New Ball opinions

[LowDown]

I am getting back in to bowling after a layoff. Not tourney level just leagues mostly on a house shot. I currently have a Brunswick Massive Damage, and C Systems Ultimax (that should date my time out of the game fairly well). I also have a TZone Green Envy for spares.

I'm looking for a baseline ball that will get down the lane with some hook on the back end. I have a fairly low ball speed 13-15 mph with probably also a moderate rev rate (never measured).

I was thinking a HyRoad pearl might work but i'm not certain. I will be going to my local shop but I'd like to be somewhat informed before I go. I've always rolled at 16lbs and was thinking of going down to 15 so that may increase my ball speed and change what works best as well.

Just looking for general ideas and opinions.

[boatman37]

Well after a 15 year break I came back to find that nobody uses a 16lb ball anymore so...

I'm not quite up to speed on bowling balls today so will let others answer that but we have a thread on here just for those that are making a return after a long break so be sure to post in there.

[djp1080]

I have the Hy-Road and the Hy-Road Pearl balls. My ball speed is around 15-16 mph with moderate to low revs. The Hy-Road reads the lanes a bit earlier and it tends to get me out of trouble if I've tried some other balls and having a bad time with them. Perhaps I should use the Hy-Road. The pearl version gets down the lane farther and is a bit snappier on the backend. These balls would be a good 1-2 pair for fresh to transition by starting with the hybrid and switching to the pearl later. The value for the price is very, very good. The Torrent in the solid cover is quite good and it'll give you a very controllable ball to use through all three games of a league session. Another good value. The two Hy-Roads would be pretty darn good for most conditions you'll see on THS and so will the Torrent.
Good luck at the Pro Shop...

[jazzuar]

If you are looking at one baseline ball that you will use every night and make adjustments as needed, I would look at the basic Hyroad. It has a hybrid cover stock is the one in the middle of the three Hyroads. If you go with the pearl, it’s possible it might have too much length on medium oil and that situation doesn’t get better as the oil gets heavier.

If you were buying two, I would go with Hyroad pearl and Hyroad Nano. This would cover a wider range of conditions, typically starting with the Nano to chew through new oil then switching to the Pearl when the is oil fading.

[Stormed1]

I would alaso look at the 900 Global Badger (hybrid) and Honey Badger (pearl) also the Motiv Venom Shock (solid) and Venom Shock Pearl

[chip82901]

I throw mostly Storm and Roto equipment, but I've seen a LOT of people have some success with the Brunswick Tenacity lately. Don't know much about it, other than I've seen people with a similar ball speed and rev rate to yours, in my home center, have success with it. That being said, if we were looking at the Storm/Roto line, I would check out the following:

Hy-Road: Storm's best selling ball of all time. There is a reason it has been around since 'Nom. The hybrid cover also takes to surface EXCEPTIONALLY well. If you're looking for something that is going to be reliable, this is the ball that is going to give you true predictability at all times.

Timeless: Very similar to the Hy-Road, with a stronger core. Not many people like this ball however. Myself, I had to put a little bit of polish on it to get the length I was looking for and to get it to have continuation through the pins.

Rotogrip Hustle HYB: Don't let the HP1 line fool you, this ball has a TON of potential. Just punched one up for a buddy of mine with a pretty mild drill, and this ball likes to go, and go with authority.

Rotogrip Hyper-Cell Fused: I am a HUGE fan of the Cell series of balls, and have been debating buying this one for myself. It rolls pure and hits like a ton of bricks. Only issue I've seen with this ball however, is that it LOVES to eat oil. The more oil you find, the more this ball eats. It's not for the faint of heart.

[Amyers]

I would strongly consider just checking if the grip on the Ultra Max is up to date and throw for a few weeks before I purchase anything new. I have a Ultra Max that I still use sometime great ball. Once you get some games in decide what you need by what the Ultra Max is doing if it's about right the OG Hy-Road would probably be good if you need a little more length go with the pearl if you want a little more you may need to go stronger. Lower ball speed can be a killer get a good feel for what the ball is doing before you buy. I have lower ball speed myself and it's pretty easy to buy a ball that will make you miserable.

[LowDown]

Thanks for the feedback. I've been rolling what I have just to try and get my timing back, first ball I rolled I used my starting point for a 5 step approach and then actually did a 4 step stopping about 3 feet short of the line. I'm glad I wasn't taping that.

My main thought behind buying new is to moving from 16lbs to 15 or even 14. My back just isn't what it used to be though I admit 14lbs still concerns me after so many years of being told that anything less than 16 pounds and you would lose carry.

Another issue is that I'm noticing that the lanes seem to transition differently for the league bowlers. It seems that instead of pushing the oil down the lane the surfaces on the new equipment just eats the oil.

Thanks again for all your thoughts.

[Amyers]

Thanks for the feedback. I've been rolling what I have just to try and get my timing back, first ball I rolled I used my starting point for a 5 step approach and then actually did a 4 step stopping about 3 feet short of the line. I'm glad I wasn't taping that.

My main thought behind buying new is to moving from 16lbs to 15 or even 14. My back just isn't what it used to be though I admit 14lbs still concerns me after so many years of being told that anything less than 16 pounds and you would lose carry.

Another issue is that I'm noticing that the lanes seem to transition differently for the league bowlers. It seems that instead of pushing the oil down the lane the surfaces on the new equipment just eats the oil.

Thanks again for all your thoughts.

That's a little different then if the higher weight is causing issues. I would go with an original hyroad then you can always polish it if you need added length. Your right about the new balls eating oil

[chip82901]

Thanks for the feedback. I've been rolling what I have just to try and get my timing back, first ball I rolled I used my starting point for a 5 step approach and then actually did a 4 step stopping about 3 feet short of the line. I'm glad I wasn't taping that.

My main thought behind buying new is to moving from 16lbs to 15 or even 14. My back just isn't what it used to be though I admit 14lbs still concerns me after so many years of being told that anything less than 16 pounds and you would lose carry.

Another issue is that I'm noticing that the lanes seem to transition differently for the league bowlers. It seems that instead of pushing the oil down the lane the surfaces on the new equipment just eats the oil.

Thanks again for all your thoughts.

I switched from 15 to 14 about 5 years ago, when everything started to get more and more aggressive. I did it just to keep ball speed up, and I never noticed a difference in how the ball hits. However, I am a higher speed/rev rate kinda guy. Honestly, with the way balls are made these days, I don't think you'd see much of a difference either.