Benchmark ball? Then what?

[Amyers]

I love this.. but what does that translate into in terms of changes?
1) If it deflects you may be able to "ball down" to prevent it from burning up. Or I would assume, move into more oil to conserve energy.
2) If it keeps going left through the pocket then... ? Move left again to increase the angle? Move right to get out of the oil sooner and burn off some energy? Move right and get into something with a weaker core? Change the breakpoint left to STAY in the oil?

I'm confused about what to do when my ball drives through too much and I start leaving 4-9 splits. I seem to get stuck between 4-9 splits.. move a little left and then get 2-8-10. Should I get into something with less flare at that point?

Are you making parallel adjustments (2-2)? this is may be the problem if you are you are moving your break point more into the oil as you adjust causing the ball not to get back to a clean hit on the pocket. Maybe try 3-1 adjustments or ball up as you move in should help with this.

[bobforsaken]

Are you making parallel adjustments (2-2)? this is may be the problem if you are you are moving your break point more into the oil as you adjust causing the ball not to get back to a clean hit on the pocket. Maybe try 3-1 adjustments or ball up as you move in should help with this.

I'm usually doing 1 and 1 first.. then an additional 2 and 1 to end up at 3 and 2, if that makes any sense. If I move big I'm usually doing 3 and 2.

[Amyers]

I'm usually doing 1 and 1 first.. then an additional 2 and 1 to end up at 3 and 2, if that makes any sense. If I move big I'm usually doing 3 and 2.

With the problem your describing I would try making a 3-1 as my intital adjustment and see how that works feed the ball to the friction a little more. You could also ball up with your 3-2 move inside and try that.

[bobforsaken]

Worth a try.. thanks!

[RobLV1]

I love this.. but what does that translate into in terms of changes?
1) If it deflects you may be able to "ball down" to prevent it from burning up. Or I would assume, move into more oil to conserve energy.
2) If it keeps going left through the pocket then... ? Move left again to increase the angle? Move right to get out of the oil sooner and burn off some energy? Move right and get into something with a weaker core? Change the breakpoint left to STAY in the oil?

I'm confused about what to do when my ball drives through too much and I start leaving 4-9 splits. I seem to get stuck between 4-9 splits.. move a little left and then get 2-8-10. Should I get into something with less flare at that point?

At the point where you start leaving 4-9 splits, the first thing that I would try is moving left, using a more aggressive (earlier rolling) bowling ball. Many bowlers fall into the trap of always balling down, where many times balling up is the correct adjustment.

[Ptnomore]

The single most important thing for you to learn to do is to watch the ball go through the pins. It's kind of like Goldilocks and the three bears: if your ball hits the pocket and deflects to the right, it's probably burning up, if it hits the pocket and keeps going to the left, it's probably too strong for the line you're playing, and if it hits the pocket and goes straight back between the eight pin and the nine pin, it's just right!

Boom! Thats some info that I had been missing! THAT will help! Thank you!

So, I've been way busy lately at home and at work, and haven't been able to log back on to this thread till this morning. I wish I had read it before last nights league.

I gave one of my old "medium" balls with a generic layout to a co-worker to use till he got a ball of his own. I asked for it back last night just so I could try it and help solidify my thoughts on the existing pattern and what i was seeing me equipment do. I was SO right.

So, that old ball is the first ball I purchased when I got back into bowling 6 or 7 years ago. It's a Columbia Freeze. First finger tip ball I ever owned. 1st game with it, threw the front 6, then pulled it left in the 7th. Still finished with a 246. 214 the second game. 3rd game with my Nail Smoke and fire, was a 206. I Left the 10th open, missed an easy spare. That ball (the Freeze) went long and JUST when I was about to give up on it, it made a left turn. Something I've never seen that ball do before. It gave me room to miss to the right. And came up to the pocket very strong.

The only other "medium" ball that I have is the Hammer Arson Hybrid. And I struggle on this pattern with that ball gettiing it to the pocket at a strong enough angle. I leave alot of single pins with that ball. Last season, and this past summer, that ball was money for me. Carried a 207 average this summer with it. But then they changed the conditioner type, viscosity, and pattern for fall league.

But last nights series is my first 600 series in quite a few weeks now. So, now with this new bit of info about where the ball exits the pin deck, I'll go in to my Friday night league with something more to look for. That should help me figure out WHY one ball is working more than another, and help me figure out when to make a ball change. I've heard folks tell me to watch where the ball exits the pin deck. It's not easy to see. But I also didnt know what I was looking for. And when I asked them, they weren't real clear on that either. It's like they heard that from somewhere too, but didn't quite know why.

Thanks! To all of you. Everyone that posted here gave me a little bit more than what I had. Even the guys with 40+ years of experience throwing 2 balls. I wish I could, I'm limited with an old wrist injury that prevents to many changes in hand position, but still advice that i don't take lightly.

My one teammate, that I've been bowling with for 4 years now is talking about quitting. He's as stubborn as they come. He's been bowling longer than I've been alive. He has a 195 average, and hasn't hit that in quite some time now. Last night, he threw a 478 series. Still trying to throw that damn Mutant Cell. We lost totals by one pin last night. 1. Ugh.

[Ptnomore]

Maybe this one should be in a seperate thread, I don't know.

So, the old Columbia 300 Freeze that l I did well with last night is 5-6 years old, easily has several hundred games on it, has been resurfaced at least twice. I don't know how much life it has in it.

So I was in the PS last night looking at balls that would be a good replacement for it, maybe something to compliment it with a stronger back end, since I have a much smoother arcing "medium" ball already (Hammer Arson Hybrid).

The PSO recommended the IQ Tour 30, or the Hammer Viral. The Virals numbers are identical to the Freeze. The Tour 30 seems like it's a MUCH stronger ball so his recommendation on that threw me a little bit.

So here's the new balls that I'm looking at to replace or compliment the Freeze. Current house shot is medium-light volume but longer guessing at 42-45'. I'm an average speed average to low rev bowler with a med to high track. Speed is usually around 15.

What I have:
Freeze RG 2.56 Diff .045 4000 Grit Polished. COntrol/hook layout. Pin over ring finger CG in the palm.
Arson Hybrid RG 2.48 Diff .045 3000 grit Matte Control, arcing ball, no back end snap. Unsure of the layout, I'll have to look tonight.

What I'm considering:
Motiv Forza Redline RG 2.50 DIff .051 5000 Grit LSP. Thinking a leverage layout would be good on this one.
Storm IQ 30 RG 2.49 Diff .029 1500 grit Polished Thinking pin over ring finger slight CG kick for this one
Hammer Viral Solid RG 2.51 Diff .042


Thoughts?

[RobLV1]

I'm afraid your PSO is one of the old timers (or someone who learned from the old timers) who only look at the cover and ignore the core characteristics. To replace/compliment the freeze, look at the Storm Sky Rocket or the Brunswick LT 48.

[Amyers]

I would say all of the balls you are considering are somewhat to quite a bit stronger than a 2 year old freeze with a lot of games on it. If you want something in the same line as your Freeze I would suggest the Viral Solid out of what you have picked out I will second Rob's Lt-48 call and maybe add in the Storm Ride (Sky Rocket quite a bit stronger too in my opinion) as an option. If you want something stronger than the Redline or IQ 30 would work but at that point it's not replacing the Freeze it's giving you an angular option over the Arson Hybrid.

[Ptnomore]

See Right now, the Freeze is ALOT more angular than the Hybrid. It's surprising the hell out of me with it's motion. It's never snapped on the back end like that before. BUT, I don't know if that's a function of my form/release/control improvement in the 3 years or so since I last threw it, or that the current pattern is lending itself to that motion for that ball, or a little of both.

So, I was looking at the Forza and IQ 30, just for the increased motion over the hybrid and them seeming like they should give me the same motion, perhaps a touch stronger, than what i'm seeing the Freeze do now. When the lanes start forcing me left, I start losing the corner pins. So I'm thinking that something a little bit stronger, or similar but drilled stronger will help that and eliminate, or delay, that imminent game 3 ball change.

And now that you both mentioned it, I'm reminded that my PSO did also include the Storm Ride as one of his recommendations. I forgot it, probably because he didn't have one...and my mind tends to be sieve-like at times.

I like Motiv equip just because I'm stubborn and like to use different stuff than what everyone else is using. There's ALOT of Storm equip thrown at my house and it seems that the higher average house bowlers get every new piece as soon as Storm releases it. I also like Motiv and Hammer to support the American workers. And I liked Brunswick when the cores were coming from Motiv, so it was a natural progression for me. I only own one Storm ball, the original Natural, and I've steered clear of them since then for no other reason than I like to throw different equipment than everyone else.

I'm well into my 40's, and I've been that way since I was a kid. I had to have different bicycles, skateboards, baseball gloves, hockey sticks, etc. Even in my 30's when I got my first motorcycle, everyone else I ran with was buying crotch rockets, I got a Harley. Man...I didn't realize how crowded my head is with crap. I have no idea where this all comes from, or why I can't shake it. Neither here nor there for this forum though.

I'm probaly shooting myself in the foot for avoiding Storm for all these years, I know. So, I'll look into the Ride. I'll pay attention on Friday to where the Freeze exits the pin deck and we'll go from there.

I love this forum. SO much good info willfully shared. I can't thank you guys enough!