Ball Layout Question

[Calvin09]

I hope there is some one that can help me with a small problem im having. I have been bowling a few months now and am doing pretty well averaging 185. I have the Storm Invasion and the Storm Reign which are very good balls in the way they compliment each other. My Reign I love it to death i get the best reaction other than it sometimes over hooks depending on the lane but thats and easy fix. As for my Invasion i have tried it all got an extra hole drilled, got it polished, sanded it with 800 grit i got more reaction and more hook. I have been debating as to getting it plugged and redrilled. I dont remember off the top of my head my layout but its somewhere along the line of 4x 4 3/4x something the PIN is right above my ring finger. I hope there is someone who is a low rev player or someone in general who understand what im saying and can lead me in the right direction. I like the lenght just want more hook.

[bigbowler76]

do you still have the drilling layouts for the ball? If you take that to your pro shop the person who drills your ball should be able to help you out.

Also, depending on where your starting point is on the approach you can always just move your body back away from the foul line to give your ball more time on the lane.... The change isnt that major, but it can make a difference, especially if you can also lower your ball speed if the movement alone isnt enough..

Hope that helps a little

[DanielMareina]

If your invasion isn't hooking with a 4" pin, there is something very wrong. Is your mass bias on the oil track side of your thumb hole? That could cause it to mellow out. I would love to see a pic of your ball's layout, and if you know your positive axis point, I could draw up a better layout. A 4" pin is an aggressive layout, but their are other things to consider about a layout also. Not to mention, Storm sands the ball to 500 grit, and then adds whatever topcoat finish you want, so if you just hit it with 800, that may not help your reaction problem either. Feel free to send me a direct message if you have a pic or your PAP and I will help you out further.

[Calvin09]

Daniel Mareina,

went to my pro shop today found out the mass bias was incorrectly place when the ball was manufactured. One of the Staff members came in and watched me bowl my reign and my invasion. he said that the invasion was running out of gas which made it not hook at all and that was due to my mass bias. So they are drilling out some of the weight out my middle finger and countering it where my PAP is. said if this doesnt fix the issue which it should then storm should replace the bowling ball cause the layout is fine from what he is saying. He said my layout is very aggressive. Daniel if this doesnt fix the problem will storm replace my invasion or would i have to purchase another one?

[DanielMareina]

I can't tell you for sure what Storm will do. First of all, that doesn't exactly make sense. If he means that the actual mark for the Mass Bias is in the wrong place, that never happens that I have ever heard of. If he means that he sold you a Blem, or second run ball that has a weird Mass Bias Position, then he should replace it. What is more likely, is that when you drill into a bowling ball's core, it changes the mass bias, and he may not have meant for your mass bias to end up where it is. Counter weighting it can help the problem, so hopefully he knows what he is doing. Did he use a determinator to find where your true mass bias is? I will tell you that Storm has replaced every ball that I have ever sold to someone and had it crack with little to no work on my end. They strive to make both the pro shop and the customer happy, and they usually do a great job.

[Stormed1]

Keep in mind that the Invasion is designed as a HEAVY oil ball. If you are trying to throw it on a pattern with not enough volume it will burn up and not hook. Also keep in mind that it is not a get down the lane and kick left type of ball. It is a much smoother reacting ball with a ton of hook potential but needs to be thrown on the proper conditions

[Calvin09]

Daniel Mareina,

thank you for your help. Yesterday got more insite to what was wrong with the ball. Steve Smith came up to the shop yesterday and he figured out what was the problem. The invasion had negative weight and with the hole the drilled where my PAP was i guess leveling it out to were i wasnt getting any hook. at first they said they were going to drill out some of the weight out my middle finger and counterbalance it so i could get the ball to hook. So they actually ended up just plugging the whole where my PAP and boy did it hook. In some way i wish it hooked more but they dont want to drill the hole where my PAP is. I want to be able to play a little more inside so when the tract area is burnt up from the league players i play with. They never move inside they stay around 15. But overall im happy cause now the ball is hooking. Are there any layout that are a little more agressive.

[Calvin09]

Bill Tuttle,

I understand exactly what your saying and i know the uses of the invasion. I normally use my reign but when there is heavy oil i switch to my invasion and theat where the problem was it wasnt reacting it would run out of gas. But that all fogured out. thanks for you response though. have a good day

[DanielMareina]

First of all, drilling a hole on your PAP will not make the ball hook more in the first place. It is meant to even the static weight of the ball, which effects the roll of the ball very little. If you drill the hole below the Pap or Above it, it can effect the flare potential of the ball. If the weight hole took too much weight out of the ball it could effect the balls hook potential. The layout you have for the ball is fairly aggressive. I am concerned whether the ball is legal the way it is drilled right now though. Most of the time we ball drillers don't put a weight hole in unless we need it to make it legal or are drilling it lower on the Val to change flare. I wouldn't recommend changing that layout, but you could scratch the ball up with a 500 grit abralon pad if you want it to read earlier on the lane. Sounds like you have it figured out for the most part though. If you have any further questions, post em.

[JAnderson]

If he means that the actual mark for the Mass Bias is in the wrong place, that never happens that I have ever heard of.

It does happen from time to time. Quality control is usually pretty good at the manufacturers, but they're human just like the rest of us and sometimes mis-marked balls do make their way onto the shelves.


Keep in mind that the Invasion is designed as a HEAVY oil ball. If you are trying to throw it on a pattern with not enough volume it will burn up and not hook. Also keep in mind that it is not a get down the lane and kick left type of ball. It is a much smoother reacting ball with a ton of hook potential but needs to be thrown on the proper conditions

Agreed - especially when coupled with a strong drill. Generally, when a bowler comes to me for help with a ball that "doesn't hook" it is an aggressive ball with an aggressive drill that is being thrown directly to the dry part of the lane. The ball changes is direction to be parallel with ball roll in the first 20 feet or so of the lane and simply goes straight from there. The ball hooked, but it was done hooking at 20 feet. If the bowler's release naturally generates forward roll, the ball REALLY looks like it isn't doing anything. The same bowler and ball switched to a condition that compliments the ball - heavier oil in the heads and mid-lane - suddenly hooks when everything else in the bowler's back won't wrinkle.