On January 18, 2022, the Jackal™ Ghost turned five years old. In modern bowling terms, this is pretty astounding for any bowling ball. Most balls exist for 12-18 months and are then discontinued and forgotten. The longevity of the Ghost is obscured a bit by the Venom™ Shock, MOTIV’s longest running ball. The Shock turned seven this past February. However, after five years, the Jackal™ Ghost has a spot in the bowling industry to itself. The MOTIV® Jackal™ Ghost is the longest running asymmetrical bowling ball in the world that is still on the market.
The story of the Jackal™ Ghost is a special one; it’s a story of triumph over adversity. Following the Jackal controversy of 2015, there was debate regarding whether or not to discontinue the entire line and start a different high performance label for MOTIV®. Ultimately, what made the most sense was to prove that MOTIV® could still make incredible products with the Predator™ core shape. Prove that, we did, with a Jackal™ that outperformed all of its predecessors and sent a clear message to the bowling world that MOTIV® is here to stay.
When it comes to success on the PBA Tour, the Jackal™ Ghost also has a legendary career! A television average over 270 for four games has only been seen once before and that was over a quarter-century ago. Dick Allen completed one of the most astonishing runs in the history of the PBA Tour to qualify for the PBA Players Championship final five using the same Jackal™ Ghost for all four games of the televised final.
“Honestly, the lanes didn’t play the way we had expected them to play, so we had to change the game plan,” said Motiv Tour Rep Brett Spangler. “At the practice the night before, Dick had an unbelievable look with his Venom™ Shock to the right of everybody else. The plan was to let them mess with the middle of the lane and take each other out while Dick camped to the right. When we showed up for the finals, that part of the lane played really flat and didn’t allow for much error.” As a result, Allen was forced to join the other two right handed players to the left of where he’d planned to play. With the lowest rev rate on the show, trying to get in with the rev rate can be treacherous.
“I just tried to find a spot where I could be aggressive. I moved my eyes as the pattern developed and had a really clear picture of where things were headed. Ultimately, after that first match I think my experience and the way the Ghost saw that lane were huge advantages.” Being able to stay in one ball for an entire stepladder and average 270 is an astonishing accomplishment. Allen said, “The Jackal™ Ghost is easily one of my favorite balls of all time. Not being the biggest rev rate, the ease that the cover clears the fronts as a solid is huge for me. It allows the core to show its strength down lane and through the pins through transition and on so many conditions.”
EJ Tackett also has quite the history with the Jackal™ Ghost. Twice, EJ has won the PBA Tour Finals Championships using the Jackal™ Ghost! This feat also included a televised 299 game!
When a ball lasts as long in a product line as the Jackal™ Ghost and Venom™ Shock have, there is always a reason, performance. The sustained performance over 4 years by the Jackal™ Ghost is unmatched in the industry, which is why it’s the longest running asymmetric bowling ball in the world. Today, the Jackal™ Ghost and Venom™ Shock continue to dominate as the greatest examples of benchmark bowling balls in the sport. Despite changing environments and an evolving sport, the Ghost and Shock continue to prove that a great coverstock paired with a proven core never gets old.