Ball Speed

[SRB57]

Hi,
I have a question about ball speed. If my ball comes off my hand at 16 mph and when I throw cross lane at a ten pin with a plastic ball can the ball gain speed? I ask because when there is more oil in the middle I can see speeds near 18 mph. Steve

[Amyers]

Th ball doesn't gain speed but if you throw the ball through the oil especially with plastic the ball will appear too but the ball is actually just loosing less speed than normal due to the lack of friction. Even a modern resin ball will travel a higher speed thrown through the oil than it will if thrown on the dryer portion of the lane.

[J Anderson]

Hi,
I have a question about ball speed. If my ball comes off my hand at 16 mph and when I throw cross lane at a ten pin with a plastic ball can the ball gain speed? I ask because when there is more oil in the middle I can see speeds near 18 mph. Steve

How do you know the speed off your hand is 16 mph?

[ALazySavage]

I am also curious where you are getting the speed numbers from. If the ball is coming off of your hand at 16 mph it is not reaching a speed of 18 mph anywhere on the lane - for that to happen there would have to be some additional outside force being applied to the ball - even if the lane was a frictionless environment (oil brings the lane closer to this situation than unoiled portions) that would only maintain the 16 mph, not increase the speed (and that also requires a scenario where there are no negative outside forces).

[SRB57]

How do you know the speed off your hand is 16 mph?

I was told by my PSO that if your ball speed is typically X then you add 2mph for off your hand. I typically am 13.5-14 measured by the pinsetter so I thought 16 would be close. I had a Bowler I.D. done a couple of times and ball speed was 15.2 mph but don't know where that was measured. I understand the more oil the ball slows down slower but just found it odd my ball speed would be that high. Steve

[J Anderson]

I was told by my PSO that if your ball speed is typically X then you add 2mph for off your hand. I typically am 13.5-14 measured by the pinsetter so I thought 16 would be close. I had a Bowler I.D. done a couple of times and ball speed was 15.2 mph but don't know where that was measured. I understand the more oil the ball slows down slower but just found it odd my ball speed would be that high. Steve

So you’re seeing 18mph on corner pins as measured by the lane read out? If so, you must be throwing much harder on those than you realize.

[boatman37]

I have been throwing much harder at my spares then my first ball by about 1.5-2 MPH. Just recently realized it and tried keeping it under control last night

[mc_runner]

Plastic ball thrown straight cross lane through the oil isn't going to lose much/any speed. Some people also have a tendency to throw that harder as well vs. a strike ball. You're right that you can add a couple mph from what you're seeing on your strike balls at the end of the lane, the hook and roll will scrub speed off to turn the momentum of the ball.

[SRB57]

So you’re seeing 18mph on corner pins as measured by the lane read out? If so, you must be throwing much harder on those than you realize.

I guess. I was wondering why if my speed is 16 off my hand how can the speed increase. I might be throwing harder at my spares but not intentionally. Just been watching my ball speed a lot lately and noticed it. Steve

[boatman37]

My speed at the pins according to our sensors usually read about 17.5-18 while most of the bowlers in our league was closer to 15.5-16. Lately I have slowed it down as I said earlier. But just wondering if these speeds you mentioned were both calculated at the same center? I also noticed when I am practicing alone my speed is much slower which makes me think I unintentionally throw harder in competition (pressure). One day I recorded a practice session and about 5 shots were between 2.0 and 2.25 seconds. Based on charts I have seen that says my average speed was about 18.3 MPH. This is assuming the timing devices on Hudl Technique were accurate. This would be a good way to measure your average speed.

[bowl1820]

I guess. I was wondering why if my speed is 16 off my hand how can the speed increase. I might be throwing harder at my spares but not intentionally. Just been watching my ball speed a lot lately and noticed it. Steve

In regards to ball speed.

First there are 3 basic speed measurements:

Ball Speed at Release:
This is the main one that is usually asked for when giving your bowler spec's. It's measured in the first 15 feet of the lane instead of the whole lane to attempt to take friction, as well as ball motion out of the equation.

Ball Speed at the Pins:
This is the speed usually showed on the monitors, the angle the ball goes through the sensors has a small affect on the speed readout. The rule of thumb to approximate your off hand speed from the monitor readout is to add 2-3 mph to the monitor speed. Example: 15mph on the monitor plus 3mph gives you a release speed of approx. 18mph.

Overall average ball speed:
This is the ball speed you get when checking your speed with a stopwatch and a speed chart or one of the speed apps. Its' the average speed for the whole lane.

Some things that affect ball speed are the lane conditions, The drier it is the faster the ball will lose speed, The wetter it is it retains speed longer.

Another is the shape of the shot (the path the ball is taking down the lane.), A ball going straight down the middle of the lane, would give you the closest to your off hand speed (The ball is traveling the shortest distance foul line to headpin over the most oil.).

As for your 10 pin speed increase as others have said, Bowler's tend to roll a faster ball at the 10 (7 for lefties). Also They are shooting a straighter line, across more oil and typically using a lower friction ball (ie: plastic).

All of this would allow the ball to retain it's speed longer, if your typically at about 14mph measured by the pinsetter. That's about 17mph the off hand, So 18 mph going cross lane at the 10 pin wouldn't be unreasonable to see. You put a little extra on the ball, it's retaining speed longer and the system isn't perfectly accurate.

The on lane speed monitors are notorious for being inaccurate at a lot of places. When their working they are pretty accurate for the speed at the pins, but when their off their off.

The main thing to use the monitor speed for is to watch for variation in speed. If your slowing down or speeding up from shot to shot.