Tonight

[Ball99999]

Well past few weeks I've drastically changed my game, all during league games. Trying to be something I'm not. Just wasn't working. Plus I really needed practice which I hadn't had in over a month. So tonight I bowled 2.5 hours. I could tell I was out of bowling shape right away but I stuck with it.

Standing farther back is what really screwed up my accuracy. I did learn how to speed up by really swinging the ball up high and back down with some force. It wasn't so bad.. but just didn't really benefit me.

Eventually like 2 hours in I realized if I stand back where I was standing, at the front set of dots, I could see the arrow much better. So then I went on to get a 217 after bowling like 130 for weeks. I don't think speed matters at this point and I'm not going to screw myself up trying to get speed, accuracy is where it's at. As long as I have oil then it shouldn't matter. 15mph should be enough I think. Weird sometimes though the ball wouldn't hook and would just keep skidding.

One thing I think improved my game, and also help me figure out how people get farther left even with the ball return in the way, is to place my right foot more to the left as I walk and basically walk diagonally left.

I also saw how hand position can affect things. I stayed with my fingers at 5 oclock mostly, since the lanes were dry. I still saw some rotation.

[Tampabaybob]

You are 100% correct about accuracy. Speed you can adjust to, accuracy, well, if you don't have it, you're sunk. I also think 15 MPH is a very workable speed. I try to stay about 15.2 - 16 on a 40 foot pattern. Last week I was throwing harder (about 16.5) and was surprised. Shot ok, and then the lanes broke down completely and had to go to a Brunswick Dry-R ball. Won all four of my points but wasn't a good showing.

Hand position changes are critical to learn. Take your time and practice all of them because ultimately you'll find instances where you'll be able to pull that out of your bag of tricks.

Bob

[Ball99999]

Tonight I didn't have a good night though. I just noticed not much hook.. so I'm going to have to go back to turning the ball more somehow. Is the Modern Marvel definitely a stronger ball than Misfit?

[billf]

Depends on what your definition of stronger is. Able to handle more oil? Definitely. Also, after over 2 hours of bowling, losing rotation is not that unusual especially when it's still fairly new to you. As your body gets tired it doesn't work like it did earlier. Building stamina helps but it also helps to get use to bowling when you're worn out so you know what you need to do to keep rolling the way you want.

*If you haven't drilled the Modern Marvel yet, get it drilled with a drilling angle of 50 degrees or smaller, pin to PAP around 4" and a VAL of 30 degrees. This will allow it to read earlier, flare and rev up easier and hook at a high angle. This is what I used on my Terror and it's really allowed me a versatile ball that is very friendly to hand position/release changes. Makes for a good ball that will allow you to use whatever release is working that day and just change where on the lane you're standing.

[Ball99999]

Depends on what your definition of stronger is. Able to handle more oil? Definitely. Also, after over 2 hours of bowling, losing rotation is not that unusual especially when it's still fairly new to you. As your body gets tired it doesn't work like it did earlier. Building stamina helps but it also helps to get use to bowling when you're worn out so you know what you need to do to keep rolling the way you want.

*If you haven't drilled the Modern Marvel yet, get it drilled with a drilling angle of 50 degrees or smaller, pin to PAP around 4" and a VAL of 30 degrees. This will allow it to read earlier, flare and rev up easier and hook at a high angle. This is what I used on my Terror and it's really allowed me a versatile ball that is very friendly to hand position/release changes. Makes for a good ball that will allow you to use whatever release is working that day and just change where on the lane you're standing.


Yeah able to handle more oil. I'd hate to think the Misfit was stronger, though I do think I like the ball now if it does have oil.

[Tampabaybob]

Depending how many games you have on a ball, these new balls soak up oil like sponges. "ALWAYS" wipe the ball before every first shot, and try to clean them before each series. I know Storm recommends a rejuvenation every 60 - 70 games to restore the factory (OOB - out of the box) finish. As the balls get older they get saturated with oil and start to diminish the way they were intended to hook. When bowlers don't do this, after about 100 games, you're throwing a ball with entirely different characteristics than the ball when new. Keep this in mind.

Bob

[Ball99999]

Depending how many games you have on a ball, these new balls soak up oil like sponges. "ALWAYS" wipe the ball before every first shot, and try to clean them before each series. I know Storm recommends a rejuvenation every 60 - 70 games to restore the factory (OOB - out of the box) finish. As the balls get older they get saturated with oil and start to diminish the way they were intended to hook. When bowlers don't do this, after about 100 games, you're throwing a ball with entirely different characteristics than the ball when new. Keep this in mind.

Bob

How often do you re position a ball like that in an arsenal? Like have you ever made a heavy oil ball into a light oil ball?

[The German Shepherd]

I think many people get hung up on the speed/MPH thing by watching the scoring monitors. The problem that I have seen is that most of these monitors measure ball speed from foul line to pin deck and not by "out-of-hand." If you are averaging 15 mph, then you may actually be throwing it closer to 17 which is fast enough...

Jay

[Ball99999]

Good enough for me! Im going to worry about accuracy and that's it

[billf]

Why would you want to make a heavy oil ball into a light oil ball? Just go to the ball maintenance thread and use the soak method to remove most of the oil every few weeks. You can also purchase the needed abralon pads and polish, perform by hand and restore the ball to factory finish. Definitely prolongs the life of the ball and keeps the reaction consistent.

[Ball99999]

Why would you want to make a heavy oil ball into a light oil ball? Just go to the ball maintenance thread and use the soak method to remove most of the oil every few weeks. You can also purchase the needed abralon pads and polish, perform by hand and restore the ball to factory finish. Definitely prolongs the life of the ball and keeps the reaction consistent.

I wouldn't.. Well I would (instead of keeping it in a closet somewhere). I was referring to this part "As the balls get older they get saturated with oil and start to diminish the way they were intended to hook. When bowlers don't do this, after about 100 games, you're throwing a ball with entirely different characteristics than the ball when new." and others have said that balls eventually go through ball death. So I'm wondering if there is any use for a ball that's outlived it's original purpose.

Any suggestions on where to get the pads? I'd love to be able to do my own surface changes.

[billf]

ummmm, try the site owner, bowlingball.com lol
Search the net as I recall somebody, maybe Bowl1820, posting a site before with awesome prices but I can't remember who posted it for sure or the site name.

[bowl1820]

You can try Supergrit
http://www.supergrit.com/products/products_discs-abralon.asp
Abralon
$3.50 / 1
$16.25 / 5

[Tampabaybob]

I wouldn't.. Well I would (instead of keeping it in a closet somewhere). I was referring to this part "As the balls get older they get saturated with oil and start to diminish the way they were intended to hook. When bowlers don't do this, after about 100 games, you're throwing a ball with entirely different characteristics than the ball when new." and others have said that balls eventually go through ball death. So I'm wondering if there is any use for a ball that's outlived it's original purpose.

Any suggestions on where to get the pads? I'd love to be able to do my own surface changes.

You are correct in saying the balls will react differently after they get saturated. But as Billf stated there are several ways to "rejuvenate" bowling balls. The quickest, and easiest is to see if there is a pro shop in your area that has a ball "rejuvenator". This a commercial machine that slowly spins the ball in a box with controlled heat. It should restore a ball to about 95% of it's origin OOB condition. Several years ago, when they first came out, I had one of my track balls done, and I was amazed. Most shops average about 20 bucks or so to do it. If you really love a ball and the way it fits and don't have the cash for a new one, ask around and see if someone in your are has one.

One of the guys I bowl with and I have actually been talking about buying one ourselves (because there is not a single on in all of Tampa Bay area) and offering it up as a service to the bowler and pro shops. The machines are not that expensive and you could probably pay of it in a couple, or three months.

Bob

[Ball99999]

You are correct in saying the balls will react differently after they get saturated. But as Billf stated there are several ways to "rejuvenate" bowling balls. The quickest, and easiest is to see if there is a pro shop in your area that has a ball "rejuvenator". This a commercial machine that slowly spins the ball in a box with controlled heat. It should restore a ball to about 95% of it's origin OOB condition. Several years ago, when they first came out, I had one of my track balls done, and I was amazed. Most shops average about 20 bucks or so to do it. If you really love a ball and the way it fits and don't have the cash for a new one, ask around and see if someone in your are has one.

One of the guys I bowl with and I have actually been talking about buying one ourselves (because there is not a single on in all of Tampa Bay area) and offering it up as a service to the bowler and pro shops. The machines are not that expensive and you could probably pay of it in a couple, or three months.

Bob

But after 300 games or more, at some point it just won't be nearly as hooking as new. Can they be repositioned as a medium-light oil ball or are they literally dead and they won't be able to do anything?

[Tampabaybob]

No.....the rejuvenator will take the oil out of balls that have been really saturated and make them respond just like new. It's an amazing machine, and as I mentioned, I've only had the opportunity once, to have mine done. For 20 or 30 bucks you can't beat it. The other methods, such as soaking them in Dawn dishwashing liquid and warm water will work, but I have my doubts as to the effectiveness. One of the guys on my team cooks his in his oven about once a month. Now CAUTION...if you try this you have to keep the temp down to about 125 max, so you would have to have an oven that you can regulate it that low. He keeps them in for two hours and wipes the oil off every 15 minutes. Most ball companies "DO NOT RECOMMEND" this method. I've had him do 2 of my balls and it does change the amount they will hook, back to closer when they were new. The rejuvenator is definitely safer.

Bob