It’s Volatile…

Let me introduce our new partner Haley’s Pro Shop. A big thank you to Jeff Miller and Ron Hoppe. Don’t forget to check out Haley’s Pro Shop for world class drilling and coaching!

First Impressions
Holy snow tire. This thing has been rolled in the parking lot before we started.

Tamer Elbaga (Lefty)
Style: Tweener
RPM: 375 rpm
PAP: 5 & 3/8 up
Average Speed: 18.5 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: low
Axis rotation: medium/high
Test Equipment: 15 Pounds
Layout: 45 x 4.75 x 45

Sean Jensen (Righty)
Style: Power player
RPM: 475 rpm
PAP: 5 1/2 & 1/4 up
Average Speed: 18.5 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: low
Axis rotation: medium
Test Equipment: 14 Pounds
Layout: 60 x 5 x 40

Bryan Hoffman (Righty)
Style: Higher Tilt Stroker
RPM: 280 rpm
PAP: 4 1/4 & 1/8 down
Average Speed: 17.5 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: high
Axis rotation: medium
Test Equipment: 15 Pounds
Layout: 70 x 5.5 x 45
Intent: Medium roll with a slow transition at the breakpoint

“Keep in mind that coverstock accounts for 70% of ball reaction, but the core creates the dynamic shape of the reaction. Your driller will alter the shape to suit your game.”

Test Pattern:
THS: 40ft, 23ml
Sport: Kegel Krypton 43ft, 26.92 ml, 2.94:1 ratio

Value
Instead of a score I’ll just say that if you put this on a high volume pattern it’s meant to be on, it will rank pretty highly.

Specs

The 900 Global Volatility uses the Volatility Asymmetric core inside the S86R Hybrid solid coverstock.

15 pound = RG of 2.49, diff of .050, mb of .014
14 pound = RG of 2.51, diff of .050, mb of .014
Coverstock finish: 2000 grit abralon

Overall
I’ll start with the easiest statement, this is probably the strongest ball we’ve tested. We just tested the new Roto Grip UFO and the Motiv Alpha Jackal and those are monster balls. For those that can’t or have no reason to throw this much ball, you might ask, why? I guess there are enough bowlers using strong equipment based on their game. But the bottom line is all these balls are for high volume patterns, be it house or sport. I half jokingly made the parking lot comment. The ball just feels like it has an insane amount of traction. It’s almost the kind of traction you might imagine out of say a 360 grit finish. The thing is I don’t mind that kind of traction because I do see a lot of high volume sport patterns but on this house shot, this was pretty difficult to use for me. The ball works better from more closed angles because it reads so early so will lose energy downlane if you ask it to go sideways. You can be deep but you want to use shallower angles to take advantage of the massive punch it has. During the test I switched to a heavy house shot as it was just too tricky on the medium shot. This felt slick everywhere but the shot close to the 3rd arrow worked well. I will do another video shortly on a sport shot that has more volume to better show off the motion. I think this video doesn’t necessarily do the ball justice. It impressed in high volume situations that it’s meant for. I enjoy seeing that strong earlier midlane read.

Sean never uses balls this strong on any pattern or any volume. And because the Volatility reads so early, he doesn’t take to the shape as much as I do. He didn’t have a huge issue using it on the higher volume. It actually was fairly easy to strike. He is lined up not using huge angles. The ball is early and very rolly. Sean has enough speed and can control his axis rotation to show off how strong the ball goes through the pins. He can make it play between the 2nd and 3rd arrow. Didn’t really want to get in too deep as mentioned previously. To compare to another big piece, the UFO felt more usable. A touch later and more angular.

Bryan was up next. There are a few things that work in Bryan’s favor. One it’s a strong ball. It can play with shallower angles. When you do play those angles, you really see how strong the ball hits. So instead of a huge piece that rolls early and stops, he can bump into the oil and pull the breakpoint a bit tighter and can take advantage of good drive. Sometimes big pieces force him in but can’t play direct so has to open up the angles. Then he loses carry as the balls just don’t have the energy. This wasn’t a big problem with the Volatility. It’s not like the ball can’t generate angle so he can use a little belly. He seemed to carry fairly well, even while it may deflect at times.

Sport Shot
We are using the 43ft Kegel Krypton pattern. As I mentioned previously, the Volatility likes more closed angles. I started pretty direct. It is crystal where this ball shines, from direct. Going up 8, 9, 10 is the best look. Better control from a pretty slick typically out of bounds area. It’s still tight so I might be able to strike going 8 to 6 but when I get to around 10, I need to pull the breakpoint in. But getting out to 6 left a 3 pin as opposed to a punishing leave. 11 to 8 works as well, but all small belly shots pretty direct. Got to 13 to 9 and that’s about as open as I can get but it looked good. 15 to 10 and I’m asking for a bucket. 15 to 12 goes high. So it’s just too tight there. Bottom line is I can absolutely see this as the direct line high grit control the pocket on fresh high volume sport shots for me. If you need to chase in, you will want to look for balls that store more energy.

For Bryan you can also see this is a high traction slower transition reaction. So from more direct or from in there is pocket control. But the ball probably has too much traction to be as effective in terms of consistent carry in this example. We imagined it could work here but you can see it’s still maybe even too strong for this pattern. Straighter was controlling the pocket but better carry was achieved when moving to the 3rd arrow to give the ball a bit more oil.

Bottom line is this a pocket control piece on sport shots. It will be a great smooth option when the pattern is higher volume fresh shot. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was in my bag for nationals for minors where the volume is higher and I’m by myself on the left side.

Final Thoughts
It’s not a stretch to say the 900 Global Volatility is the strongest ball on the market. It feels like it has tons of traction. It rolls early and heavy. It’s predictable and controllable on heavy conditions. If you absolutely need the strongest thing, the Volatility can be on your short list.