Graaille

Just thought I would pass this on. I asked Roto-Grip whether they recommended Abralon over Scotch-brite and this is the answer I got:
They work, but not as effectively as abralon. For our official stance on surface alterations I will include a short essay I’ve written on the subject…
Thank you for contacting us with your concern. As far as ball reaction is concerned, we have several recommendations to maintain ball performance and life, but the primary area of concern is with the ...

BRITEN YOUR BALL

You have seen Scotch-Brite pads in a variety of places: in the supermarket "cleaning" aisle, at the auto parts store, in the Wal-Mart paint section, and other locations. Their universal use is to scratch an object's surface to prepare it for a job.

This is also their purpose on a bowling ball or shoe. Generally there are different coarseness ratings as denoted by color ("Scotch-Brite" is a trade name ... you may find the pads with ...

EVER WONDER WHAT PEOPLE carry in their bowling bags aside from a ball, a pair of shoes, and a bowling glove? I have compiled a list of items you may or may not have heard of, and the reasons for carrying them with you when you bowl. (I have just about every item on this list in my own accessory container.) Let's start with the item you should use to hold all your other bowling tools:

YOUR BOWLING "BAG"

There are the three preliminary rules of selecting an ...

Sometimes your timing and swing are in good shape and you just need to put some effort into working on great feel at release. Feel is the same as your other bowling skills--it takes practice to develop the same feel at release over and over again. This is where practice is so critical. Spend time in your practice sessions developing great feel at release. You may even want to work on more than one release. It is especially helpful for most people to develop a minimum, medium, and maximum release. ...

PROBLEM NO. 4 INCONSISTENCY TO THE TARGET

Once again, this problem is mostly a physical issue with different causes. But the most common is a change in your timing.

Alterations in your timing--even slight ones--can cause your direction to the target to change dramatically. If your timing is a little late, you're likely to throw the ball farther right because your shoulders haven't squared to the target when your body has reached the finish. If your timing is a little ...

Some problems are common to many bowlers, and although there can be multiple solutions, the best one isn't necessarily the most obvious

WHEN ANY BOWLER OBSERVES A problem in his or her game, the natural urge is to fix it. However, finding the correct cure is sometimes the greatest challenge, because the correct answer may not be the most obvious one. As with most things, there is usually more than one answer for the same question, and the trick is to find the correct answer for your ...

When you begin to set some goals for yourself, you may want to remember the acronym "S.M.A.R.T.," which summarizes helpful cues in developing your goals.

* "S" stands for specific. Is your goal specific enough? If it's not specific enough, restate it. A goal that states "I want to be the best bowler in my league" may be specific, but there are many steps that would lead to that end result, so break it down into smaller steps. For instance, your spare ...

Just as you work on physical techniques like your steps and your delivery, you also need to work on mental skills that will strengthen your game

YOGI BERRA ONCE SAID OF BASEBALL that "90% of this game is half mental." While the math is questionable, the importance of the mental game is not. And bowling certainly mirrors this philosophy.

Developing and strengthening your mental approach to bowling will help you attain greater success in scoring and in enjoyment ...

The best players are able to do both, making the pins explode on a strike and using finesse for a spare

IT'S AN ETERNAL QUESTION THAT rages not just in bowling, but in all sports: What wins out, power or finesse?

The fact is, there are advantages to both styles in bowling. A player who bowls strictly for power (a "hook-ball" thrower) can make pins explode, garnering "oohs" and "aahs" from the crowd, but comes up short when it's time to ...

When you're bowling in your league at your local center, chances are that two bowling balls will be enough to get the job done most nights. As you start to bowl in more leagues and even the occasional tournament, however, you'll start to encounter a wider variety of lane conditions. When you do, it's very important to go through your arsenal of bowling balls and make sure you have enough equipment to go in both directions: if the lanes hook more or less than what you usually bowl on. If you want ...

Most tournaments have a qualifying process of some kind. It may be five games or, like the pros on the PBA tour, it may be 64 games.

In the qualifying portions of the tournament, including match play, you need to be a long-distance runner. During these portions, you're going to roll good frames and bad frames, but you have to maintain the attitude that you'll have time to make adjustments and make up for your mistakes.

However, now you've made the cut to a stepladder ...

As practice progresses, you'll notice that as you get looser your ball speed increases and your wrist movement is more pronounced. At the end of practice, you should have a pretty clear idea of where you want to start.

When you begin actual competition, though, you may start to notice subtle changes in the lanes. Being aware of these changes can put you one step ahead of the other bowlers.

First and foremost, if you're bowling the first squad of the day, you'll notice ...

Let's assume you're totally prepared when you get to the bowling center. You feel at ease, you've had time to watch the bowlers bowl, and now it's time for your practice to begin. Whether it's a few shots or 10 minutes of concentrated practice, there are few things you can do to leave the lanes happy.

The biggest thing I can encourage you to do is stretch out before you begin to bowl. If you do some leg and arm stretches, loosen up your back, and maybe roll your wrist back and forth, ...

Preventive maintenance in bowling can mean different things to different bowlers, but essentially it simply means: Be prepared. Let's say the last time you went bowling your spare ball was cracked, or a grip fell out. Maybe the ball you keep polished was worn down by a recent tournament, and you notice the ball is shiny everywhere except your ball track.

Preventive maintenance means that you don't let these things go unaddressed. They may seem small, but paying attention to them allows ...

SYNTHETIC LANES

There are many misconceptions about synthetic lanes, with the foremost being that synthetics are more difficult to play. That's not true. Again, more significant a factor in difficult lane play is the lane conditioner used, not the surface of the lane.

Synthetic lanes are made with materials that vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. For example, Brunswick's are made with aluminum oxide dispersed in a fiber-reinforced mixture of melamine resin. ...

ONE OF THE TRUISMS IN bowling is that different surfaces lead to different ball reactions. You might think that bowling is as simple as a lane, a ball, and an approach, right? Not really--at least not nowadays.

In this article, I will illustrate some differences between physical lane surfaces: wood, synthetic, and Guardian. This information can help you make better decisions when choosing a new ball, finishing your third game of league play, or starting a tournament in a new venue. ...