new equipment

[RobLV1]

that's what I was afraid of.....well pearl and fusion already bought.....suppose I should cancel the solid....what Storm ball would u suggest then to compliment the Fusion.

Here's the issue: there are only two factors that contribute to ball reaction - friction and resistence. There are four elements that contribute to these two factors: cover material, surface, core, and layout. All four contribute in some way to friction. The only one that contributes to resistance (how resistant the ball is to revving up) is the core, primarily the low rg number. The higher the low rg number is, the more resistance there is, and the farther you can expect to get the ball down the lane. The two balls that you already have, the Pearl and the Fusion, both have the same core with a pretty early rolling core - low rg of 2.49. You need to compliment these two balls with something with a higher rg, something in the 2.54-2.57 range. You might look at a ball from Storm's Hot Line, probably the Wipe Out since it is a solid, to round out your arsenal. Don't forget that the one element that is easily changed on a bowling ball is the surface. There is nothing sacred about the Out-Of-Box finish that comes on the ball; it is just the manufacturers best guess as to what surface will appeal to the greatest percentage of their target consumer. In other words, it's purely a marketing decision, and should be regarded as such.

[ALazySavage]

Rob, without knowing the type of bowler or skill level of Beagle I could be off base with this comment but I do want to hear your thoughts on this. What we do know is that the two IQs are locked in and I completely agree that the focus of the final ball in the arsenal should be a higher RG, but should the lowest end ball (in regards to RG and overall hook potential) be the solid in the bag? I guess what I'm asking is do you think it would be a better approach to take the polish off of the IQ Fusion? This would create the maximum amount of roll difference between the two IQs. I guess my concern would be that this could create the two higher performance balls would end up being what needs to be used on ligher volumes of oil and the lowest performance ball being used on heavy volumes. Depending on Beagle's comfort/skill level this could create a huge variance on how they have to play the lanes set to set. While this could be good for learning how to play multiple angles, I don't know if it is the best approach if looking to maximize score.

Assuming that Beagle has a few weeks to play with this and doesn't have big events coming up soon, I think I would approach this as follows (I'm also assuming that there is no access to a ball spinner during practice, and I understand the potential for drastically changed lanes between sets):

Set 1: Throw both IQs with the Box Finish, Pearl and 1500-grit polish. Both balls need to be thrown at different times through the night to get comfortable with how they roll.

Set 2: Throw both IQs but for the Fusion change the surface to 2000-4000 abralon. Again both balls need to be thrown at different times through the night. This way Beagle can see how the ball rolls with the new finish to help ensure it still matches their game and isn't a complete bust.

***At this point if the surface change works they could open up their options for that last ball in their arsenal. As other posters mentioned, the big issue with the original bag was when the lanes get very dry...my concern would be if they are bone dry on the fronts and the only polished balls are IQs it could be very difficult to manage the backend reaction.

[RobLV1]

As I said earlier, the surface is the easiest thing to change on a bowling ball. First, I would add a little bit of surface to the Fusion. Just hit it very lightly with a 4000 abralon pad by hand. If the balls are still very close, try a 3000, etc. As far as the high rg being a solid, a solid not only gives a little more read in the oil, it also gives a little less read in the dry (again depending on the surface). The least aggressive ball that I use is the Brunswick LT 48. It has a low rg of 2.56, and is a solid. It actually comes polished, but I added some surface to knock down the reaction in the dry, and increase the read in the oil as I move in. The high rg balls that I've used in the past have mostly been solids, with a few hybrids mixed in.

[ALazySavage]

Rob, Thanks for the input about solids and hybrids on higher RG bowling equipment. As for the resurfacing I am aware that you mentioned it and agree that it is the easiest thing to change; my comment was more in regards that in my opinion Beagle should probably resurface the IQ Tour Fusion and see how it pairs with the other ball before buying the third ball so that they can find what they need to add to their bag.

[RobLV1]

My recommendation for the solid was based on two things. First, solids are the most adaptable to surface changes, easily taking a lot of surface all the way to a lot of polish and everything in between. If a bowler could have only one ball, I'd definitely recommend a solid, just because of this surface adaptability. Second, unless a bowler has an aversion to one particular type of cover material (personally, I rarely use pearls and have only two in my arsenal), I think having at least one ball of each cover type is important, particularly until he finds that he has an aversion or affinity to one or two types.