This is my first review and I started playing bowling only more than half a year ago, so don't expect too much tech talk yet...
First of all, I love this ball! It's just amazing. I have played only 12 games yesterday, so I still don't feel as comfortable with it as I did with my old Urethane-"Force me if you want a hook, but I'll still hit like a sponge"-ball, but it became better and better.
The ball is drilled for a mild hook at the beginning, a nice hook midlane and the kaboom snap near the pocket.
For the very first shot with my new love, I just lined up the usual way because I wanted to see the difference.
I am a tweener, play from pretty far inside (between first and second dot from the left) and usually swing out to the second arrow (right) and have the ball recover at about the 5th board.
I used to play below average speed and a lot of revolutions.
Did this with my first shot. Even missed the Brooklyn pocket due to the tremendous backend reaction.
So I knew what to do - far more speed. Didn't feel too comfortable at the beginning, so I usually missed my arrow by 2-3 boards inside. Tons of in-the-face-1-pins.
But when I finally trusted that ball, it simply worked.
10-Pin? What's a 10-Pin? In my alley, I am known as the King of 10-Pins. It's so bad, the spare shot for a single 10-Pin has become my favorite in the meantime. Honestly! I got so used to it, I have a hit percentage of more than 90%! Leave me a single 7 and I will miss!
When I hit the 1-3 with the Blaze, I never left a 10-Pin! So yes, I am happy.
The ball handles carrydown nicely. I never saw any over/under yet, the ball reacts great when enters the heads, even when there's oil on places where it's not supposed to be.
What a leap compared to my older ball, a Revolution Revup.
At the beginning I feared the ball might be too much when the lanes dry up after having 300 frames on it, but that didn't happen. I just had to step even further inside and throw even harder, but the Blaze kept recovering and hitting the pocket or at least close.
I played my 3rd 600 yesterday!!! As I said before, I am a newbie, my actual average used to be between 155 and 160, but 9 out of 12 games last night were better including a 600 with no game below 200!
Throwing this ball is simply fun, but I doubt it's for people with a really weak hand. The Blaze begs for both speed and revs.
Special thanks to all those nice people on this board that helped me choose the Blaze. You guys are great.
Alex
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"Of course I could have hit the 10-Pin as well! I just want to improve my spare game!"