Abnormal ball oil tracks

[e-tank]

I was getting some practice in on friday and i noticed that my ball tracks on the top side of the ball. Sometimes angling left or sometimes straight like a halo on the ball. I know why this is happening but my question is, is it necessarily a bad thing? My ball still hooks like its supposed to and i havent had any problems or anything. The only thing i can think of is it probably effects the core and possibly the grip the ball has on the lane since there is a smaller ring on the ball than if it was tracking like its supposed to along the left side of the ball.

[UBowling]

The oil track is a trail of how you rotate the ball. With the way you describe it, sounds like you are a spinner. A lot of bowlers in Asia have helicopter spins that probably leave tracks like that. It isn't bad, but it changes the way the ball reacts. It will definitely wait a lot longer to turn than it would if you had more forward roll.

[Greenday]

So you basically have two sets of rings of oil? The first ring is from the normal roll, the second is when the ball changes direction and is then spinning on a second axis. Perfectly normal if that's what's going on.

[scottymoney]

Yeah depending on how it hooks you can have more than 2. I have seen balls with 3 or 4 rings as the ball transitions into the roll.

[UBowling]

These "rings" are called flare. When the core flips the ball it "flares" to roll on a fresh part of the coverstock to increase the hook potential. A lot of bowling balls show you the flare potential on the ball and this is what they are referring to. How large of a potential the ball has to flare. Also, Pin to PAP distance makes a big difference on flare potential. If you are rotating the ball a decent amount and it is a newer reactive ball, you should see 3+ rings of oil as it flares down the lane.

[e-tank]

The oil track is a trail of how you rotate the ball. With the way you describe it, sounds like you are a spinner. A lot of bowlers in Asia have helicopter spins that probably leave tracks like that. It isn't bad, but it changes the way the ball reacts. It will definitely wait a lot longer to turn than it would if you had more forward roll.

ah okay i just thought id check as usually the oil track is always on the left side of the ball if youre a right hander. Although im assuming that im borderline cranker seeing as i have a high ball speed and if it does in fact wait longer to turn, wouldnt that mean revs would also have to be high aswell?

[I suck at bowling]

ah okay i just thought id check as usually the oil track is always on the left side of the ball if youre a right hander. Although im assuming that im borderline cranker seeing as i have a high ball speed and if it does in fact wait longer to turn, wouldnt that mean revs would also have to be high aswell?

High speed doesn't equal cranker. Some strokers have speeds upwards of 20+mph. Its the revs and form style that make you a stroker/tweener/cranker

[e-tank]

High speed doesn't equal cranker. Some strokers have speeds upwards of 20+mph. Its the revs and form style that make you a stroker/tweener/cranker

i was implying higher revs due to ubowling saying that with having that track on the top side of the ball it would cause the ball to turn later. Since i throw at a higher speed i was thinking it would also take higher revs as i can play outside and throw middle arrow or first arrow to the right.

[I suck at bowling]

i was implying higher revs due to ubowling saying that with having that track on the top side of the ball it would cause the ball to turn later. Since i throw at a higher speed i was thinking it would also take higher revs as i can play outside and throw middle arrow or first arrow to the right.

Ahh I gotcha. It's not overly difficult to find your rev rate. All you need is your PAP, and piece of tape, and a camera, lol.

[e-tank]

Ahh I gotcha. It's not overly difficult to find your rev rate. All you need is your PAP, and piece of tape, and a camera, lol.

yea ive just been lazy to set that up haha

[Tampabaybob]

I was getting some practice in on friday and i noticed that my ball tracks on the top side of the ball. Sometimes angling left or sometimes straight like a halo on the ball. I know why this is happening but my question is, is it necessarily a bad thing? My ball still hooks like its supposed to and i havent had any problems or anything. The only thing i can think of is it probably effects the core and possibly the grip the ball has on the lane since there is a smaller ring on the ball than if it was tracking like its supposed to along the left side of the ball.

Your roll axis has much to do with the way you release your ball. Yes, you'll get multiple rings if you have a high flaring ball, but where the rings are on the left side of the ball indicates your release. If the rings are closer to the finger hold you're coming out of the ball fairly straight before rotating it. If you change your hand position ( having for fingers @8:00 and thumb @ 2:00) you'll get more of a side axis roll, and you'll see a little bit different reaction of the ball and sometimes different reactions of the pins. I always check where my track is on the ball to make sure they're where I want them to be. I normally start at the 8 position and if the lanes really break down, by the third game they may be at the 6:00 position. Try it, and see if you get different reactions and keep looking at the track on the ball. You should see it move accordingly. These are little tricks good bowlers have in their "bag of tricks" to overcome various lane changes.

[e-tank]

Your roll axis has much to do with the way you release your ball. Yes, you'll get multiple rings if you have a high flaring ball, but where the rings are on the left side of the ball indicates your release. If the rings are closer to the finger hold you're coming out of the ball fairly straight before rotating it. If you change your hand position ( having for fingers @8:00 and thumb @ 2:00) you'll get more of a side axis roll, and you'll see a little bit different reaction of the ball and sometimes different reactions of the pins. I always check where my track is on the ball to make sure they're where I want them to be. I normally start at the 8 position and if the lanes really break down, by the third game they may be at the 6:00 position. Try it, and see if you get different reactions and keep looking at the track on the ball. You should see it move accordingly. These are little tricks good bowlers have in their "bag of tricks" to overcome various lane changes.

solid response, however my rings are on the top half of the ball. Sometimes they are tilted left but they arent on the left side of the ball at all. Ive learned that i dont release it like i see many bowlers do ie once the thumb comes out it seems like they let it roll off their finger tips. I throw mine with a bit of lift and instead of it rolling off my fingers, it comes of more so as im rotating it and due to the ball moving forward. Im not sure if that makes sense or not lol

[e-tank]

So i was throwing my urethane ball today and the oil tracks were on the left half of the ball in normal position. I didnt change anything about my technique other than my angle as i was shooting 10 pins with it

[Tampabaybob]

What you're seeing on the ball is your axis tilt from changing your hand position. My track used to be along side the thumb and finger holes. That's considered a semi-roller. My track now is similar to what you're seeing on your ball as well. That track is generated from your hand position at the point of release. I've found that my carry percentage (first ball strikes) has gone way up since changing to that release. With that said, if you run into lanes that are fried/burned up and the ball's hooking way too much, then you would want to come up the back of the ball more. In other words, you'd be killing some of the hook, but getting more end-over-end roll. Mika uses this type of release. If you watch a few of the videos in slo mo you'll see what I mean. He's one of the best when it comes to end-over-end releases.

[e-tank]

I didnt change anything about my release in going from my spare ball to my strike ball. The only physical difference would be that my spare ball is drilled for left hand so the thumb hole is moved more to the right and the middle finger hole is slightly above the ring finger(for right hand).

[Tampabaybob]

The difference in the drilling pattern "WILL" make a difference. When I first worked in a pro shop, many years ago, there were only 3 ways of drilling balls. One was straight over the label, another had the thumb closer to the center of the ball for earlier roll, and then finger weight which made the ball go a little longer. In today's bowling world there are literally thousands of ways to drill a ball and affect it's reaction.