
Originally Posted by
JessN16
I'm actually talking about both. I was using the example of the 2LS video to suggest that if you can drill holes deeper by just an inch and get different results for RG/diff, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility to think that if you removed enough material of a specific density and then replaced it with material of a much lesser density (i.e., plug material), that it might give you a noticeable effect on ball motion the way hole depth does.
To put it a different way, consider this: The allowable diameter of drilled holes was and/or is covered by USBC statute but I'm not sure whether those limits apply once the holes have been subsequently patched/plugged. So as an extreme hypothetical, let's say you punch a ball 4 inches deep with a 2-inch diameter drill bit. Were that hole left in place, it would be illegal, because it violates the allowable hole circumference rule. However, if you then plugged it, would it be legal? How about if you drilled multiple 1-inch holes at 4 inches deep in a 6-inch circular area, and then plugged all of them? Every hole you drilled and then plugged would be filled back in with a different weight and density of material.
Ergo, you end up with a ball that would still be under the maximum overall weight limit of 16 pounds, and would have a USBC star stamp and serial number imprinted upon it, but it would be materially different than a brand-new ball in the same line. I don't think the RG and diff would be the same as the published numbers, particularly not if you clustered your plugged weight holes specifically in a tight formation so as to drill out dense core material on purpose, then fill them back in with plug.
To give you a real-world example, one of the first balls I ever bought, I bought from Steve Reynolds at Cordova Lanes in Pensacola, Fla. Steve had an original Blue Pearl Hammer that he had ended up using as a practice drilling/plugging ball in the shop for shop trainees. I bought it from him to use as a spare ball. I counted 37 plugged holes in the ball when I got it from him. I never owned another BPH to compare it to, but I'd be willing to bet the ball with 37 plugged holes wouldn't measure out to have the same core dynamics as a new BPH. How much of the original core was left at that point?
Now imagine doing that same thing with, say, a Code Black -- except you put 37 holes all in one side of the ball, and then plug every one of them. The ball is still technically legal, but it's a Code Black in name only, I would bet.
Jess
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