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Author Topic: Granite Gargoyle  (Read 17911 times)

admin

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Granite Gargoyle
« on: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM »
The Granite Gargoyle is equipped with the same great core as the Green Pearl Gargoyle but encased with a totally new "particle" cover stock that gets down the lane better and offers much more backend than previously released "active" cover stocks from Visionary. When there's too much oil for the Green version this Granite Gargoyle will bite through the oil with devastating results. The specifications are: Low RG: 2.54"; RG Differential: .040"; Color: Granite; Hardness: 78.

 

Ball_Tester

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Re: Granite Gargoyle
« Reply #16 on: June 13, 2002, 07:22:52 PM »
My stats:
Right Handed Tweener
15.0 to 16.5 mph (typically, but dependant on shot)
Above avg. Hand

Likes: Has a different look from other balls on the market. Plays heavier oil very well.

Dislikes: Hard to keep clean.

This ball makes the other bad boys on the market look like timid sheep. I was bowling on a pair with fried head when I was practicing with my green gargoyle, but moved to a pair that was heavily oiled, with carry down. These two pairs were like night and day, just like the two gargoyles are. I pulled my Rock out of the bag first, because I had seen someone practicing on this pair earlier that couldn't wrinkle the ball. The Rock had a nice consistant ball reaction, but it's hit was sub-par. I then decided to see what my new bad boy could do. This thing outhooked my Rock by about 5 boards, and blew out the rack. This is by far the biggest monster that I have ever thrown. People with little or no hand in the ball will love this one, as they will feel they are Kelly Coffman throwing this ball down the lane. The strange this is I think the strappers will like this thing just as much, because this ball has a very consistant ball reaction, that won't over/under on them. Then you have people like myself that fall in between these types of bowlers who will fall in love as well. This thing just arcs the entire lane and throws messengers all over the place. This is the ball all the manufacturers were trying to make when they came out with their beasts. The best ball for the soup on the market. Stop falling victim to the marketing campaigns of the big manufacturers, this is the ball to have in your bag. Another 10 out of 10 from Visionary.

UPDATE
I am going to post a final review of this ball before I sell it to Dodge. This ball hooks an absolute ton. A great ball, but if you got it in the dry too quickly it would burn up and leave corners all day long. I think this is the best ball on the market for the money, but you must know when to put it in the bag to be successful. A great ball for oily lanes. My second review gives this thing an 8 out of 10. Great ball but lacks versitiliy.




HskrPwr

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Re: Granite Gargoyle
« Reply #17 on: July 27, 2002, 10:35:40 PM »
I must say I was really impressed the first time I threw this ball.  It belonged to a friend who had it drilled with the pin just to the right of the fingers.  Ball reacted great, shot a 267 my first game with it.  Played around with it a couple of more times and was shooting 200s.  The ball would hold the line when I missed inside and would come storming back to the pocket if I missed outside.  Decided to buy it, but with a standard drilling.  At this point I havent been able to find a shot for it.  I thought even with a standard drilling this ball would react the same since I throw primarily straight up the 5 or 10 boards.  This ball hooks to much for that shot, but when I move to the left and throw it out, my standard drilling doesnt it allow it to snap as much as I'd hoped.  It is a great ball though, I just wish I had drilled it differently to better accomodate the lines I'm used to throwing.

BrianN

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Re: Granite Gargoyle
« Reply #18 on: August 26, 2002, 09:12:46 PM »
I've had some carry problems with my existing equipment on medium heavy oil, so for the upcoming season, I built a tandem out of an Eraser Boost and a Granite Gargoyle in complementary layouts. The goal was to wind up with two balls with roughly the same total move but a different look. I intended to use the Boost to open up the lanes, then take out the Gargoyle for transition and carrydown.

I’ve thrown it for a few dozen games now on the intended condition, and the Gargoyle is far and away the superior oil ball. In my somewhat limited experience, it's the best particle ball I've thrown.  

Mine started life as a 15#2, 3.36 top, 3 1/2" pin. We laid it out pin above the ring, stacked, mass bias just right of the thumb. This layout is always a good combination of control and energy retention for me. Ending statics are: 3/4 side, 5/16 finger, 1 1/8 top.

I don’t want anybody to buy anything that they’re going to hate. Bear two things in mind when reading any of my reviews: First; I’m a better writer than a bowler. Second, I’m biased toward non-flippy, early-rolling equipment with a lot of surface and smooth, mild backends. That's exactly what Gargoyle is. 'Flippy' is not in its vocabulary. Neither is 'carrydown', nor 'spotty'. It speaks 3 words: bite, roll and crush. This is a straightahead wet lanes ball; no other shades of nuance are necessary to describe it.  

You'd never believe you could get a ball with so much surface as long as you can this one. I initially assumed I'd polish it but after throwing it a while, I like it as-is. I may pick up another one to keep polished. Gargoyle has the feel of something that could work in a lot of different layouts and surfaces.

I thought my dull urethanes went into a heavy roll. No. Gargoyle is a whole different dimension. I wish I could be Zola for a paragraph or two so I could paint a word picture of how crisply and cleanly the core stands up at about 35', how it goes into a dead roll that threatens to dig a trough in the mids, makes a long, smooth turn and burn for the hole, then hits like a force of nature.

What it's good for:

- Lots of oil in the heads. I have tried it on up to 40' of max 65 units in the middle/8 - 10 units outside with good success. Gargoyle is not a hook monster by any means, but so far, it seems to be able to handle nearly anything in the mids and backends.

- As long as you give it some oil in the heads, it will reward you with a smooth, predictable move off a consistent breakpoint. If you buy into the analogy of bowling ball as a tool, then Granite is the equivalent of precision watchmaking tools for wet lanes.

For this reason, don't overlook it as a sport ball. When I was on a sport pattern, I felt stuck between balls all the time. I wanted more ball than a polished Thunder Flash in the heads and mids but a bit less in the backend. In hindsight, Granite was exactly the ball I was looking for.


What it's not good for:

- No head oil. It'll hook at your feet.

- Longer oil. It's a strong ball, but I just don’t think it’s optimal on a shot much longer than about 40'.

- People who like to throw a ball in the bag and forget about it. It needs a lot of bathing and touchup work.

This will be the second ball I've given an overall 9 to. Insofar as it's meaningful in this era of specialization, Gargoyle is the overall the "best" ball I’ve thrown so far. I’m 2 for 2 with Visionary now versus some spotty experiences with Storm and Columbia. After this experience, my next reactive will almost certainly be a Charcoal Executioner.

Control: 9. Repeatable, reliable, exceptional behavior at the breakpoint. Oblivious to the state of the mids and backs. This is important to me, because the key to my own scoring is to minimize the length of time I get lost in transition, and this ball helps me do that.

Responds very well to changes in release. You can shape the backend to be pretty much what you want.

Caveat: If your shot needs a lot of angle, this probably isn’t the ball you want. My shots seem to discourage this.

Versatility: 9. Here, I’m not treating versatility as "How much ground could you cover if this was the only ball you had?" Frankly, people in its intended audience tend to  build arsenals, and a person would be out of his gourd to buy it for a typical league shot. This would rate about a 5.  

Instead, I treat it as "How useful is it on the shot it was intended for?" In this case, there's probably not a normal wet condition you couldn't find some kind of shot on. This would rate a 9.

Hit and Carry: 9.5. In the immortal words of John Madden,  â€˜Boom.’ Think in terms of a big rock falling from a great height. Wile E Coyote cringes beneath his umbrella.

Hit and carry are exceptional. I never understood what BTM was talking about when they said that a ball "seems to swell up when it hits the pocket." That's exactly what GG does. It gives you area on oil, when your other balls are leaving weak corners. A monster on the off hits, as everyone else has stated.

The budget should be balanced, the treasury refilled, public debt reduced, the arrogance of officialdom tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands curtailed, lest Rome become bankrupt.  
 
-- Cicero, Roman statesman

marq2766

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Re: Granite Gargoyle
« Reply #19 on: October 23, 2002, 01:06:22 PM »
I'm a lefty tweener with medium hand.  Sometimes I have trouble getting balls to finish with medium to heavy oil, which is the exact reason I began looking at this ball.  I had my 16# ball laid out with the CG out to develop an earlier, more consistant roll. All I can say is WOW! Right out of the box I shot 667.  
I've been using it on a variety of conditions and have been pleasantly surprised at the versitility of this ball.  On heavy oil you can us it inside and swing it to the dry with confidence, and on medium oil you can speed it up down an outside line and it finishes hard.
I find that this ball carries light hits extremely well. If I were forced to say anything derogatore about it then I would have to say the it hit so hard that I tend to leave 8 pins quite a bit and even a couple of pocket 7-10's on occasion.
I would definately rate this ball a 8 or 9.

Jish

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Re: Granite Gargoyle
« Reply #20 on: November 10, 2002, 07:26:32 AM »
As a test staff member, here is my review for the granite gargoyle. My stats can be found under my executioner review.
I had this ball drilled like the exe. with the pin and cg 4 1/2" from pap, pin below the ring finger. This put the cg about 1" below the mid line. Left the surface in box condition.
I got this ball for use on a heavier oil house shot. Placed the pin where I did to help the ball retain some energy on lanes that have synthetic overlay heads  hoping it would not burn up to much, roll up nice in the mid lane and roll strongly into the pocket. Let me tell you I got exactly what I was looking for and more. This ball has to be one of the most solid rolling balls I have ever thrown. As long as some head oil still remains this balls hit and carry is second to none. This ball is also quite easy to read and lets you know when to put it away. When you see the transition from skid to hook to roll become a little lazy and not make a real strong turn to the pocket, it is time to go to another ball.
As mentioned in other reviews, this ball needs frequent cleanings as it gets dirty real fast. Just use your favorite ball cleaner and the ball will come back to as good as new.
If you are looking for a ball to use for a heavier oil shot and don't want to spend the money on higher priced equiptment but are looking for premium performance then do yourself a favor and give this ball a try, you won't be sorry you did.

omegabowler

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Re: Granite Gargoyle
« Reply #21 on: November 12, 2002, 09:31:53 AM »
My Specs:
   Right handed
   Med. Speed/Med revs
   10-30 deg tilt/ 10-30 deg rotation

Ball:
   Granite Gargoyle
   3.5” pin
   15#
   3oz top
Drill:
   2:00 label drill.  CG ¼: from grip CL and pin below fingers
   2 –3” of track flare

Lane conditions:
   House #1: 38’ med oil, OB 25’. Anywhere from 3 game to 30 games. League house.
   House #2 32’ heavy oil fresh to well used. Practice house.


   Two words for this ball; Smooth and devastating. This ball rolls and has a small arc to the pocket that does not stop. It is particle what else can I say? It doesn’t overreact on the dry. If you miss left it stay left and if you miss right it doesn’t take off. A great controllable ball if you don’t spray the lanes. The hit is awesome it keeps the pins on the deck but throws them around like a stick of dynamite went off.
   This ball is best used when resins are jumping or have carry down. The ball feel like a porcupine and you think it would outlook every ball on the planet. It doesn’t, it is a medium oil ball and it complements the Executioner (red) and Gargoyle (Green) perfectly for me. When the red jumps and Green won’t carry this comes out. I just focus more on my target and let it go.
   This may well be a perfect fit for a Sport shot because of the overall smooth, non-overreacting shell. If you have some head oil and jumpy lanes this is the answer. I have head people say how much they like the roll and consistency of the old urethanes. This may be the next best thing if you’re looking for that type of roll, plus devastating pin action.


Sport shot update: it's good choice for a sport shot.

I just started bowling in an abc sanctioned sport league. this ball has backend where my other balls did not. It acted very much like a resin with a huge backend. My purple ice was just a little week hitting the hole through the heavier oil. This thing just makes a big turn about 50 feet down. every one on my pair that threw over 15 mph could get a ball to hit from the outside line. It carried well. but it was still a sport shot and if you missed by too much you paid.

"deserves got nothing to do with it."
-- William Munny

leftyjimbo

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Re: Granite Gargoyle
« Reply #22 on: December 25, 2002, 11:30:26 AM »
15#
Pin:3-4
T.W. 3 oz.
Drilling: 5x3.5 extra hole on PAP
Lefthanded stroker w/ low to med revs and med speed
Typical house shot: 38 feet with dry backends

I have the Granite drilled up identical to my Green Gargoyle. It gives me the same look and reaction on the lanes when there's to much oil for the Green. This may very well be the best Visionary ball ever made.

Good Job Visionary

Can you Rev

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Re: Granite Gargoyle
« Reply #23 on: January 16, 2003, 04:17:30 PM »
THIS BALL HOOKS.

me: high ball speed, high revs, can vary axis rotation a lot but usually 45-50 degrees.

I've used this ball very little so far, but I will say that it offers two things. Control and POWER!

Out of the box this ball has a lot of cover. I was almost afraid to even think about throwing a ball with this much cover. So, we drilled it up 5 x 3 and ended up polishing the 320 grit surface with black magic. By then I had to run to the lanes to get a chance to throw a few shots with it during the practice session that preceeds league. At the time, the lanes were oiled to 42 feet with a medium christmas tree pattern, buffed to 45 feet. The ball is technically way too much ball for this type of pattern, but if I set it down on the left gutter and got it out towards the right gutter (5 board) at the breakpoint, the ball would turn over and make a hard, heavy arc to the pocket resulting in an uncontested 10 in the pit. The 1st full game I threw with the ball was a 298(see visionaries honor roll).

The ball starts with a very heavy roll, revving up strongly through the midlane, the turning hard for a particle ball and arcing strongly to the pocket. If a person slows their speed down often, and is on insufficient amounts of head oil the ball with either pick off the 7 pin, or if the oil is really insufficient the ball with roll out. Speaking of rolling out, I have since thrown the ball on a crappy pattern that is short and light, using the ball to roll out so that I have a hook set reaction to help control the screaming backends. After some experimenting I found a line that will have the ball roll out about 5 ft. from the headpin, keeping me from crossing through the headpin so that I'm not shooting splits all night like I am with my reactive equiptment.

I was able to throw the ball on a fairly heavily oiled sport pattern once as well. The ball is great on the sport pattern and gives me more area than any of my other equiptment. It has great traction upfront, and doesn't overreact on the flying backends that the pattern provides.

All in all this is an excellent ball. It provides control and POWER if you know when and how to use the ball. If you are a low speed bowler who wants a ball that looks cool, that you can throw in a light oil house pattern, well you'd probably be wasting your money. But if you want a ball that is controllable on the backends and does well in lower friction oil patterns, this may be the best investment you can make.



roaddogg

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Re: Granite Gargoyle
« Reply #24 on: February 16, 2003, 09:30:11 AM »
In May of 2003, I purchased the Granite Gargoyle and bowled with it for about 2 months averaging 188-190 on a wide range of lane conditions in
league.  When I first got this ball I could not believe how great it worked.  I shot a 675 in National in the team event and thought what a great piece of equipment.  Then the lane conditions in league changed
from very oily to almost bone dry.  I orderd and started using the Blue Warlock and various other balls because the gargoyle wasn't reacting to the changed lane conditions.  So I put the gargoyle in retirement, so
to speak, and forgot about it.  About 3 weeks ago the lane conitions in league changed yet again this time to very oily.  I tried every piece of equipment I have from my storm products to the attitude ball I purchased several years ago - nothing seemed to work.  Nothing I had
was cutting through the oil and giving me the reaction I needed on the back end, or so I thought.  This past week I decided to bring the gargoyle out of retirement to see how it would react to the lane conditions.  I gave it a quick cleaning before league that night and let me just say that it was as if the lanes had been oiled specifically for the gargoyle.  I played my regular shot and watched as the ball played right into the pocket and shattered the pins almost as if asking them "is that all you got?".  I bowled my highest game in 3 weeks with a ball I had seemingly forgotten about.  I would recommend this ball to anyone bowling in medium to heavy oil.  The Granite Gargoyle is a great
ball at a great price.  Great job Visionary!!!

L7H2N

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Re: Granite Gargoyle
« Reply #25 on: March 10, 2003, 09:49:56 AM »
Left handed bowler
Lots of hand
Pin is under ring towards center - 1"
Cg is straight down - 1"

I plan on getting another one of these demons with a bit more pin out. I don't think there is enough lane conditioner/oil in GA to hold this thing back. It is a huge arcing ball that just doesn't stop. Very aggressive ball that needs lots of oil. Once the shot is dried out - it is done. People can't get over the texture of the ball.
L. Nelson
Visionary Test Member
and
Nelson Invitational manager

beeker

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Re: Granite Gargoyle
« Reply #26 on: March 14, 2003, 05:44:26 PM »
Let me start off by saying that I have only been back to bowling for about 2 years.  I started bowling when I was about 9 years old and continued until about 19.  Then I basically stopped all together.  I started bowling again about 2 years ago in a rather non competetive league.  Needless to say I am hooked again.  I now bowl about 3 times a week and my average is up to 193, which will be going up now that I have much better equipment.  I will be joining a few more leagues in the fall now that I am back into the swing of things.  With that said...
    I don't really know too much of the technical aspects of bowling.  For example: board, length, oil pattern, drilling, side weight, cg, etc..don't mean too much to me.  I just know how I bowl.  I stand with my left foot about six boards in from the left gutter.  I throw out to about the 2nd arrow away from the right gutter.  I guess that would be about the fifth or sixth board.  Now that you have a little better idea of how I bowl let me start my review.    
    Before I got the Visionary balls I was primarly using a green Quantum which is not a bad ball but it is only good on very dry lanes.  Which is why I needed to build an arsenal.  The primary place I ball has synthetic lanes with a medium amount of oil.  I went to a local pro-shop and explained how I bowl, where, and what I wanted the new ball to do.  He recommended the granite gargoyle and drilled it for me.  I really don't know how to explain how he drilled it except that the pin is way to the right of my fingers.  The first time I used it I couldn't believe how much it hooked compared to my Quantum .  It took me a little while to get use to it.  I finally had a ball that I could throw hard with oil on the lanes and have it come back hard to the pocket.  I couldn't believe the hitting power of this ball!  It carrys so much more than the Quantum I have been using.  The only problem I have found is that when the heads get dry it will take off too early.  So I went to visionary's web site where I read about their test staff program.  After doing some reading and realizing how bad I got screwed by my local pro-shop (I paid 229.00 for the gargoyle!!!!) I decided to order a few more balls directly from visionary to help cover a greater range of conditions.  Now let me finish my gargoyle review.    
   The gargoyle gets very dirty very fast.  Its not a big deal but something to keep in mind.  All you need to do is soak it in dish washing soap and get a green scouring pad.  Give it a few rubs and it will look like new.  I have bowled many games with it and it still looks like new after a few minutes of cleaning.  The Granite Gargoyle is probably the best all around ball that I have used.  It can be used on a wide range of conditions and hits very hard!  I also have a Gryphon and Purple Ice.  I will post a review on those later.  The gargoyle has a very smooth and controlled hook.  It doesn't really turn the corner like the gryphon or hook as much as the purple ice.  It falls right in between.  Which makes it very versatile.  As long as the lanes aren't too dry or extremely oilly the Gargoyle will find the pocket.  I would give this ball a 10 out of 10.  It hits hard, works on a wide range of conditions, has great carry, and is very inexpensive. (as long as you don't get screwed like I did!)


UPDATE:  5/5/04   I haven't been using the Granite Gargoyle for about a year.  I got a few other Visionary balls that were working for me so I started using it less and less.  I decided to try it out again and was not happy with the reaction.  It was grabbing too early for me and using up all of its energy too early.  I have learned a lot in the last year and I guess I have a lot more hand now than I did when I first got the Granite Gargoyle.  I decided to get it plugged and re-drilled so it would go longer before breaking.  The new drilling helped but it was still using too much energy in the heads and leaving a lot of ten pins.  I decided to try polishing it.   First I cleaned and wet sanded it using 320 grit to get it back to box condition.  I then started polishing it.  It took about 20 minutes on the spinner before it actually started to shine.  Once I was finally done I took it out to the lanes.  
WOW!  What a difference a little polish and elbow grease can make.  It now gets through the heads much smoother and stores a lot more energy.  It makes a nice controllable arc to the pocket that doesn't jump and is extremely easy to keep in the pocket.  It also lost none of it's hitting power.  In fact, it now hits even harder!  I have used it twice in an all wood house since I polished.  The first week I threw a 706.  The second I threw a 747.  It has become the first ball out of my bag.  I finally have a ball that is controllable in the backend and hits harder than anything else I have ever used.  

If you have a Granite Gargoyle still in box condition and haven't used it for a little while or you weren't happy with it, try polishing it and give the ROCK another chance.  What a great ball!  

roystriker

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Re: Granite Gargoyle
« Reply #27 on: March 17, 2003, 12:16:06 AM »
Ball Specs
Weight:  15.25#
Top Wt:  2.88 oz.
Pin: 2-3"

Drilled label leverage--pin approx. 1" right of the ring finger with the CG mark in my center of grip.  Kept the ball in its O.O.B. condition (320 Wet sanded) and treated with Doc's Magic Bowling Ball Elixir.  The drilling of this ball produces minimal flare and gives me the exact reaction I wanted this ball to have--an even rolling strong arc reaction.  The aggressive coverstock becomes soiled very easily requiring frequent cleaning; this is why I treated the ball with the Elixir.  The Elixir chemically bonds to the coverstock keeping the pores of the particle coverstock open, which not only enhances the backend reaction of the ball, it also makes the ball easier to maintain (keep in mind that the Elixir will not prevent the ball from getting soiled during its use).  You would think that it would be difficult to get this ball through the heads, but that's not the case (as long as there's oil).  I use this ball on a typical house shot--fresh oil; the ball gets through the heads, picks up a strong roll in the midlane, and makes a hard left turn into the pocket.  

I give this ball a 9 out of 10

--------------------
Leroy H.
roystriker@verizon.net
Visionary Test Staff Member
Leroy H.
Irvington, NJ

PJM300

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Re: Granite Gargoyle
« Reply #28 on: March 30, 2003, 11:18:38 AM »
My Granite Gargoyle is drilled label leverage with the pin next to my ring finger and the cg center grip.  Knowing the aggresive cover of the ball I brought it up to 600 poish before even throwing it on my house shot.  AT first I thought putting the polish on was a mistake as the ball went really long.  But after a couple of shots the ball found its groove and made a nice turn to the pocket with excellent carry.  Drilled this way with the cover at 600 the ball clears the heads with ease and makes a strong arc to he pocket.  I have barely left a corner pin (10 Im a righty) with this ball lotsof messengers.  Ball does have a little forgiveness to it too.  If it is sent to far out it comes back brooklyn though.  As everyone elso has said this ball does get dirty and must be cleaned after every outing.  Excellent ball for your medium to oily condition.


Test Staff Member
Pete M


Mongo

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Re: Granite Gargoyle
« Reply #29 on: August 01, 2003, 01:00:30 AM »
Specs:
15 lb.
2" pin
3 oz. TW

Drill specs:
4 X 4, weight hole in lower thumb quadrant
Scotch Brite - White pad

Wow.

First Visionary ball I've thrown.  Mongo impressed.

Tested the Granite Gargoyle out on a house shot, but this house shot is a bit different than what I'm used to.  Normally, this is a 38' Christmas tree buffed to 40' with good backends.  Well, the oil machine has been a bit funky lately and isn't stripping properly.  The result is something that plays like a house shot early, but no recovery down the lane and about 4-6' of extra carrydown.

The results?  The GG flat hooks, even with a fine finish.  I tested this ball with a Monster Frenzy and an Icon 300.  Playing 12 to around 5, the Frenzy didn't wrinkle and the Icon 300 (drilled label leverage with a light shine) struggled to move.  The Granite moved about 3-4' earlier than the Icon and seemed to have just as much energy when it got there.

One thing that really struck me about the Granite Gargoyle is how quick it revs up.  With my axis rotation, I could clearly see the weight hole and it looked like a blur at the mids (me having a bit of hand may help).  The core is definitely a good match as the ball contined to flare well down the lane.  I checked out the oil pattern on the ball and the early rings were very tight and expanded as the ball flared.

I got lucky and picked this one up off eBay used.  The spans were close and I got it cheap...lucky me.  If I didn't have a ton of excess equipment, I could really see me picking another one up and going with a high RG drill.  

The Granite Gargoyle is a definite contender in the oil ball category.  An impressive fact is that this ball has been out for over a year and is still competitive with all of the big manufacturers high end balls.


--------------------
Mongo the UnLefty

I'm lefthanded, I have a hand,  I will use it.
Where are all my 2001-2006 posts?

Aud21946

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Re: Granite Gargoyle
« Reply #30 on: September 15, 2003, 01:07:19 AM »
I just recently joined the Visionary test staff to get a different look in a bowling balls I live in San Antonio and work in a pro shop, I have see plenty of bowling balls come and go and seen The major companies here in town make balls the are very close to each other and seldom change from a previously made ball.
Ok,after my rant... Back to the ball review.
The Granite Gargoyle comes out of the box at 320 dull!
A little about me...
Ball speed 17 - 18 mph
0 - 25 tilt
This ball out of the box must be made for the extreme Exxon Valdez oil flood.
After 3 games on a 40 foot fresh pattern, I went back into the shop and change the surface up to 800 dull.
The ball came to me with 3oz of top weight and a 2 - 3 pin.
I layout the ball with a 4 by 4 layout and a weight hole at my axis.
In my opinion you need head oil and fresh back ends to throw this ball.On this 40 ft pattern the ball still checked early but hit well in the three games I bowled with the surface at 800.In bowling a tournament on the next day, I ave. 210 at a Synethic house with a 38 flat pattern with moderate backends. I try this ball a little more to update this review.
UPDATE
This Ball is not so bad after all. Changed the surface to 1000 dull from the origanal 320 surface and the ball will still get into a roll early but I like the continuous roll .. the doesn't quit as it wanted to do at 320 and 600. A note to anyone thinking of getting this ball, make sure your pattern you bowl on has slick fronts or you will not like this ball.
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Visionary Test Member
P.b.a. Southwest Regional Member
Don Jonietz Pro Shop
San Antonio, Texas