Ebonite

Jan 17, 2012

Todd Agee might want to consider drilling his own Mission X bowling ball from Ebonite.

The right-hander from Sanford, Fla., did a favor for his ball driller by throwing the new high-performance ball, and posted an 878 series on December 1, 2011.

It almost didn’t happen though. Agee had back pain that kept him from bowling in his league earlier in the week, and he wasn’t expecting much in the Thursday Men’s Classic league at Ormond Bowl in Ormond Beach.

“I didn’t feel good at all in practice,” said Agee. “My back was hurting from the weekend, and I didn’t know if I would be able to bowl.”

And it’s not like the Mission X he used on December 1st belonged to him. Mike Seymour of Ormond Pro Shop asked Agee to roll the Mission X, Ebonite’s fourth ball in the Mission series.

“I drilled the Mission X with the pin under the ring with the mass just right of the thumb,” said Seymour.  “The roll was great but I wanted to see how it rolled for Todd. He has a lot more revs than me.”

After adding a half-piece of tape to the thumb hole, Agee said he was good to go.

“Our measurements are almost exactly alike,” said Agee. “Mike threw the Mission X for a couple of games, and because he wanted to tell his customers about how it worked for different styles, he asked me to throw it. After I loosened up in practice, I told a teammate, ‘It’s on tonight!’”

And it was indeed on for Agee, who put on quite a show with the Mission X. He opened with a 279, with his only blemish being a 10-pin leave in the 7th frame. Game two saw Agee start with the first 11 strikes before leaving a five pin on the 12th ball.

“It was easily my worst shot of the night,” admits Agee. “It wasn’t the ball, it was me. I immediately moved three boards with my feet and two boards left with my eyes.”

The move kept Agee in the pocket in Game 3, as he again started with 11 strikes in a row.

Agee, who beat his previous high series of 847, says the Mission X gave him a great look on the lanes and did exactly what he wanted it to do.

“The Mission X gets down the lane really good,” said Agee. “If I hit the dry early, it didn’t jerk. If I got it inside my target, it read the lane condition, and didn’t over push.”

Agee had nothing but high praise for the Mission X, and does what other bowling balls don’t do.

“The Mission X is a great ball,” he said. “It goes through the pins right. Some of the new balls make the pins jump, and the Mission X knocks them down the correct way.”

You can bet the next time he’s going for a 300 game, he’ll switch to the Mission X, and he’ll win the bet with his buddies.

“We love to bet, and we bet a dollar,” he said. “I don’t want to take money from my buddies but I’ll take a dollar. Even if it’s for a dollar, I bowl to win.”

—  Ebonite Bowling Balls & Bowling Equipment - Ebonite is a brand of Ebonite International, Inc. Based in Hopkinsville, Ky., Ebonite International is a privately-owned company that services bowling centers, distributors and retail outlets domestically and internationally. In addition to Ebonite, the company’s consumer product brands include Hammer,Columbia 300,Track, Robby’s and Powerhouse™; its commercial product brand is Ebonite Bowling Center Direct.

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