The transition is real (first night with new ball)

[boatman37]

So I need help...lol. Used the new Conspiracy tonight with my new higher rev release. Game 1 was awesome. 227c with 7 strikes. Everything going great. I almost always throw the 1st arrow and I'm the only one out there so not much adjustment needed all night. With this ball and higher revs I need oil so worked the 2nd arrow. There were 3 of us lefties all targeting that line. I wasn't real consistent in game 1 but if I was close to the pocket they fell. Game 2 I started having issues but was reluctant to try anything because of my inconsistency and thinking maybe it was me. Towards the end of game 2 I started moving around. Tried the 3rd arrow and went back out to the 1st arrow but ball wouldn't rev. I could get some revs on the 3rd arrow but the one time I hit the pocket I left the 7-9. After that I went out to the 1st arrow and switched to my Kingpin.

So having never having to deal with this much transition what should I have tried differently? I considered trying my Rhino in game 3. That ball barely hooks but might have worked in these conditions? I have the Black Widow Gold, the Kingpin, and the Rhino. The BWG never came out of my bag tonight. The Rhino was only used for a few spare shots so never tried a strike shot with it. The Kingpin worked pretty good on the 1st arrow later in the night but I waited too long to try that.

Should I have flattened out my release and stuck with the Conspiracy? Flattened my hand with a different ball? In these conditions do you want a ball more like the Rhino? Or more like the Kingpin or BWG? All 4 of these balls are layed out similar. The Kingpin reads a little sooner and has a smoother arc. The BWG goes a little longer and has a little more backend. The Conspiracy has the most length with a snappier backend. When you encounter these conditions do you need a ball with less surface? I didn't think the Kingpin would be the best choice because it reads the lane sooner so would lose more energy? The BWG would have probably not been much different than the Conspiracy. Which direction would I go?

Like I said, in my 20 years of league bowling (from about 1980 until 2002 before these types of issues existed....lol) I never had to make big adjustments so time to learn this thing...lol

[JasonNJ]

I responded in your other post but I think the Conspiracy is like the Cash, the OOB surface is way too dull. It needs oil or it burns up. I would hit the surface with a 3000 abralon pad to shine it up and I think you'll be much happier with it.

[boatman37]

I responded in your other post but I think the Conspiracy is like the Cash, the OOB surface is way too dull. It needs oil or it burns up. I would hit the surface with a 3000 abralon pad to shine it up and I think you'll be much happier with it.

It is 3000 OOB but the PSO has a brand new one on the shelf that was much more dull than mine. I bought mine off a fellow bowler but it was brand new in the box. The PSO said he has seen where they aren't quite what they are advertised as OOB so he hit mine with a brand new 3000 wet before I picked it up. It is quite a bit shinier than the one on his shelf.

[boatman37]

So after sleeping on it I know I need something with less friction. Would it matter if it was a stronger ball like a Conspiracy at lets say 5000 or a Rhino at 1000? In other words, does it matter if it is a strong core or not? Or is it just the idea of a ball with less friction?

[ALazySavage]

It is tough to determine without being there to have eyes on what different parts of the lane is doing so I will go through a very basic house shot scenario and see if that helps. Take the typical Christmas tree pattern (with little oil outside and a good amount inside) and the change in equipment you are throwing. Essentially you used to throw straight up 1st arrow and threw a ball that didn't chew up the pattern a lot - with the added benefit of being the only one out there (requiring at most a few boards of adjustment throughout the night). With the bigger Conspiracy ball you are now playing the track with 2 other bowlers; taking no other considerations you are going to have 3x the oil depletion and relocation simply from the traffic - add in the more aggressive ball you are throwing and likely they are throwing compared to your old situation we can easily see a ton more breakdown.

What the above situation is causing - depending on the combination of equipment being thrown (surface chewing up the fronts, less surface carrying more oil to the breakpoint) you are going to get to a point that you don't have enough front end oil to throw the hook monster and will then have to move inside and find oil or switch to a ball that has much less surface and can retain enough energy at the breakpoint (assuming there isn't a shocking amount of carry down - we will assume there isn't a lot of that in this situation). The issue with moving in is that you need to know your limits of how much angle you can create (the 7-9 says that if it is a good shot you likely hit your limit) and once you hit that limit you must ball down and move left (there are other ways to change release/ball speed to handle this, but going to use the one hand position). For these moves I would really recommend learning the concept of reading a lane back to front rather than left to right - you want to (a) make sure the ball is getting to the breakpoint and (b) read what it is doing at the breakpoint rather than just adjusting off of high and light hits.

Hope this helps.

[RobLV1]

Welcome to righty world! We deal with these issues every time we bowl. I can't help but notice that you keep referring to where you were playing at the arrows. Where were you playing at the breakpoint? Did you move, or did you keep throwing to eight board at the break point? Please refer back to the thread that I started about watching other bowlers on the pair. Your situation last night is exactly what I was talking about.

Also, just FYI, there is nothing sacred about the OOB finish. I once did at study of the ball reviews on BTM and found that 60% of bowlers on average need a surface that's different from OOB
to make the ball work.

[boatman37]

I never paid much attention to the breakpoint since my ball usually had a smooth arc that started early. Never really had a 'breakpoint' to worry about. I always targeted at the arrows and adjusted feet till i hit the pocket.

@Savage...makes sense. will have to give that a try. but yeah, tried 3 shots from the 3rd arrow. 1st was high so moved left then was light. moved back right and hit what looked like a nice pocket shot and the 7 and 9 never moved. at that point i moved out to the first arrow and switched to the kingpin, which is usually decent out there even after 3 games

[J Anderson]

Towards the end of game 2 I started moving around. Tried the 3rd arrow and went back out to the 1st arrow but ball wouldn't rev. I could get some revs on the 3rd arrow but the one time I hit the pocket I left the 7-9. After that I went out to the 1st arrow and switched to my Kingpin.

Should I have flattened out my release and stuck with the Conspiracy? Flattened my hand with a different ball? In these conditions do you want a ball more like the Rhino? Or more like the Kingpin or BWG? All 4 of these balls are layed out similar. The Kingpin reads a little sooner and has a smoother arc. The BWG goes a little longer and has a little more backend. The Conspiracy has the most length with a snappier backend. When you encounter these conditions do you need a ball with less surface? I didn't think the Kingpin would be the best choice because it reads the lane sooner so would lose more energy? The BWG would have probably not been much different than the Conspiracy. Which direction would I go?

Usually, for an amateur bowler who only bowls once or twice a week, it’s best to only have one release. If you’re not a pro, you don’t need a huge bag of tricks, just a few simple adjustments with either where you are playing or what you’re playing with should be sufficient.

When I bowl lefty, I’m usually in the place where you used to be, line all to myself and very slow transition. My adjustments tend to be either parallel or angular moves in. Most of the time just a one and one or maybe two boards with my feet and one with my eyes. In other words, just because second arrow dries up it doesn’t mean you have to jump five boards left with you line.

[boatman37]

Usually, for an amateur bowler who only bowls once or twice a week, it’s best to only have one release. If you’re not a pro, you don’t need a huge bag of tricks, just a few simple adjustments with either where you are playing or what you’re playing with should be sufficient.

When I bowl lefty, I’m usually in the place where you used to be, line all to myself and very slow transition. My adjustments tend to be either parallel or angular moves in. Most of the time just a one and one or maybe two boards with my feet and one with my eyes. In other words, just because second arrow dries up it doesn’t mean you have to jump five boards left with you line.

I was thinking about trying a move from the 10 board to about the 12 instead of going all the way to the 15. That might have helped that 7-9 issue. I got so consumed with figuring out the new ball that I should have just switched to my Kingpin and went to the first arrow as I'm a pretty consistent 175 from there. Last night I had a 227, 155 and 156

[vdubtx]

Rob brings up one of my usual adjustments as the night progresses. I shift my focus towards the pins vs. from the arrows, if on a sport shot, to the breakpoint about 40ft down lane on fresh conditions.

Sometime my eyes will shift just a few feet from where I was targeting, sometimes it is a bigger move. All depends on how the ball is jumping off the spot.