Energy storage of bowling ball

[NewToBowling]

Ok, help me out a bit here.

Balls are rated for dry, medium, heavy oil conditions.

Let's take for an example a medium-heavy oil ball and roll it down a dry lane. As far as energy retention it will lose most of it's energy before it ever hits the pins correct? This is due to the more aggressive and porous coverstock sucking up all the energy?

Counter that with a dry ball on same dry lane conditions. Same bowler throwing same speed but the dry lane ball should impact the pins harder due to more stored energy storage?

[RobLV1]

Before I start, let me state that this is an over-simplification to help you to understand what is happening as your ball goes down the lane.

The ball goes through five phases as it makes it's way down the lane: slide, hook, hook-out, roll, and roll-out. The ball is at its maximum energy as it gets into the roll phase, and starts to lose energy as it begins to roll out. Conversely, the ball must stop hooking before it can roll, so if it is still hooking when it gets to the pins, it has not yet achieved its maximum energy. It's your job to make sure that the ball gets to that all-important roll phase at just the right time for maximum energy transfer to the pins. The factors that are involved are the speed at which you throw your shot, the relationship between your speed and rev rate, the friction created between the surface of the ball and the surface of the lane, and the amount of resistance supplied by the core of the ball to hinder or encourage the ball to get into the roll phase.

The complexity of this seemingly simple process is the reason that ratings for dry, medium, and heavy oil conditions are so often misleading. A house condition that uses a heavy volume of oil, may concentrate that volume in the middle, leaving the outside part of the lane with a lot of friction. If you play the outside part of the lane with a ball that is too aggressive, the ball will roll out and lose energy. If you play the inside part of the lane with a ball that is not aggressive enough, the ball may never get into the roll phase and rob you of maximum energy that way. The most important things that you can do to improve your ball reaction, are to start to identify the three main phases (slide, hook, and roll), and watch your ball as it exits the pin deck to determine whether it is hitting with maximum energy (ball exits between the eight pin and the nine pin), losing energy (ball exits toward the outside part of the lane - toward the nine pin for a right-handed bowler), or not reaching maximum energy (ball exits toward the eight pin for a right-handed bowler).

[NewToBowling]

That actually makes sense. A lane with burnt up oil in the heads will make the ball not skid enough and thus start rolling too early and losing energy before hitting the pins. It's a fine balance with release, speed, revs, ball, and lane conditions so that the ball is at the roll out phase right before it hits the pins

[foreverincamo]

Burned up heads is the reason some pros loft the ball out past the arrows. Ball can't hook in the air.

[Aslan]

What I don't understand is…if you're missing right…we KNOW you can add surface and make a ball hook earlier. But adding that surface also makes the ball enter the hook phase earlier and lose energy earlier. I think a lot of bowlers throw a ball with a ton of surface…and it makes it back to the pocket…but with no energy. Then they "ball down" and thow a ball that skids longer…but can't get back to the pocket because it stops skidding too late.

Just seems like if you have a high rev rate…then you can't use surface. But if you have a low rev rate…there's no sense in using surface because even though it gets your ball back to the pocket…the ball has no energy left.

Confusing topic.

[RobLV1]

Surface is only one piece of the puzzle. I really hate the concept of balling down. It implies that one ball hooks more than another ball when, in fact, one ball just hooks earlier than another ball. What you are talking about is getting a ball to the pocket. As you become more experienced, you will see that once you can play any part of the lane that's required, getting to the pocket becomes less and less of an issue while carrying the corners becomes more and more of an issue.

Unfortunately, you can't make rules for everything; what works one week, doesn't work the next. It's all about matching up to a particular lane on a particular night and staying ahead of the moves. The better you get at it, the higher your average goes.

[Amyers]

What I don't understand is…if you're missing right…we KNOW you can add surface and make a ball hook earlier. But adding that surface also makes the ball enter the hook phase earlier and lose energy earlier. I think a lot of bowlers throw a ball with a ton of surface…and it makes it back to the pocket…but with no energy. Then they "ball down" and thow a ball that skids longer…but can't get back to the pocket because it stops skidding too late.

Just seems like if you have a high rev rate…then you can't use surface. But if you have a low rev rate…there's no sense in using surface because even though it gets your ball back to the pocket…the ball has no energy left.

Confusing topic.

If you are balanced with additional revs you also have additional ball speed which will allow the ball to skid farther before it starts to hook allowing you throw more surfaced equipment. It all depends on ball speed, rev rate, where your playing on the lane, and surface.

A ball with lots of surface thrown and low to moderate speed thrown down the first arrow (dry area)= Dead on Arrival

A ball with little surface thrown at a high rate of speed on an inside line (higher oil) = a dart that never moves

Everything has to be balanced the proper amount of surface thrown on the correct part of the lane at the proper speed and revs for the conditions your playing on.

[ChuckR]

If you are balanced with additional revs you also have additional ball speed which will allow the ball to skid farther before it starts to hook allowing you throw more surfaced equipment. It all depends on ball speed, rev rate, where your playing on the lane, and surface.

A ball with lots of surface thrown and low to moderate speed thrown down the first arrow (dry area)= Dead on Arrival

A ball with little surface thrown at a high rate of speed on an inside line (higher oil) = a dart that never moves

Everything has to be balanced the proper amount of surface thrown on the correct part of the lane at the proper speed and revs for the conditions your playing on.

When I started back 5 years ago, I worked on timing and 2 releases. Until I was comfortable that I could repeat these I KNEW there were to many variables to increase my average. Consistently throwing the same and seeing the results allows movement of the line or even changing balls. Seeing players change balls and lines at the same time does not give them improvement, only more frustration. KISS, Keep It Similar Stupid.

[NewToBowling]

So when manufacturers designate a ball heavy, medium, or dry oil ball are they specifically referring to the coverstock only. In the sense that a heavy oil ball is more porous and will read the lanes earlier and hook earlier and vice versa with dry ball

Or is still a mix of coverstock, RG, core, etc

[Amyers]

To some extent it is a mix. More towards cover stock and surface you don't see a lot of light oil balls with super powerful cores if there are some out there I don't know what they are. If you had a real strong core in a light oil ball the cover would need to be very weak.