New Article... Feedback?

[RobLV1]

I have added a new article to my website entitled "Modern Bowling Balls: An Alternate Approach." I decided to publish this article myself on my own website as it does contain some controversial notions about bowling balls. I would appreciate any feedback that you have to give. Here's the line: http://modern-bowling.com/Bowling-Co...-Vegas-NV.html

[djp1080]

I enjoyed reading your article Rob. I bowled quite a bit back in the 60's and 70's. Left the game around 1981 or so and came back to it a few years ago. Everything has changed like your article states. I didn't know much about urethane or resin balls and ended up researching on the internet about them. By hook or by crook I met an excellent PSO and I've stuck with him ever since.
Having worked with automated machines I've had the experience of dealing with linear and rotational motions of mechanics; therefore, inertia has a lot of meaning to someone like myself (i.e., RG, friction, etc.). Even though I have an understanding of most of that kind of stuff I'd be the worst PSO as my mechanical skills are lacking.
After having watched lots of bowling ball videos using the automated machines to throw the balls and watching videos showing ball reaction to bowling ball pin location, it was somewhat clear that friction of the ball plays a pretty big roll in how a ball may react on the lane. What really makes a difference in my opinion, is how far down the lane does that ball begin to make is move from right to left for a right-handed bowler. I've concluded that your ideas about RG come into play in a big way in that regard.
Over the last few years I have tried a number of balls and basically conducted my own tests to learn about balls before I ever came across you or BTM. Wish I had found you earlier! Perhaps your articles would have at least helped me become more knowledgeable a little quicker.
Most recently I bought two similar balls: Storm's IQ Nano and IQ Tour 30. For my tastes I took the "30" and got out a Abralon pad and took off the polish. Probably the surface is more like 3000 grit. There's not that much difference in the reaction I get between the two balls, but there might be a bit more snap when I get into the dry boards at the end of the pattern on the house shot I typically bowl on. With the reduced differential neither ball snaps all that much, but they're good performers for me and I hope I can keep them performing for a long time. I've played with other Storm products with higher differentials and different RGs. Played with a few different coverstocks with pearl, solid and hybrid. I like their Hy-Road original very much. I've noted though that some of the balls soak up more oil than others. My Hy-Road, Optimus and Vivid balls soak up oil fast. They're all different covers. The Sky Rocket soaks up oil, too, quickly; however the IQ Tour 30 with the same cover has not. The Lights Out has the same cover as the Hy-Road and the Lights Out does not soak up oil much at all. This makes no sense, but it's what I've noticed so far. I've been keeping my gear cleaned up after every session on the lanes and often I'm wiping the ball clean during games. Live and learn I guess. Keep up the good work and hope this helps...

[fokai73]

First, good read!!

all this ball crap companies throw at us is just hype to sucker every bowler to buy a bowling ball. "HYBRID" cover, marketing lingo for example. Every new release out hooks the other ball that was just released few months prior. Yet the conditions don't change much or at all. Many companies recycle their cores, change the color, and change the name of the ball.

If many bowler own a spinner and learn the art of surfacing, they too can make a solid into a pearl. OR, make a pearl act like a solid.

It's good the bowling market is producing balls for bowlers and having jobs for many people, so there's a positive side to it too. But when you see a V2 sanded still knocking pins like the new $170 storm ball, makes you wonder.....

[scottymoney]

Good article. I would say that as a player if you can find a core you match up well with it can also be advantageous to have it in different surfaces. I agree with most of what you said, and wish people put more emphasis on core and cover than they do layout. I always thought layout was something that could make or break the ball as far as reaction but when it comes down to it, I don't see all that much difference give or take a few board of difference between them. For myself 4 out of the 7 bowling balls I have drilled, have roughly the same layout, 3 have similar low RG numbers and the major differences is surface preparation. 1 is 1500, 1 is 3000, 1 is 1500 polished and 1 is 4000 polished. Coincidentally I score the best with those and make easy ball changes with them.

[jab5325]

Very thought provoking article, Rob. I hope MWhite doesn't see it

Jokes aside, I'm similar to you in that when I get "in" to something like bowling, I try to soak up all of the oil...err, knowledge I can to help me improve my game. My average has gone from 174 to 187 this year, and though I still have a lot of issues picking up easy spares, that's still a 13-pin improvement thanks in large part to articles like this and people like you on this board. H/T to you, bowl1820 and many others.

Before, when I had a string of 7s or stone 9s, I'd think nothing of it and keep throwing. Now when I throw, I take notice of the overall ball reaction, break point, and entry angle--not many leaves are true mysteries anymore. Because I have a better understanding of ball motion, I know which piece to switch to based on those factors--and conversely, I know where the holes in my arsenal are.

As fokai73 said, so much of what we read about equipment from every manufacturer is pure, unadulterated BS. So many league bowlers end up with 3 versions of a bowling ball with the exact same stats, and wonder why they can't hit when the lanes are too dry or too oily.

[ChuckR]

Excellent article. Now to find an article that CLEARLY explains the impact of the RG and differential numbers.

[Amyers]

I have added a new article to my website entitled "Modern Bowling Balls: An Alternate Approach." I decided to publish this article myself on my own website as it does contain some controversial notions about bowling balls. I would appreciate any feedback that you have to give. Here's the line: http://modern-bowling.com/Bowling-Co...-Vegas-NV.html

Rob if your going to steal my talking points the very least you could do is credit me somewhere in the article. LOL. Especially on the pearl/hybrid/solid stuff.

I somewhat agree on the drilling/layout points you made. In a perfect world we would buy all of our balls from the same manufacturer use the same layout and use the ball as out progression. This is actually how modern balls are designed. I've been lucky enough to listen in on some of Brunswick's conference calls where they are discussing the adjustments from ball to ball in the line up and this is exactly what they are trying to achieve. Unfortunately most bowlers don't purchase balls in this manner. Me included when trying to incorporate balls from different manufactures and vintages it gets more complicated quickly even for people who spend way to much time watching this stuff. Then you take into account your average ball purchaser who just wants whatever the new hot thing is or thinks that one is pretty it becomes necessary for the PSO to be able to fit a square peg into a round hole and a good PSO (they are hard to find) can use different layouts to help fit that ball in. In a perfect world the PSO should be able to say no you need this instead and the bowler would listen unfortunately we know that's not often the case.

I also agree with you on the cores but it only matters if you can understand the how the core will react along with the surface and cover stock that are applied to the core. It's a little like music each instrument plays it's roll all working together it can produce a beautiful harmony but if any piece is out of tune the result can be disaster. You can't become too obsessed with any one factor in what makes up the bowling ball or you will end up with something that is different than you expect.

[RobLV1]

Excellent article. Now to find an article that CLEARLY explains the impact of the RG and differential numbers.

Let me give it a shot, Chuck. There three basic numbers that are provided for the core of each bowling ball on the market: the low RG (also called RG min), the high RG (also call RG max), and the Differential. The low RG is an actual measurement in inches of the Radius of Gyration of the X axis of the core (height). The high RG is an actual measurement in inches of the Radius of Gyration of the Y axis of the core (width). The differential is the mathematical difference when you subtract the low RG from the high RG. The high RG is a useless number for bowlers as it is easily calculated by adding the low RG and the Differential. I don't know why manufacturers include it as it does nothing other than confuse bowlers.

Think of the low RG as an indication of how center-heavy (low, low RG) the ball is, or how cover-heavy (high, low RG) the ball is. The low RG is indicative of how much resistance the core has to "revving up." The lower the low RG is, the less resistance there is to the ball revving up, and the sooner the ball will roll. The higher the low RG is, the more resistance the ball will have to revving up, and the further it will get down the lane before rolling. The idea is to find the ideal low RG for your particular roll that will allow you to get the ball to the point where is enters the pins just at the point where it is at its most powerful roll. A ball that rolls too early enters the pins after having lost some of its energy will not carry the corner pins. A ball that enters the pins before it attains full power will often leave nine pins or four-nine splits.

Each bowlers style in combination with the lane conditions will determine the useful low RG range for him. As you have seen me bowl, I will tell you that for the most part, I use balls with a low RG between 2.50 and 2.56. Bowlers with more ball speed and higher rev rates will have more success with balls in the low to medium low RG range (2.47-2.52), while bowlers with less ball speed and lower rev rates will have more success with balls in the medium to high low RG range (2.52-2.62).

The differential is almost as misunderstood as the low RG. Back in the pre-modern era, the best bowlers rolled the ball over a track that was about as thick as a pencil. When the crankers such as Mark Roth came along, bowlers noticed that there was a little bit of space between the oil rings on his ball: about 1/2" to 1". This is how the notion that more space between the oil rings exposes more fresh ball surface to the lane surface leads to increased hook was born. With today's balls, this is total nonsense! There is no more fresh surface exposed to the lane when the flare rings are 1/2" apart than when they are 2" apart. The total amount of flare on the ball is indicative of how fast the transition between the hook phase and the roll phase is accomplished. More flare = faster transition. The higher the differential is on a ball, the more flare "potential" is present. The key word here is potential. A bowler's release is the key to how much of that flare potential is actually utilized. For the most part, the Differential is very important to high rev players, and to the lower rev players, not so much!

[ChuckR]

Let me give it a shot, Chuck. There three basic numbers that are provided for the core of each bowling ball on the market: the low RG (also called RG min), the high RG (also call RG max), and the Differential. The low RG is an actual measurement in inches of the Radius of Gyration of the X axis of the core (height). The high RG is an actual measurement in inches of the Radius of Gyration of the Y axis of the core (width). The differential is the mathematical difference when you subtract the low RG from the high RG. The high RG is a useless number for bowlers as it is easily calculated by adding the low RG and the Differential. I don't know why manufacturers include it as it does nothing other than confuse bowlers.

Think of the low RG as an indication of how center-heavy (low, low RG) the ball is, or how cover-heavy (high, low RG) the ball is. The low RG is indicative of how much resistance the core has to "revving up." The lower the low RG is, the less resistance there is to the ball revving up, and the sooner the ball will roll. The higher the low RG is, the more resistance the ball will have to revving up, and the further it will get down the lane before rolling. The idea is to find the ideal low RG for your particular roll that will allow you to get the ball to the point where is enters the pins just at the point where it is at its most powerful roll. A ball that rolls too early enters the pins after having lost some of its energy will not carry the corner pins. A ball that enters the pins before it attains full power will often leave nine pins or four-nine splits.

Each bowlers style in combination with the lane conditions will determine the useful low RG range for him. As you have seen me bowl, I will tell you that for the most part, I use balls with a low RG between 2.50 and 2.56. Bowlers with more ball speed and higher rev rates will have more success with balls in the low to medium low RG range (2.47-2.52), while bowlers with less ball speed and lower rev rates will have more success with balls in the medium to high low RG range (2.52-2.62).

The differential is almost as misunderstood as the low RG. Back in the pre-modern era, the best bowlers rolled the ball over a track that was about as thick as a pencil. When the crankers such as Mark Roth came along, bowlers noticed that there was a little bit of space between the oil rings on his ball: about 1/2" to 1". This is how the notion that more space between the oil rings exposes more fresh ball surface to the lane surface leads to increased hook was born. With today's balls, this is total nonsense! There is no more fresh surface exposed to the lane when the flare rings are 1/2" apart than when they are 2" apart. The total amount of flare on the ball is indicative of how fast the transition between the hook phase and the roll phase is accomplished. More flare = faster transition. The higher the differential is on a ball, the more flare "potential" is present. The key word here is potential. A bowler's release is the key to how much of that flare potential is actually utilized. For the most part, the Differential is very important to high rev players, and to the lower rev players, not so much!

Good Information as always. Now for a reality check.
Storm gives: Alpha Crux
Lbs. RG Diff. Interm. Diff. Weight Block
16 2.50 0.051 0.016 Click to View Larger
15 2.50 0.052 0.017 Click to View Larger

DV8 gives: Grudge
Asymmetrical Diff.
0.014 @ 15 lbs.
RG Max
0.000 @ 15 lbs.
RG Min
2.490 @ 15 lbs.
RG Differential
0.056 @ 15 lbs.
Hook Potential
Low (10) 265 High (225)
Length
Early (25) 105 Long (235)

I stopped with these 2 as most others are just as confusing.

[Amyers]

Good Information as always. Now for a reality check.
Storm gives: Alpha Crux
Lbs. RG Diff. Interm. Diff. Weight Block
16 2.50 0.051 0.016 Click to View Larger
15 2.50 0.052 0.017 Click to View Larger

DV8 gives: Grudge
Asymmetrical Diff.
0.014 @ 15 lbs.
RG Max
0.000 @ 15 lbs.
RG Min
2.490 @ 15 lbs.
RG Differential
0.056 @ 15 lbs.
Hook Potential
Low (10) 265 High (225)
Length
Early (25) 105 Long (235)

I stopped with these 2 as most others are just as confusing.

Storm Gave you what you need RG, Diff, Int. Diff. The interm. Diff is a measure of how asymmetrical the ball is.

DV8 Just added a bunch of junk. Max Rg is useless, Hook potential and length are skimpily their measurements of the ball performance but are also useless.