Spare ball weight??

[MICHAEL]

I have heard many different answers to this question. Do most people go up, down, or the same on their spare ball WEIGHT? Do most good bowlers chance the grip in anyway on their spare ball. Do they drill it differently, or does it even make a difference.

Just the other day, a driller at a pro shop told a customer to go down 1 pound on your spare ball. Have any of you heard this?

[Rjthebowler]

Well from me I think I a plastic ball as a waste of a ball.... Ik. Ime weird. But my polar ice (urethane hybred) is down 1 pound but drilled the same! That way I can through that ball faster without loosening too much control. But that is just me!

[Greenday]

Everyone has their own opinion. I've had people tell me they should be the same as my strike balls. I enjoy having my 14lbs spare ball. It's not like I need the extra mass to take out those ten pins.

[mike_thomas93]

It all depends on what you're comfortable with. The weight just right for you. Just keep in mind not too light or too heavy. I would say maybe 14 or 15. maybe 13, depending on your strength

[Hampe]

Well....I use 14-15 pound strike balls and a 16 pound spare ball. I didn't end up this way intentionally....I used to use my old light oil ball (14lb) as a spare ball but then eventually decided I needed to switch to a plastic spare ball. I still had my old 16lb plastic ball I started playing with, and I was too cheap to buy a new one, so I just had that re-drilled and have been using that as a spare ball for the last few months. I haven't noticed any huge downside yet....I'm pretty accurate with the 16 lber, and it's a lot easier not having to be very careful with my hand position (i.e. I don't have to worry about hooking my spare ball in front of the 10 pin like I used to with my light oil ball). I also no longer have to adjust for spares depending on house/shot, which is really nice.

Long story short.....for me, the surface of the spare ball was more important than the weight :D

[bowl1820]

Just the other day, a driller at a pro shop told a customer to go down 1 pound on your spare ball. Have any of you heard this?

Yes, I've heard of it.

The thought behind it is that by dropping a pound in weight, you'll have a increase in ball speed. This will help with throwing a straighter ball.

On the Con side by using two different weights it could affect you consistency do to the changes in you swing.


Different weights for some people don't bother them, but I would suggest not doing it if at all possible. The key to bowling well is to be able to consistently throw the same shot, and make the right adjustments. If the right adjustment is to switch balls, it will be tough to throw a differently weighted ball the same as the original. Not impossible, but why make things harder on yourself then you have to. It is very hard not to throw a ball faster when you drop weight mid game. If financially it doesn't work to rebuild your arsenal at your new weight, you should be able to figure it out well enough though.

[MICHAEL]

It all depends on what you're comfortable with. The weight just right for you. Just keep in mind not too light or too heavy. I would say maybe 14 or 15. maybe 13, depending on your strength

strength is not an issue with ICEMAN!! Daaa!! Iceman/Super Hero! lol I have worked out my whole life, and still, even today do a pretty good 2 hour workout 3 to 4 times a week. Since I stared bowling I actually do more wrist, arm, chest, and lat work! It has help a lot in my bowling. So weight is not much of an issue at all. In fact, that new ball I won from Bowlingboard.com is going to be a 16! I liked the way the DV8 lemon drop, (16lb), feels and looks going down the lane! I now wish all my balls were 16lb!

One thing that upsets me the most is that I seem to be HOT or COLD in regards to the 10 pin! Some nights I will hit 90 percent, and some nights lucky to get 50 percent. Also the miss is not the same,,, sometimes to the left, of 10 pin, other times to the right!

True almost all the above is using a 15lb ball!

Do any of you change the drilling?? conventional grip any better on a spare ball? Or Change the span on spare ball? I gave my spare ball to one of my sons, that will be bowling with me this fall!

So I might be getting a new one from bowlingboard.com, along with some other supplies.

[vdubtx]

I have always been told to stay with same weight for better consistency. I would also keep my drill the same as any other ball. Changing span, or going to conventional will introduce different factors that would have to adjust to from one shot to the next. My $.03

[J Anderson]

strength is not an issue with ICEMAN!! Daaa!! Iceman/Super Hero! lol I have worked out my whole life, and still, even today do a pretty good 2 hour workout 3 to 4 times a week. Since I stared bowling I actually do more wrist, arm, chest, and lat work! It has help a lot in my bowling. So weight is not much of an issue at all. In fact, that new ball I won from Bowlingboard.com is going to be a 16! I liked the way the DV8 lemon drop, (16lb), feels and looks going down the lane! I now wish all my balls were 16lb!

One thing that upsets me the most is that I seem to be HOT or COLD in regards to the 10 pin! Some nights I will hit 90 percent, and some nights lucky to get 50 percent. Also the miss is not the same,,, sometimes to the left, of 10 pin, other times to the right!

True almost all the above is using a 15lb ball!

Do any of you change the drilling?? conventional grip any better on a spare ball? Or Change the span on spare ball? I gave my spare ball to one of my sons, that will be bowling with me this fall!

So I might be getting a new one from bowlingboard.com, along with some other supplies.

My two cents: I'm a belt and suspenders kind of guy. I shoot most spares with a plastic ball and put almost no axis rotation on it. The ball is the same weight as my other bowling balls and is drilled fingertip with the same span and pitches as the others, (well not the lefty ones). I like all my balls to feel the same.

Obviously, drilling the spare ball conventional would also help minimize any hook. I would try with an alley ball first to make sure that switching back and forth between fingertip and conventional doesn't bother you.

I personally don't see how going down a pound or two makes the ball go faster, unless you start muscling the lighter weight ball.

[mike_thomas93]

That's a little strange. Never heard of that

[J Anderson]

That's a little strange. Never heard of that

Is that the original post you're replying to or one of the others?

[dnhoffman]

I use the same weight - as many others have said, the idea is the closest replication of mechanics possible

[mike_thomas93]

I was replying to MICHAEL from his firs post on here. I was saying I've never heard of going down a pound for a spare ball. That's what I was trying to say. Additionally, I throw the same ball weight for my reactive and spare balls

[e-tank]

from what ive seen in league, going down in weight is very common. I prefer to throw my spares slower so i can be more accurate with it but im probably pretty alone on that one

[J Anderson]

from what ive seen in league, going down in weight is very common. I prefer to throw my spares slower so i can be more accurate with it but im probably pretty alone on that one

I have one friend who slows down on spares, (and thinks that most people do the same), one who seems to throw the same speed on every ball, and one who throws faster at the 6 and the 10, and slower at the 4 and 7. With me the first ball is usually between 14 and 15mph, the second about 16mph. Since the second is almost completely straight, it might actually be slower off my hand. I've never tried to calculate the extra distance that a hooking ball travels.

[e-tank]

I have one friend who slows down on spares, (and thinks that most people do the same), one who seems to throw the same speed on every ball, and one who throws faster at the 6 and the 10, and slower at the 4 and 7. With me the first ball is usually between 14 and 15mph, the second about 16mph. Since the second is almost completely straight, it might actually be slower off my hand. I've never tried to calculate the extra distance that a hooking ball travels.

yea ive never actually took the time to calculate my spare ball speed either. For all i know its the same speed but it feels and looks slower. I prefer to have a slight hook to my spares which is another factor of why i try to throw slower

[Hampe]

Do any of you change the drilling?? conventional grip any better on a spare ball? Or Change the span on spare ball? I gave my spare ball to one of my sons, that will be bowling with me this fall! From personal experience I would say changing grip is not a good idea. It's even more of a change/difference than having a different ball weight. I tried it for a few weeks last year with my 16 lb plastic ball and it was a disaster. It's too drastic a change to switch between conventional and fingertip every few frames. I've since had my plastic ball redrilled with fingertip and it's way better, even with the extra weight.