New to Bowling - Too Early for Second Ball?

[grumpter]

Sort of new to bowling. Played very minimally when I was young which exclusively consisted of me throwing a ball as hard as I could at the pins. Now much older and joined a league for some winter fun. I have maybe 35 games under my belt so far. The first few sessions were using a house ball without much break until I finally got my own ball a few weeks ago. It is described by the manufacturer as a Lower-Mid Performance ball http://www.columbia300.com/products/balls/lower-mid-performance/nitrous-black-blue-bronze . I went from very little hook in my first few practice sessions to a decent amount of hook simply by watching some slow motion videos of professionals.

Earlier this week I had a situation where I lost my hook. Thinking it was my technique I tried to correct it through 4 games with not much luck. In the 5th game I gave up and started working from the far side of the lane (far right as a right handed bowler). Suddenly there was my hook again. Moved back left and the hook disappeared, back to the right there it was. So I'm thinking the right side of the lane was much dryer than the left.

That brings me to the question of is it too early for a second ball, that is rated as higher performance, that might work when I come across that type of lane condition (assuming my assessment was correct)? The second part is how to pick a ball that is good step up from what I am currently using? I see the Perfect Strike rating on this site but am too new to understand exactly how that would translate from my current ball to a higher rating (152 is the Perfect Strike rating for my current ball).

[drlawsoniii]

your mechanics and hand are likely to change a lot in your first year, I'd hold off a while before investing in another ball.

[jaypeesmith]

your mechanics and hand are likely to change a lot in your first year, I'd hold off a while before investing in another ball.

Agreed. I've been bowling a little over a year and I am still seeing changes. I actually blamed the ball early on and went on a buying spree. After I got with a couple of coaches (who were running a summer clinic), I finally understood how it wasn't the ball but the guy attached to it.

[J Anderson]

35 games is way too soon to be buying another strike ball, although it is enough time, if you haven’t been good about wiping the ball off after shots and cleaning it before you put it away for it to start losing a bit of its performance.

If you happen to have some money burning a hole in your pocket, or want to put something bowling related on your list for Santa, you buy or ask for a polyester ball, like a T-Zone or a White Dot to use on spares.

[RobLV1]

Take the money that you're considering spending on a new ball, and spend it on a couple of lessons with a qualified coach instead. It will be the best decision you ever made.

[grumpter]

OK, too early for a second ball and I will become more religious about wiping and cleaning the ball. I wish the Pro Shop I bought the ball at would have mentioned that to me.

Lessons seem harder to come by than I expected. I inquired at the lanes where I purchased the ball but they seemed put off by me even asking the question. The other lanes close to me don't seem to offer lessons either. I will have to ask some players when my league starts in a few weeks. I did find one place that is a bit of a drive but the lessons seem more advanced than I would need at this point (3 hour lesson).

[RobLV1]

Check out the USBC website: bowl.com. Under the "search for" feature near the top of the page, look for a certified coach in your area (by zip code). Coaches are rarely attached to a particular bowling center, but there may be several in your area.

[grumpter]

Not a lot of options there but at least a few. I had assumed there would be a large number of options like for golf instruction but that does not appear to be the case.

At one of the alley's this weekend I see they are having a ball demo in early January for 4 different brands. My father mentioned he is thinking of getting a new ball so I told him I would pay his registration fee of $15 (which he gets back if he buys a ball in XX number of days). I'm thinking I will register as well just to satisfy my curiosity about a few things ball related.

[bdpeters]

make sure you keep posting and keep an eye on the contests and givaways section. you may just win yourself a new ball.

[Tony]

It only takes one quality coach to teach you the correct fundamentals and or suggest changes that make drastic improvements in your game.

You can always buy more balls but coaching will help you improve more rapidly than experimenting on what works on your own will.

After coaching you will need practice to ingrain what you have learned and make it a habit/

[grumpter]

With how new I am to the game I would think even a mediocre coach would be able to help me improve dramatically. I am just a little concerned that if a coach or two doesn't seem to be a good match for me then I run out of options pretty quickly. It's going to be a try and see what happens situation as the players I have talked with haven't been able to recommend a coach. I will keep asking though. Even if I get no recommendations I think I will be able to get something from lessons with most any coach at the Bronze level or above.

The Legend on Bowl.com goes from Level I to Bronze but there is at least one coach in my area listed as Level II but I see no explanation for that level. I though it was just a typo until I expanded my search to a much larger area and found some other coaches listed as Level II. Any ideas what is the difference between Level I and Level II?

Sure, I can always buy more balls. Compared to the number of weapons of destruction for golf (14 clubs per bag and multiple bags) bowling balls are cheap. That doesn't mean I am going to rush out and buy another one. My primary goal with the demo is to spend time with my father while doing something we both enjoy, secondary is to see if a lighter ball puts less stress on my body without me overpowering the ball. Last is to see how a ball with more hook works for my undeveloped game. Just curiosity. If I for some reason end up buying a new ball no big worries if it gets discarded after my game develops.

[JasonNJ]

Originally Level I was meant for beginner youth coach and Level II was for beginner adult, they decided that Level I should be able to coach all ages and they removed Level II and let people become bronze coaches instead.

I would recommend trying to get at least a bronze coach. The USBC level I and II material is pretty basic.

[Tony]

A lighter ball will certainly lower the wear and tear on the arm, after several arm surgeries unrelated to bowling I dropped from 15 to 14 lb a couple of years ago.
I gained a little ball speed and maybe a few more revs and reduced the strain on my arm considerably. Along with that my average has increased about 20 pins and I've been very happy with the decision.
Try and find a bronze or higher level coach, if the cost isn't much higher and you find a silver or gold coach give them a try, in my area we are fortunate to have a gold coach and the small extra cost is paid back quickly with his ability to help your game.

[mx1alex]

I've been wanting to get lessons as well but have had a hard time finding a coach. Found one that I thought would work but he ghosted me.

[grumpter]

Try and find a bronze or higher level coach, if the cost isn't much higher and you find a silver or gold coach give them a try, in my area we are fortunate to have a gold coach and the small extra cost is paid back quickly with his ability to help your game.

I really don't have a Bronze level coach in my immediate area so I am thinking I will try at least one, of the two total, Silver level coaches. There is a third Silver Coach but the details given seem to be a dead end. With living near a top 5 city, population wise, I thought there might be more options.

[JasonNJ]

I really don't have a Bronze level coach in my immediate area so I am thinking I will try at least one, of the two total, Silver level coaches. There is a third Silver Coach but the details given seem to be a dead end. With living near a top 5 city, population wise, I thought there might be more options.


Not all the coaches put their information on the Bowl.com website, where do you live, maybe someone on here knows of a coach near you.

[grumpter]

Philly Burbs

[chrono00]

Philly Burbs

Where near philly? I’m in that area too and found coaches on bowl.com near me

[grumpter]

northwest burbs

[grumpter]

I had a good practice session today. Probably too good. A 575 series to start followed by a 4th game at 163 which is still 16 pins higher than my recent (last 12 games) average. My expectation is that I will come crashing back down to reality tomorrow but it felt good for one day at least. A little sore from just 4 games and would have definitely liked to keep going but my ball speed had already dropped about 10% from yesterday to today and the last game I could definitely feel the fatigue. Looking forward to being able to test out a lighter ball in the not so distant future.

[JasonNJ]

Randy Stoughton is going to be at Jay Lanes, Douglasville, PA 1/5 and 1/6 for a clinic. Kegel Road Show $150 covers both days and lunch is included. If you don't know who he is, he's the head coach of Weber International woman's bowling team and a gold coach. He coached Diana Zajalova, Daria Pajak, Verity Crawley and Ashley Galante.

http://www.kegeltrainingcenter.com/new-events/2019/1/5/kegel-road-show-wrandy-jay-lanes-douglassville-pa

If you can't make that clinic, Larry Del Vecchio is in that area and is Silver coach and he's very good too. He is usually gives lesson at Bowlero Feasterville or Facienda Whitaker Lanes.

[grumpter]

Thanks JasonNJ. 12 hours over 2 days is just too much right now but I am definitely filing it away for future reference. The Road Show seems like a great deal.

Larry Del Vecchio is one of the two coaches I found from my Bowl.com search. Nice to know he is recommended by someone.

[chrono00]

northwest burbs

Ah ok. I’m in delco near south philly area

[grumpter]

The ball demo went OK today but I was a little disappointed. I had 3 things I wanted to try:
1) A lighter ball than 15#
2) Full length finger holes rather than fingertips
3) Some balls with more hook

1 & 2 were not possible as they only had a few 14# balls and none of those had a big enough span. The inserts they were using for the finger holes only allowed for fingertip grips rather than conventional. What I was left with was 15# balls with a lot more hook than I am currently getting. It was interesting to test them but what I found is I needed to throw them at a higher speed to be able to control the hook. I really would have liked to test out a 14# as I think it would have allowed me to throw at a faster speed without feeling like I was trying to power the ball.

Tomorrow morning I am going to test out throwing some 14# house balls but that is only going to tell me so much. If I want to try a 14# ball I am afraid it looks like I am stuck going the buy to try route. At this point I may just end up getting a 14# version of my current ball.

[RobLV1]

The ball demo went OK today but I was a little disappointed. I had 3 things I wanted to try:
1) A lighter ball than 15#
2) Full length finger holes rather than fingertips
3) Some balls with more hook

1) Don't go below 14#
2) Why on Earth would you want to do that?
3) All reactive resin balls hook the same amount; just earlier or later.

[grumpter]

1) Don't go below 14#
2) Why on Earth would you want to do that?
3) All reactive resin balls hook the same amount; just earlier or later.

1) Not giving me much to go on without an explanation of why you think I shouldn't.
2) Stiffness and aches in my fingers. I want to test if I have the same aches and pains when using full length finger holes.
3) I will have to take your word for it. If they do hook the same, just earlier or later, then by the time it reaches the headpin a ball that hooks earlier has moved more boards than the ball that hooks later. Correct? If it is correct than the ball that hooks earlier has hooked more than the ball that hooks late. I'm not real worried about how much the balls would move if the lanes were unlimited width and length without any pins. My current ball is Urethane.

[JasonNJ]

1) Not giving me much to go on without an explanation of why you think I shouldn't.
2) Stiffness and aches in my fingers. I want to test if I have the same aches and pains when using full length finger holes.
3) I will have to take your word for it. If they do hook the same, just earlier or later, then by the time it reaches the headpin a ball that hooks earlier has moved more boards than the ball that hooks later. Correct? If it is correct than the ball that hooks earlier has hooked more than the ball that hooks late. I'm not real worried about how much the balls would move if the lanes were unlimited width and length without any pins. My current ball is Urethane.


The lighter the ball, the more possibility for deflection I believe is why Rob is saying don't go below 14#. I will give one caveat, if you have a physical issue that prevents you from bowling with 14# or heavier then of course go lower.

As for the aches and stiffness, I would say check your span and grip and make sure it's drilled properly for you. Too many people assume, I'm throwing a heavy 15# object, that it's natural for your hands to be sore. No it isn't, a properly fitted ball and there should be no pain. My brother in law bowled for 2 years with hand pain and his thumb would swell up every time we bowled. He got his ball from the local PSO, I finally dragged him to my pro shop about 90 minutes away and they fixed his thumb hole, found one finger hole too short and one too long and basically redid his grip and span completely. Guess what, no more hand pain and his thumb never swells now.

[grumpter]

The lighter the ball, the more possibility for deflection I believe is why Rob is saying don't go below 14#. I will give one caveat, if you have a physical issue that prevents you from bowling with 14# or heavier then of course go lower.

As for the aches and stiffness, I would say check your span and grip and make sure it's drilled properly for you. Too many people assume, I'm throwing a heavy 15# object, that it's natural for your hands to be sore. No it isn't, a properly fitted ball and there should be no pain. My brother in law bowled for 2 years with hand pain and his thumb would swell up every time we bowled. He got his ball from the local PSO, I finally dragged him to my pro shop about 90 minutes away and they fixed his thumb hole, found one finger hole too short and one too long and basically redid his grip and span completely. Guess what, no more hand pain and his thumb never swells now.

Good to know about the weight. I didn't have plans to go below 14# but I wasn't ruling it out either.

We may be on the exact same wavelength. I am planning to go to Ryan at May's Bowling which is a bit of a hike for me but I have heard good things about him. If that is not your PSO guy then let me know who you are using so I can file it away for future reference.

[JasonNJ]

Good to know about the weight. I didn't have plans to go below 14# but I wasn't ruling it out either.

We may be on the exact same wavelength. I am planning to go to Ryan at May's Bowling which is a bit of a hike for me but I have heard good things about him. If that is not your PSO guy then let me know who you are using so I can file it away for future reference.

The place I go to is in Connecticut so probably too far of a hike for you. The pro shop at the Bowlero Feasterville I heard is pretty good. do not go to the pro shop at Facienda, during my silver and bronze classes there, we had a bunch of bowlers come in so we could coach them and practice, almost everyone's span was off and they all had their equipment from Facienda.

[grumpter]

The place I go to is in Connecticut so probably too far of a hike for you. The pro shop at the Bowlero Feasterville I heard is pretty good. do not go to the pro shop at Facienda, during my silver and bronze classes there, we had a bunch of bowlers come in so we could coach them and practice, almost everyone's span was off and they all had their equipment from Facienda.

Good to know about Facenda. Had mine drilled at Thunderbird in Warminster. I have no idea how good they are or are not. They were just the PSO at the place I started to bowl. They were friendly enough and seemed knowledgeable enough but what do I know? I have only been bowling for 45 days now.

CT would be a hike.

P.S. Got a second recommend on Larry Del Vecchio today. Once my game settles in a bit I hope to schedule some times with him.

[J Anderson]

1) Not giving me much to go on without an explanation of why you think I shouldn't.
2) Stiffness and aches in my fingers. I want to test if I have the same aches and pains when using full length finger holes.
3) I will have to take your word for it. If they do hook the same, just earlier or later, then by the time it reaches the headpin a ball that hooks earlier has moved more boards than the ball that hooks later. Correct? If it is correct than the ball that hooks earlier has hooked more than the ball that hooks late. I'm not real worried about how much the balls would move if the lanes were unlimited width and length without any pins. My current ball is Urethane.

1. The 13# weight block is not exactly the same as the 15#.
2. Conventional grip is not going to be better that a fingertip grip with the right span and pitches for you.

[RobLV1]

1) Not giving me much to go on without an explanation of why you think I shouldn't.
2) Stiffness and aches in my fingers. I want to test if I have the same aches and pains when using full length finger holes.
3) I will have to take your word for it. If they do hook the same, just earlier or later, then by the time it reaches the headpin a ball that hooks earlier has moved more boards than the ball that hooks later. Correct? If it is correct than the ball that hooks earlier has hooked more than the ball that hooks late. I'm not real worried about how much the balls would move if the lanes were unlimited width and length without any pins. My current ball is Urethane.

1) Below 14#, many companies use generic cores, making the reading of ball reviews useless.
2. I agree with Jason. Make sure that your ball is drilled correctly before resorting to traditional rather than fingertip drilling.
3) Yes, earlier hooking means covering more boards, but the angle of the change of direction is the same. Here's the rub: as soon as the ball starts hooking, it starts losing energy. If it hooks to early, it covers more boards, but hits like a toasted marshmallow!

[Phonetek]

1) Not giving me much to go on without an explanation of why you think I shouldn't.
2) Stiffness and aches in my fingers. I want to test if I have the same aches and pains when using full length finger holes.
3) I will have to take your word for it. If they do hook the same, just earlier or later, then by the time it reaches the headpin a ball that hooks earlier has moved more boards than the ball that hooks later. Correct? If it is correct than the ball that hooks earlier has hooked more than the ball that hooks late. I'm not real worried about how much the balls would move if the lanes were unlimited width and length without any pins. My current ball is Urethane.

Regarding #2....Stiffness and aches in the fingers is something that I know of well. I posted quite a bit about it earlier last year. I will agree that your grip may not be correct, first and foremost you're going to want to get that checked by a PSO. It's worth visiting a couple different ones just in case as I have found opinions vary between them. Correct grip and correct for you are where the differences appear.

The other cause could be health related. In my case it was both grip & health and fortunately I was able to remedy them. I can now bowl virtually as much as I want with little to no pain. Before doing anything about it, I couldn't get threw 4 frames if that without being on my knees in pain then packed it up and went home.

Changing your grip from fingertip to conventional would not be a good idea and likely not solve the issue. There are plenty of things to try first before resorting to such a thing.