Roto Grip Optimum Idol Pearl Ball Review by Jeff Ussery

Layout: 45 degrees x 4 3/4" x 40 degrees

RG: 2.51"

Differential: .054"

M/b: n/a

Surface: 1500 Grit Polished

Core shape: Symmetric

Manufacturer's Intent: As seen on… nope, wait a minute. You have probably seen this… nada, nope, wait just one minute. Truth is, YOU’VE NEVER SEEN A VERSION LIKE THIS! For all of you keeping score at home this marks the very first time in the domestic market we have released an IDOL series ball featuring our MicroTrax Pearl coverstock. Yes, you read that correctly. Never in the history of ever have we matched our nanoparticle pearl coverstock on this legendary core shape. Why you ask? That’s a good question. But that’s neither here nor there. The time was right, and that time is now! We felt following up the original solid with a pearl that provides the optimum traction footprint in oil while providing plenty of responsiveness down lane was exactly what the world needed. It’s ok, you can thank us later.

I drilled this one a little after it came out, so I got to see plenty of these go down the lane before putting the holes in to mine. Every Optimum Idol Pearl I've seen so far is extremely long and straight to the breakpoint. Depending on player style, I've seen some that come off the dry boards extremely hard, and I've seen others that simply make a strong continuous shape in the backend. Based on what I had seen so far, I chose a lower pin layout for my ball. This typically rounds off the shape in the backend a little more than normal for me. It also typically makes the ball a bit more control oriented.

What I got from the ball was not exactly what I expected. My lower pin layout didn't calm down the backend at all. Optimum Idol Pearl is very long to the breakpoint for me. It would need to be an extremely dry lane for me to see early hook from this piece. At the breakpoint, Optimum Idol Pearl was very fast reacting to the dry, and then rolled a bit forward off of the spot. This ball was as hockey stick shaped as I've seen in quite some time, and that was even with the lower pin layout. Had I gone with the taller pin layout, I would have accentuated this effect even more.

This ball is going to excel on drier lanes, and we see it in play a lot for people with slower ball speeds. If you're bowling on fresh patterns and trying to force this one in, I'd recommend breaking the cover a bit with an abralon pad to get it into a roll just a bit earlier. Otherwise, you'll see this one flying past the mid-lane.

Storm loyalists will see this ball fall in between their Phaze A.I. and a Hustle option. It's mid-rg and mid-differential are going to create core motion that should naturally progress in between those options. But again, that cover is cleaner than expected, so keep that in mind when designing your arsenal.

Optimum Idol Pearl is in stock now at TBG, and we have these in stock in both 14# and 15# weights.