Counting Boards

[75lockwood]

So taking a Storm line for example on Medium-Heavy oil,

Vivid - board 35
Hyroad - board 28
Frantic - board 20
Tropical Breeze - board 10

Vivid would be 7 boards stronger etc?
Is there a universal oil condition that people benchmark balls like that?

The oil condition is irreverent, as long as you compare the balls on the same condition the ratio should be the same

[DanielMareina]

knowing how to count boards is incredibly important for multiple reasons. Number one, it gives you a number to gauge your equipment against eachother. So if your ball is hooking too much, you know which ball is a couple boards weaker. It also helps you create the right angle. using a piece of graphing paper, you can see what a 2 (feet) and 1 (mark at the arrows) adjustment does to your angles. I always make adjustments to my mark in full boards, but I make half board adjustments with my feet all the time. I find that if I am coming in heavy, a full board is too much. So I move a half board left to come in a little lighter. The opposite direction if the oil starts carrying down a little. There are so many adjustments that are key to being a great bowler, and knowing your boards is on the top of my list.

[Hammer]

I never use to count boards when I started league bowling for the first time. Then I really got into it watching pro bowling on TV and getting tips from bowling mags. Now I use the boards all of the time and make single board adjustments if my ball is coming in too weak or too strong into the pocket. In league practice I start with the toe of my sliding foot on the center dot and throwing over the second arrow. If the ball is coming in weak to the pocket I move one board left with my sliding foot and keep moving until I get a good shot on the pocket. Too strong and I keep moving right one board. I am a lefty by the way so righties do the opposite.

[billf]

Is there a universal oil condition that people benchmark balls like that?

No there isn't and that adds to the confusion when comparing balls. Even within the same company, like Storm, the will rate each series of balls against each other but for the condition they were intended for. So the Vivid would be a heavy pattern, the Frantic medium and the Tropical Breeze light. Then when you look at their hook charts it appears that they have almost the same reaction. Then when the Breeze doesn't hook in the heavy oil you're left to scratch your head to figure out why.
So if the same company doesn't use the same condition then you can only imagine how bad it can get going company to company. That was suppose to be the reasoning behind the perfect scale bowlingball.com uses, to use a common system to compare balls across different companies. It doesn't tell you how it will react but for what condition it reacts best in. The higher the number the higher the hook potential in heavy oil. Spare balls are a 5 with the heavy hitters are in the 220s. That doesn't mean that a 180 medium oil ball doesn't hook as much as the 220 ball. It just needs the conditions for which it was intended. It won't hook as well in heavy but may actually outhook it in medium.

[Keithalw]

Now if I am throwing over the ten board but standing on the 20 board and need to move left do I move my mark or just throw towards my mark? Hope this question makes since cause it does in my head as I pictured it lol

[Ball99999]

Now if I am throwing over the ten board but standing on the 20 board and need to move left do I move my mark or just throw towards my mark? Hope this question makes since cause it does in my head as I pictured it lol

There is a general rule that you move 2 and 1. Move 2 board with your feet and 1 board with your target.
Though in reality it has more to do with a breakpoint which is complicated stuff. Basically if you moved 20 boards but kept your target you would throw it in the gutter.
If the ball goes left a little bit, move 1 board. If the ball still goes left move another and then a board on your target.

[J Anderson]

Now if I am throwing over the ten board but standing on the 20 board and need to move left do I move my mark or just throw towards my mark? Hope this question makes since cause it does in my head as I pictured it lol

It really depends on how much of an adjustment you need to make. If you're hitting just slightly high, you might be fine just moving your feet 1/2 or 1 board and keeping the same target. If its right through the headpin you probably want to move at least 2 boards with the feet and at least one with the target. Needless to say, but I will anyway, you can not make a good adjustment on a ball that missed your target. You can get really lost really fast when you think you need to adjust because the ball didn't carry when you were actually just lucky to have hit anywhere near the pocket at all.

[Mike White]

Spare balls are a 5 with the heavy hitters are in the 220s.

I have to believe there is something wrong with that scale. I can't imagine what a ball that hooked 40 times as much as my white dot would look like. I would have to yell "fore" every time I threw the ball.

Since we decided I can't move left and loft over the gutter, maybe I should move about 8 lanes to the right and let it hook into the gutter, then up and over to the next lane, etc, etc

[billf]

Mike, after seeing what you do with a White Dot, I would clear the alley before you rolled one of the heavy hookers. The worst part (or impressive depending of point of view) is how effortless you make it look. All the young bowlers here should see that video to see how a real bowler rolls a spare ball and gets more break than most do with aggressive balls. Then they might take technique more seriously.

[75lockwood]

Mike, after seeing what you do with a White Dot, I would clear the alley before you rolled one of the heavy hookers. The worst part (or impressive depending of point of view) is how effortless you make it look. All the young bowlers here should see that video to see how a real bowler rolls a spare ball and gets more break than most do with aggressive balls. Then they might take technique more seriously.

I haven't seen this video... may i have a link?