2 MANY Bowling Ball SYNDROME!!

[MICHAEL]

Do you think many of us take too many bowling balls to the lanes on league night? If I have been told once, I have been told 4,000 times,,, Iceman stay with that ball, make adjustments, quit pulling out another ball,,lol,,lol!!! Jason, this thread is for you! (:)

Can it be that we think a given ball will make a huge difference, if we just keep going through our 9 ball bags looking for the perfect match up!!

Yes your Honor, ICEMAN is guilty!!

It just seems on some night, nothing, WORKS! I usually take 5 balls to the lanes, one being a spare ball! There are nights when none seem to work! I bring a good varity of symmetrical, and asymmetrical balls,,, but last Thursday, NOTHING seemed to work.

The week before I used ONE ball all night and didn't need to move much to the left until the last game! I wanted to change, but teammates talked me out of it, and I moved left, (way left of where I usually throw from), and ended up with that 725.

Does the average bowler change balls too often when things just don't seem to be working!

I think this Sunday I might just take 3 balls, and the spare!! The VG pearl nano, my strongest ball, The DV8 marauder, and the DV8 lemon drop!

Damn,,, I want to bring that Beatdown with the Tri-Grip also had a 700 in practice with it after the grip change... I will have to make up my mind but as god as my witness, I am only taking 4 balls this Sunday, so help me!!

[JaMau24]

You already know my opinion, but in case others want to hear it as well... When you switch so much, you can't figure anything out. If you throw one ball for two frames and don't like what it did, then you switch, you're back at square one. You need to figure out a line to the pocket with one ball even if it takes 3 or 4 frames. Otherwise your whole night is going to be miserable. Switching so much isn't going to do anything. There is no magic ball that goes straight to the pocket, it's the person throwing it that has to find the line to the pocket.

[e-tank]

i usually bring 3 including a spare ball. A stronger sanded and a weaker polished. If they both dont work then i just throw my spare ball really hard at the pocket lol

[MICHAEL]

You already know my opinion, but in case others want to hear it as well... When you switch so much, you can't figure anything out. If you throw one ball for two frames and don't like what it did, then you switch, you're back at square one. You need to figure out a line to the pocket with one ball even if it takes 3 or 4 frames. Otherwise your whole night is going to be miserable. Switching so much isn't going to do anything. There is no magic ball that goes straight to the pocket, it's the person throwing it that has to find the line to the pocket.

Well,,,well,,, well,,, mr Jason,, as I remember last Thursday was a Great Day of Change for YOU TO MR DUDE!! I remember you changing your balls, several times, back and forth, with the balls you had.... I got dizzy watching it happen so many times, and so fast!! I had great concern that you might wear your zipper out on your bag,,, It was glowing red from heat!! OOOO yes..... At least my changes were a different ball, while I was looking for that special look into the pocket!

You went back and forth??? LIKE a person out of control, and didn't know what he wanted!! I was just about ready to go get help, my good friend but you quit,,, thank god!! Just about wore me out!!

Judge not, yet , yee, judge thee self!

[dnhoffman]

Depends on the house. Always take the spare ball and the following two:

One house has wood with guardian synthetic over it and I use a heavy oil solid and a medium solid there.

Other has wood... So I bring a hyroad pearl (that i won here and LOVE) and a dry lane solid (hammer razyr)

[J Anderson]

I remember back in the 90s my friend Jeff bowled with us for a season. At the time I was happy to be a once a week bowler, throwing a 15 year old conventional grip rubber ball, as were most of the other bowlers on the team. Jeff was soon to be a card carrying member of the PBA, who would walk into the alley with three balls and had a couple more in the back of his car just in case. I'm pretty certain we lost the first game almost every week because Jeff would show up late, miss practice, and spend most of the first game figuring out which ball to use.

Now I'm slightly more obsessed with bowling, bowling two leagues, coaching in the youth league Saturday mornings, and practicing and subbing when I have a chance. I bring four balls to the alley. One is a plastic spare ball, at least one is drilled for my left hand, and the other two are relatively high end reactive balls. I warm up by alternating between right and left handed throws. I generally don't switch balls very often once we start bowling. Last Monday was one of those rare times when I couldn't get the first ball to work right after the 2nd game and wound up switching to a pearl ball that worked a lot better.

[Aslan]

Does the average bowler change balls too often when things just don't seem to be working!


Yes. I hate to agree with JaMau...but it's getting rediculous actually. Friday night there were so many balls on the ball return that the ball you threw would get stuck in the return and you'd have to take people's balls off the return just to get your ball out.

5-person teams...10 total people...13 balls...plus another 5 balls below the ball return...plus a guy had one ball sitting on the couch/chair.

If you're in a 4-person or 5-person league...and each person just brings THREE balls...thats 24-30 bowling balls on a ball return made for anywhere from 9-10 balls. There should be a rule against it for just that reason. It's a safety issue. TWICE in 4 weeks I've watched balls fall off the return as people are trying to push them around to get their ball out of the return.

I mean, you KNOW the lanes. They don't change. Sure, one night...maybe a bit oilier than another night. Maybe a bit drier on one night. But we're not talking switching from wood lanes to synthetic...it's the same lane. Before leagues...they oil them....the same way with the same machine.

Most bowlers could simply change their approach 1-3 boards...and they'd be fine. After practice or a few frames in...they'd be fine. But instead...I've seen people switch out balls twice in one game...and they aren't even hitting their marks!! How can you say it's the ball...when you're not hitting your mark consistently??!

I have one ball...and a urethane I use for weird splits and sometimes for a lone 10-pin. I get an "idea" where to stand...where to throw....and after practice and in that first game...I wait until I've hit my mark 1-3 times before deciding if I want to move my approach or maybe aim 1 board to the left or right. But to switch to a different ball??? Then I gotta start the whole damn process over again! Makes no sense.

I can see having a 3rd ball...if you have one that is really, really aggressive...and you need a slight downgrade as oil gets moved around. But most casual bowlers, their game isn't that precise. If you aren't bowling in tournaments...for money...I can't see why a person would bring more than 2-3 balls with them to the lanes. If you're THAT good that you need 3 3-ball roller bags to carry around your arsenal...then step up and bowl scratch in scratch leagues, bowl on sport patterns, bowl in tournaments...take your game to the next level.

Thats my 2 cents (or my usual 3 cents).

[Stormed1]

I take 4 + spare on Mondays. The 2 I plan to use and 1 stronger and 1 weaker. On Fridays I take 7 + spare. I only bring in 4 = spare. I leave my strongest and 2 weakest in the car available if needed

[MICHAEL]

I take 4 + spare on Mondays. The 2 I plan to use and 1 stronger and 1 weaker. On Fridays I take 7 + spare. I only bring in 4 = spare. I leave my strongest and 2 weakest in the car available if needed

sounds like a great plan! I am going to take to my Sunday evening league V.G. Nano peral, Beatdown, and my DV8 lemon drop, along with my spare ball which in my case is a sling shot! I throw it palm up and it works great on 10 pins! I know that Virtual Gravity pearl is one hell of a ball on a given set of lanes, and on a given night, but other lanes, and another night,, doesn't fit up to the lanes. Its either too much, or not enough

[JaMau24]

Well,,,well,,, well,,, mr Jason,, as I remember last Thursday was a Great Day of Change for YOU TO MR DUDE!! I remember you changing your balls, several times, back and forth, with the balls you had.... I got dizzy watching it happen so many times, and so fast!! I had great concern that you might wear your zipper out on your bag,,, It was glowing red from heat!! OOOO yes..... At least my changes were a different ball, while I was looking for that special look into the pocket!

You went back and forth??? LIKE a person out of control, and didn't know what he wanted!! I was just about ready to go get help, my good friend but you quit,,, thank god!! Just about wore me out!!

Judge not, yet , yee, judge thee self!

I bowled an entire game with my Too Reckless, then switched to throw my Misfit Pearl on the right lane for the 2nd game. I then continued to throw my Too Reckless on the left lane, and my Misfit Pearl on the right lane the 2nd game because of how the lanes were reacting. Perhaps because you saw a different ball in my hand on each lane, you thought I kept switching. I was sticking with one ball per lane (like you see Pat do). Then the last game I got my Vivid out for most the game (a ball I haven't thrown in like a year, because why not!?), until I threw your balls the last couple frames after we had the game wrapped up and I was tired of throwing my equipment.

That is the most you will ever see me switch, and it was a mistake. Note how hard I tried to figure out a line with each ball though. I didn't switch every 3 frames. I tried to figure it out with the ball, and switching was a last resort option, only done after a fair chance was given to figure it out (meaning all of the game, or most of the game).

You can probably count on one hand how many times you've seen me switch that much. I don't think I can count on our whole bowling team's fingers and toes how many times I've seen you do it. It's no coincidence that you shot a 725 with ONE ball the previous week, and that you have shot some of your BIGGEST series ever while only using one ball.

I understand you want to get out the perfect ball for the lane condition that night, but as I said earlier, sometimes there isn't a perfect ball. You are the one controlling the ball, and you are the one that has to figure out the line to the pocket with any ball. You just need to stick with a ball and throw it for a whole game. If things don't go poorly that game, switching for the next game is absolutely acceptable. Switching 4 times in one game is going no where though, because you aren't giving yourself a chance to figure it out with each ball. I know there are lines you aren't comfortable throwing, but sometimes you have to do it, no matter how uncomfortable it is. I know you don't like to stand left and throw right, but you have to do it sometimes! It's the only way you'll get anything done on nights like Thursday, where the lanes were not easy.

Another thing I would suggest, is knowing which ball you're going to start with. The allocated 15 minutes of practice before we start isn't only to warm your arm up, but it's to figure out which ball you're going to use. It's a time to figure the lanes out and find your line, or find the line that you want to play with a ball. It's VERY important to know which ball you are going to start with because you should use that ball the entire first game, AT LEAST! I've seen you multiple occasions switch balls after the first couple of frames the first game, and I just don't understand why you didn't already know to start with the ball you're switching to. That's what practice is for.

I'm not upset or mad at all, I just want to help you. There is no reason to say "Well you did it too Mr. Jason!" as if it's some huge problem of mine as well. I hate switching balls on any night, and sometimes it's called for, but PLEASE give yourself a chance to figure it out with ball, instead of saying "the line I usually throw isn't working with this ball, I need to switch to a ball that allows me to throw the line I want to throw", because sometimes that line won't work with any of your balls.




For the record, if anyone is wondering, I bring 5 balls (3 ball roller, and 2 ball tote), and one of them is a plastic spare ball. I hate two of the balls I bring, but they are in my 3 ball roller, so I just leave them there and never use them. Each night I give myself the option of throwing the stronger ball (My DV8 Too Reckless), or my weaker ball (DV8 Misfit Pearl). 95% of the time, whichever ball I start the night with, I will use the entire night. For most of the leagues so far this year, I've been using my Too Reckless the whole time, and for the summer leagues last summer I used my Misfit Pearl the whole time. Now that I think of it, I'm going to start leaving my two ball tote at home, take the two balls I hate out of my 3 ball roller, and just move the other two balls to it, and only bring 3 balls every night in my 3 ball roller until I get a new ball.

[bowlerRob2]

One advantage to my having a simple game is not to worry about balls too much. My ball hooks only enough to be serviceable so I start with my reactive resin ball (Brunswick Slingshot). When it starts heading to far in, I switch to my Hammer Blue Hammer Urethane ball. And there is also a plastic spare ball when all else fails. I have a heavier ball (Storm ROP) I seldom use because I dislike it. Ah .... the advantages to having a simple mind LOL.

[noeymc]

i a firm believer in adjusting if nothing else it will make you a better bowler

[circlecity]

It sounds like way too many bowling balls for a basic league night unless it's some scratch league or something.

[MICHAEL]

i a firm believer in adjusting if nothing else it will make you a better bowler

I am begging to think you are (right on in your belief)!!

[Zaxmazr]

I own 5 bowling balls.

I take 4 of them to my league night. 1 of which is my spare ball.

[Hammer]

I use to only bring one because I played on only THS patterns. Recently I decided to take my Anger Raw Hammer out of mothballs and use it as my strike ball and delegate my Blue Hammer to being my spare ball. My Anger is a reactive resin ball with a strong layout and my Blue has a layout for length and is urethane. I have to make sure that I keep up my speed on the Anger because it is really made for medium to oily lane conditions.

[circlecity]

i a firm believer in adjusting if nothing else it will make you a better bowler

I agree 100% with this belief.

[Zaxmazr]

If there's too many balls on the rack, don't whine about it..just ask them to take them off. All of the leagues I have been in people are super nice and wouldnt mind one bit.

[scruffwhor]

I own 6 plus a spare ball. Lately I've been bringing 5 and the spare ball. Lately I've only been using my 900 Global Black Eagle and War Eagle and my spare.

I will be plugging and redrilling my black eagle for a more appropriate layout. IN the meantime I think I'll go with 4 total till the plugging is taken care of.

I only leave my strike ball on the return out of courtesy to everyone else. If I throw my spare ball, I just wait a few seconds after the pickup and remove my spare ball from the return.

Some folks on my league forget to do this and need to be reminded. :rolleyes: But its not a big deal in my league.

[circlecity]

If there's too many balls on the rack, don't whine about it..just ask them to take them off. All of the leagues I have been in people are super nice and wouldnt mind one bit. My league allows one ball on top rack and one ball on bottom rack.

[Mike White]

My league allows one ball on top rack and one ball on bottom rack.

A couple of weeks ago I had a lower average female bowler ask me why I always pulled my spare ball off the rack after using it.

I explained, there are 8 people bowling, if each person has 2 balls on the rack, it would overflow.

So if everyone can't leave 2 on the rack, nobody should be allowed.

[Doghouse Reilly]

One thing also about too many ballls on the rack is when one returns it can knock a ball off the rack, I seen that happen a couple of times .

[circlecity]

I would think 2 strike balls and a spare ball would be enough for most typical house shots.

[Aslan]

If there's too many balls on the rack, don't whine about it..just ask them to take them off. All of the leagues I have been in people are super nice and wouldnt mind one bit.

Well…the leagues I have been in…people are ***ks and they get mad about every little thing so god forbid I touch their ball!! Most guys that have 3 with them will leave one in the bag or set it on a chair. I "usually" leave my "split ball" in the bag because I only use it 1-3 times per night. But on Fridays, they have a rack under the main rack…so I'll just put it under there.

[MICHAEL]

Do you think many of us take too many bowling balls to the lanes on league night? If I have been told once, I have been told 4,000 times,,, Iceman stay with that ball, make adjustments, quit pulling out another ball,,lol,,lol!!! Jason, this thread is for you! (:)

Can it be that we think a given ball will make a huge difference, if we just keep going through our 9 ball bags looking for the perfect match up!!

Yes your Honor, ICEMAN is guilty!!

It just seems on some night, nothing, WORKS! I usually take 5 balls to the lanes, one being a spare ball! There are nights when none seem to work! I bring a good varity of symmetrical, and asymmetrical balls,,, but last Thursday, NOTHING seemed to work.

The week before I used ONE ball all night and didn't need to move much to the left until the last game! I wanted to change, but teammates talked me out of it, and I moved left, (way left of where I usually throw from), and ended up with that 725.

Does the average bowler change balls too often when things just don't seem to be working!

I think this Sunday I might just take 3 balls, and the spare!! The VG pearl nano, my strongest ball, The DV8 marauder, and the DV8 lemon drop!

Damn,,, I want to bring that Beatdown with the Tri-Grip also had a 700 in practice with it after the grip change... I will have to make up my mind but as god as my witness, I am only taking 4 balls this Sunday, so help me!!

Well an update! I mention above that I bowled a 725 with one ball all night, except for my sling shot, that I only use for 10 pins! Well I am beginning to believe that a good ball will get me through the night most of the times, and maybe Jason was absolutely correct in saying move, make hand changes, ect ect.

Proof of it was last week the 300 game, and 780 series with the same ball that gave me the 725 a week before! Tonight I used a different ball and weight just for the fun of it, and decided to stay with it all night.

It was a 14lb Freight Tran that my wife did not like, or use. I had it plugged and redrilled and threw a 637 tonight! Nothing super, but I stayed with it and keep my average climbing to that goal of 210 this year...

I really think I jumped too soon in trying to find the perfect ball for the night, and in reality almost any of them will work, if you find your spot, focus, bowl with good mechanics, and bowling knowledge... I am still a work in progress, progressing at Warp
Speed!!:)

Don't Beam Me Up yet Scotty.... Still have that 800 series I need to get first!! lol Hey Scotty,, do they have bowling lanes on the Star Ship Enterprise??

[Hampe]

I would think 2 strike balls and a spare ball would be enough for most typical house shots.Especially if you are playing a 3 game set in an alley you play at all the time. The only time I take more than 3 balls (2 strike one spare) is if I'm playing in a new alley.

I generally have one matte ball and one pearl ball....I can't imagine needing more than that for a 3 game series on THS. Adjustments are a part of bowling....if you can't make them, it won't matter how many balls you have with you. One thing my coach has me do to help with adjustments is play a game that goes over two games of bowling. You bowl 5 frames over the first arrow, 5 over the second, and 5 over the 3rd, and then 5 over the arrow that worked the best. You get points based on where the strike ball hit the pins and you lose points for missing spares. You can do the game using any three arrows, doesn't have to the 1st-3rd. It really helps being comfortable playing different lines, using different hand positions, etc.