Dry-Medium Balls

[Coorslghtman1025]

What are the best balls to use for House Oil?

[J Anderson]

What are the best balls to use for House Oil?

I know we all tend to talk about the ‘typical house shot’, to the point that we either say “THS” or house shot, but there is no precise standar for a house shot. Even a big chain like Bowlmor doesn’t use the same pattern in every center. What is going to be the best ball for a given bowling center will depend on the type of oil used, the specific pattern and the person throwing the ball. Clearly there is no way to give you a useful answer without a lot more information.

[RobLV1]

The only thing "typical" about a house shot is that there is more oil in the middle than there is on the outside. Other than than, volumes vary and lengths vary, and types of oil vary... what John said.

[ChuckR]

I bowl in Las Vegas at 2 casinos. Red Rock likes the Tyrant and Gold Coast likes my Tenacity. Based on the weather here Red Rock dries out quicker than Gold Coast and I drop to an UpRoar. There is NO Typical house shot as RobLV1 pointed out. You just have to learn to adjust which can be a pain when you just want to have fun.

[ALazySavage]

The only advice I can really provide to this question is hopefully there is a good pro shop near you that can watch you bowl and knows the house/condition that you are bowling on. Just a few major considerations about the house that will have to be taken into consideration: what "oil pattern" is their house shot (specifically the volume and length), what surface are your lanes, do they strip and oil or put down a fill shot. If you are convinced that the shot is the dry/medium condition you could look at that section on bowlingball.com and see if that does anything for you (just be wary that those are very general suggestions). A better discussion would be your arsenal, if you don't have any bowling balls yet you would want something in the mid-range performance staying away from the extremes.

[TTREX]

Having no clue about your game meaning how you bowl, your release, axis tilt, pap, rev rate, ball speed....All I can recommend would be a Urethane bowling ball such as the Roto Grip Hot Cell, or a Storm Pitch Black, or a Hammer black widow urethane. On medium to dry these should all work well as long as you know how to adjust as needed to get the reaction you are looking for. Don't be afraid to adjust the surface of the ball with an abralon pad or scotch brite pad....meaning try the ball with out of box surface first. Then if the ball does not hook enough dull the surface down with a grey or burgundy scotch brite pad a little at a time until the ball gives you the motion you are looking for. Or if out of box surface the ball hooks too much or too soon then try some extender polish on it. You must not only adjust your feet/target/revs/hand position/ball speed... but you must also adjust the cover of the ball to match up with the lane condition. This means that even if you take the urethane ball all the way down to 360 grit dull if it still does not hook enough then you must use a reactive ball and do the same thing no matter if it is a solid, or hybrid, or pearl....you must adjust the surface of the ball to match how you release the ball and to match the lane condition/conditions. So if you are building an arsenal for example you need balls for heavy/medium/light, and dry lanes with surfaces that allow you to use each ball under the condition it was designed for. Once you get use to doing this then you will find what works for you and what does not on any lane condition. Some conditions will dictate you need a shiny pearl, or maybe a dull solid...etc.. Never be afraid to experiment to find what works best for you. Some times the oil pattern will require you to use a plastic ball.

[ALazySavage]

Not to be a pain but I would pretty much put urethane as the last ball I would ever recommend in this situation. There are so many factors that could take urethane out of play and since we don't know much, if anything, about this bowler's game I just don't see it. Essentially with urethane if this bowler doesn't have significant ball speed or encounter low volume heads they are going to get bad ball reaction since the tendency is for these balls to roll early and blend (not ideal for house shot conditions and high flaring cores are just going to accentuate this).

[mc_runner]

Not to be a pain but I would pretty much put urethane as the last ball I would ever recommend in this situation. There are so many factors that could take urethane out of play and since we don't know much, if anything, about this bowler's game I just don't see it. Essentially with urethane if this bowler doesn't have significant ball speed or encounter low volume heads they are going to get bad ball reaction since the tendency is for these balls to roll early and blend (not ideal for house shot conditions and high flaring cores are just going to accentuate this).

I agree, rolling up early isn't an ideal situation for dry-ish lanes. There's a misconception that urethane is good for dry lanes, really it just doesn't overreact - but it's a recipe for poor carry. Everyone's right about needing more info though!

[RobLV1]

Urethane is only a good suggestion when the bowler has lots of ball speed. For slower speeds, it's a total bust!

[Coorslghtman1025]

Thanks for the info. I do not hook the ball and my average is only 130. I was looking at Brunswick or DV8 balls. Any suggestions?

[RobLV1]

Thanks for the info. I do not hook the ball and my average is only 130. I was looking at Brunswick or DV8 balls. Any suggestions?

Most any entry-level reactive ball will be a good choice for you at your current average.

[TTREX]

Thanks for the info. I do not hook the ball and my average is only 130. I was looking at Brunswick or DV8 balls. Any suggestions?

That bit of info is very helpful!!! "If you do not hook the ball".. then the truth is that you would want something that is durable that will last longer, and the truth is a urethane ball will out last plastic and reactive's hands down!! I am speaking from 50 years of experience!!! old school Rubber or old school urethane or even new "pure urethane" will last a life time!!!!

Now if you just want the reactive because of how it looks with all the pretty colors...etc ...then sure fork out that double or quadruple amount of money to have a pretty bowling ball that might crack and chip and be worn out after several seasons, rather than buying a urethane that will last 20 years or longer.

if you do not hook the ball, then the type of ball you buy does not matter as long as you like it, and understand the difference in how long the ball will last you. Reactive's and plastic wear out much faster than pure urethane. But the choice is yours to make.

Good luck :)

[RobLV1]

I have not seen anything in this thread that indicates that he is looking for a ball based on how long it will last. The fact that he doesn't hook the ball NOW, doesn't mean that he will never figure out that a lesson or two with a Certified Coach would probably be a good idea. Longevity not withstanding, unless he has a whole lot of ball speed, urethane is a really bad idea for house bowlers.

[TTREX]

I disagree with anyone who is against urethane. Reactive's are not the only answer!!! Our house shot in all three centers and two other centers within 30 miles do not have enough oil volume to even use reactive's!!!
I watch fools stand there scratching there head trying to figure out why there new reactive bowling ball won't hook anywhere on the lane side to side or front to back!!!! Yet i can throw a old fabal blue hammer down 8 board and it will hook roll up into the pocket and strike when everyone else is trying to force there reactive ball to hook and all it does is slide and never recovers not even with 600 revs on the ball!!!

Our high school bowlers bowl on flat low volume oil as well, and the ones who are scoring highest are using urethane pearls & solids.

Now if you are bowling at a mom and pop bowling center who still put down 1990's easy house shot like the the old 40ft christmas tree pattern then yes....Reactive is the way to go!!! If you are lucky enough to bowl at a center like that where you can have fun then you are blessed!!!!! So have fun while you can :)

For centers like ours who comply with USBC, we bowl in hell where reactive's skid past the break point no matter how you adjust!!! Unless you are left handed.....lol

Our heads are so dry reactive's hook as soon as they touch the lane!!!!!! Fools stand there throwing harder and harder lofting the ball only to have it skid for 55 ft before it even tries to wiggle!!!!

[RobLV1]

And I disagree with anyone who recommends urethane without clarifying the recommendation with a notation about ball speed.

[TTREX]

i respect your right to disagree, no problem there. I personally know the people who run our local USBC chapter, and these people hate reactive bowling balls and are doing everything in there power to prevent them from being of any use. They purposely put down oil patterns that do not favor reactive resin bowling balls. They purposely put down oil patterns that favor plastic and or urethane. Do i agree with them?? No i do not, as i myself like reactive resin bowling balls, yet i cannot use them due the stupid crap our local USBC is pushing!! When I recommend a urethane bowling ball to someone who does not hook the ball, and they are bowling on dry lanes!!! Then I am not wrong in advising this, unless they are so dry that they need to use plastic!!! Sure this person can buy an entry level reactive, but why recommend an entry level reactive when they are bowling on dry lanes?? That makes no sense, but then again most do not even know what they are bowling on, so yes i was wrong assuming they knew the lanes were in fact dry.....lol

So yeah go ahead and recommend reactive for dry lanes for some one who does not even hook the ball, that's surely the right answer for a beginner...smh

[RobLV1]

You are only looking at the shape of the shot, not the energy retention of the ball. The only requirement that the USBC has in terms of oil patterns is that there has to be a minimum of three units of oil from gutter to gutter. When you take a urethane bowling ball without much ball speed, whether it is hooking or going straight, it will hit like a toasted marshmallow if it is set down in the dirt. The problem with lane conditions that are "too dry" is that bowlers still insist on playing blackjack: standing on twenty and hitting ten!

[bowl1820]

Okay, I think I got this train wreck back on the tracks.

[ALazySavage]

"Our high school bowlers bowl on flat low volume oil as well, and the ones who are scoring highest are using urethane pearls & solids."

I just wanted to call this point out because there is some real value to this comment. The argument is not that there is no value in urethane, it is the timing of when a bowler should use urethane - as much as I disagree with using urethane in this situation (new bowler/house shot), I do agree that there are situations in which urethane is the choice. When bowling on very difficult patterns where you need to burn off energy and control the back-ends urethane is often one of the best choices you can make. Flat patterns as described in the quote above in which you don't have much miss room make sense for a ball that will roll early and let you control the backend, especially when scoring is at a premium (this prevents you from messy leaves and allows you to cover spares and win).