Phaze AI ball review

Where do I even begin with this ball. Fresh out of the box I actually hated this ball. The ball motion felt unpredictable and I consistently left corner pins on shots that were clean through the pocket. I put this ball away in my locker believing that I was done with it for good. A few months later I entered a tournament at a house that I had never bowled at and I brought my Phaze AI as a last resort ball. Needless to say that bringing my Phaze AI was the best decision I could have made that day. This symmetrical pearl bowling ball shined extremely bright on a heavier oil pattern. During this tournament I tried a hybrid ball as well as a solid ball to no avail. Once I took out my Phaze AI pearl I felt like I couldn’t miss. The ball gave me a tremendous sense of confidence as it ripped through the mid lane and stored up enough energy to crush the pins in the back end. This ball has good hold in the middle of the lane which allowed me to play straighter angles when necessary (and gave me some miss room). Often times this may not be the case with “mid/high” performance bowling balls. Throwing the ball in the middle of the lane usually causes the ball to go through the face and leave a big splits. The ball played strong in the middle portion of the lane but shined brightest when it was thrown from oil to friction. In other words I saw the most success when the ball started middle and worked its way out towards the gutter about 3/4 of the way down the lane. You could see the ball hit friction and begin to dig its heels in and make a sharp but smooth move towards the pocket. I ended the tournament with a 680 series in 3 games missing the cut by just a few pins however, I was very happy with the balls performance as it carried me through all 3 games. I didn’t need to switch balls again once I took the Phaze AI out and the performance of the ball was unbothered by lane transitions I just moved my feet a bit and the rest was history. Since this tournament the ball has become a staple in my bag. Unfortunately, the Phaze AI was recently discontinued by manufacturing but the ball is still available online at prices ranging from $100-$150. A used Phaze AI may also be available on places such as Facebook marketplace for a heavily discounted price ranging from $50-$80.

Overall score: B (51/60)

Hook potential – 8.5/10

Backend reaction – Sharp and predictable 9/10

Versatility – Best on medium to heavy oil 7.5/10

Predictability – 8/10

Carry & pin action – Light hits still strike ball has good mixing power 9/10

Forgiveness – The ball hooks aggressively on misses outside and holds very well on misses in the middle of the lane. 9/10