Dude

After watching the promotional video for the Dude, I couldn't wait to punch mine up. I went with 65 by 5 by 40, which has become one of my two standard symmetrical layouts. I bowl in 2 leagues, one sport league and a second shift house shot league. When the sport league is fresh, there has been a little too much volume to see the Dude really shine. As the lanes break down and some friction starts to appear in the front of the lane, the Dude comes to life. I can keep moving left and know the ball is going to make a strong move in the back and finish through the pins. For patterns or lane surfaces with some built-in hook in the front, take out the Dude and watch it glide through and POP off the spot. The house shot league is second-shift following a women's league, so sometimes the lanes can get a little wishy-washy in the backend. Often times, balls hook hard off the dry to the outside, but lose traction as they get closer to the pocket. With the Dude, the ball motion was strong off the dry part and continuous through the slop in front of the pocket. This is most definitely the best benchmark ball reaction of any ball I've thrown. On a variety of conditions, I feel anyone can find a way to make the Dude work, and the results will be amazing. Comparing to the other DV8 balls, the Diva picks up a little bit sooner with more of a midlane read for about 4 more boards of total hook. The Marauder Mutiny showed similar length to the Dude, but was smoother off the spot. The difference in hook was about 2 boards, with the Dude breaking sharper in the backend. If you need an all-purpose ball, haven't gotten a ball in a while, looking for that last piece to fulfill your arsenal, whatever the reason, you need to pick up a Dude. What are you waiting for? -Tim @BuddiesTim