The Xponent joins the Zen Gold Label as the 900 Global products that introduce new coverstocks. This ball falls into the new 700 Reserve Blend Batch, which replaces the old naming system’s Tour Preferred 700 series. The Xponent uses the new Reserve Blend 701 Solid coverstock that comes out of the box at a 4000 Abralon sanded finish. It also uses the Shrapnel 2.0 Symmetric core that was previously used in the Ordnance C4. We found the Xponent to rev up quickly off the hand, providing strong traction in the midlane and a strong, continuous motion at the back end. Its duller surface helped it pick up earlier than the Zen Gold Label and create a smoother motion at the breakpoint.

Cranker had plenty of total hook on the fresh heavy oil pattern with the Xponent. His high rev rate allowed him to see hook and recovery on this pattern that the other two testers weren’t able to create. The only thing he needed to worry about was keeping his speed low enough to allow the ball to pick up enough in the midlane and not slide past the breakpoint. As the track started to open up, he could start the ball farther left to find more oil in the front and keep it in the oil longer to help it retain more energy for the back end to improve his carry. He kept the ball at the box finish the entire session on this pattern. If he needed more total hook, he could use the Reality, or he could get into something cleaner like the Zen Gold Label or the Eternity if he wanted to go straighter and see a stronger downlane motion. Cranker loved the motion he had from the Xponent on the fresh medium oil pattern. This ball let him ...