-3 and the heads are too dry for the Burgundy.  I am hoping the Centaur will move like the Burgundy but be usable on light/medium to medium conditions.  I also have a Blue Gargoyle which works well when the backends are flying and reactive equipment is jumping.  But even the Blue Gargoyle can't handle dry heads.  Remember Urethane does hook.  Also, I don't believe the Blue Gargoyle has the hit or carry of the reactive/particle balls.  I also have the Granite Gargoyle, Purple Ice Executioner, and the Blue Sparkle Gryphon.  I use the GG and PI in the synthetic house which is usally flooded.  I use to use the Blue Sparkle a lot but it has seen a lot of games and I'm starting to get an over/under reaction with it.  I'm thinking about resurfacing it.  

Anyway, I'm hoping the Centaur will give me the control, hit and carry I need for constantly changing wood lanes and be usable for an entire set.

wkf0908,

Control yourself already. You're judging a book by it cover and you'll be wrong, IF YOU DO THAT, about 90% of the time.

Remember the core and its dynamic do NOT rule a ball's performance. The core can only modify what the cover is set-up to do. It's the engine and tires analogy all over again. Remember that cause you have to live with it.

The key word here that I think we all misinterpreted is "modified". The didn't modify the DC core; I think they radically changed it. It had a very high RG differential (.058) and probably a fairly high mass bias. So, now, with a .016" RG Differential, with a high RG (2.61) and a solid resin core, my guess is they are issuing a replacement for the Purple Ice and it will meant to be a control ball. I will have to modify my estimate and say this ball's performance will depend totally on the ball's surface.

It should handle over/under like a champ, but it will not have a huge backend, in all probability. If you're  fluffer and you depend on a ball's high RG differential (& potential for flare) to give you backend, you can forget it with this one.

Of course, there's always the possibility that it will be like Hammer's Big Blue: it has a very low RG DIff, but it is a huge hooking ball and must have medium-heavy oil, at a minumum, to perform at its best.

We shall see.
 



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"We get old too fast, and too late, smart."