New ball selection

[ebabin4]

Hello, new to the site. Been bowling open play forever, just joined my first league starting September 14th. Anyway, i average in the 140's. Been throwing a Hammer Black Widow Red Legend pearl for a year now (before this was a columbia 300 wicked b/r/t which i loved), I find the only way i can get that particular ball to hook like i want is to slow it down to 9-10mph. but then it has no pin action. Thinking about another ball. I tried a friends Roto Grip Wreck it, and i like the way it rolls and i find it hits hard. I am leaning towards a Storm Alpha Crux, but worried it will be too aggressive for weekly league bowling and THS pattern. Looking for any opinions or other options to look into. Thanks.

[1VegasBowler]

Hello, new to the site. Been bowling open play forever, just joined my first league starting September 14th. Anyway, i average in the 140's. Been throwing a Hammer Black Widow Red Legend pearl for a year now (before this was a columbia 300 wicked b/r/t which i loved), I find the only way i can get that particular ball to hook like i want is to slow it down to 9-10mph. but then it has no pin action. Thinking about another ball. I tried a friends Roto Grip Wreck it, and i like the way it rolls and i find it hits hard. I am leaning towards a Storm Alpha Crux, but worried it will be too aggressive for weekly league bowling and THS pattern. Looking for any opinions or other options to look into. Thanks.

Your best bet is to find a good entry level symmetrical ball, and most of the manufacturers have them. Your pro shop owner can guide you best as to which ball is going to suit your style of bowling.

Personally, I'm partial to the Brunswick family of equipment, and the Rhino line would be a very good start.

A step up from that would be the Vintage Danger Zone.

[billf]

1. Has the pro shop found your PAP and layed the ball out off of it? If not then have them do so.
2. Does the ball have a weight/balance hole? If so, where is it located in relation to the grip vertical centerline? If it's even with or above this vertical line have them plug that hole, drill the fingers deep and add a P4 balance hole. This will increase ball dynamics by as much as 40%
3. Have you tried this ball on fresh oil yet? They react differently than when on the typical dry practice lanes.

[ebabin4]

There is no balance hole. It is drilled pin up. I bowled this past Sunday with my family (open play), started a game with my old Wicked. first 6 frames, X, X, X, /, X, X (120 after 6 frames). At this point i switched to the Hammer and finished with only a 151. My wicked has some pretty deep gauges in it from bowling at a center that didnt keep up with their equipment, it's been long closed. We finally have another center that has just recently opened, so im getting back into it. Looking for a ball close in comparison with the old Wicked B/R/T.

[ep1977]

There is no balance hole. It is drilled pin up. I bowled this past Sunday with my family (open play), started a game with my old Wicked. first 6 frames, X, X, X, /, X, X (120 after 6 frames). At this point i switched to the Hammer and finished with only a 151. My wicked has some pretty deep gauges in it from bowling at a center that didnt keep up with their equipment, it's been long closed. We finally have another center that has just recently opened, so im getting back into it. Looking for a ball close in comparison with the old Wicked B/R/T.

When you switched balls did you move your feet and/ or target? I'll assume the lanes were dry.

[ebabin4]

When you switched balls did you move your feet and/ or target? I'll assume the lanes were dry.

at first, i didnt change anything. Rolled the same way, and hammer doesnt break much at all, it's almost straight, hits around the 6 pin. Only way i can get it to break back to the pocket is to slow it down a lot. But then there's not much carry through the pins. I tried a friend of mine's new roto grip wreck it, the thumb hole was a little big for me, so not too consistent with it, but i like the way it reacted on the same lane conditions. And even when i rolled it slow (10mph) it still hit hard. I havent given up completely on the Hammer. Like i said, league play starts next week, so ill try it on fresh lanes. Would still like to have something to fall back on besides the old columbia. Going to the pro shop this evening to get the thumb hole opened up a little on my spare ball (white dot), so ill see what he suggest.

[Amyers]

Something is going on if your seeing that much variation between the balls. The Red Legend pearl is a good ball so my guess would be something below:

1. Difference in the grips between the two balls are causing you to release it different
2. The ball is drilled incorrectly for your PAP
3. The ball could be burning up (not enough oil for it)
4. After a year of use the ball may need de-oiling and resurfacing

Has the ball always reacted this way? or just started and got worse?

I would start by talking to the PSO about what's happening and have him check the grip between the two balls see if there is a difference. I would have him check my PAP and the drilling on the ball to make sure the are compatible. I would consider having the ball resurfaced at least and try it on your league conditions and see if it reacts differently. The odds that the problem is just the ball and will be fixed simply by getting a different one are very small

[ebabin4]

I've always been inconsistent with it. After reading these replies, Im starting to believe that it just needs a lot of oil on the lane to perform, whereas the columbia, not so much. Ive always bowled open play, and usually late at night after leagues and everyone else have been on the lanes.

[Amyers]

I've always been inconsistent with it. After reading these replies, Im starting to believe that it just needs a lot of oil on the lane to perform, whereas the columbia, not so much. Ive always bowled open play, and usually late at night after leagues and everyone else have been on the lanes.

I wouldn't be surprised if you get a big surprise in how different your equipment acts on fresh oil for league night. I would wait until I tried the ball out during league play if it performs more to your liking I would maybe look at something a little tamer for open bowling. One of the Virals would be a good fit below the RL for open bowling or even a Nail if you want to stay Hammer.

[ebabin4]

I wouldn't be surprised if you get a big surprise in how different your equipment acts on fresh oil for league night. I would wait until I tried the ball out during league play if it performs more to your liking I would maybe look at something a little tamer for open bowling. One of the Virals would be a good fit below the RL for open bowling or even a Nail if you want to stay Hammer.

Will do. Thanks for all the replies.

[billf]

You still didn't answer if the ball was layed out and drilled off your PAP. If your unsure ask the pro shop. If it wasn't then make sure they do find it before spending good money on a ball again. Balls not drilled off the bowler's PAP can have undesired and unexpected ball reactions.

[ebabin4]

You still didn't answer if the ball was layed out and drilled off your PAP. If your unsure ask the pro shop. If it wasn't then make sure they do find it before spending good money on a ball again. Balls not drilled off the bowler's PAP can have undesired and unexpected ball reactions.

Im really not sure how the pro shop guy layed it out. I just googled "PAP" to see what it was, lol. Visually its the same as my columbia is drilled, with the ring finger hole lined up just about directly below the pin.

[billf]

So then it sounds as if that was a no. Don't waste any more money on balls until that is found.

The PAP (positive axis point) is bowler specific and dependent upon the release. Layouts utilize this to create the geometry with the CG (center of gravity, small mark manufacturer applies on cover), pin (small 1/4" circle) and the MB (mass bias). The geometry created by aligning these variables is what allows the layouts to perform in a certain way by orientating the core as needed.

It's alot of info but hopefully a beginning to help you understand why not having your PAP located and used to determine layout is a waste of your money.

[ebabin4]

I will definitely look into this