Columbia Turns Up the Volume With the Rock and Rock Pearl - bowling balls - Brief Article - Evaluation

Bowling Digest, Oct, 2000

COLUMBIA 300 IS TUNING OUT ALL its competitors with two groundbreaking bowling balls, the Rock and the Rock Pearl. Both balls feature a breakthrough in coverstock technology: Columbia's exclusive [TEC.sup.2] shell. The new reactive cover stock includes an enhanced lane-gripping additive that slices through oil without hollow glass microspheres or hard particles found in other balls.

"The Rock and Rock Pearl represent the newest generation in bowling technology," says Columbia 300 sales and marketing vice president Roger Vessell. "We believe these balls will set a new standard for bowling in heavier oil conditions." Columbia 300 preferred pro shops will show a video explaining the research and development in the new cover stock, along with testimonials and demonstrations from pro bowlers Dave Husted, Pat Healey, and Wendy Macpherson, and several amateur bowlers.

The Rock is Columbia's most hooking ball for heavier oil patterns, with a hook rating of 26.5. It features an early break point, a strong-arcing back-end motion, and a four- to five-inch track flare. It sports a TEC rating of 10 at the end of the oil and 40 at the end of the lane. (TEC measures the percent decrease in forward velocity to hook; the higher the TEC rating, the more hook motion in that area of the lane.) Its core is a high-density polymer with a heavy inner core that creates a low radius of gyration (RG) for an early roll. At 16 pounds, it has a 2.513 RG with a differential RG of 0.046; at 15 pounds, a 2.563 RG with a 0.040 differential; and at 14 pounds, a 2.605 RG with a 0.048 differential. The Rock has a 75-78 hardness rating, and its TEC2 cover stock comes with 600 grit sheen finish. It is black with yellow engraving.

The Rock Pearl has a hook rating of 22, which is suited for medium oil with carrydown. It features a strong break point in oil, with a four- to five-inch track flare, and sports a TEC rating of 7 at the end of the oil and 37 at the end of the lane. The Rock Pearl has a double-cylinder core in a stabilizer core, technology that locates the core in a position to match the RG values, which results in an efficient use of the dense mass around the center of the ball.

At 16 pounds, it has a 2.506 RG with a differential RG of 0.047; at 15 pounds, a 2.533 RG with a 0.047 differential; and at 14 pounds, a 2.582 RG with a 0.044 differential. The Rock Pearl has a 75-78 hardness rating, and its TEC2 pearlized cover stock is black and purple multicolor.