The result is another really strong rolling, super great heavy volume or tight playing pattern bowling ball, in my opinion.  I had my best opportunity so far to use the NO RULES extensively during the second day of the PBA50 National Championship this summer in Elkhart, IN.  It was contested on the PBA50 National Championship pattern which was 41ft and I think 23 or 24 ml.   I know that’s not particularly heavy volume or extreme length, but on the surface in Elkart with Defy oil it played on the tight side especially in the midlane after the pattern was reapplied several times from pro-am day through the last day of the tournament.  I went with a pretty standard layout for mine.  The numbers for the pin up layout are 55 x 4.5 x 45.  The picture makes it look like the drilling angle is a lot smaller but it’s because the CG is way out of line with the pin and the mass bias.

 The biggest tell-tale indicator for me about the strength of the NO RULES was this.  The pattern got to a point at which (for me) going up the lane from the outside was not the right plan of attack because I got nothing but early/toe hook and couldn’t throw it hard enough anymore to keep it on line.  And trying to circle the pattern with my minimal rev rate would not work because I ended up in a 2-10 reaction too often unless the shot was delivered perfectly.  And, I was not alone.  So, what I opted to do was to resort to an old fluffer release I used to use in the 80’s when the heads would go away and the back ends stayed tight.  It’s a trick that for me used to let me get it through the heads and keep the ball on line and still get it to roll well enough to hit and carry through the pins.  I was able to do that with the NO RULES and the ball was strong enough and versatile enough and rolls well enough to let me use it that way.  To me, that speaks volumes about the ball’s design and functionality!

 I qualified 26^th on the number and the NO RULES with that fluffer release got me through the Casher’s Round, through Match Play Round One, and through Match Play Round Two into a position round in which, if Parker Bohn III had not struck in the 10^th against me my 222 would have been good enough to make my first PBA50 stepladder.  Even with that fluffer release that floats the ball through the heads, the NO RULES core kicked into gear in the midlane and tumbled off the pattern in a heavy rolling manner through the pins that allowed me to control the pocket and go through the whole week with only one game under 190 and to solidly and consistently punch out 215’s and 220’s and 230’s.   There were others who were using it similarly.  Norm Duke had a good look with it using what I would call his medium strong release.  Tom Baker had a good look with it for a while.  Ron Mohr has a good look with it.  Lennie Boresch had a good look with it.  That says it’s a very versatile and widely usable tool, because all those guys attack a pattern just a little differently.

 Compared to other high performance pieces currently in the Storm and Roto arsenals for me the NO RULES is much less angular and more controllable in ball motion than the LOCK (with a 1/2 inch shorter pin to pap layout and the same drilling angle).  It is stronger and more angular than my ALPHA CRUX’s (however one is pin under with a weight hole down and the other is a 2 inch pin to pap drilling).  The only other ball in the HP4 sector of Roto Grip’s lineup these days is the ETERNAL CELL and, with a different core and a polished solid cover they are too different in my opinion to even compare.  I think that for a league bowler in the STL who is looking for something strong, that can handle heavy volume, and that is not going to become something uncontrollable the NO RULES is a great option.  For a tournament bowler, I would say the NO RULES creates a look that you’d be shooting yourself in the foot not to try.