Back to bowling after a LONG break: is playing the outside line not kosher anymore?

[Buster76]

Don't know how much fingers you put into the ball or if you are just a satchel type bowled

I'm not familiar with the term "Satchel Type Bowler". Tried googling it but came up empty.

[J Anderson]

I'm not familiar with the term "Satchel Type Bowler". Tried googling it but came up empty.

I think Fordman 1 means someone who uses "suitcase" release.

[RobLV1]

Rolling on the Floor, Laughing my A** off!

[fordman1]

Tomatos,,,tomatas oops. I used the satchel grip carrying my M-16. See every thing doesn't have to be so serious. We used it back when we had pin boys.

[NewToBowling]

I thought maybe he meant sarge easter

[fordman1]

I was the sarge....

[morgothaod]

Additionally all of my balls are 16lbs and I am wondering if dropping down to 15lbs would make a difference. My wrists have taken a beating from over 20 years of martial arts training and the morning after bowling has been rough on my right wrist joint.

I have bowled with a 15, 14, 13, and 12lb ball (I too have had wrist issues). Based on my experience the carry with the 15, 14, and 13 lb ball was the same. I currently use a 13 lb ball and I average over 200 (Ebonite Cyclone, If you go under 14 lbs on most balls the weight inside the ball is made of a different material. However, with the Cyclone the stuff inside the ball is the same). However, when I used the 12 lb ball (Also an Ebonite Cyclone), pocket hits often led to splits!

[chip82901]

Honestly, it all just depends on where you feel comfortable, and what angles are carrying. A lot of times, straighter down lane will produce a good reaction, but less room for miss, at least in my home house. Then again, swinging it can create over/under pretty quick. Find something that you feel comfortable with, and if you're hammering the pocket but having trouble carrying, try changing that entry angle a bit

[Aslan]

This difference in bowling balls has resulted in a different mind set among top bowlers: they are not looking for friction, they are looking for oil. Oil used to be the enemy, now it's our friend.

I'll agree with Rob on this point.

I have seen most guys move down from 16 to 15 and even 14 lb balls due to wrist and arm problems, and to tell you the truth very few have complained about loss of carry after doing so.

The days when more weight equalled more pin carry are long gone. 15 pounds has become the most popular weight for pro shops to stock, and for someone with wrist issues I would consider dropping to 14# or even 13#.

Realize, there is virtually NO evidence supporting that 15# and 14# carry as well as 16#. Zero evidence.
Now, there IS evidence that a 15lb or 14lb ball will carry just as well...maybe even a little better...because it tends to allow the bowler to increase their rev rate. So, when you hear people say 15lb and 14lb carry just as well as 16lb...realize that's ONLY true...if your rev rate increases with a 14lb and 15lb ball....otherwise it is simply fiction.

Most folks praise lower weight balls because they love to see their ball hook the lane...the lighter the ball, the more revs you can put on it...the more hook you'll get. But...MORE hook doesn't equal "better"...as the open bowlers throwing 6lb balls will illustrate every night after league bowling is over. Logically speaking, IF lighter balls = "better"....everyone would be gravitating towards 6lb balls. And, unless you're a Glo Bowler...a 2-hander...or a 5-year old....not alot of demand for 6lb balls.

Like most of my old school bowling idols...many of whom are doing quite well down in Florida at the first event of the PBA50 season...I throw 16lbs...because they won't let me throw 17lbs. I've thrown 15lbs...my rev rate was a little better...but my tendency to leave 8-10s and single 8-pins increased noticeably.

....but I don't think the entry angle is ideal because I am leaving 10 pin after 10 pin after 10 pin.

Sounds like you either need a more modern ball...or you need to move in to the 10-board area...depends on "why" you're coming in light.
The trick will be finding a modern bowling ball that would allow you to stay outside. A Storm Mix, Columbia Scout Reactive, a Storm Tropical Breeze, or an Ebonite Cyclone might even be too strong to play outside of 8-9 on a THS.

I know it's not the same as league conditions, but I have been averaging in the low 190s with very few open frames in my practice.

Oh, nevermind. I thought you were talking about league conditions. Open bowling practice means nothing...the lanes are beat up and the oil pattern is chewed up...there's very little you can learn from averaging "insert number" "in practice". I shot a 300 "in practice"...and I suck way too much to bowl one in league play. Like Rob mentioned, the newer bowling balls chew up the lanes so quickly and badly...that it's made practice difficult...because you're bowling on completely different conditions during open bowling than you'll see on league night.

Join a league...you'll figure out the rest pretty fast.

[Tony]

I'll agree with Rob on this point.





Realize, there is virtually NO evidence supporting that 15# and 14# carry as well as 16#. Zero evidence.
Now, there IS evidence that a 15lb or 14lb ball will carry just as well...maybe even a little better...because it tends to allow the bowler to increase their rev rate. So, when you hear people say 15lb and 14lb carry just as well as 16lb...realize that's ONLY true...if your rev rate increases with a 14lb and 15lb ball....otherwise it is simply fiction.

Most folks praise lower weight balls because they love to see their ball hook the lane...the lighter the ball, the more revs you can put on it...the more hook you'll get. But...MORE hook doesn't equal "better"...as the open bowlers throwing 6lb balls will illustrate every night after league bowling is over. Logically speaking, IF lighter balls = "better"....everyone would be gravitating towards 6lb balls. And, unless you're a Glo Bowler...a 2-hander...or a 5-year old....not alot of demand for 6lb balls.

Like most of my old school bowling idols...many of whom are doing quite well down in Florida at the first event of the PBA50 season...I throw 16lbs...because they won't let me throw 17lbs. I've thrown 15lbs...my rev rate was a little better...but my tendency to leave 8-10s and single 8-pins increased noticeably.

When you have a number of the professional bowlers on tour, who are trying to win money bowling in tournaments, switch to using 15 lb balls over 16 lb balls, that in itself is evidence that those bowlers feel a 15 lb ball will give them a better chance at success than a 16 lb ball.
Why would we trust your logic versus the tour bowlers that a 16 lb ball would be the best ball for everyone to throw. Let's also remember besides ball rotation that might change with a lighter ball the actual ball speed could also increase with a lighter ball.
Another factor to consider is fatigue, if the ability to consistently release a 16 lb ball diminishes during a bowling session then perhaps using a lighter ball that allows you to release the ball in the most advantageous way consistently throughout the entire league session might also be seen as an advantage of the lighter ball.

This leads to a conclusion that because of the variety of factors involved in the argument about what weight of bowling ball would give a player the best chance for success, that not all bowlers will perform their best with a 16 lb ball.

Going back to the OP complaining of wrist problems, it's certainly a reasonable conclusion that with a lighter ball that the wrists will suffer less wear and tear and that would be an advantage to the OP.