900 Global Infrared Ball Review

This week I took the 900 Global Infrared to my Tuesday night league over at Sterling Bowl. Over the past few weeks we've seen the lane conditions start similar to what they have been week to week, but they're drying out quicker in the front of the lane with each week we bowl. This is common in leagues, particularly where the lanes start very slick. Bowlers will drill new, more aggressively surfaced balls, thereby causing the conditions to change more quickly than they did in the early weeks of league.

I started the league this year with a very aggressive asymmetric core ball that had a 2000 grit sanded surface on it. It was extremely good in the early weeks of the league, but has made me "fight for it" a little more in the last couple of weeks. So I decided to bring the Infrared in this week in case I saw the same transition again.

I drilled the Infrared 60 x 5 1/2" x 50, and it did not require an extra hole at this time. The ball I was using in the early weeks of this league is drilled 60 x 4 3/4" x 45, so this layout uses similar angles with a less aggressive pin position to create more length, and a slightly more defined breakpoint.

The Infrared surprised me out of the box, as it hooked a little more than I anticipated. Most of the Tour Series balls from 900 Global have been toward the longer/weaker side, as preferred by most tour players. But this one gets up and hooks quite a bit. I found the Infrared to clear the heads reasonably well for a ball that isn't really "polished." It exhibits a strong arcing type pattern at the breakpoint, with a very round and continuous shape in the backend. The backend move was important to me liking it, as most arcing balls tend to flatten a bit for me in the back 10-15 feet. But the Infrared really moves nicely off of the breakpoint and has plenty of motion going through the pin deck.

As the night went on, the Infrared continued to clear the heads with ease by making simple 2/1 and 3/2 moves. It never displayed any weakening in the backend or flat carry, and held up nicely across the entire set. All in all, this is a very good new release from the 900 Global brand, and one that we'll be pushing at Total Bowling Gear for bowlers who like great performance in a single colored ball.