Adding my next ball

[Amyers]

Well after talking it over with my PSO last night I have decided to add another ball. I was really interested in the Motiv Tag but the PSO thought the Hammer Arson Low Flare solid was the better choice for what I wanted the ball to do. So I ordered the Arson Low Flare. I'm bowling a league with my kids on old wood lanes this summer and I needed something less aggressive for the conditions there.

So my arsenal will be:

Heavy/Medium Heavy- Storm Virtual Gravity Nano Pearl (R.G. 2.48 Diff .048 Surface 1500 Polished)

Medium- Rotogrip Asylum Hybrid (R.G. 2.50 Diff .043 Surface 2000/4000)

Medium- Seismic Euphoria Pearl (R.G. 2.55 Diff .054 Surface 2000 Polished)

Light- Hammer Arson Low Flare Solid (R.G. 2.48 Diff .020 Surface 500/Rubbing Compound)

Spare- Ebonite Skull Ball Plastic

So some thoughts on the current arsenal? Honestly the Euphoria doesn't get much use anymore it's on it's 4th drill was basically bought to try a modern ball it's condition specific but I have put up some good scores when it fits. The Asylum is probably due for retirement maybe as early as this fall it's still rolling great and I really like it but its getting close to 600 games on it. Probably a big gap between the medium and light categories but I really won't know until I throw the arson some.

[RobLV1]

Just my own observation, and it is well known that I disagree with many PSO's on this. Your light oil ball has an RG that is equal to your heavy oil ball, and it has more surface. The thing that makes this ball less aggressive (supposedly) is the low differential. It is patterned after the Storm IQ Tour series, which was developed at the request of PBA Tour bowlers who wanted a ball with a lower differential to give them a less violent reaction with their ultra high rev rates. If you look at what happened with the Storm series, the first "regular" IQ was the only one with a high differential core, while the IQ Tour series is still going strong with four different versions. Why? The bowling public saw the word "Tour" on the ball and wanted to be like the elite tour players. The rub is that they are very happy with the balls because with their lower rev rates, the balls are still plenty aggressive enough for them as a low differential does not make a whole lot of difference to lower rev players (my opinion based on observations). The bottom line is, don't be afraid to add plenty of polish to the Arson Low Flare Solid if you really want a light oil ball.

[vdubtx]

Looking good.

I was thinking of a lighter pattern ball too. I am either going for a Storm Ride or the Arson Low Flare Solid.
PSO was trying to talk me into Unhinged, but I think that is more Medium ball than it is to the drier end.

[Amyers]

Just my own observation, and it is well known that I disagree with many PSO's on this. Your light oil ball has an RG that is equal to your heavy oil ball, and it has more surface. The thing that makes this ball less aggressive (supposedly) is the low differential. It is patterned after the Storm IQ Tour series, which was developed at the request of PBA Tour bowlers who wanted a ball with a lower differential to give them a less violent reaction with their ultra high rev rates. If you look at what happened with the Storm series, the first "regular" IQ was the only one with a high differential core, while the IQ Tour series is still going strong with four different versions. Why? The bowling public saw the word "Tour" on the ball and wanted to be like the elite tour players. The rub is that they are very happy with the balls because with their lower rev rates, the balls are still plenty aggressive enough for them as a low differential does not make a whole lot of difference to lower rev players (my opinion based on observations). The bottom line is, don't be afraid to add plenty of polish to the Arson Low Flare Solid if you really want a light oil ball.

Thanks for the advice Rob I always am willing to adjust my surfaces the only ball that I currently throw that has the OOB surface on it is the Virtual Gravity mainly left that way just because it seems to work and it hasn't been due for a resurface yet. I did consider the R.G. part of the reason that I was considering the Motiv Tag R.G. 2.55 but we wanted to avoid skid flip for this one as these lanes play very over/under for me and he just felt the Tag would be too angular for what I was looking for.

[Amyers]

Looking good.

I was thinking of a lighter pattern ball too. I am either going for a Storm Ride or the Arson Low Flare Solid.
PSO was trying to talk me into Unhinged, but I think that is more Medium ball than it is to the drier end.

Thanks Vdub

I'll let you know what I think about the Arson after I throw it. I haven't seen the ride yet but I know lots of guys who throw the breeze and can't say I've been impressed. My teammate on my Sunday League has both the Unhinged and the Hysteria (for some reason thinks he must buy everything Roto puts out) he prefers the Hysteria over the Unhinged big time and I wouldn't call either of them light oil balls.

[Sourtower]

Let me know how you like the Arson Low Flare Solid. I love the colors on that bowling ball and was considering picking one up eventually.

[RobLV1]

Thanks for the advice Rob I always am willing to adjust my surfaces the only ball that I currently throw that has the OOB surface on it is the Virtual Gravity mainly left that way just because it seems to work and it hasn't been due for a resurface yet. I did consider the R.G. part of the reason that I was considering the Motiv Tag R.G. 2.55 but we wanted to avoid skid flip for this one as these lanes play very over/under for me and he just felt the Tag would be too angular for what I was looking for.

Just for future reference, just because a ball has a high rg, does not mean that it has to have an angular reaction. The shape of the reaction can be easily adjusted by the layout used without sacrificing the added length from the higher rg.

[Amyers]

Just for future reference, just because a ball has a high rg, does not mean that it has to have an angular reaction. The shape of the reaction can be easily adjusted by the layout used without sacrificing the added length from the higher rg.

That is true Rob. I picked up the Arson Low Flare last night. I was delayed a little bit as my new PSO wanted to try and mess with my grip a little bit. We decided to shorten the span on my ring finger slightly. I didn't get to bowl a whole lot with the Arson because it was near closing time and only had time for 2 games but I really liked what I saw. The arson is longer than anything else in my bag right now which surprised me with the low Rg. We did decide on a longer flare reducing layout for this ball. We did adjust the surface to 4000 before I started with it. It goes long but has a longer slurve type of movement to it. The ball does hook more than I expected it too I would say total boards covered it is actually close to the asylum but starts later with a very controlled movement. I'm actually pretty happy its less aggressive off the spot than my Virtual Gravity but starts later than my Asylum. I will report a little more after bowling with this a little more and at another house as this house has older wood lanes and my plastic hooks there pretty easily.