Hammer
03-02-2026, 06:23 PM
I bowled a 118, 173 and a 193 using a Columbia 300 polyester ball for the first ball in all three games. The reason was this house doesn't use a lot of oil. My back up ball is a Hammer urethane ball. Depending what is left I will choose either ball to pick up anything left after the first ball. I never thought that I would be able to bowl good games with the polyester ball. I can make it to the pocket with my slide foot on board 30 or board 35. Not bad using a polyester ball for the first ball. I am 79 and left handed with a 163 average. Maybe they keep the lanes dry because our league member go from age 68 to 92. Us old folks wouldn't be able to handle lanes with too much oil on them I guess.
Aslan
03-03-2026, 02:07 AM
Yeah. I don't understand why centers wouldn't use a little more oil to protect the lanes. But, I have the same problem at the house I bowl at.
It took me a couple years to figure out. I was wondering why I couldn't carry with any of my lower RG equipment and/or with any type of surface. Finally, this season I switched to a higher RG arsenal...and the only ball with any type of surface is my Ebonite Fireball....which is one of the weakest (overall) balls you can buy with a reactive cover. Making these changes, my average is up 5-10 pins.
Its hard to watch other bowlers struggling to carry the corner pins...throwing sanded balls with a low RG...but trying to convince them to make a change just isn't worth the aggravation. I mean, if they "ask"...then obviously I'll give them advice. But, unsolicited advice is rarely a good idea...especially with the concept of balls losing energy...which is almost as difficult to explain as it is to understand.