My new ball will be one of these two urethanes......

[Hammer]

It will either be the Columbia 300 U2 Classic or the Hammer Blue Hammer ball. It will be only 14lbs because of my advanced age-66 soon- and some issues with hips and knees. I need something that can get down the lane better with a 13.5 to 14.5 ball speed. So I will see how this works out for me.

[bowl1820]

In BTM the ratings are pretty close, The U2 is slightly stronger than the Hammer and is rated all 9.0's on the dry. Where the Hammer has only a 8, 8.5, 9 for the dry. If I had to pick, I would lean to the U2. But It's almost a coin toss.

[Hammer]

I had to come to terms with the fact that I just don't have the speed for a reactive resin ball on dry lanes like on our league nights. I had a 16# blue Hammer at one time when they first came out a while ago. Believe it or not I use to play that ball over the first arrow along the gutter. My team mates asked me how I can do that? They said they would be throwing it in the gutter. It was good for picking up spares also. It had a very nice hook to the pocket and when I hit the pocket just right for a strike the pins would fly like I had hit them with a handgrenade. Old age has a way of slowing things down for you. So back to a urethane and a lighter 14lb weight to work with my slower ball speed. I think a ball like this will be good for someone starting out or someone that has a slow ball speed like me. So the ball will either be the Blue Hammer or the Columbia U2 Classic which are both urethanes.

[billf]

Whichever you choose I wish you the best of luck. I love urethane balls and wish more people would give them a chance. Given the reasons you stated I believe you are making the right decision.

[Hammer]

My pro shop just called and they were able to get the Blue Hammer for me. So somewhere around 3PM tomorrow I will get it fitted and drilled. I will have to throw a few practice games with it to see where I have to position myself for a good shot. Using a urethane again should be interesting.