Greetings bowlers. Hammer was busy in the off season developing some more fine products for your striking pleasure. We will be reviewing several new releases over the next couple of weeks. This article will deal with the newest addition to the “Raw” line of Hammer products, the “Anger.”
The Anger features the modified Raw Hammer core that made its debut in last years’ very successful Toxic. The big change in the Anger is the new Max Hook reactive coverstock with which the ball is wrapped. Technical specs are as follows: 2.50 rg and .045 differential in 16 pounders, 2.50 rg and .050 differential in 15 pounders.
Our test ball came with a 3 ½ inch pin and 3 ounces of top weight. The layout I used was, technically speaking, not too strong. I put the pin just left of my center line above the fingers (5 5/8 inches from my positive axis point) and kicked the cg slightly to the negative side of my center line (5 ¼ inches from pap) Ending static weights were ¾ oz. finger and ¼ negative.
Initial testing was done on a 39 foot house shot. After a few shots to loosen up, I lined up around 12-13 bumping it to 7-8 between the 35-40 foot mark. Some strikes were thrown but several weak tens and two pin combinations were left whenever I got it right early or missed it slightly at the bottom. I deemed this to be due to too much cover so we applied some polish. This helped the Anger store a little more energy but it wasn’t until I moved my feet and target another 7 and 4 left, respectively, that I saw the true nature of this ball. I was somewhat surprised that I had to be that far left, considering the relative “weakness” of the layout and the fact that some polish had been applied as well. The lane doesn’t lie, however, and it indicated to me that this is one strong coverstock. For comparison purposes, I threw a Toxic with a 4 ¾ x 4 layout a few shots and found myself a good 5 boards further right. Once lined up, the Anger exhibited wonderful carry, a very heavy yet predictable roll and nice, tight flares.
I’ve been busy in the pro shop early on this season and the Anger has been a popular choice for bowlers of many styles and ability levels. It’s a perfect fit for people looking for a strong ball with a high hook potential, and with a mid-range price tag.
The biggest strengths I see from the Raw Hammer Anger are its ability to read the lane and provide hook, even in heavier volumes of oil. Polish can be applied and surfaces fine tuned for easier length and more versatility, but it’s a nice stronger compliment to its sister ball, the Toxic.
Mybowler.com would like to thank Joe Farley and Brian Graham at Hammer for providing us with equipment to test. Also, large amounts of thanks to Karl Wolf and Hi-Roc Lanes in Saratoga Springs, NY for providing us with the test facilities.