16 or 15 pound ball [Archive] - BowlingBoards.com

Ishkabibble

01-15-2016, 07:59 AM

shadd

01-15-2016, 08:07 AM

I asked a similar question a few weeks back. Here is a link to the thread if you want to take a look at the insight/answers.

http://www.bowlingboards.com/threads/19028-Ball-Weight

Ishkabibble

01-15-2016, 08:33 AM

I asked a similar question a few weeks back. Here is a link to the thread if you want to take a look at the insight/answers.

http://www.bowlingboards.com/threads/19028-Ball-Weight

I tried a search for 16lb before I posted but said it was 2 general. Thanks for the link.

J Anderson

01-15-2016, 06:00 PM

Have a friend currently using 16lb ball (Brunswick Groove) looking to get a new ball today after many many years. Pro shop where I am taking him no longer stocks any 16 pound balls but will not be a problem to order one. He bowls on old warn out, under maintained wood lanes. More of a down and in player does not like a larger hook. Rolls moderate speed 15 mph approx (no speed reading at our house) and has no problem handeling the 16 pounds. What would some of the pros and cons to dropping to 15 pounds. Thanks

I haven't bowled on "real" lanes in at least 20 years so I can't give a perspective on that part of the question. Given that the lanes are "old worn out" and "under maintained", the lane topography would trump any difference between what the lanes are made of.

Being a "down and in player" he should probably stick to 16lbs.

Tony

01-16-2016, 08:48 AM

It's probably a good indication that if the pro shop doesn't even carry 16lb balls, there is very little demand for them. Assuming that if the local bowlers perceived that 16lb was the way to go with their lanes then there would be more demand and the pro shop would be stocking 16lb balls, it appears that 16 lb offers little advantage. This would mirror the overall bowling community where the most commonly used weight by far is 15lb.
I as well as many of the bowlers I know used to use 16lb but over the past 10 years or so it's transitioned and I only know a few guys that use 16lb, in fact I would say more people I know are using 14lb than 16lb.
Based on all the facts unless there is some reason your buddy wants a 16lb ball, it seems like a 15lb ball would be the way to go.

foreverincamo

01-17-2016, 10:07 PM

I only use 16# equipment. As long as I am strong enough to throw it I will. I have thrown my wife's 14# ball and it feels like I'm throwing a toy.

fortheloveofbowling

01-18-2016, 01:00 AM

I only use 16# equipment. As long as I am strong enough to throw it I will. I have thrown my wife's 14# ball and it feels like I'm throwing a toy.

That is my exact feeling as well. As long as i can throw 16 lb i will.

Blomer

01-18-2016, 12:47 PM

When I started bowling three years ago, they goto shop guy that I bought from said that most are using 15 and still getting solid hits like 16 lbs . Not sure if it's true, but 15 has been working. Figure it will save me time using this weight as when I get older I wouldn't have to move to 15 from 16.

Perrin

01-21-2016, 11:21 AM

I swapped from 16 to 15 after I hurt my shoulder a few years ago. I found that after 7 games with the 16 lber I would be sore the next day and game 6 or so my consistency would start to suffer.

15lb I've done 8-9 games in a day with no issue and don't have as many shoulder issues as I used to.....

side note.... bad choice to hyper-extend your bowling shoulder diving back into a base in softball :)

JasonNJ

01-21-2016, 11:59 AM

I got back into bowling last year and made the switch to 15lbs and love it. Less stress on my hands and don't feel I lost any carry.

In fact, I got a few guys back into bowling with me and they were all throwing older 16 lb balls and were surprised I told them I was throwing 15 and they have all since switched to 15 lbs as well.

Perrin

01-22-2016, 09:45 AM

forgot to mention that other advantage I saw with the swap from 16 to 15 less stone 9 pins.

I assume the 15lb has just a bit more deflection than the 16

PauL757

01-25-2016, 11:10 AM

Ronald Hickland did a video on carry of 14-16lb balls. Look it up on Youtube. I personally use 16 because I felt I muscled 15 at times.

Aslan

01-25-2016, 02:17 PM

I personally use 16 because I felt I muscled 15 at times.

Second Most Asked Question on Site (just in case you get stuck on Family Feud and it comes up as a category). Second only to "What Ball Should I Get!??"

The answer to both questions is the same. It doesn't matter.

I started out throwing 15lb. I switched to 16lbs. Now I'm back to 15lbs. Next arsenal most likely will be 16lbs.

There are differences, but each weight has advantages and disadvantages. With 16lbs I struggled to get revs and open up the lane. With 15lbs I can get a better angle and more rpms (which go together)...but I've found my number of 8-10 splits and single 8-pins has increased significantly.

But that's why I'm saying it "doesn't matter". Would you rather a ball that has more power but less angle? Or do you want a ball with more angle and less power? With 15lbs I have a better chance of striking due to the angle/rpms...but a lesser chance of striking due to the slight deflection issue keeping the ball from getting left enough as it leaves the pin deck to nudge the 8-pin.

Where I agree with Paul is; I've recently found that when going back to throwing 16lbs, I don't muscle the shot as much.

The reasons 16lbs are out of style is just the way the sport has evolved. The current state of the sport is to spin, spin, spin the ball. It's why most non-league nights in nearly every bowling center...they will be out of 6lb balls. Not because the kiddos are bowling...but because it's "cool" to throw the ball to a breakpoint and watch it spin a lot and go gutter to gutter. Out and in is "old school"...it's outdated...it's for the old geezers that refuse to embrace modern bowling concepts. There was even a significant move to go to 14lbs recently.

But the age old guidance really hasn't changed no matter how much the youngsters want it to. You throw the highest weight ball you can comfortably throw. Why 16lbs? Because they don't allow 17lbs. When do you go down in weight? When your body is struggling to throw it. And that WILL happen to most everyone eventually. Arthritis, Bursitis, other joint pain...back pain...eventually we all get old and we all have to make sacrafices.

Does that mean I'm not gonna throw 15lbs anymore? Nope. Doesn't really matter. For me, it's all about going through my "Closet of Destiny" until I've retired all the balls I currently have undrilled. If I get to a point where I decide definitively that I like one weight over another...I'll only buy that weight. But right now...17lbs....5lbs...I'm not a good enough bowler where it really matters.

Turkey Track Hammer

02-07-2016, 12:25 PM

Ok, here is the deal with me so far. I just got back into bowling after a 15 year absence. So last month I purchased two 15# and two 16# balls. My thought process was I'm getting close to 50 years old and may need to go down to a 15 from a 16. What I have been doing is bowling 2 games each, back to back with each weight. The 15# balls feel so much better to me but here is the catch. I'm averaging almost 20 pins higher with the 16. Granted I have probably only bowled 20 games with each weight so far. I will continue to use both until I get around 100 games with each in. I hope I can improve with the 15 because it feels better and I and is not a hard on my for-arm. How ever no way in hell I would give up 20 pins on an average just because the 15 feels better.

Blomer

02-07-2016, 01:08 PM

Turkey Track Hammer

02-07-2016, 05:47 PM

Are the balls the same besides the weight? Same brand and model and drilled the same? A guy in one of my leagues bowls with an Optimus with one being 16 and other 15. I don't understand it. He also pretty much bowls straight with them, no movement. Seriously, an Optimus that doesn't hook!

15# Hammer Burgundy
15# Track Arsenal Artillery
16# Hammer Rythm
16# Track Tour SiC
The Tracks are drilled slightly different, but not much.