Type of bowler: Tweener
Avg Speed: 17.5
Rev Rate: 375-400
PAP: 5 x ¾ up
Layout: 60 x 5 ½ x 30

Drilled the IQ Tour Pearl looking for a ball that will clear the fronts but make a controlled move with continuation through the pins. Overall, I think the ball does that. The cover and weight block seem to match up very well and allow for a good shape. While others I have read say the ball checkmarks I found something a little different.

To see the ball in action, I tried the ball out on three different conditions.

House shot – Center had more oil on the lanes than normal. Was able to square up with the ball and create a little room. The ball certainly cleared the fronts and the reaction wasn’t extreme but was enough to get to the rack. Bowled five games and as you would predict the ball struggled down lane.

Nationals pattern – Got a chance to bowl on the nationals pattern and the ball was very useful. Started the day with a sanded Mission going 7 – 4 to help break the pattern down. In game three I was able to bump in and get a lot of use out of the IQ Tour Pearl. With the ball controlled the midlane and was strong on the backend. The thing I noticed was that the ball read off the pattern very well. The downside was that the ball wiggled when it hit oil down lane.

Cheetah pattern – Last pattern I threw the ball on was a version of the Cheetah in our PBA league. I say a version of the pattern because not every center can lay the actual pattern. On the fresh the ball was very useful again showing a controlled skid with a strong, but predictable move in the back. Was able to play closer to the gutter and get a good read.

Once the carry down started, the ball was fairly sensitive to the over-under, reading both a little to drastically. Went away from it a game and a half into a 4 game block.

I’d like to throw this ball on a typical house shot where there is crisp backend. The closest thing to that was the breakdown of the nationals pattern and the ball reacted great. I honestly expected a little more of a violent move down lane, but the predictability was a welcomed surprise. The downside is that the ball seems to be effected by carry down severely.

Darrell Lovell
Staff, BowlerX.com