There are no miracle balls to correct a lousy release.........

[RobLV1]

sprocket: The bowling lane may be "its own little universe," but it still conforms to the laws of physics of the rest of the universe. The only place that a bowling ball will never hook is in the vaccuum of space where it will not encounter any friction at all. On the lane, in the oil, the ball encounters less friction than in the dry, but it still encounters some friction and, given enough time (length down the lane) will hook eventually though as you have said, it may be well past the pins in the case of a plastic ball.

Getting back to the original premise that the amount of angle change is totally dependent on the bowlers release, and everything else is how soon the ball hooks, I was thinking about this yesterday and came upon an example. Those of us who watched the PBA League telecast on Sunday saw a perfect example of what I'm talking about. Three of the bowlers; Sean Rash, Parker Bohn, and Walter Ray Williams were throwing the Brunswick Mastermind Genius, a very aggressive asymmetrical ball with an rg of 2.488 (early roll), and a differential of 0.052 (high flair potential). All three players, despite very different speeds and rev rates were able to use the ball, playinging somewhere between the second arrow and the fifth arrow. Jason Belmonte, on the other hand, was throwing a Rotogrip UpRoar, a non-aggressive symmetrical ball ball with an rg of 2.55 (late roll), and a differential of 0.030 (low flare potential), and yet he had to loft the left gutter cap because the ball was hooking so much that he couldn't keep it on the lane any other way. Why was this non-aggressive ball hooking so much for Belmonte? It was as a result of his release, combined with his ball speed and rev rate.

To get the most from the technology of modern bowling balls, the idea is that the bowler who can deliver the most power to the pins, wins. In the case above, Belmonte, because of his speed and rev rate was able to do this with a less aggressive ball than any of the others were using. In the cases of the senior ladies that you are trying to help, using plastic balls and playing outside in the friction may be their best alternative, though I have an idea that some qualified coaching may be able to get them more ball speed so that they could use more aggressive equipment. A bowler who puts in the effort to learn a modern release and how to move left so that he may play the oil, rather than the dry and use a more aggressive bowling ball, has a tremendous advantage. If you choose to use less aggressive equipment and play the friction, that's your choice, but please don't make it sound like some form of protest against all this "new-fangled technology" that has challenged the values that we have held for so long. Look at it for what it is: a last-ditch effort to resist change and stay in your comfort zone.

[sprocket]

I understand Rob. Thanks for all the comments.
On a slightly different topic (maybe). Sunday I went out to practice and could not carry. I already started a topic about it but to make a long story short, I went against the normal adjustment and moved way right into the friction for the last 5 games. My scores went way up while the other right hander started to struggle for reaction and was playing closer to third arrow. I was outside first arrow throwing a Strike Zone at 19mph wit a lot of forward roll. I think I was actually able to use the carry down for hold on shots missing slightly left. I had some area but not a ton. Mostly I was making very good shots and my entry angle was optimal for good carry.

[Mike White]

My point exactly! A plastic cover on a bowling ball provides very little friction to slow it down enough to begin to hook, so it hooks at 65' which, for all intents and purposes on a 60' lane means that it goess straight. Please tell me what about a bowling ball makes it hook more than another bowling ball. There is nothing! The only factors involved in the physics of bowling balls that determine how much they hook are friction and resistence, and both of these factors only affect when the ball hooks, not how much it hooks. I'll say it once again: if you define total hook as the degree of the angle of the change of direction, then every bowling ball hooks the same amount based totally upon the release of the bowler. This is not to say that a bowler can't change his release to get more or less change of angle, of course he can. But, using the same release, any two balls will hook the same amount, only at different times.

I think it's time you go take a refresher course in physics.

A plastic ball will hook just fine if you can achieve static friction, for most people, their rev rate vs ball speed does not give the ball time to achieve that state.

Different balls have different surface COF, and can achieve static friction for these people, and therefore hook more.

P.S. A ball doesn't NEED to slow down to begin to hook. That is a figment of your imagination.

On an early version of the C.A.T.S. system (1980's) my ball speed through the heads was 16 mph, and 17 mph entering the pins.

The reason for the increase in speed was due to the rev rate.

At 17 mph, static friction is achieved at about 675 rpm.

[Aslan]

To get the most from the technology of modern bowling balls, the idea is that the bowler who can deliver the most power to the pins, wins.

I see what you're saying...but I don't know if that is an absolute. What I mean is, I used to throw a 15lb ball 21mph and when I hit the headpin the pins "exploded". But I've seen people throw even harder/faster and leave splits and other spares. Pure physics will tell you that the momentum and force having to do with a ball of X weight at X speed...will result in more force/momentum...thus more "power" into the pins. But since the objective in bowling is not only to make them scatter but scatter in a way that sends them into certain other pins...angle to the pocket is just as if not more important than physical force/momentum. Is it not?

I watch a beginning bowler every week in league play and I want to just run over and shake him. He fires the ball at about 23mph in a straight line and sometimes it hits left, right, center...but he's HORRIBLE! Sure, he's throwing it HARDER than everyone else...but that isn't really the point of the game. Right?

And as I said about Belmo many times...IF you honestly believe 2-handed bowling provides a DISTINCT advantage in terms of pin carry and ultimately average/scoring/etc... THEN, players bowling 1-handed are choosing to put themselves at a disadvantage. It's simple FORTRAN logic. And I don't buy that. Time may tell...but I don't buy that.

[sprocket]

When I bowled my recent 800 I don't know if I would use the term "power" to describe how the ball went through the pins. The lanes were hooking more that day and my entry angle was just right. I was using more axis rotation than usual and the way the ball was rotating when it hit the pins was causing them to really interact with each other and not just blow off the deck. The pins really scattered around the pin deck on light hits too.

Now, this past Sunday was a different story. When I was playing way outside the ball did have tremendous power at the pins and they were gone in a hurry. I was using more speed and more forward roll. But I did leave some ringing tens. "Power" as I think of it, doesn't always mean the best carry, but I guess a person can define the word any way they want.

[Hampe]

And as I said about Belmo many times...IF you honestly believe 2-handed bowling provides a DISTINCT advantage in terms of pin carry and ultimately average/scoring/etc... THEN, players bowling 1-handed are choosing to put themselves at a disadvantage. It's simple FORTRAN logic. And I don't buy that. Time may tell...but I don't buy that.

Belmo has an advantage because he still has a professional level of accuracy and consistency. All other things being equal (let's face it, all the high level pros are more or less equally accurate/consistent), having more power at the pins gives you an advantage.

Pretty much all two handed bowlers at our level sacrifice some amount of accuracy for power, which is why they don't necessarily have an advantage over us.

[vdubtx]

Belmo has an advantage because he still has a professional level of accuracy and consistency. All other things being equal (let's face it, all the high level pros are more or less equally accurate/consistent), having more power at the pins gives you an advantage.

Pretty much all two handed bowlers at our level sacrifice some amount of accuracy for power, which is why they don't necessarily have an advantage over us.

Saw something recently about different stats and the pro bowlers are, as you would expect, more accurate. The graphic I remember seeing was that the regular bowler can be accurate to within 3 or 4 boards and the pro is accurate to 1.2 boards down lane. There were lots of other stats on single pin spares and 10 pin or 7 pin pick ups etc. Will have to google a bit to find it again.

[Pauley]

Saw something recently about different stats and the pro bowlers are, as you would expect, more accurate. The graphic I remember seeing was that the regular bowler can be accurate to within 3 or 4 boards and the pro is accurate to 1.2 boards down lane. There were lots of other stats on single pin spares and 10 pin or 7 pin pick ups etc. Will have to google a bit to find it again.

If you find it please post it, sounds very interesting.

[bowl1820]

Here's "Don't settle for being average" from ABC's "American Bowler" Magazine Winter 2003 issue.

Don't settle for being average page 1

Don't settle for being average page 2

also
Click here for Performance based on skill

also see
Click here for C.A.T.S = How Good Are You?


ESPN The Magazine Breaks Down PBA Spare Shooting
ESPN The Magazine included an analysis of the 20 most common spare attempts after breaking down video of PBA matches between 2005 and 2010.

Players threw strikes on 4,374 of 7,155 first-ball attempts (a 61.13% success rate), meaning they also had to make 2,781 spare attempts.

[mc_runner]

Thanks, bowl1820. That performance based on skill link is really interesting.