This is a follow up post on my earlier review of the Response.
My Response is drilled 3 3/8" X 3 3/8", with 3/4 ounce sideweight in it. I bowl in a heavy and long oil house, with the typical shot being 42' in length. I'm well past the 150 game mark with the ball now, and thanks to Doc's Elixer, the performance is still hanging in there.
I can tell you that this ball HAS TO HAVE OIL to perform properly. On anything less than medium lane conditions, this ball will roll out in the pines and has nothing left for the backend reaction.....of course, I'm bowling on a flood, so rollout is not an issue with me. I'm a power stroker, and I find that I usually play either a mild swing shot to a down and in shot with this ball, and the results have been very good with it. In fact, the carrydown in my house gets so bad that I have actually left 5-pins on what appeared to be solid pocket hits, although I could tell that the ball was skidding on the carrydown. Based on the 5-pin leaves, you can see that there are situations where the Response can be tamed by the lane conditions, provided that you are playing in enough oil.
Although I do occasionally leave a dreaded 5-pin when the carrydown is deep, the ball typically carries very well on light hits. In fact, the Response carries light hits better than any other ball that I can remember using before. Even though I'm using the ball in the box finish (600 scuff), it has a really hard hit for such a dull ball.
I know that this ball has drawn a lot of flak from bowlers, but my guess is that the majority of these dissatisfied owners were trying to use the ball on a condition that was drier than what the Response was designed for. Give the ball the oil that it needs to work on, and the Response will turn into a very productive ball. Also, crankers may not be able to realize the full benefit from this ball, since this ball works best dull, and dull isn't necessarily what crankers like.