Pin action.

[aussiedave]

I have noticed that my urethane balls don't seem to generate messengers or spinners. I use 15lb Blue Hammer and a Columbia "The Classic". The strikes I get are usually clean with maybe one messenger or spinner every 4-5 games or so.
I do see resin balls generate them even by bowlers with low (12 - 13 mph) speeds like me.
I am guessing the resin balls do get more messengers.
If so, what are some of the more renowned ones for doing this?
I am right handed low rev stroker using a good bit of axis.
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[striker12]

well from what i was told by a few pros is that to get messenger pins in almost every shot is to have a good med rev rate where your ball will kick over into the pocket making the pins spred apart but also with the same med revs have a decent speed to have the ball carry threw and make the pins hit off the walls alittle faster and harder.

you cna do this with any ball even a plastic ball i was told this from a few pros over facebook.

[Greenday]

I think a lot of it has to do with speed and angle into the pocket. Clearly if you hit too softly, pins won't go anywhere. But if you hit too hard, IMO, you are likely to push pins back before they have a chance to ricochet around and is when I start seeing guys get more splits. As far as entry angle goes, a ball that's too flat into the pocket won't get much pin action at all. But at some point, if you get too steep an angle, you'll miss key pins.

[aussiedave]

I think a lot of it has to do with speed and angle into the pocket. Clearly if you hit too softly, pins won't go anywhere. But if you hit too hard, IMO, you are likely to push pins back before they have a chance to ricochet around and is when I start seeing guys get more splits. As far as entry angle goes, a ball that's too flat into the pocket won't get much pin action at all. But at some point, if you get too steep an angle, you'll miss key pins.

It's a very complicated issue with many apparent contradictions or variables.
I know a guy who bowls standard grip straight and fast with an ordinary Brunswick Slingshot and he gets terrific pin action with no angle into the pocket!
I know another guy who throws a fast (old) resin ball with fingertip grip with modest move into the pocket and he also gets enviable pin action.
I am fairly certain speed is a key ingredient so I am going to bite the bullet and bowl with the hand more under the ball instead of going for axis and generate more pace. That way I can negate some of the vicious hook inherent in my game and get a more consistent line into the pocket. I am fed up with all the 10 pin leaves.
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[aussiedave]

It's a very complicated issue with many apparent contradictions or variables.
I know a guy who bowls standard grip straight and fast with an ordinary Brunswick Slingshot and he gets terrific pin action with no angle into the pocket!
I know another guy who throws a fast (old) resin ball with fingertip grip with modest move into the pocket and he also gets enviable pin action.
I am fairly certain speed is a key ingredient so I am going to bite the bullet and bowl with the hand more under the ball instead of going for axis and generate more pace. That way I can negate some of the vicious hook inherent in my game and get a more consistent line into the pocket. I am fed up with all the 10 pin leaves.
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Another nice story for yas - I bowl in a four man team and we have a wiry old (76!) African american gentleman who is very keen about his bowling and always asks me for advice which I gladly share with him. He was averaging around the high 130's with an old 80's style 15 lb resin ball and I suggested to him he needed to drop to 14lb and after saving up for several months he lashed out and bought a 14lb Roto Grip Defiant Soul (standard grip). The first night he bowled it he got 171 - 194 - 149 = 514! He got a little tired by the last game but I couldn't be happier for him. He said he wants to get better! Go McKinley!
He was able to almost double his speed and the ball hits surprisingly hard - and gets a lot more pin action than he got with the old one. Perhaps the updated drilling fit helped him grip the ball better too.
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[75lockwood]

What the others have said is true, reactive resin bowling balls do hit harder, it's newer technology and was designed to strike more. that being said, the biggest things that promote carry are rev rate and speed (in relation to ball weight [for the sake of this example pretend all balls at 15 lb]);

Speed: simply put, a ball that hits the pins at 20mph with transfer more energy to the pins than a ball that hits at 15mph. the faster the ball hits the faster the pins are moving when hitting each other and the walls which allows them to "bounce" around which leads to messengers

Rev Rate: the simplest example for this is looking at a two hander like Jason Belmonte with that 600+ rev rate, if you watch video of him bowling, he gets amazing carry and more often than a lower rev rate stroker.

The whole debate is that strokers are precision player's where as crankers are power players that have a larger margin of error to get a strike.


Way's to increase carry: there is no "magic ball" that will increase carry amazingly, newer technology reactive resin balls are designed to do this better than the older technology that is urethane.

when throwing the ball, keep your hand under the ball and lift on release, this will increase rev rate which "can" lead to better carry.

All that being said, focusing on getting better carry is a poor way to improve your game, focus on hitting your mark and the pocket consistently to promote more strikes as apposed to trying to find shortcut's

[aussiedave]

What the others have said is true, reactive resin bowling balls do hit harder, it's newer technology and was designed to strike more. that being said, the biggest things that promote carry are rev rate and speed (in relation to ball weight [for the sake of this example pretend all balls at 15 lb]);

Speed: simply put, a ball that hits the pins at 20mph with transfer more energy to the pins than a ball that hits at 15mph. the faster the ball hits the faster the pins are moving when hitting each other and the walls which allows them to "bounce" around which leads to messengers

Rev Rate: the simplest example for this is looking at a two hander like Jason Belmonte with that 600+ rev rate, if you watch video of him bowling, he gets amazing carry and more often than a lower rev rate stroker.

The whole debate is that strokers are precision player's where as crankers are power players that have a larger margin of error to get a strike.


Way's to increase carry: there is no "magic ball" that will increase carry amazingly, newer technology reactive resin balls are designed to do this better than the older technology that is urethane.

when throwing the ball, keep your hand under the ball and lift on release, this will increase rev rate which "can" lead to better carry.

All that being said, focusing on getting better carry is a poor way to improve your game, focus on hitting your mark and the pocket consistently to promote more strikes as apposed to trying to find shortcut's

Consistently hitting the mark is something that I always aim (pardon the pun) to improve.
That being said, there are not too many mortals around that can hit the same board even 9 times out of 10. This is why we bowlers are always looking to gain an advantage or improve any way we can. Experimenting is a big part of the attraction of the game for me.
Bowling is a challenge to those that wish to improve and that keeps it interesting.
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[Hammer]

I have a #14 urethane Blue Hammer with a standard layout and do not have a problem with not getting messengers. It all depends on if I get the right revs on the ball at release. If I don't then I hit the pocket at the wrong angle and get everything but the 7 pin being left handed. So I get strikes with messengers, I get light hit strikes and brooklin strikes. I have pretty good revs on my ball and throw at a speed of 13.5 to 14.5mph. At our house I can get the Blue to hook pretty good, sometimes too much, depending on how they oil the lanes on league night which is right before the start of our league.

[aussiedave]

I have a #14 urethane Blue Hammer with a standard layout and do not have a problem with not getting messengers. It all depends on if I get the right revs on the ball at release. If I don't then I hit the pocket at the wrong angle and get everything but the 7 pin being left handed. So I get strikes with messengers, I get light hit strikes and brooklin strikes. I have pretty good revs on my ball and throw at a speed of 13.5 to 14.5mph. At our house I can get the Blue to hook pretty good, sometimes too much, depending on how they oil the lanes on league night which is right before the start of our league.

I altered my grip to a flat handed one that I rapidly bring to the handshake position just prior to release and found that I was getting more messengers with the old Blue as well. Before I held the ball on the axis all the way through the swing and just wasn't getting any carry through the pins.
I definitely get more pin action with the pearl Cyclone though - very happy with that. I just have to go back to old blue for the 3rd game as the lanes dry out and the oil carries down the lane.
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