The Hammer Effect Tour is the second ball in the Effect line, and it follows in the footsteps of other Tour releases that feature lower differential cores. This ball uses the TourV3 Solid coverstock, which is an updated formula from the TourV1 Solid cover found on the Web Tour and the TourV2 Solid shell from the Obsession Tour. It comes out of the box at a very rough 500/1500 SiaAir finish to give this ball plenty of traction. The asymmetrical Huntsman Tour core design used in the Effect Tour has a slightly higher RG (2.472″) and a slightly higher differential (0.036″) compared to the Obsession Tour core. With its lower-flaring core design for enhanced control and plenty of traction to create hook, this ball proved to be very effective on our heavy oil and sport test patterns.

Stroker had the best reaction with the Effect Tour on the fresh heavy oil test pattern. He was able to play straighter angles, seeing a smooth arc throughout the entire lane. His straighter angle of attack provided excellent pin carry and allowed him to make small moves as the pattern started to break down. He started to feel a little trapped toward what would be the end of game two in a typical league night, as he was getting too far left to see the right angle through the pins. At this point, he needed to get into something that was more responsive downlane. He could do this with balls like the Black Widow 3.0 or the Pure Envy.

Stroker’s softer hand and straighter angles also gave him the best look on the medium oil pattern. The extremely rough box finish was able to blend out the reaction off the dry, keeping the ball from over-hooking when it got to the breakpoint. He ...