What ball speed do you usually throw?

[Shaneshu87]

my speed varies depending on the lanes i'm on i shoot 3 different leagues in the fall, one house is wood i throw 18phm, another house is synthetic i throw slower around 15-16, and then i bowl in another league that uses a PBA certified THS on synthetic and i throw even slower about 13-14. i'm more comfortable with the higher speed and i feel like i can project the ball better.

[fortheloveofbowling]

You don't have to have high ball speed, just look at pete weber or tom baker. The key always is matching tilt/revolutions/speed. Obviously easier said than done. I'm still working on that 40 years later.

[Aslan]

You don't have to have high ball speed, just look at pete weber or tom baker. The key always is matching tilt/revolutions/speed. Obviously easier said than done. I'm still working on that 40 years later.

<THIS>

Many bowlers don't understand that revs and speed not only work together but also oppose each other. So the more revs you have, the faster you're going to need it to go. The slower the balls speed, the less revs are necessary. ZDawg is a perfect example if you watch the Invitational footage. He has a nice amount of revs; but his ball speed is very low…so the ball tended to keep going left of the pocket. More speed (or loft) can get the ball (with the same rev rate) into the pocket.

[RobLV1]

It's interesting that the names of Pete Weber and Tom Baker came up in this discussion. Pete is unique in that the axis rotation that is generated by his release allows him to get the ball down the lane without a tremendous amount of speed. Tom Baker throws a full roller. In most cases, bowlers with decent rev rates need more speed in order to conserve energy to knock down pins. The most important thing is that the rev rate and speed are compatible. This is the problem with developing a higher rev rate when you can't also increase your speed.

[fortheloveofbowling]

You are exactly right axis tilt/speed/revolutions/ball surface management is the key. Easier said than done though on tougher conditions.

[jnv32185]

my ball speed is between 15-16mph

[Blacksox1]

Sixteen miles per hour plus

[Jaescrub]

I throw a 16lb at 18MPH I need more revs ha ha ha

[zdawg]

<THIS>
ZDawg is a perfect example if you watch the Invitational footage. He has a nice amount of revs; but his ball speed is very low…so the ball tended to keep going left of the pocket. More speed (or loft) can get the ball (with the same rev rate) into the pocket.

Aslan is exactly right here. Since that "tournament", I've inadvertently added even a little more rotation/revs to the ball....and while I'm not quite at Belmonte level I realized that I needed to add speed or forever watch the ball hook well past the headpin...Lately I've been able to speed up about 4 mph (from 12/13 to 16/17 on strike balls) and the adjustment has been tremendous in my scoring.

That said, this past Friday night the ball was moving fast and still overhooking due to excessively dry lanes - I was throwing my Ebonite Cyclone which is about as entry level/reactive resin ball as you can get, I'm think of adding a urethane ball to my collection/arsenal for nights like this as I'm not quite ready to loft the left gutter just yet