I'm editing my review because I finally found the condition Track Magic was intended for, and I'm starting to understand what they designed it for.
The first 3 months of the season, he TM was perhaps the #3 seller in my area, close behind the Ti Messenger Pearl and the Hex.
Mine is 15# 4oz, 3" pinout, 3.5oz topweight, laid out 5x5 in the Track #1 drilling with the mass bias just right of the thumbhole. I have thrown probably 100 games with it, and after casting around with different equipment for the past 6 months, I can say it is the best control ball I've seen so far. If you have Track Magic, you always have something you can get to the pocket.
It is definitely an arsenal ball for most league bowlers. It fills such a fine niche, they will frankly not need it or appreciate it.
Here are the people who are better served by something else:
- If you see heavy oil, especially in a long pattern
- If you have a medium or above wet/dry house shot or a reverse block, there are better choices.
- If you face a messy shot with significant carrydown
- If you have dry heads
- If you have old or heavy pins that need a real pounding to carry
When I initially reviewed TM, I was exclusively seeing the last 4 of these, so I saw no value in it. However, I have learned that if you have a very short, light oil pattern with some oil in the heads and stripped backends, this is a fantastic ball. It tones down flying backends with a very smooth, controllable particle arc with 2 - 3" of flare, where even something tame like a Too Hot with the mass bias in the track is too whippy.
It really needs some oil in the heads, or it will start up too early. Nor does it react well to spotty/carrydown conditions on the backends.
Do not believe its rating on this website as a 20-board ball, intended for "medium/heavy oil". The updated Track website rates it somewhat lower, as a 13-board ball, which is still excessive. It is maybe a 7 - 10 board ball on light oil.
The most important thing to consider about the TM is whether you need a big-hitting ball or not. I first threw it against pins where something like the Messenger core was really necessary to carry. In this case, the hit was dull, flat, fluffy, marshmallow-y. It would leave flat 10s out the wazoo, pins would always seem to get in the way of the wall shot, and I could really only get it to carry from a down and in line on the outside.
If, however, you're having problems leaving solid backrow stuff because your resin is hitting too hard, this is a great ball. I like the way it behaves on Twister pins that give everybody else fits. I read the early reports from Billings, and I think TM sounds like the right answer.
One potentially useful feature is the extent to which release position affects the TM's backend reaction. This is true of all balls, but emphatically so of the TM, so I tend to like it better used in conjunction with a Revs II positioner. Full-rolled, it is primarily a dry lanes ball, but drop the track down a little and it is perhaps usable up to light-medium oil. For me, it covers about the same range of conditions I'd use a Scout/R on, but is neither quite as long nor as snappy/jumpy.
One very cool thing about it - it is designed to go long BUT at the same time is very difficult to throw through the breakpoint unlike some pearl resin.
My overall rating now comes out to a slightly higher 7:
Control: 9. Under its preferred conditions, it's easy to get it to the pocket. Responds well to different release positions. You can shoot spares with it.
Versatility: 7. Covers dry to light oil, but needs some head oil and reasonably clean backends. A cranker might really like this low-diff ball. Can be played on the outside of a house shot, but there are better choices.
Hit: 6. Barely usable on dead wood, but great on Twisters. The tradeoff between hit and control is the thing you need to consider before buying TM.
