I wanted a skid flip ball and I average about 200.  My girlfriend gets Brunswick balls at cost so I had been using Brunswick.  I have a slow speed high rev approach.  This is very bad for Brunswick balls because they tend to hook early and hook a lot.  Most of the time with a Brunswick ball my leg is on the ball return.  At any rate everyone said the Radical was a good skid flip ball from Brunswick.  I bought a Radical and a Jolt Pearl per the request of my friend who is a PBA bowler. I drilled both balls the exact same as a skid flip ball with the pins and CG the same.  The Radical did skid far but broke a foot earlier than the Pearl Jolt.  Also, when the radical hooked it was very weak and hit the pocket soft.  The Pearl Jolt on the other hand slid farther and when it hooked it hooked hard and crushed the pocket.  The Pearl Jolt also was not over reactive like the Radical.  With the radical if you let up on it, it would die in the back end and if you put a little extra hand in it, it would overreact and go brooklyn.  At any rate I gave the radical away for free and use the Jolt Pearl as my #1 ball.  It’s an amazing skid flip ball and does not over react.

See stats for profile.

Lay Out: 4.5" from PAP at 45* PAP angle and 65* VAL angle. The pin ended up slightly under my ring finger. I put a weight hole 1" down on my VAL after I threw it for a few games to increase the flare ever so slightly in the midlane and to raise the small bowtie off the middle finger.

Surface: I had left it box which is 1500 reacta-shine.

Purpose: To give myself a ball for shorter distance (37 ft or less) and burnt conditions.

Initial Observations: I threw it some on our leftover league shot which is on second shift. I was striking a lot going up the lane with the Jolt Pearl and also getting to the hole slightly swinging the track.

Final thoughts: I wanted another option for patterns like Cheetah or Viper on wood surfaces where there can be some early burn. I threw this in a PBA regional a few weeks back that was on Cheetah on wood. Cheetah has been tweaked somewhat in that you can't just throw it towards the gutter and get mega-hook, and that you have to be just a little more precise in how early you hit the outside 2-3 boards. Still higher-scoring, just not stupid easy. I pulled out my Jolt Pearl and really squared up the lane looking at arcing it out to about 2 at 35 feet. This ball gave me a great look in fact, I threw the front ten one of the games.

Additional Thoughts: The Jolt Pearl looks like a ball that can be drilled to get some length for some of the shorter patterns. Strong players would probably appreciate the length and hit. This is a solid replacement for the Hot line with tried and true coverstocks around a weightblock that doesn't overpower the ball.

--------------------
Mike Craig-Columbus, OH

16 Lb, Pin above ring finger, Med-heavy Oil, 13.8mph, high rev.

I've used a Jolt solid for a couple of years now and decided to get a pearl to get more length when needed.  The Pearl cover is certainly a different ball than the solid, however I believe the 2 compliment each other nicely.  The Pearl does go longer but hit's quite a bit harder.  It very forgiving if you under rev the ball and will come back very hard if you over rev it.  Excellent control.  The Jolt series is truly a Bargin if looking at price for performance.