Visionary Scorcher Bowling Ball

I obtained a used, but in excellent condition, Midnight Scorcher. The ball had been drilled once and plugged very nicely. The Midnight Scorcher is a super strong Particle Urethane ball made by Visionary Bowling. The specs of the DC core are: a high RG of 2.63 but also a very high Differential of .063. The Scorcher is actually a weak asymmetric with an intermediate differential of .006. This type of ball is called a Z-spin ball. I am a Full Roller and laid this ball out as a symmetric, which is ok to do with this type of core because of the weak asymmetry. I put a strong 3 3/8" layout on it in order to maximize the high diff. After the drilling was complete I followed the advice of other users of Particle Balls who have said to only change the surface of them with Scotch-Brite pads. Never use Abralon or Siaair pads as these pads will sand down the particles. You want those particles to stick up and out of the surface of the ball. Here is how Jason from Visionary Bowling explained it: "The particles are a very tough but soft polybutadiene compound, somewhat similar to the rubber used in tires. When sanding, the particles actually flex, allowing them to stay intact, while the urethane is sanded. In addition, the particles absorb small amounts of oil and expand slightly to create even more traction in the oil, and that is why it feels like a 5 o'clock shadow on the ball after you've thrown it a little bit. This also allows the ball to act like tire treads and hook in even the heaviest oils, yet be gentle on the lanes and still be microscopic enough to be completely USBC legal." The original stock grit of this ball is 320 wet sand. The core specs, combined with the super strong cover, are designed to make the ball very smooth and controllable with a very heavy roll. In order to touch up the ball surface, I hand wet swirl sanded the ball on 4 sides with a 320 grit Scotch-Brite and then dried and examined the surface. I could tell right away that this ball would be far too strong for a house shot at this grit! So for safety, I followed up with a 600 grit Scotch-Brite. Now the ball looked very black, and all the particles were shinning like white stars in the midnight sky! For your information, Jason at Visionary bowling said, if you ever need to truly refinish a Midnight Scorcher, (should you get one that was polished or sanded down with an Abralon or Siaair pad) first wet sand the ball on four sides with 200 grit Wet/Dry sand paper on a ball spinner and then repeat with 320 Wet/Dry sand paper. This will restore it to brand new, out of box condition. You can then use Scotch-Brites from there to tune the surface. My first outing with the Scorcher was on a heavy house shot in league. I tried the ball in all three games and let me tell you, this ball was too, too strong!!! It rolled out even through the center of the lane where the oil is most dense. My delivery specs are: Full Roller, zero tilt, low revs (150 rpm), and low ball speed (10.50 mph at the pins). 600 grit on this ball was just way too much for me! Once I got home I cleaned the ball and then once again hand wet swirl sanded the ball on 4 sides, this time with an 800 grit Scotch-Brite and then with a 1500 grit Scotch-Brite. The Scorcher looked very nice and smooth now, but when rubbing your palm over the surface, the particles felt like beard stubble. The Scorcher's next outing was in my other league which is on the slick Brunswick Anvilane surface with the Big Ben Pattern. I started game 1 out with my Hammer Dark Legend Solid at 1000 grit with the same strong layout as the Scorcher. Pay attention, I had to stand with right foot on 13 and roll over second arrow down and in to get the Dark Legend to roll and carry. But when I pulled out the Scorcher and tried it on that same line, it hooked left past Brooklyn! OMG... After several shots I finally settled in with right foot on 17 and rolling over 11 ½ out to 10 and back. A subtle arc, keeping the ball in the oil the whole way to help get some length on the Scorcher before it went Godzilla on me. The Scorcher got to the break point, turned over and rolled left hard, smashing the pins off the deck with a kind of continuous bulldozer like impact. Not a jump/pop like you see with reactive, this was a push/sweep to oblivion. I could repeat this shot again and again if I hit my target line correctly and each time the rack was knocked off the deck like the pins were made of balsa wood. Even light hits pushed everything off the deck to the left because the ball was not deflecting! The adjustment up to 1500 grit was essential for me to use this ball on a house shot, but I still had to be in the oil the whole way. This beast does not snap, it is instead a continuous, smooth and frightening arc that starts about 2/3s up lane and continues until the ball exits the pin deck. It did not matter how much oil got on the ball, it did not affect its roll or carry as is the case with virtually every other urethane ball made. If carry down occurs, it does not seem to matter to the Scorcher. The reaction is the same. It just plows through it. The Midnight Scorcher truly is one of the rare power/control balls. It is not designed to hook the lane, cover a lot of boards or skid/flip. What it is designed to do is cover a moderate amount of boards with an adamantine invincibility. The Scorcher, due to its smooth moderate movement, can be used for all strikes and spares on any condition where there is some oil. This ball needs oil! The flare on this ball is the most I have ever had. The bowtie is huge. The very high RG combined with very high diff and the unique coverstock produces an early, flawlessly smooth, engine of destruction. I can't emphasize enough how unique this ball is and how fun it is to own and use it. It has a wonderfully smooth, controlled arc with a Cape Buffalo like drive. Below is a link to me using the ball at 1500 grit on a particularly heavy shot on Brunswick Anvilane where a tournament had just finished. I am not sure what the pattern was, but the oil density was huge. After 3 shots the Scorcher was soaked. I never see this much oil in league. But with the Scorcher, all I had to do was move right and go down and in like it was a normal house shot rather than a dense sport shot! That's what the Scorcher allows you to do. If you can snag one of these balls you will not be disappointed! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eprmr4vLp1Q

Got this one used from my TX bud who came though...again... Ball was on second drill, so had to be careful how I drilled it to keep from hitting plugs. Ended up with the pin above bride, cg a bit on the negative side, and mb left of thumb. Ball works perfect for a freshly oiled house shot. I can play it around 12 all night and move left a couple boards to keep it playable. Love the predictable hook, roll and carry of this one. Typical Visionary hit! Awesome. Coverstock isn't high maintenance either. More oil, the better. Just wipe between shots. Very pleased with this offering. If you bowl on flooded conditions, this one is a must in your arsenal. Great job Visionary!!!

The Midnight Scorcher is the most unique ball I have ever thrown. First, the Retro-Active coverstock is activated by oil. The oil just stays on top of the ball. Also, the ball is resistant to tracking. It's really a low maintenance ball. The second unique thing is that the ball is a flare monster. You don't want to drill this ball strong at all. This is a tremendous help in flooded conditions. The Scorcher is the best heavy oil ball I have ever had. It's not a ball for crossing lots of boards. It will hook in the soup when nothing else will.

The Visionary Midnight Scorcher is the most hooking ball I have ever scene. It rolls early on flooded oil, and continues to hook the entire portion of the lane. I have the ability to play a tight swing on the hardest shots, where even big-time power crankers must play farther right of me. the ball had a tremendous flare of 8+ inches, along with the best carry I have had with any ball, regardless of the condition. If you are looking for a true super heavy oil ball for tournament conditions, look no further than the Midnight Scorcher form Visionary.

You know when you get to the house when nothing will move a board, time to unleash the SCORCHER. Its great for sport conditoins, but doesnt get out of control as the lanes dry up. This is my first Visionary ball, but it, as long as Michael Haugen Jr., has pursuaded me to try some more of their products. When the lanes are oily, "This ball is good"(Michael Haugen Jr.).To Haugen, this is from Jenna's friends. This is the ball to purchase of you find yourself shooting PLACK 10 after PLACK 10, and just cant get that ball to trunover. THIS BALL WILL!!

Wow. This is the most unique bowling ball i have ever had the opportunity to roll. It likes oil. Who am I kidding? It LOVES oil! Carrydown, what carrydown? the scorcher will finish even harder than usual. There is no such thing as an out of bounds with this ball. You can send it outside and it will still finish on that condition. The lanes are flooded? Just SLIGHTLY straighten your shot out and you will crush the pins. What is the downside? Well this ball needs oil like other balls need dry. If I try to play the dry outsides of an easy league shot, the scorcher will roll out and not react properly. On that shot you have to move inside to the oil or use a different ball. Also it doesn't make a loud sound when it strikes like some balls do, but it does carry well. It obviously is not for dry lanes, so you have to carry a compliment for it unless you know you will have oil. It does have a very slight odor but this does not bother me. If you need a ball for oil, or a tough out of bounds

I went out and tried this one on fairly oily synthetic heads, and wood backends. This ball hooks a ton, and needs a lot of oil. Like all the other stuff I have thrown from Visionary this ball hits the pocket like a ton of bricks. From the other reviews I have read on this ball I expected it to hook early and set in the pocket. From my experience this ball arcs back into the pocket much stronger than one would think, and doesn't over/under like a lot of stuff on the market today. The Schorcher hooks a couple feet earlier than my Granite Gargoyle, but as I said doesn't lose any hitting power. I believe that Visionary's particle technology is far better than any of their other competitors in the industry. I'll give this one a 8.5 out of 10. It deserves a much better rating, but I don't bowl anywhere that I would need this thing any more than about 6 frames of the first game (but that's why I have my granite). If you bowl on a ton of oil or don't have any hand by all means buy this ball. V