USBC on what are strong vs weak bowling balls

[bowl1820]

This is a video where they discuss what is a stong vs weak ball.

USBC Gold coach Bryan O’Keefe and USBC Hall of Famer Carolyn Dorin-Ballard discuss the difference between strong and weak bowling balls and the common misconception of what it means for a ball to be considered strong.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU6KlP2VRmw



Basically what they say is most people look at the right to left movement (Left to Right for lefthanders) of the ball (how many boards it covers) and equate that for how strong a ball is. (The ball that went long and snapped hard must be the strong ball)

But what they say is you should be looking at is from front to back and how early or late the ball moves. (The ball that went long and snapped hard is actually the weaker ball)

[djp1080]

Thanks for posting this link. Very informative. Lately I've paid lots more attention to how each of my shots react down the lane and I've move my target further down lane. It's becoming apparent that where the ball makes it's move toward the pocket is most critical. By targeting further down lane my accuracy seems to be a bit better. Perhaps I'm just fooling myself though. We'll see...

[Mike White]

This is a link to the page with a video where they discuss what is a stong vs weak ball.

USBC Gold coach Bryan O’Keefe and USBC Hall of Famer Carolyn Dorin-Ballard discuss the difference between strong and weak bowling balls and the common misconception of what it means for a ball to be considered strong.

http://www.usbcbowlingacademy.com/video/strong-vs-weak-bowling-balls-006856/

Basically what they say is most people look at the right to left movement (Left to Right for lefthanders) of the ball (how many boards it covers) and equate that for how strong a ball is. (The ball that went long and snapped hard must be the strong ball)

But what they say is you should be looking at is from front to back and how early or late the ball moves. (The ball that went long and snapped hard is actually the weaker ball)

I still think calling a ball strong or weak based on how early it reads is just as bad as saying it's strong or weak based on how much it hooks in the back end.

The ball that went long and snapped hard, usually has less surface. Sometimes getting a ball to go long is due to chemical additives.

The important part is, if the ball reads early, it will follow the edge of the oil, and make the bowler appear more consistent than they actually are, whereas the ball that doesn't read early will go in the direction that it is released longer which magnifies errors.

So if you're a spray can, getting the ball to read the pattern is like applying a stencil.