Columbia 300 Icon 300 Bowling Ball

This ball is unreal. This is probably one of my most favorite balls i have. This ball loves to destroy pins. I have had it about a year. I got it used from usedbowlingballs.com for like 20 bucks. Boy was that a great deal. I throw this ball with a down and in shot but i can throw it cross lane. This ball makes such a strong move to the pocket it makes me move it more and more when i use it. I recently used it last night and threw a 730 series. This ball is absolutely awesome. I really don't know what else to say.

I've had this same ball, 3NF00038, drilled for out-of-the-box finish, long push and max backend dive, polished for long push and smoothe curve, and polished with a reverse weight block drill to minimize backend reaction and generate a smoothe curve the length of the lane. The ICON 300 performed well in each circumstance with no chipping or cracking. Paid over $200 for it and it's still giving me my money's worth! This is the 38th ICON 300 off the production line for consumer purchase. It doesn't have quality problems such as chipping or cracking like the two Ebonite balls that cracked in half before I had a chance to put more than 50 games on them. I have another one of these ICON 300s sitting in a box waiting for its date with destiny. Happy to say I only paid half price for it on a bargain website about a year ago. Now I am waiting to see whether the bounce in this ball is still there when I finally drill it up or give it to a family member or friend. (Actually,

I love this ball first game i shoot with it right after it is drilled was a 227 would have been higher if girl who works the bar didnt run up behind me when i was bowling in the 8th frame and ended my run of just frount 7. then she yelled and said she didnt but she did and that made me open and then open in the 9th but in the 10th i calmed down and got a strike but she said somthing again and that made me leave a 2-8-10 and i only got the 2 out of that. so i end up with a 227 she made me so mad. Now if you need a ball to be stronger than a icon and you like columbia go with this ball dont get a throttle for that much you could just go get a time zone or warp zone or go get a older fuze same core just different cover stocks. anyway great ball

This ball is a good ball to have in any ones arsenal. It is easy to make it hook and keep it on line. This ball also gives great carry into the pocket with maximum force. This ball also resist oil from going into the ball itself so that every time you pick it up it will do the same thing every time. This ball is good for the sinthetic lanes also. It is very easy to find the line it will go on when you through it on the lane. This ball overall is the best ball i have ever owned and will stay in my bag for more years to come.

An excellent bowl for big time bowlers. If you're a bowler who gets lazy after the 1st game or 2, don't get this ball. I've had this ball for over a year & My average had went up about 10 or 15 pins. I've bowled more 240+ games & 700 series. It can't be used on dry lanes, but this ball is not made for dry lanes. I've seen some dislikes of other people's reviews & the said it hooks too much on dry lanes. YEAH???!!!! If it's made for OILY lanes, why would you trhow it on DRY lanes???

this is my first ball being 16 pounds and i loved it. i was having problems getting my ball to hook and was tired of playing straight up between 1st and 2nd and hitting light, so i bought this used ball from a guy in the pro shop and got it drilled to snap in the back it..not much but enough that i would like. well i loved it. tis ball is so great and amazing. i could play second out to first and could move in to play third out to between second and third if i had to. this ball is great and sweet. everyone should get this great ball

Everyone needs one of these balls, if you get one then you will get a 300 that is why they called the ball the icon300. It is the perfect name for this ball. Well, that is all that I have to say about this ball so now i will just ramble on for a while. I wonder if I have 100 words now, hold on let me check. No, still have to keep typing so here I am typing away, let me check again. Dang no luck that time, well I am going to try again, hold on. Nope, no luck at all. Maybe it will work now.

Its an okay ball, not much to say. I shot some 700's with it but that was before i put a sh!t load of games on it. Bowled about 100 games and had to bake the ball to get the oil out. You can c the oil sitting on the ball cuz it shines up on it and makes you not want to throw it when its like that. But when you have it back to almost new/origional its an awsome ball not really hard hitting but not like a pillow. Also the color of all the icons really dont catch my eye. But what can you do about it?

This is a great ball and everyone should have one. I love the looks and it is a great ball to add to any aresnal. I have only found one lane condition it was bad on and that was really dry lanes, if there is any oil out there you should be able to keep it on the lane. There really are no problems. So everyone should definetely get this ball. The Icon 300 is the best ball out there and everyone needs it. I have ran out of things to say but I have to use the 100 word minimum so I am going to ramble on. Let me see if I have hit the minimum yet. Hold on.

The house I bowl in seems to set their oil pattern a bit short for this ball...it starts breaking very early. I have to move way inside, throw it out to the gutter and then pray it stays on the right side, which it does for the first frame or two..then its back to the year old hammer. I would LOVE to get this ball on some serious oil and see what it can do! As for it not hitting hard enough, I feel like where I am playing takes all of the energy out of it by the time it gets around to hitting the pins. Like I said, I'd love to get this ball in some serious oil and see what happens... <scr

This ball was my brothers ball he cranks to hard for this ball. He gave it to me and I have trown a few games with it and its nothing but gold. I have it drilled with a 5 inch pin from my axis point and shined to death so it gets down the lane. Great consistant roll and finish. Sometimes too much on the back end when the lanes dry out a little. This ball is great for average lane conditions at the begining of the night or great for lanes that break down a little from a very heavy oil shot like in the 3rd game. TWO THUMBS UP FOR THIS BALL<s

This Ball Sat in my bag for 2 months while i recovered from a broken middle finger, first week of the majors league shot a 771, with 2 open frames. Its the 4th week now and still holding a 230 average, so no complaints from this customer. No 300's yet for me tho hopefully one will come soon enough. The house conditions are 1-10 4-7 units, middle about 60 units, oiled to 38 feet. Not sure what else to say in here just trying to make the minimum word limit think i'm getting pretty damn close now tho so i say goodbye.

Everything has heard good things about this ball but it sucks. This ball has to be drilled perfect for it to work. I bought this ball of a kid saying that it didn't work for him. I threw it for one game and shot a 102. I never bowl that bad in my life. Also, if your pitch is off by a mere MILLIMETER this ball will do nothing. So to put this in short terms, After that one game I sold it too my brother. The other 2 icons are good but not this one. Hopefully this ball will work good for my brother.

I can see that this ball in the hands of some seasoned vets would be all it claims to be. I am learning how to use it, and realize that this ball is very picky when it comes to all the veriables involved in a good game. When I visited the Pro Shop and had the guy watch my delivery, I let him suggest this ball, as I was thinking of going with a Storm Eraser originaly, but he said with my ball speed, I needed an aggresive ball. I put my trust in him and I think things will work out very well.<scr

This ball does what it was designed to do, roll early to mid-lane in oil, depending on the drill. I don't know alot about drill patterns, thats why I go to a knowledgeable Pro Shop. Crofton Classic Proshop, in Crofton, Md. has two excellent shop guys, Mike and Lee, and Lee drilled this ball 4x4, which he said would hold through the mid-lane and make a controlled but hard move to the pocket. The first five games I practiced with the Icon300 averaged 219, the second five averaged 200. My average in 2002-03 was 188. I compared this ball to my Ti Messenger Pearl on the same lanes and the Icon300 broke 10 more boards on average. As with any ball, if you go to a good proshop and have the ball drilled to your style of bowling, it will deliver as designed, operator error notwithstanding.<scr

I am very inprested with the performance. This ball isnt for the inconsistant bowler. Before you get it, get your game in order. These guys that say it doesnt hook roll way to fast for this ball. This ball is like a woman, be gentle, no muscle. The ball is all the MUSCLE you need hence the cover stock. ROLL ROLL ROLL the ball and i can't stress that enough. I am paying the price for not rolling it now as we speak. Now, if you are a bowler that has a fast rotation and you throw the ball a million miles an hour ... this aint the ball for you. If you are a roller, about 14 revs and like to shoot a ark like shot. If you have a down and in shot, this aint the ball for you. If you think this ball will roll in no oil, forget it, you MUST HAVE OIL, the more the better. To make this easy on the eyes, roll the ball, take your time and let the ball do ALL of the work.

Bought the ball used (plugged and resurfaced) for $50. Ball isn't bad, but I wouldn't pay $150-$200 for it... Ball moves fairly well, though not as much as I hoped for... Pin is 3 3/8" and drilled for max flare potential, which allows for solid backend when there is no carrydown... Carrydown hurts this ball somewhat. With a late roll, the ball will frequently slide past the break point and come in light, and at a flat angle, which leaves a lot of one pin spares. On swamped lanes, the coverstock isn't really strong enough to bring the ball back. I found that speed has to be dragged way down to play effectively on heavy oil lanes. Granted I have done better with the ball in league play, but an expierienced bowler might be better off getting a cheaper ball, such as the Blade Particle, or a cheaper particle ball, because they will be fairly close to this one... EDIT: Alright I soaked this ball and sweated it and got enough oil out to fill Lake Michigan... surprisingly the ball hoo

Not a ball I would spend much on. Its not the heavy oil ball if you roll faster then 16mph. If I didnt get the deal I got, it would be sent back to Columbia in a pine box. Not being very knowlegable in all the drilling lingo, I cant give any of those details, But I roll an 18-20mph ball with about a 40 degree release angle, and this ball spins all the way to the pins with about an 8 board hook, it barely starts its roll when it gets there. We are talking about normal house lanes.....medium to light oil conditions. All I can say is I am not impressed and look forward to reviews of the throttle when they come out.

when you bowl with this ball, you will be happy when your are in deep trouble on heavy oil lanes. the ball comes in nice and hits like a train at 200 miles per hour. your carry percentage would go up, as long as your not on a dry lane. the ball is more tamer than the flipside wow but you would still have a similar hook rating. you can carry ten pins better than the " wow ". it would carry a little more efficient if you would polish it light. the ball would slide and hit harder. then the ten pin carry would be a little higher.

By far Columbia's best for oil, I haven't owned a ball like this in years. I never really needed a ball designed with this much hook, most centers in the NM area don't normally put out a lot of oil. My hometown center, the beautiful and brand new Starlight Lanes at the Santa Ana Casino on the Santa Ana Indian Reservation of New Mexico on the other hand, floods there synthetics, therefore I needed to purchase a "Heavy Oil Ball". This ball works wonders in this center in the out of box condition, but it also works on much drier lanes if polished. Good job Columbia!

I have been able to use this ball on almost every PBA Pattern I have encountered so far. I can play inside, outside, up the back of the ball, revving the daylights out of it, soft stroking it and more. There are very few things this ball is not good at. Carry certainly is not one of them, as the ICON 300 hits the pins extremely hard. Three regionals, three cashes, two finals, one ball. Can't complain. In fact, I've been extraordinarily pleased. I'm very much looking forward to trying the next ball in the ICON line, whatever it turns out to be...maybe a pearlized Icon - that would be sweet :)

This ball is definitely not for the beginner nor for someone who does not know how to adjust their game in the blink of an eye. By far this is the best ball I have thrown in my career. I have been bowling on heavy oil conditions for a long time and haven't had a ball react like this one. It hits very hard in the pocket. 10 pin, no problem, just flatten your release and speed up. 7 pin, watch the hook at the back end. Had only 1 700 this year until I bought this ball two months ago. Past 3 weeks I have had 4 700's with it. Couple 690's. Ball is drilled with 3/4 oz. side weight, 1/2 oz. finger weight, relaxed grip. Basic review: stay in the oil and you can score.

I bought this ball with the hopes of bringing my average from 175 up to 190. My first couple days with it were ok, it only took me two games to get the first 200 on it (214). I brought it into a county tournament and shot 582 the first day, and a personal best 665 the next day. There was a nice oil pattern out there, and the ball held very nicely, and broke in hard at the end. I don't seem to have a problem with leaving 10-pins, I'm only leaving one or two a game with it. Overall, I'd recommend this for the experienced bowler who wants a very aggressive ball, or for someone who plays on a flood shot at their house. If your conditions are generally dry, forget about it. This ball will hook, a LOT, so make sure you can handle it before you buy one.

No ball can do it all, but this ball is great for it's intended use. I bowl on a house condition which features heavy oil to 35 feet and backends that scream at the beginning of leage. I had the Icon 300 polished and drilled with a lot of finger weight to get it to go long before grabbing the back end and turning left hard! Once the oil carries down, the ball goes back into the bag and is replaced by the original Icon which will hook much earlier and finish with a more gentle arc. For me, these two balls are a perfect one-two punch for all but the dries of lanes.

The first time I used my Icon-300, it destroyed the pins in one quick motion. It has the body of a hammer and hits like one too. I recommend this ball to anyone looking for a good oil hook ball. I was going to have the ball polished, but I think I will hold off on that for a while until I get used to it. I've only used it once. The only thing bad about it is when I do throw it, it can hook too much. All but 1 of my strikes my first time around were all brooks. I will have to adjust where I stand and all, but other than that it was great.