Zen Master ball review

The Zen Master has been very good to me since it made its way into my arsenal. This ball is marketed as a strong symmetrical solid which excels in medium to heavy oil. If you take that at face value you might think that the ball is going to be to strong in games 2 or 3 when the lanes are breaking down. Fortunately, I found out that this isn’t necessarily the case. Lets put it this way, if I was going to enter a tournament that only allowed me to use one ball every game. This is that ball that I’m choosing. I confident that the ball can produce strikes through 3-4 game series. I also use this ball for all of my left side spares and ten pins. If I really need to flatten this ball out and make it hook less it is very possible. For me the ball shines with versatility. In a regular league setting I’ve predominantly found success with this ball during game 2 of a 3 games series. Usually I’ll start my night with my sublime or phaze AI and as the lane begins to transition I move into my Zen Master. I usually throw the ball harder when I take this ball out because it does hook relatively early but its controllable in my opinion. I would almost rather have a ball that is over hooking than under hooking but that’s just me. The ball is pretty awesome I pick up most of my spares with it and its also a really good strike ball. The Zen series in 2021 was really loved by many including myself. I actually bought every “Zen” ball that the manufacturer released . The original “Zen” is one of my favorite all time pearl bowling balls, The “Zen Soul” hybrid was another one of my go to balls when I first started bowling, and now the “Zen Master” plays a pivotal role in my game. The Zen master comes from a long line of quality bowling balls.

Overall score: B (50.5/60)

Hook potential – 8.5

Backend reaction – smooth and powerful 8.5/10

Versatility – Best on medium to heavy oil 9/10

Predictability – 8/10

Carry & pin action – very strong backend through pins 9/10

Forgiveness – Ball does not like to miss too far inside or too close to the gutter 7.5/10