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

[Hammer]

There are some folks that think that if they buy an expensive hook monster ball that it will correct the lousy release they have. No matter what ball you use you have to have the right release and target on the alley to make it work like it was made to work. Not only that you have to get the right ball for the type of oil condition you will be bowling on.

A pro shop can make ball recommendations for you by telling you what balls are good for heavy oil, medium oil, sport oil patterns and THS patterns. No ball can correct a broken wrist over the top ball release. You will have to learn to try and stay on the inside of the ball with you fingertips below the equator of the ball until you near the release area. Only after your thumb comes out of the ball quickly can yo uncup your wrist and make the slight turn of your hand to give the ball the good revs it needs to get a solid hit on the pocket.

Seeing that I do not bowl for a living or practice much anymore because of body issues I know what to do as far as technique goes for a good release but sometimes as soon as the ball comes off my hand it sends a signal to my brain that the release did not come off well. Even on my bad releases I do not leave terrible spare shots like the Greek church or 7-10 splits.

On my approach my concentration is focused on keeping my wrist straight or a little cupped on my backswing and into my forward swing until my thumb comes out then I uncup or break the wrist and at the same time give my hand the slight turn and let the ball go down the alley. Any ball you use will look great when you can get this right. Then and only then will the ball you are using work like it was made to plus targeting correctly on the alley for the lane condition you are bowling on. THE END.

[RobLV1]

How right you are. I once heard it said that there are 21 elements that make up the physical game of bowling. 20 of them count for 2 1/2 % each. The other 50% is the release. The belief that one ball hooks more than another is a fallacy. One ball may hook earlier than another, but it does not change direction more, only sooner. The only thing that makes one ball hook more than another is the release of the bowler. That's why working on developing a modern release is an activity that will be richly rewarded - if you have the patience and work ethic to do it.

Rob Mautner

[MICHAEL]

I agree Rob, and have said as much in several other threads! There is NO MAGIC BALL, but there can be magic when a ball is in the hands of a Gifted bowler! Even in the hands of a gifted bowler, the magic doesn't happen as much as one would like, but when it does, nirvana,,, Magic!

[Mike White]

How right you are. I once heard it said that there are 21 elements that make up the physical game of bowling. 20 of them count for 2 1/2 % each. The other 50% is the release. The belief that one ball hooks more than another is a fallacy. One ball may hook earlier than another, but it does not change direction more, only sooner. The only thing that makes one ball hook more than another is the release of the bowler. That's why working on developing a modern release is an activity that will be richly rewarded - if you have the patience and work ethic to do it.

Rob Mautner

How do you define a quantity of hook?

I would submit heading as it enters the playing surface, vs heading as it exits the playing surface.

I like how you tack that last bit on at the end.

If anyone doesn't agree with you they must be impatient and unwilling to work for the results.

How do you differentiate a modern release from a non-modern release?

[RobLV1]

I define the quantity of hook as the angle of the change of direction from the initial line upon which the ball is thrown, until it completes its turn toward the pins. As long as bowlers use this definition of hook, they will not be lured into buying a ball that "hooks more" because they will understand that balls only hook earlier or later, not more or less.

As for your question about the modern release, I think I've stated the differences enough times, and I'm really not inclined to start knocking my head against that stone wall again. It really has nothing to do with agreeing with me or not agreeing with me. I'm really tired of you trying to egg me on into one of your silly arguments. I'm not going there again.

[sprocket]

C'mon Rob. Plastic hooks less than reactive on long oil. Period. Are you really going to tell a new bowler to just go ahead and buy a cheap plastic ball because it hooks the same as any other ball, just later? It hooks later alright. Like at 65ft.

[RobLV1]

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.

[MICHAEL]

Rob thoughts.....

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.

We had a lady on our seniors league, that was one of the best female bowlers! SHE threw a very old plastic ball.

She had health issues, medium/slow speed, but did get decent revolutions. That plastic ball would go down the outside part of the lane and do a BEAUTIFUL HOOK into the pocket! It proved to me that even plastic can, under the right circumstances look like a asymmetrical ball drilled pin high!

She had at 73, so much hook on that ball that, her only problem was getting the TEN PIN!! LOL!!

YES a plastic ball, that should work on 10 pins, she would only pick up ONE out of a 100! She would always, ALWAY,,,,, miss it by a HUMAN HAIR!! EVERY TIME!!! It was fun to watch, and I did try to show her how to throw the ball with her palm up, (as I do to take the lateral spin out, that was giving her problems, due in part to her ball speed, and lateral spin) You know that saying you can't teach a .... .... ....

With her it was all about throwing that 10 year old plastic ball down the out side, decent revolutions, lower ball speed, Walla ,,, fair share of strikes!!!

She is, and was a wonderful person, and bowler,, I do miss bowing with the seniors! Only reason I left was it wasn't sanctioned.

PLASTIC WILL HOOK, and it did get the job done for her, on fresh house oil! As I said, one of the top female bowlers on that league.

[sprocket]

Well, you have made a very good point Rob and I completely get your point of view. Where I differ is that I believe a bowling lane is its own little universe that ball travels in. And in the long oil universe for certain bowler's who throw above a certain speed, plastic never hooks. It would have to enter another universe to hook and it doesn't. Within that realm, it doesn't hook because that realm doesn't have enough friction. Since that is the universe a bowler may be bowling in, a plastic ball will not hook. Ever.

The total amount a ball hooks can be limited by a 60' lane. If the lane was longer then, yes all balls would hook the same for a certain release at a certain speed. But the lane IS 60' long (give or take) and buying a ball for a desired amount of hook has to take that into account.

[Aslan]

She had at 73, so much hook on that ball that, her only problem was getting the TEN PIN!! LOL!!

I bowl with a lady right now that is a lefty version of that person. In her 60s-70s, virtually no speed, old 1993 urethane ball, helicoptor release. She is fairly accurate...scores in the 130s-160s consistently. Only trouble:

1) At that speed, no room for error because no pin carry.
2) Splits..LOTs of splits. 6 in one game is her current record.
3) Absolute INABILITY to pick up a 7-pin.

And like you Ice, I've tried to help her...because she can get so frustrated with leaving that 7-pin (which she does a LOT)...but at her age, with an ailing shoulder...it's tough. I don't want to give her any advice and have her hurt herself. And not to mention, a lot of times bowlers of that age will "say they want help" but they'll just throw the way they've always thrown at the end of the day. Hard to break 50 year habits.

I believe hook is a combination of a LOT of things. Mostly friction and revs. Friction is a combination of ball speed, coverstock, and lane conditions. Revs are a combination of release, ball core, and drilling. So I always find it curious when a person says they "need a ball that will hook more/less" or "you can't outbowl a bad ball reaction" since speed and release have nothing to do with the ball...and can be changed by the bowler. NOW...if you assume speed and release to be constants (as many people say, they don't want to have to change those things because it messes with timing and muscle memory, etc...)...then how much a ball hooks is 1/2 ball, 1/4 drilling, and 1/4 lane. If you assume that a driller can also change surfaces of a ball, then it's more like 3/8 ball, 3/8 drilling/surface changes, and 1/4 lane.

Thats how I currently justify buying older model balls based on price. I figure, AT MOST....the difference between one ball and the next (among reactive resin, modern balls) is only 25% of the equation MAXIMUM. Most will say it's MUCH less because release is being underestimated at 17% and since many balls are very similar in terms of cores and coverstocks...25% is a stretch.

Any thoughts (without starting WWIII) on those percentages??