Do I need a heavier ball?

[unclemantis]

Please take a look at these videos. At times when I hit the pocket it is solid but other times when it looks the same I leave the 10!

http://www.youtube.com/feed/UCj3P-gxVUVXAQp8hh-yXZCA/u

I am using a 12# ball due to medical reasons and I really don't want to go higher. Also I am using a Columbia 300 u-dot (urithane). Would using a NEW ball with a better core help? If so, what brand and model? I am sure I can go up to 13# but not any higher.

I am also using a 12# plastic house ball for some spares. I am still working on my targeting.

Thanks for the help folks! More videos from last night are currently being uploaded as I type. Thanks!

[Jason]

Unclemantis, I'm no expert but what I'm seeing in the videos is your ball is deflecting off to the right on every shot. This tells me that a heavier ball would help greatly. I see you don't put your thumb in the ball. If you can, I'd go no lighter than a 14# ball and something more aggressive on the back end for more drive through the pocket.

[unclemantis]

Unclemantis, I'm no expert but what I'm seeing in the videos is your ball is deflecting off to the right on every shot. This tells me that a heavier ball would help greatly. I see you don't put your thumb in the ball. If you can, I'd go no lighter than a 14# ball and something more aggressive on the back end for more drive through the pocket.

Due to a car wreck a decade ago I am unable to bring my shoulder all the way back and the way my shoulder turns I am pretty much stuck doing what i am doing right now.

Would there be a noticible difference between a 12 and a 13# or should i really try with a 14#? This already puts a good deal of straign on my shoulder due to my collar bone healing at the wrong angle. :( I really want to get back into the game semi-pro.

[Perrin]

When my wife changed from 12 to 13 (R-Zone to Sitnger) her average jumped ~10 pins. and 5-10 more when she went to 14lb(2Furious).

That is also over several years so there may also have been an increase ins accuracy to go along with the change in ball weight.

[Davec13]

I would think moving into a newer ball (not heavier) would help. There is some deflection in your ball so a newer 12lb ball with a core (DV8 & Storm) may help you with some drive through the pins.

[cane]

Would there be a noticible difference between a 12 and a 13# or should i really try with a 14#? This already puts a good deal of straign on my shoulder due to my collar bone healing at the wrong angle. :( I really want to get back into the game semi-pro.

Sounds like a rough predicament. There's no sense in injuring yourself for a hobby, friend.

I would let yourself completely heal up before furthering any damage!

[ArtVandelay]

Sounds like a rough predicament. There's no sense in injuring yourself for a hobby, friend.

I would let yourself completely heal up before furthering any damage!

Agreed. I was going to suggest some soft stretches, and strength exercises, but your later post about the car accident makes it sound like it's permanent and not fixable.

I know this won't be popular to say on a bowling forum, but: It's just bowling. Your health and life are more important. If moving up to a heavier ball gets you more strikes, but causes you pain 10 years down the road, it's simply not worth it.

Good luck to you!

[ArtVandelay]

To further elaborate: I might just be imagining things, but I can almost see what you're talking about with your shoulder. It seems to be lower than your other arm.

Get Bill's advice, or someone more knowledgeable than myself, but... If you feel like you have all you can handle with that 12 pound ball, I wonder if moving DOWN in weight would be a good choice.

I'm a fan of physics, and the extra mass of a heavier ball might not make as much sense as the extra velocity of a lighter ball you can throw harder. One pound isn't really that much when you think about it, but I wonder if a couple extra MPH's could be what you need....

Someone let this guy know if I'm out of my mind, please! hahahaha.

[billf]

Someone let this guy know if I'm out of my mind, please! hahahaha.

This guy is out of his mind! How's that?

Now on to the question at hand....
Use whatever weight you can comfortably. IT IS ONLY BOWLING! Abnormal pain or discomfort to previously injured areas should be avoided unless told otherwise by a qualified Doctor.
I would suggest spending some money on a good coach who would help with your form WHILE taking your injuries into consideration. More ball speed would certainly help with carry but without knowing the extent of your personal limitations, I won't go into how to increase it. I cause enough problems by accident nevermind when I know I shouldn't.

[unclemantis]

#13 Hammer Nail drilled with 3 oz of finger weight and 5 3/4 oz of side weight. They where not kidding when they say "Nothing Hits Like a Hammer!" The ball is VERY FORGIVING TOO!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTHukAJDUaY

[unclemantis]

This guy is out of his mind! How's that?

Now on to the question at hand....
Use whatever weight you can comfortably. IT IS ONLY BOWLING! Abnormal pain or discomfort to previously injured areas should be avoided unless told otherwise by a qualified Doctor.
I would suggest spending some money on a good coach who would help with your form WHILE taking your injuries into consideration. More ball speed would certainly help with carry but without knowing the extent of your personal limitations, I won't go into how to increase it. I cause enough problems by accident nevermind when I know I shouldn't.

I just shot with my new ball last night. 13#. Man! it felt like it was 10# and if fit so well and balanced AWESOMELY!

[K3ntFIN]

To the original poster:
As others have said, don't go heavier than what you can comfortably use without causing unnecessary strain and pain.
Having said that, there are a few things you could do to make your bowling that much easier.
1. Bend your support leg. The lower to the lane you get for your release the easier it is to release the ball ALONG the lane. Currently the ball is lofted, quite a distance, and by landing heavily on the lane it will lose quite a bit of power. Repetition is also harder.
2. You have a good starting position with the ball at your side, but try tilting a bit more to the right so the ball, your shoulder and head keep one continous line, and keep that throughout the execution and you'll find targeting and releasing become much easier.
3. If you find yourself often looking at a ten pin standing, take a look at how the 6 pin leaves the pin table. If it jumps off in front of the ten, your ball is sliding slightly too far and has entered the pocket around board 15. This can happen for many reasons, but the most obvious one is the lofting, causing the ball to lose a lot of reaction, you want to direct the movement of the ball forward and down to retain as much as you can. One other usual suspect are people that have too high ball-speed in relation to spin, sometimes it is the right choice depending on lane conditions.
4. Be also aware that the style of bowling you use, creates a lot of elastic tension in the shoulder area, that may over time cause issues. Try to keep your balancing arm (the left one) in front of you until you come in to the release, that'll keep the tension to a minimum.

Hope this helps a little.

[slmrcs]

The prime factor in determing power if force of friction, not ball weight. Ball weight is terribly overrated. Urethane balls do not have the hitting power of resin, no place close, and if you are opening up the lanes with a urethane ball do to low ball speed, it is not going to retain energy by the time it's at the pocket. So if that was a 12 1b Columbia 300 u-dot, it was bouncing out of pocket, because it was a Columbia 300 u-dot and not designed to go through heavier oil in middle of lanes today.

The primary factor of hitting power being friction, what matters most is quality of ball roll, which is not an issue in your case. Basically, you needed resin. The increase of power was primarily due to modern equitment and not ball weight.

Quality of ball role an accuracy matters, not ball weight and speed, those do matter, but are secondary factors.

Ball weight used to matter much more in pre-resin days. Unfortuantly, it can takes years, if not decades from mass opinion to catch up with reality.

[unclemantis]

Stat Search Results:
Date Range: 12-30-2012 - 02-03-2013

Leagues: Any

Alleys: Any

Balls: Hammer Nail Smoke and Fire 13#

Oil Conditions: Any

Lane One: Any

Lane Two: Any


Score Ave: 167.88
High Series: N\A
High Game: 225
Total Games: 42

First Roll Average: 8.55
Most Strikes in a Row: 4

Strike Percentage: 36.4%
Total Strikes: 161
Strike Chances: 442

Spare Percentage: 47.8%
Total Spares: 131
Spare Chances: 274

Single Pin Spares %: 62.6%
Single Pin Total: 67
Single Pin Chances: 107

Multi-Pin Spares %: 38.3%
Multi-Pin Total: 64
Multi-Pin Chances: 167

Multi-Pin Non-Split %: 47.1%
Multi Non-Split Total: 56
Multi Non-Split Chances: 119

Split Conversion %: 16.7%
Splits Picked Up: 8
Splits Attempted: 48

Open Frame %: 32.7%
Open Frames: 134
Total Frames: 410

[ArtVandelay]

The prime factor in determing power if force of friction, not ball weight. Ball weight is terribly overrated. Urethane balls do not have the hitting power of resin, no place close, and if you are opening up the lanes with a urethane ball do to low ball speed, it is not going to retain energy by the time it's at the pocket. So if that was a 12 1b Columbia 300 u-dot, it was bouncing out of pocket, because it was a Columbia 300 u-dot and not designed to go through heavier oil in middle of lanes today.

The primary factor of hitting power being friction, what matters most is quality of ball roll, which is not an issue in your case. Basically, you needed resin. The increase of power was primarily due to modern equitment and not ball weight.

Quality of ball role an accuracy matters, not ball weight and speed, those do matter, but are secondary factors.

Ball weight used to matter much more in pre-resin days. Unfortuantly, it can takes years, if not decades from mass opinion to catch up with reality.

I can buy this theory. Its like I said earlier: I would imagine a lighter ball with more velocity could be more beneficial than going up in weight if you arent comfortable with the weight. Of course, none of this matters if the accuracy isnt there...