- Scorcher

First Impressions
The Visionary Scorcher, which hit the market in April 1999 and is often called the Midnight Scorcher because of its deep black design, is an outstanding example of the early and very extreme particle era in bowling. Fitted with the unique Retro-Active Urethane Particle cover, finished out of the box with an extremely coarse 320 wet sand surface, this ball stands out immediately through its unusual feel. Thanks to the heavy dose of special, soft polybutadiene particles, the surface feels almost like coarse stubble or fine sandpaper. This patented material blend is explicitly designed to absorb large amounts of oil into the microscopic gaps and build massive, physical traction on the lane. Inside the ball works the asymmetric DC Core, engineered as a modified, weakly asymmetric Z-Spin core. At a standard ball weight of 15 pounds, this core delivers a moderate 2.540 RG, a 0.048 differential and a slight intermediate differential of 0.006. The combination of this dynamically rotating core and the massive, extremely tacky particle surface aims to create a very early, exceptionally smooth and heavy rolling motion, designed specifically for play on medium to heavy oil conditions. The basic design deliberately forgoes any explosive or sharp reaction at the end of the lane, concentrating instead on the absolute maximum in control and predictability in heavy oil.
Comparison Drawing a detailed comparison to a modern, very strong solid ball like the Storm Phaze II makes the completely different technological approach to heavily oiled lane conditions very clear. While the Storm Phaze II also reads the lane early thanks to its low RG and strong symmetric core, it generates a very strong, continuous and clearly visible change of direction into the pocket at the breakpoint. The Storm ball uses the friction at the end of the oil pattern deliberately to create a dynamic, hard-hitting end phase. The Visionary Scorcher, on the other hand, behaves completely differently on the lane and much more classically. Because of the extremely coarse Retro-Active cover it engages noticeably earlier and more aggressively in the heads, but it develops no pronounced or abrupt hook at the breakpoint. Instead it rolls extremely heavy, almost like a traditional old-school urethane ball, and pushes toward the pins in a wide, slow arc. Compared on the other hand to a pure, modern urethane ball like the Brunswick True Motion, the Scorcher offers considerably more flare potential thanks to its asymmetric DC Core and the noticeably higher differential. These dynamic reserves in the core should ensure that the ball maintains an effective and consistent entry angle to the pin deck even at very high oil volumes, without going flat.
On the Lanes In practical use on the lane, the Visionary Scorcher proves to be an absolutely uncompromising specialty tool for heavy oil and extremely demanding, hard-to-read lane conditions. If you play a more direct line and are constantly looking for maximum control, you should benefit enormously from this ball's extremely smooth and quiet reaction. The exceptionally coarse cover ignores any carrydown almost entirely and should keep the ball from ever sliding uncontrolled, even on heavily oiled inside boards. Because an aggressive snap at the breakpoint is engineered out, the ball forgives imprecise deliveries or variations in release exceptionally well. That makes it ideal for use on difficult sport patterns or very flat oil profiles, where a sudden overreaction to dry outside areas absolutely has to be avoided. Once the transition sets in over the course of a tournament and the heads dry up substantially, however, the Scorcher loses forward energy extremely quickly due to its enormous early friction. On dry conditions or broken-down house shots it is therefore nearly unplayable, since it rolls far too early, uses up its rotational energy prematurely and consequently delivers extremely weak and flat carry at the pins. All in all, the ball is consistently built for those bowlers who are tired of constantly adjusting across the boards to changing oil conditions and instead want a ball that plows absolutely predictably and heavily through heavily oiled patterns without any unforeseeable changes of direction.