Something I've been thinking about

[rv driver]

I think one of The MOST important things is, HOW YOUR ball is drilled!!! I personally can't think of ONE more important aspect of a balls performance then the various pitches, and measurements, including pin position.

I have been experimenting with different grips, and pin positions, and

A GAME CHANGER for ICE, was and is the Tri-Grip!

MIGHT NOT WORK for everyone one, but EVERYONE I KNOW around here that has had BP's Pro Shop drill this method has been CRAZY about it!

MUCH MORE comfortable, Ball fells lighter due to distribution of weight in hand, better alignment, thumb comes out quicker, and more accuracy!

There I've said it again.... ( sounds like a song by some one lol)

So many things go into CREATING THE PERFECT STORM, (no pun intended)!

But as I have said before and still stand by it, GIVE JASON ANYBODIES BALL, Any weight, any span as long as he can get his fingers in the hole, and that Dude will throw a 200 game or higher....

Some how he compensates all the above factors to make who anybody's ball work for HIM! HE HAS THAT GIFT, I have talked about!

Everything mentioned, ball specks, weight, and how its drilled is VERY IMPORTANT, and only experimentation will find that Golden Ball as I have with my Deadly Aim! It takes time, trial and error, but the combination of all mentioned can unleash a MONSTER!!

I must have missed something. What, exactly, is the "tri-grip?"

[Bunny]

I must have missed something. What, exactly, is the "tri-grip?"

Here's one thread...


http://www.bowlingboards.com/threads...light=tri-grip


Try the search function.

[Mike White]

Are you saying that you're aware of wood lanes that have less "traction" than synthetics? It was my understanding that wood is on the extreme end of that spectrum. I mean, sure...dry plywood would be less slick than wood lanes...but I've only seen synthetic lanes behave "drier" than wood lanes once...and that was after a Thanksgiving weekend when it was fairly clear they hadn't been oiled since the Wednesday before the Thanksgiving weekend.

Bowl knows more than me...I just have never seen it.

If Concourse is the only wood lanes you bowl on, then in your experience wood lanes are the extreme end of the spectrum.

Those lanes were probably a decade past needing to be replaced. A bowling center abandoned in the 50's, and just left setting would still have lanes in better shape than Concourse.

Friction levels of a well maintained wood house are much closer to synthetic.

At Concourse there wasn't much difference between the 1st 15 feet, and the parking lot.

[Amyers]

Here's one thread...


http://www.bowlingboards.com/threads...light=tri-grip


Try the search function.

Bunny

I looked at this there is no info on the tri-grip other than Ice being a tri-grip 300 man. just wanted you to know.

[Aslan]

You've got cover material (solid, pearl, hybrid), surface (polished, dull, or somewhere in between), core (rg and differential), and layout (changes the rg and differential), and yet so many of you are trying to put everything on cover material. It's just not that simple! All of the elements contribute to ball motion. If you don't take all of them into account, you'll never even begin to understand modern bowling.

I agree...and I LOVE talking ball specs....but, I've been told by many on here that such talk is frowned upon because:
A) It makes Mudpuppy's head explode.
B) It's all "mumbo jumbo" that is meaningless compared to a bowlers natural gift (or lack there of).

Iceman...I disagree...I think drilling layout is fairly low on the scale of what impacts ball movement. I'd say it's:

1) surface
2) core
3) differential
4) RG
5) drilling layout (not including fit)

However, as Rob would probably point out...those 5 are all inter-linked (except for surface). So in other words...if DIFF is #3...diff is directly related to the core and the RG...and the drilling layout impacts the core position...so they are all interlinked. My "reasoning" for ranking them this way is:

1) Surface is proven to change ball movement.
2) Even though I'm less sure of the degree based on recent data...hypothetically the core shape/type can make the backend reaction more or less angular. (although, drilling can also impact this...interlinked)
3) The diff changes the flare...
4) The RG is linked to the diff...but RGs are generally similar from ball to ball. Most Rgs are 2.48-2.54...and I've not seen much data that supports a 0.01 difference in RG will actually do anything for an average bowler.
5) Drilling Layout...drilling layout can impact the ball..certainly...but it's limited to what the ball presents. You can "alter" it to make it behave certain ways...but at the end of the day you have to work with what the ball gives you.

I hope to film a little project later this month where I'm going to take two identical balls and let MWhite (ball driller to the stars) drill them very differently. The hypothesis is, that I'll end up with essentially 2 very different balls despite them being the exact same OotB. Realize, that is only a "hypothesis"...and is limited to what I can actually do with the ball (which is rather limited). Granted, we'll also use surface changes so it won't be a strict measurement of layout versus layout...but still, it should be an interesting experiement. I say I "hope" to film it...but thats going to depend on how busy Mike is at the time and also is limited to my computer editing abilities. I'm having trouble with editing large videos as I'm presently limited on hard drive space on my laptop. But I might be able to do it on an older version of the editing software on the old desktop...assuming my memory cards have enough memory to even do this.

[Aslan]

I must have missed something. What, exactly, is the "tri-grip?"

Bill Hall Tri-Grip. It's just a different way of drilling a ball. MWhite is trained to do it and can explain it better. Iceman tends to swear by it. I use it on one of my balls and plan to use it on future drillings.

Me personally, I like it because it makes the ball feel lighter and more comfortable in my hand. As to "describing it"....and this is a completely uneducated/untrained description...it seems to move the thumb left of where it normally goes. On my other balls, the thumb is sort of under the middle finger or in between the fingers. But with tri-grip, my thumb is sort of offset to the left of my middle finger. I think the "pitch/angle" is also different.

You can find info on the internet if you google it. I just know it feels more comfortable. I don't "swear by it" just yet...the jury is still out for me...but thus far I like it. The only "negative" is my thumb tends to get more calloused with tri-grip...but in fairness, both balls I've tried tr-grip have slightly larger thumbholes which is probably more related to the issue than tri-grip is.

[bowl1820]

I must have missed something. What, exactly, is the "tri-grip?"

The Tri-Grip is a fitting system for determining your span and finger pitches, that Bill Hall developed.

And is supposed to allow the ball to sit more balanced in your hand and come off cleaner. Thus increasing your revs, accuracy etc. etc.

Only a few pro shops do it, because it costs $200 for the video showing how to do it.

[RobLV1]

Aslan: Let me save you some time and money. One of the balls in my current arsenal is a Brunswick Mastermind Genius. It is drilled 55 X 4 1/4 X 45 to complement the layout on the Mastermind which is very strong. It just so happens that my coach and ball driller drilled up a second Genius for me: 40 X 5 1/4 X 65. The layouts look like this: 1. original - pin drilled out in the ring finger with the mass bias approximately 1/4" to the right of the thumb hole. 2. new layout - pin below the middle finger with the mass bias kicked out about 2" to the right of the thumb hole. I tried both balls this morning for the first time with the same surface. The differences were obvious. The original Genius goes medium/long with a fair amount of flare, and is smooth, tending toward angular on the back end. Then new Genius starts up very early (the mass bias being kicked out lowers the drilling angle which makes the ball start up quicker), shows much less flare as a result of the longer pin to PAP distance, and is much more arcing in terms of the transition. While the differences in the layouts are not radical, the resulting ball motion is totally different. Is one better than the other? It all depends on how they are to be used. The original ball works very well, as I said earlier, as a compliment to the Mastermind. I am, however, really looking forward to trying the new version on the 45' Route 66 pattern tomorrow night.

By the way, from what I've read, 0.01" difference in low rg equates to approximately 2 1/2" in length down the lane.

[Amyers]

Aslan: Let me save you some time and money. One of the balls in my current arsenal is a Brunswick Mastermind Genius. It is drilled 55 X 4 1/4 X 45 to complement the layout on the Mastermind which is very strong. It just so happens that my coach and ball driller drilled up a second Genius for me: 40 X 5 1/4 X 65. The layouts look like this: 1. original - pin drilled out in the ring finger with the mass bias approximately 1/4" to the right of the thumb hole. 2. new layout - pin below the middle finger with the mass bias kicked out about 2" to the right of the thumb hole. I tried both balls this morning for the first time with the same surface. The differences were obvious. The original Genius goes medium/long with a fair amount of flare, and is smooth, tending toward angular on the back end. Then new Genius starts up very early (the mass bias being kicked out lowers the drilling angle which makes the ball start up quicker), shows much less flare as a result of the longer pin to PAP distance, and is much more arcing in terms of the transition. While the differences in the layouts are not radical, the resulting ball motion is totally different. Is one better than the other? It all depends on how they are to be used. The original ball works very well, as I said earlier, as a compliment to the Mastermind. I am, however, really looking forward to trying the new version on the 45' Route 66 pattern tomorrow night.

By the way, from what I've read, 0.01" difference in low rg equates to approximately 2 1/2" in length down the lane.

Rob I think the point of Aslan's test is to see if it make any difference in the roll of the balls with his low rev style.

[RobLV1]

I too am rev challenged compared to many of the modern power players. As I have seen Aslan bowl, I can tell you that my rev rate is a little bit higher, but the differences in layouts should be as significant based on the fact that rg will be a bigger factor for a lower rev player, while friction will be a bigger factor for a higher rev player.