900 Global Reality Bowling Ball Review
We have another bowling ball review for you today, and this one is cool because it’s not a Storm or a Roto ball. It’s a 900 Global Reality bowling ball review. And if you hadn’t heard, 900 Global was based out of San Antonio, and they just recently moved all their plant and bowling ball materials to Storm.
Now Storm is making them out of their facilities. So good news for storm bowlers and Rotogrip bowlers is that we get to throw Global 900 stuff now, and this is the first ball I have ever drilled from them.
I went to the players’ championship three weeks ago. I saw a lot of 900 Global balls going down the lane from Storm bowlers, and they really liked them.
Table of Contents
Overview
Features:
- Coverstock: S84 Response Solid Reactive
- Core: Light Weight
- Core Type: Asymmetric
- Core Name: Disturbance
- Factory Finish: 2000 Grit Abralon
- Lane Condition: Medium-Heavy
- Hook Potential: High
- Perfect Scale Hook Rating: 234.9
- Breakpoint Shape: Strong Midlane Read w/Continuation
- Weights: 12-16 Pounds
- Performance: Pro Performance
Pros:
- Exceptional Pin Carry.
- Ball motion is very subtle down the lane and not ultra violent.
- 20% larger pore sizes to promote maximum traction on heavy oil.
- Hooks up front , midlane as well as the backend really well.
- It does not lane shine too quickly.
- Perfect ball for Tweener.
Cons:
- Needs more oil on the lane.
So, it showed something about Global 900 and kind of opened up my eyes. So I drilled a 900 Global Reality, and I will offer my honest review today.
900 Global Reality I am going to review was thrown on both heavy and medium oil lanes. I am going to cover the result for both ends. Let’s go.
When I first start throwing a bowling ball, I like to categorize it in terms of
- Is it a really strong bowling ball?
- Is it meant to be expensive and have a strong big asymmetric core?
- Is it meant to be a little more medium to where it doesn’t hook as much?
- Is it a weaker ball with a weak cover?
These are the facts bowlers usually look at, but I also like to try and find out if it rolls like a previous bowling ball I have had, and at this point, I have thrown enough balls to where I have seen pretty much any shape.
So, the way this ball rolls, there’s a good chance it’s rolled like a previous bowling ball I have thrown or something similar.
So I like to fit it into the category of something that I used to throw. With that being said, are you ready to enjoy the ups and downs of 900 Global Reality and answer the question, “Is 900 Global Reality really worth it?” Let’s dive in.
The new 900 global reality features the S84 Response™ solid coverstock wrapped around the Disturbance™ asymmetric core. It has been marketed as a big hooking solid asymmetric bowling ball.
900 Global Reality is one of their stronger bowling balls in the line. It’s a strong asymmetric bowling ball, and I would probably compare it to a Proton Physix.
Indeed, Proton Physix is going to be like a different bowling ball. However, they’re in the same general category of strength for the most part.
Thrown on a Medium Oil Lane (A leftover from Yesterday)
For the medium oil lane, I drilled it pinned down. This is an attempt for me to drill some bowling balls that don’t flare as much. It’s a bit low flaring drill for me.
The Proton Physix I have is drilled through the ring, and we saw the difference between them.
So, the pattern we threw our ball on did not have a ton of oil. It was the leftover from yesterday. 900 Global Reality is the type of ball you would want to throw on the heavier oil lane.
This pattern is not necessarily ideal for this kind of bowling ball. However, it’s an excellent way to practice on it because we get to see how versatile this bowling ball is.
If it looks pretty good when there are plenty of hooks, that’s great because we also know it’s supposed to be good.
I have thrown both 900 Global Reality and Proton Physix in similar spots. I’ve tried throwing the Proton Physix to the right a little bit just to see if the ball will come back.
In my opinion, that’s always a big factor. If you miss right, does it come back? That’s what I like to test.
So, I threw the Proton Physix out to the right slightly, and it didn’t come back. That tells me that it’s a little bit too big of a bowling ball.
And I threw the 900 Global Reality out a little further to the right, and it almost did the same thing.
That tells me that they are really kind of similar. However, we have to take into consideration the drilling. I had a little bit lower flaring drill in the Proton Physix, but in terms of similarities, I think there are quite a few of them.
Now you guys at home might throw these balls and can have a little bit of difference depending on how you drill them. But honestly, take my two cents.
The Global 900 Reality compares really well to a strong, high-performance, strong, asymmetric Storm bowling ball. That is something that is very hard to do.
So, right out the gate, the first 900 Global I’ve thrown was really good. It’s reading really well on this particular lane condition that doesn’t necessarily match up to what it’s supposed to do, so that’s telling me a lot already.
Thrown on a Heavy Oil lane
For experimenting on heavy oil lane with 900 Global Reality, I have teamed up with another gorgeous bowler. Her layout is five by three and a half by three and a half.
For her, that puts the pin above the bridge and kicks the PSA or mass bias out a couple of inches.
My layout is four and three quarter by three and a half by three and a half, and that puts the pin in the ring finger and kicks the PSA or mass bias out to the side.
Both layouts are simple, controllable, and continuous, not really trying to go for anything specific. A very readable layout that lets the ball reaction and characteristics shine through.
I laid out both balls with the storm arc ruler. It is a very simple, efficient and effective tool. It is also pretty cheap too.
Its global covers give you some semblance of their strength with the number in the name on a scale of 1 to 100. So S84 is quite strong, it’s currently their strongest cover, and it reminds me a lot of GI-17 from the Sure Lock.
I’m sure all you Sure Lock fans will notice the similarity and pick up on that.
The Reality comes out of the box at 2000 grit. I love to use the Reacta Skuff by Storm for the sanded solid stuff to maintain the cover. It takes the ball back to about a 3000-4000 grit surface, freshens the surface up, and gets a super deep clean.
For this one coming at 2000, you might need to hit it with a pad after that to get it back to the box, but 2000 is a little chalky for me. So, the Reacta Skuff really gets the cover back to where I like it anyway.
The disturbance asymmetric core of this ball is more of a typical Asym. It comes in at a 2.49 RG, .052 differential, and a .018 intermediate differential in 15 pounds.
It’s a round and continuous look on the lane that reminds me of the RAD4 core in Storm’s Code series, which is not quite as strong.
The cover and core combination give us something that’s as strong as the UFO or Proton Physix, just a bit longer than the UFO and a bit sharper than the Proton Physix.
900 Global Reality bowling ball Review (Our Female Bowler Reaction)
For our female bowler, the Reality was a more comfortable ball, but that’s to be expected. It gave her some much-needed practice in playing deeper on the lane. It’s also an excellent way to test out the versatility of a ball.
Heavy oil balls are not designed to cover boards. Still, it’s also somewhat frustrating to have one that’s too sensitive to friction, and it really reduces the scope of use.
If you only get a game or two in with it, and then it starts burning up and rolling out when a little track burn shows up, it’s not worth owning because it adds unnecessary equipment and adjustments.
The Reality handles friction at least as well as any other heavy oil ball we’ve thrown. There was maximum traction in the game, of course.
There is no way she could play the track or really anywhere close to it, but with her lower rev rate, angle, and the extra volume in the middle tend to hurt her ball reaction and hit quite a bit.
It suffered a little on a couple of the shots, but there’s not really any energy loss. The ball wasn’t standing up or quitting. It was pulling up and continuing.
Comparing it to the Honey Badger Intensity, the Intensity got down the lane very easily, allowing her to play more of her comfort zone. It gave her plenty of pop to help in the power department.
The Intensity is nearly a perfect step down from the Reality; however, there might be another ball in between them. We’ll have to see if the Storm Zen Master possibly fits.
Truth be told, The Reality and The Intensity read fairly similar. They have familiar shapes, just longer and stronger from the Intensity. A similar idea will help make the ball change easier since you’re staying within a narrower zone or scope.
900 Global Reality bowling ball Review (My Reaction)
For me, the Global 900 Reality was just too strong to play the track over here too. There’s just no flare. I snuck one into the pocket, giving it the super fade and fluff, but it’s too much work.
We start warming up around the third arrow, and while it does handle friction well, it prefers staying in the oil as much as possible.
And for that, it helps with the length and overall ball reaction or putting the ball reaction in the most effective and efficient place. This is a powerful heavy oil ball with maximum traction, so it needs that oil. This ball counts on having that oil on the lane to work with.
Staying inside and feeding it through the middle rather than getting it outside quickly and bouncing it off the dry produces a strong, continuous climbing arc. It still looks good bumping the friction, but it creates plenty of its own so it looks better when you keep it in the sauce.
It handles oil well, but it also handles angle exceptionally well.
It has such a blendy and windy motion that it keeps coming from seemingly everywhere. I prefer straighter angles, so I was really just putting it through its paces, testing its limits, and seeing what it can do.
There is no reason or need for me ever to get this deep, but it’s essential to understand what a ball can do and what it can’t because you won’t always be on fresh or optimal conditions.
Final Verdict
The Reality is an easy 10 on the hook for the rating, and it’s on par with the Proton Physix. Although I don’t think it’s quite as early getting a 5 on the length and it’s a little quicker also getting a 5 on back-end strength.
It’s closest to the Proton Physix on the hook, the RST X-1 on the length, and the Storm Incite on back-end strength. This is a very strong and remarkably versatile bowling ball, and the reaction says it all.