Ball Weight

[shadd]

I've noticed with the giveaway threads and Facebook posts, very rarely do I see anyone wanting a 16# ball. The PSO that drilled my ball 2 Saturday's ago commented and was surprised that I had a 16# ball. Has the 16# ball gone out of favor for some reason? I always wanted to get the "most massive" ball for the "power" that the mass brings (Force=MassXAcceleration, for any physics fans out there haha), am I thinking about this wrong?

[mc_runner]

Carry doesn't suffer with 15 lb balls compared to 16lb. You can even go down to 14 without much of a difference. With the modern game, most bowlers find the increased revs/speed a 15lb gives them to be worth the 1lb loss in weight - it's that way on the tour all the way down.

[bowl1820]

"Man Weight"! (PBA slang for a 16 pound ball)

Since the advent of the stronger coverstocks and cores, it's felt 15 pound balls carry just as well as 16# and most have dropped to 15 (and some even to 14) pound balls.

Many site it's easier to get rev's on a lighter ball, a lighter ball is easier on the arm also.

[Jaescrub]

I use 16 some times I think a 15 might be the way to go but ya I just keep using 16 :)

[Blomer]

All mine are 15 pounds. When I got my firs ball, the guy said most are using 15 and that's what I did.

[Tony]

i used a 16lb ball for years and a few years back switched to 15lb and never noticed a thing. The latest change I made this year was down to 14 due to several arm surgeries I felt it would be smart to protect my arm a little bit.
I am actually averaging a few pins higher with the lower weight and I seem to get a little more revs on the ball.
Quite a few of the guys in my leagues are doing it with good results.

[JasonNJ]

I switched to all 15 lbs and haven't noticed a difference in terms of power or carry. I do feel a lot less stress in the hands though.

[AlexNC]

I have been using 14 for some time. I am in my thirties and in good health - just was the recommendation from coaches/pro shop when I got back into bowling. I considered switching to 15 for a time - but was sold on staying at 14 by my PSO, who advocated that if I was switching to improve carry I wouldn't see a significant enough difference to make the change.

[Timmyb]

I just switched to 15. Noticed the weight difference immediately in revs. Not so much in ball speed. It was also kinder to my fingers as well!

[Amyers]

It used to be with the more solid cores their was a slight advantage in physics to the 16lbs balls but with the advent of filler material the sweet spot shifted toward 15lbs balls. Add this to the higher speed and rev rate and you had the migration to 15lbs. I have been told this by two different PSO's and you can still see a difference with the few balls that are released with no filer in the cores supposedly. I don't know how true this is but if you look at some of the old posters for the urethane era balls and the new balls you do see a difference in RG and Diff separation between the weights.

[NewToBowling]

All I know is pro shops mostly stock 15 with a few 14'ers sprinkled in there. You kind of have to special order 16 lb balls.

[fokai73]

There was a show this year, Duke vs. Jones I believe, when Randy P. told Rob that Duke prefers to throw 16lbs to snap the ten out. "that extra pound makes a lot of difference." And I was like what?!!! He also mentioned the WRW sometimes would go back to 16#....

Anyway, if someone is using 16# and his/her speed is slow @ 16 to 12 mph at release, I'd suggest maybe he/she drop to 15 or maybe 14. Likewise, if a person is rolling a 14# and is 20+ mph at release, I'd suggest maybe trying 15#. Speed is good, but you also want the ball to slow down at the right moment as it rolls into the pocket for better carry.

[shadd]

"Man Weight" and the fact that Norm Duke and sometimes Walter Ray Williams use a 16# ball leads me to believe that, in fact, 16# is the correct weight haha.

JK.

Everything written in this thread has been very intriguing and equally thought provoking!!!

My other hobby (strongman) has afforded me a fair amount of "strength" so speed and rev generation and arm/shoulder/wrist/finger soreness aren't an issue at this point in my life, would those smarter than myself (basically everyone) recommend a switch to 15? Or, would staying at 16 for a house shot be recommended?

[Amyers]

"Man Weight" and the fact that Norm Duke and sometimes Walter Ray Williams use a 16# ball leads me to believe that, in fact, 16# is the correct weight haha.

JK.

Everything written in this thread has been very intriguing and equally thought provoking!!!

My other hobby (strongman) has afforded me a fair amount of "strength" so speed and rev generation and arm/shoulder/wrist/finger soreness aren't an issue at this point in my life, would those smarter than myself (basically everyone) recommend a switch to 15? Or, would staying at 16 for a house shot be recommended?

If your comfortable with the 16 stay with it. You can actually often get balls cheaper in 16 if your buying clearance lol.

[foreverincamo]

Mine are all 16 pounds. I'm a low-rev stroker and plenty strong enough to handle it. I figure that once I hit 50 I may drop to 15 pounds.

[ChuckR]

I was off for 20+ years and at 65+ I drilled a 16 lb ball given to me by a relative. I rolled it for a year and went to a 15lb. The drop in weight allowed for more games and less stress on the body.

[Mark O]

I bowled with 15lbs for years and my average never got out of the low to mid 180s. Made the switch to 14lbs 3 years ago and my average jumped to 196 then to 200 and I currently am sitting at 207 this year. I have a lot more control over the ball as well as an increased rev rate and my strike percentage is significantly higher. A lot of the guys on my team are older guys who throw "man weight" and scoffed at my 14lb ball saying it could never carry the corners. I find I leave the exact same amount of 7s and 10s as they do and on the year I have only left the 8 pin twice and the 5 pin twice so it definitely is driving through the pins. I find that there's no real difference between 14-16 for most bowlers, as long as it's a weight you can comfortably control you can do well with it.

[Aslan]

I just switched to 15. Noticed the weight difference immediately in revs. Not so much in ball speed. It was also kinder to my fingers as well!

I had this conversation with a bowler on the other team last night during league. Two of the older guys had wrist problems and were worried because one of them was down to 15lbs and thinking about 14#s. The other was experimenting with 10lbs. They asked my opinion and it's simple, if the weight keeps you from bowling well, move down in weight. Execution trumps everything.

I started out with 15#s in 2013. I moved to 16lbs in 2014. I moved back to 15lbs this year. I'll probably try 16lbs again next year.

There's pros and cons to everything and everyone will have a different opinion. MOST feel that the added RPMs from 15lbs cancels out the loss of carry due to the weight reduction. I noticed when switching to 15lbs that I can control the ball much better and can generate more RPMs without 'trying' to generate more RPMs. On the negative side, I leave a lot more 8-pins and 8-10 splits than I did with 16lbs. So, the folks that say it won't effect carry...my data thus far shows it 'might'. I say 'might' because off the top of my head, I can think of at least 6 reasons having nothing to do with ball weight that could result in more 8s and 8-10s...only testing the theory on the USBC's robot (which they should do a LOT more with in my opinion) could scientifically prove/disprove such a thing.

And yes, 16lbs is harder to find. When I was throwing 16lbs, I was worried because I bought a raffle ticket for (any ball in the pro shop) and when I went to look at what they had...they had 2 16lb balls and about 20 15lb balls. On the POSITIVE side, I've been able to get 16lb balls for a very nice discount online because usually they are the last to sell.

[Jessiewoodard57]

I've been able to get 16lb balls for a very nice discount online because usually they are the last to sell.

yup the secret is to wait even if you want it bad. I use a 14# and all the good deals I ever find are 16# with every other weight sold out. I tried a 16# when I first came back to bowling but from a wheel chair it was just too hard on my shoulder.

[fordman1]

Maybe an expert can tell if a low rev player will leave more 10's with 15 rather than 16?

[Timmyb]

Maybe an expert can tell if a low rev player will leave more 10's with 15 rather than 16?

A) Not an expert. B) Medium rev guy (325-350). I will offer this. On Tuesday, I took my new 15# IQ Nano for a spin. I did not leave a 10 pin the entire night. The week before I used my 16# Icon 300, and left nine. Both balls have roughly the same surface, but with vastly different cores. I don't think the weight matters.

[larry mc]

i just went down to 15 last year same carry and my arm stays fresh longer

[Lefty651]

I use a 15lb but I've always wanted to experiment with a 16/14.

[fordman1]

i just went down to 15 last year same carry and my arm stays fresh longer

I wanted to know if the bowlers that replied actually knew what they were talking about. It says my friend list is empty. Larry it says you have no friends? Some how that struck me as funny....

[Aslan]

I think only have one and I've been here since mid 2013....and I don't even know if that "friend" is on the site.

Don't pay much attention to it. There are several "functions" of this board that don't totally work well or were just never really utilized. The gallery/image upload functionality is horrible so you're stuck using imageshack or something. There is "reputation" on this site but virtually nobody knows that and it doesn't really mean anything. And you can have friends...but it doesn't really "do" anything...like give you more access to them. And you can even ignore members and their posts will be unreadable to you...some people have used that....I have on rare occasion....but again, many people don't know it even exists.

But the way I look at it is....how much do I pay to be a member?? And there ya go. If I was spending money supporting the site or being a member....then I could work on my list of suggestions. But for free....with only one moderator....and relatively little store traffic coming directly from the boards...I think it's a low priority at this point.

[fordman1]

What I was laughing at was that
for him it said "you have no friends"
for me it said "your friends list is empty"
Does that mean I still have a chance? :cool:

[bubba809]

I think only have one and I've been here since mid 2013....and I don't even know if that "friend" is on the site.






I'm your friend Aslan.

[Aslan]

I'm your friend Aslan.

It lists me as only being friends with "HowDoIHookAgain" who I haven't seen for some time. I assume he figured out how to hook again and felt this site no longer necessary. Or he was part of the mass exodus that followed our spiritual leader and herbal medicine specialist Iceman to "DrMcGillicutty.com"; a site with the perfect mix of bowling, aliens, and herbal medicines.

[Ishkabibble]

It lists me as only being friends with "HowDoIHookAgain" who I haven't seen for some time. I assume he figured out how to hook again and felt this site no longer necessary. Or he was part of the mass exodus that followed our spiritual leader and herbal medicine specialist Iceman to "DrMcGillicutty.com"; a site with the perfect mix of bowling, aliens, and herbal medicines.

I personally know "HowDoIHookAgain". He is extreamly busy with school work, school bowling team and 2 baseball teams. He loves this site and still reads when he can just not as involved.

[forhuskers]

Can anyone shed some light on mixing weights say 14 and 15 lb, balls? I'd lie to experiment with a 14, but I don't want to have to redo my arsenal. So I might have to switch from a 14 to a 15 or vice versa during a series. How much of a difference does it make feel wise if anyone has tried it?

[RobLV1]

Can anyone shed some light on mixing weights say 14 and 15 lb, balls? I'd lie to experiment with a 14, but I don't want to have to redo my arsenal. So I might have to switch from a 14 to a 15 or vice versa during a series. How much of a difference does it make feel wise if anyone has tried it?

Never change weights among your bowling balls. It plays havoc with your timing. This is probably the only thing that bowling coaches and PSO's will ever agree on.

[taxexpert2]

I went from 16 to 14 when my hand was recovering from an injury. But I think it was not the right 14 lb ball. I have since gone back up to 15 but a different ball with different action. Much happier with bowling scores. Can't really do the 16 lb ball any more although once in a while I will pick it up just to convince myself.

[Jessiewoodard57]

When I started bowling as a teen I used a 16# ball. Fast forward after being gone from bowling for 35 years I bought a 16# hammer Firstblood I loved the ball but hated the way my arm felt after 3 games. I dropped to a 13# (on bad advice from a PSO) and found my arm felt better. I was having problems with the grip hurting so I consulted another PSO who is a league bowler at our house. He took one look at my grip and asked who drilled it? Just by looking he could see the span was way too long. Long story short he redrilled 5 balls that where drilled wrong and in the process educated me about the weight block of the 13# compared to the 14#. eventually he drilled me one of his own 14# balls so I could try to see if my arm could handle it. I switched to all 14# equipment and have been quite happy. Amazing the difference in knockdown power between the 13# and 14#. Wish I had met this PSO first could have saved a bunch of money not buying 13# balls!

[NewToBowling]

Well the definite cutoff is between 13 and 14 pounds as for most balls anything under 14 and you're talking a generic core. That's what made my decision to purchase a 14 vs 13 as my first ball. I could probably move up to 15 but I have no carry issues and no pain with my current setup

[larry mc]

i switched to 15 3 years ago and my average has improved , i get more revs and feel i have more controll of the ball

[angel]

I wish I could throw a heavier ball but I'm stuck
throwing a 11 pound that is about as heavy as
I can throw without dropping it or going down
the lane with it. LOL!!