In League Play When Do You Change To Another Ball?

[Midnight Cowboy66]

When league play begins ( 1st game) and you have missed the pocket strike after one adjustment (2 Frames) . When do you decide to change to a different ball in your arsenal or do you continue to make other changes/adjustments?

[RobLV1]

You make a ball change after making the lateral adjustments necessary to get to the pocket, but can't get carry in the corners.

[Amyers]

As Rob said adjustments to get the ball to the pocket ball changes to carry.

[vdubtx]

One thing as non-professional bowlers that we all are, is we need to be sure we are actually making good shots and hitting your mark before you can say the ball isn't the right one for the condition.

If you had a good release, hit your mark and the ball is just not getting there, crossing over or just not carrying corner pins, lateral adjustments first and then a ball change.

Too many times I have been tempted into the ball change and wasted away a couple more frames trying to find something. I can honestly say that my release isn't 100% same each and every time up on the lanes, so I need to keep that in mind when deciding to move or make ball change.

Last, knowing your arsenal is paramount to what ball you would go with depending on what is happening on the lanes.

[fordman1]

Not every bowler has an "arsenal" If you have lots of balls go for it if you only have 2 make adjustments with your feet, hand or speed 1st. Learn to do those things before you spend a lot of money on a bunch of balls.

[Amyers]

Not every bowler has an "arsenal" If you have lots of balls go for it if you only have 2 make adjustments with your feet, hand or speed 1st. Learn to do those things before you spend a lot of money on a bunch of balls.

Some people over do it with balls I agree some people build arsenals before they are ready. You can do a lot with different adjustments too. Some of this depends on what your trying to obtain and how many houses you bowl in. If I only bowled in one house I could probably do fine maybe with one strike ball definitely with two. I really don't believe it takes a six ball arsenal to be successful when you know what the conditions are but if you travel around much or bowl tournaments your eventually going to find conditions that aren't optimal to what you're trying to do.

One of the houses I bowl in has older wood lanes and an oil machine that looks like something out of a 70 science fiction movie. You never know what the lanes conditions will be there. Sometimes it's a flood and it takes something like my Virtual Gravity to score consistently most of the time it's a desert and my Arson Low Flare is the ticket. Another house I bowl at has synthetic lanes and a very heavy oil pattern that goes out to at least the first arrow. I guess I could attempt to learn to play the twig might work not really comfortable out there (maybe a failing in my game) with the Arson but more likely I'm going to end up throwing the ball straight in the pocket which I can do but I'm going to suffer score wise like that much better off to have multiple balls.

Does Joe six pack bowler need 5 balls? No. If you average 150 do you need multiple balls? probably not but if your 180+ average and bowling on different conditions or houses if you think having options wouldn't improve your game your kidding yourself.

[Jessiewoodard57]

I guess I'm the odd one. Because of my chair I am already to the point of being way left. I have had to move to the point that the right wheel of the chair is at the left gutter cap at that point I will ball down to be able to move back right. As Rob says be sure before you change you are consistently hitting your mark. I never change if I know I missed my mark. I chose to change when I'm hitting my mark and the ball starts to crossover on me. I was using my Sinister on Tuesday and in the first two games I opened up with turkeys. In the middle of the 2nd game the ball started crossing over. After my second Brooklyn strike I made a change to my 2 Fast and was able to move back right. The other team thought I was nuts "Why would you change balls when your striking" they are all straight up the middle bowlers. The only other ball I used that night was my Ride for spares right of the 3 pin. Most every shot that missed the pocket was because of me and I knew it the moment I released the ball. now when I had a strike I knew it the moment I released also. Now all I need to do is figure out where in the lineup I am going to put the Haywire. I am kind of one of those ball collectors Amyers talks about. I have 8 balls 5 of them are no longer used because I did a switch from 13# equipment to 14#. Eventually I will rehome all of them. 3 are going to my son and his wife. 1 the hammer Taboo spare I kind of hate parting with ( wish I could find a 14#) I love this ball for real dry lanes.

[Ishkabibble]

I have to do it all with one ball. I have to make adjustments with my release mostly. Usually I can get a idea of where I need to be from practice. If the lanes are dry they will only get drier. If the oil is fresh and heavy we will get carry down. Our house is alot like one of the ones Amyers bowls in...from the 1970's. They used to have a sign on the wall "A goog bowler can adjust to any lane condition" And most nights "any lane condition" is what you got.

[TVan]

Some people over do it with balls I agree some people build arsenals before they are ready. You can do a lot with different adjustments too. Some of this depends on what your trying to obtain and how many houses you bowl in. If I only bowled in one house I could probably do fine maybe with one strike ball definitely with two. I really don't believe it takes a six ball arsenal to be successful when you know what the conditions are but if you travel around much or bowl tournaments your eventually going to find conditions that aren't optimal to what you're trying to do.

One of the houses I bowl in has older wood lanes and an oil machine that looks like something out of a 70 science fiction movie. You never know what the lanes conditions will be there. Sometimes it's a flood and it takes something like my Virtual Gravity to score consistently most of the time it's a desert and my Arson Low Flare is the ticket. Another house I bowl at has synthetic lanes and a very heavy oil pattern that goes out to at least the first arrow. I guess I could attempt to learn to play the twig might work not really comfortable out there (maybe a failing in my game) with the Arson but more likely I'm going to end up throwing the ball straight in the pocket which I can do but I'm going to suffer score wise like that much better off to have multiple balls.

Does Joe six pack bowler need 5 balls? No. If you average 150 do you need multiple balls? probably not but if your 180+ average and bowling on different conditions or houses if you think having options wouldn't improve your game your kidding yourself.

This is all very good. I have a 6 ball arsenal that I take if I am bowling somewhere I have never been or its a sport shot. However I can take three to each of the two houses I bowl league. One is wood and will dry out much faster and the other is newer lanes with a heavy and tougher shot than most because of the level of skill in this particular league. I always make the moves and adjustments before I make a ball change and they will never happen the same week to week. I can work the same two balls in both houses but the changes are never the same time. That all depends on who else is on the pair with you and what line they are playing. Asking when to make the change varies so often I don't think you can just say ahead of time what you will do and when.

[Aslan]

When league play begins ( 1st game) and you have missed the pocket strike after one adjustment (2 Frames) . When do you decide to change to a different ball in your arsenal or do you continue to make other changes/adjustments?

This is a question I seem to ask myself Game 3 of every series.

There are 4 schools of thought on this that I've heard from Pros or coaches:

1) Best 1-2 balls for each house
2) Progression Based System
3) Change after a certain number of frames/games.
4) Change based on leave(s) (see Rob's comment below)

In the order above (brief explanation...at least as they have been explained to me):

1) Many people have 3-9 balls and they know what 2 balls to bring with them to each house (+ a spare ball).

Advantage/Merit: It relies on "knowing your arsenal" and knowing your center.
Disadvantage(s): If the lane conditions vary too much...you can quickly lose the ability to adapt. And obviously this system would not be useful to a bowler in a travel league or that bowls tournaments.

2) You have a "progression" where you start with a ball that hooks early and as the lanes break down...you move to the next earliest hooking ball...so on, so forth...

Advantages/Merit: If you believe in ball specs, this system should make sense.
Disadvantage(s): First you need to know ball specs; most bowlers don't want to learn that. Second, if you start with your strongest/earliest hooking...and you're coming in light or missing the headpin right...you don't have any recourse except to straighten your shot. And 3rd, and this is something a more advanced expert like Rob is going to have to explain because I still don't totally understand it...but sometimes balls designed to hook MORE...hook LATER.

For example...a "skid/flip" ball often works best when thrown the middle of the oil (inside line) versus up the outside and in the dry. And said skid/flip ball may cover way more boards than balls meant to be more aggressive, or hook early, or designed for heavy oil.

It also gets tricky if your arsenal isn't designed right. You may have a very aggressive ball that hooks late...so you would throw it later in the progression...but by the time you got to it....the lanes would be broken down so much...it'll actually hook way too much (all be it LATER).

3) It's been suggested to me by a coach, based on my current arsenal, that I should start with the Le. Revolver or D. Encounter...then switch to the Asylum in Game 3.

I'm considering trying that...because it seems like over the last 2 weeks my Game 3 has went haywire (not the ball)...because I start so far outside (5-9 boards at the dots)...that by the time I move laterally INSIDE...I'm now going over other people's lines. So I may do a 2:1 at the start of Game 2....then a 1:1 later in Game 2...and then suddenly I'm needing to make a 2:1 every single shot in Game 3.

Advantages/Merit: It's very simple. And it solves the issue I mentioned above where suddenly I'm over top other peoples lines (once you get near 2nd arrow).
Disadvantage(s): It's not very scientific. It may work perfectly in one house and a disaster in another house.

4) Some people look for a certain "leave" and that tells them "it's time to switch balls!" Rob mentioned hitting the pocket and leaving flat 7s and 10s.

Advantages/Merit: This theory works off the premise that the ball is still finding the pocket on the line it's being thrown...but it is "burning out"...and that takes away energy from the shot...and thus you hit light. And if you have a consistent release...this is probably the best method in terms of staying ahead of the oil changes.

Disadvantage(s): If you left a flat 10 or 7 for ANY reason (bad release, inconsistent speed, bad luck or a pin not on spot)...you'll switch balls and miss even worse the next shot. There's also the issue that if you stay on essentially the same line...even though you're balling down...you're really burning up that line.

To more simply answer your question, the two best answers I've gotten are from Missy Parkin and Rob. Rob's answer is posted below (#4). Missy's answer was to continue to make lateral moves left until you move and miss right. For illustration:

Lets say you go through the head. You'd make a 2:1 move left. Then later in Game 2, you miss again, the same way. You make another 2:1 move left. Then you leave a pin that makes you move 1:1 left. Then in Game 3 you go through the nose again...move 2:1 left...but on the next shot you hit right of the headpin and leave a 2-4-5. According to this system, you've now moved further inside than the ball/release can overcome. You would then move back 2:1 right and ball down.

But like VDub sort of eluded to...I used to be moving left and right and going from ball to ball....some nights I'd use 3-4 different balls over 3 games. It wasn't until I started improving my timing and release...where suddenly I wasn't moving as much and rarely changed balls. The real LIMITING factor of ANY of the methods I mentioned (or any method for that matter) is that your release and speed and form need to be good. If you miss your target...you don't move off that. If you put too much hand or release flat...you don't move off that. You can ONLY move or switch balls if you throw a very good shot...that by no fault of YOURS didn't hit pocket and carry. The absolute #1 (with a bullet) mistake that I see most new arsenal bowlers make (including myself)...is they miss their target...or have a bad release or their speed is way too high or slow...and they change balls. Some change balls as soon as they don't strike 2 frames in a row.

You don't move or change balls...unless you hit your target and made a good shot.

That's just a summary of what I've heard or been told...like I said, Rob has actually written articles on this topic and has coached me a little bit about some of the things I was doing wrong with my arsenal and "progression"...so he's really more of an "authority" on this than most of the rest of us...but that's my 3 cents for what it's worth.