Ball Review
THE SKINNY ON THE LATEST AND GREATEST
49 Hook 17 Length 17 Breakpoint Shape BRUNSWICK: GOLD RHINO PRO
Manufacturer’s Intent: “The Vintage Gold Rhino Pro, with its Royal Compound finish, skids effortlessly through the front, maintaining axis rotation for the backend to provide superior entry angle to the pocket and exceptional pin action,” says Brunswick’s Bill Orlikowski. “[It’s] redesigned for today’s lane conditions.”
Core: The new High Differential Vintage sym- metric core has an RG of 2.52 and a differential of .048. We saw about 4 inches of flare.
Coverstock: The Gold Fortify Pearl coverstock is the same as that used on the Fortera Exile (July 2014). It’s sanded with 500 SiaAir and finished with Royal Compound and has an RA value of 6.80 and an effective surface grit of 3300.
Overview: This vintage version of the Gold Rhino Pro matched up well on the longer Stone Street pattern. We crossed around 12-board at the arrows out to the seven- or eight-board at the 44- to 45-foot breakpoint, according to the CATS. The pins stayed low and just seemed to be sucked into the pit, with the volume not being much of a factor for our breakpoint and reaction. On the USBC Doubles/Singles pattern, we lined up to the pocket playing 13 at the arrows to the seven-board around the 45- to 46-foot breakpoint. The pearl cover gave us a strong motion off the backend, but with a predictable angular reaction. Surprisingly, we had a consistent reaction on the fresh, but the shot got a lot easier as the pattern opened up. This ball complements the Johnny Petraglia Vintage LT-48 (February 2014) nicely as a great fresh-oil ball. Once the pattern develops, you can make a
“BOWLERS WITH LOWER REVS OR SLOWER BALL SPEED WILL LOVE THIS BALL.”
move left about four to five boards for a stron- ger reaction. On the light house pattern, the Gold Rhino made it fun, because it reminded us of the old days of swing: We were able to bring it back from an inside angle — around 15 at the arrows, all the way out to the six-board at the 46-foot mark. While the Mastermind Scholar (reviewed this month) would lose its energy covering the same area, the Gold Rhino maintained its strong drive through the pin deck. Bowlers with lower revs or slower ball speed will love this ball, because it gives them a good amount of hook for an afford- able price. If you loved the original, you will not be disappointed with this much stronger version.
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