Limited experience with brands, but thinking of new equipment...

[Monte]

Ok, as it stands, I do think that when I upgrade, I'm going with 15# equipment, based on the other thread I started.

That said, I have not bowled with very many different BRANDS of bowling balls.

Back when I was in Junior Leagues (a LONG time ago), I bowled with a 12# Columbia 300 Yellow Dot. Shot my first 200, and my first 250+ with that ball.

Then somehow or another, I acquired a black Hammer (back when they were Faball, I believe). I think this one had a "pancake" core, or at least that's what I was told. I think it was given to me.

I stuck with that for the longest time, until just recently when I bought my Elite Traitor. My "spare" ball is an older Brunswick Reactive BKH5318, which I believe is discontinued.

With guitars (I play guitar a little bit) it's easy. I can just go in the music store, pick a few up, and play them. I can go into Guitar Center and pick up a $1,000 Les Paul, and compare it to a $1,000 Stratocaster. Or I can pick up a $700 Ovation and compare it to a $700 Martin.

With Bowling balls, I can't do that.

The big issue I have is that a lot of the high-performance balls are comparably priced, and they all market themselves as "the best" on the market...

My cousin likes the Motiv brand, I believe. I'm not sure he'd know why if I asked him.

I'm honestly not sure which direction to go. I really don't have the money laying around (and the Mrs. probably wouldn't be too happy) to buy one of each brand, drill it, and see if I like it. I suppose I'm partial to Hammer because I had one for such a long time, but I don't want to eliminate other brands simply because I don't know much about them.

Right now, with my Elite Traitor, I lay the ball down (on a house shot at my local center) anywhere from 12-14, float it out to about 8, and have it hook in from there.

I don't necessarily have to/want to take this line. Depending on oil, I may play a little more inside or outside, obviously.

When I got my Traitor drilled, the pro shop guy didn't really look at a drill sheet or really ask me what kind of reaction I wanted. He just took measurements, and started using those drilling tools (that arc ruler and such) to draw the lines on my ball. So when I get new equipment, I may either bring a drill sheet with me, and say "This one", or take it to a different pro shop.

But I digress.

So I'm really up in the air on what brands to look into.

For example, why is a hook rating of, say, 250 (on a 300 scale) for a Brunswick product better/worse than a 250 hook rating for Ebonite or Hammer?

I'm not sure if I need a skid/flip reaction, or something a little more smooth. And if multiple products offer both, what's the real difference in which one I choose?

I'd really only be using the equipment for recreational/open bowling (no leagues or anything like that at this time).

Thoughts, please?

[epiepenburg]

I'd talk to a pro shop owner you trust, build a relationship with your driller and discuss what you are looking for and what you feel you need in a ball.

As far as hook ratings, there is no technical standard, and therefore no way to compare different branded balls. Some people like to pick a brand and then stick with a brand in order to ease knowing which balls to move to.

[Monte]

I'd talk to a pro shop owner you trust, build a relationship with your driller and discuss what you are looking for and what you feel you need in a ball.

This is a good idea, and I'd like to do that...

The issue there is that apparently the guy who's the pro-shop owner also owns at least one other bowling center, and most of the time when I go bowling at my local center he's not there.

[epiepenburg]

This is a good idea, and I'd like to do that...

The issue there is that apparently the guy who's the pro-shop owner also owns at least one other bowling center, and most of the time when I go bowling at my local center he's not there.

Call and setup an appointment. If they aren't willing to discuss needs of a potential paying customer, then try and go elsewhere.

I ended up moving my business to a pro shop 45 min away from where I live. My original pro shop guy was unfriendly. The next guy wouldn't return calls or emails. My new shop has a fantastic owner who's in his mid 30's (few years older than me). He has a Facebook page for his shop, I sent him a message through there before I was even one of his customers, he responded within 10 min. I've referred business to him, one of my teammates actually messaged him during league one night and was getting responses on ball advice at 9pm. I like that he is with the times and isn't afraid to communicate during "off" hours.

[Monte]

Call and setup an appointment. If they aren't willing to discuss needs of a potential paying customer, then try and go elsewhere.

I may try that next time.

I did, however, email another local bowling center about 15 or 20 miles away. I'm going to see what they tell me, because I don't even know if their bowling center has a pro shop. I haven't been there.

The pro shop guy at my local shop, though...I'm not entirely sure he got the drilling right, because the drilling might partially be my fault. See, at first, I had the ball drilled, and it was rubbing a blister on the SIDE of my thumb. Which, as other posters have noted, possibly indicates a pitch problem. So I had the hole widened, and now the blister is on the "fatty" part of my thumb, where the joint meets my palm.

But yeah, I would like a little more input into how my ball was drilled. Last time, IIRC, the pro shop guy didn't really even find out my PAP or anything like that. And he angled the Pin/CG line toward the thumb.

What I actually wanted, from the following link, was something very much like layout #1.

http://www.bowlingfiles.com/shop/bal...ructions.shtml

But that's not what I ended up with. The CG was angled where the line from the Pin to CG went through the thumb hole, instead of vertically, parallel to it, if I'm looking at that drilling correctly.

[epiepenburg]

My Thug is drilled similar to that layout, I have the pin centered below the fingertip grips, my CG is off to the side a bit from what's pictured. With my Thug it's real smooth through the front part of the lane and then reads nicely down lane for a big curve.

[fortheloveofbowling]

I may try that next time.

I did, however, email another local bowling center about 15 or 20 miles away. I'm going to see what they tell me, because I don't even know if their bowling center has a pro shop. I haven't been there.

The pro shop guy at my local shop, though...I'm not entirely sure he got the drilling right, because the drilling might partially be my fault. See, at first, I had the ball drilled, and it was rubbing a blister on the SIDE of my thumb. Which, as other posters have noted, possibly indicates a pitch problem. So I had the hole widened, and now the blister is on the "fatty" part of my thumb, where the joint meets my palm.

But yeah, I would like a little more input into how my ball was drilled. Last time, IIRC, the pro shop guy didn't really even find out my PAP or anything like that. And he angled the Pin/CG line toward the thumb.

What I actually wanted, from the following link, was something very much like layout #1.

http://www.bowlingfiles.com/shop/bal...ructions.shtml

But that's not what I ended up with. The CG was angled where the line from the Pin to CG went through the thumb hole, instead of vertically, parallel to it, if I'm looking at that drilling correctly.

If you are at a point were you can start thinking about different drillings and fine tuning reaction then you should definitely have the pro shop guy determine your pap. It is pretty easy to determine fairly accurately on your own though. 1820 i think put up a diagram that shows one way to do it yourself. Keep in mind the link you put up for the 3 drilling options are for symmetric balls. Also, as determined by an extensive study done by usbc on symmetric balls the cg placement really has quite a bit less affect on the balls performance than pin distance to the pap and the distance to your vertical axis line. Good luck with your new equipment.