I had two good spare pickups last Monday.......

[Hammer]

The bad part was I couldn't match up with the lanes. My Blue Hammer needed a higher grit surface. I struggled in all three games. The first game I had a pocket 7/10 twice and leaves that I would pick up all but one pin which was missed by a hair of course. I was using my Blue Hammer as my first ball. I ended up bowling a 129. Yikes!. The second game I went to my Columbia yellow dot ball. Things weren't that great but I picked up the 4/10 split and ended up bowling a 174. The last game I stayed with my Columbia ball and had a decent game going but in the tenth frame I had what looked like a pocket hit but left the 6,8,10. Let's just say I didn't like what I saw in the tenth. So I took my Blue hammer which was hooking too much on the lanes and threw it in anger at that leave. Well it hooked hard after I released and ended up picking up that leave. I got some applause from the league players around me that saw it. You have to remember that this is a senior league and so they don't see pickups like this too much. After the spare I got a strike on my last shot in the tenth and bowled a 181. Like I said they were not great games but it was a day of struggling. Another great pickup I had at another time was picking up the 6,7,10. Now that one was harder then the one last Monday and I picked that one up with a shot in anger and was also in the tenth. I guess I need an anger shot to pick those leaves up. Oh yeah, I ended up putting a 2000 grit surface on my Blue Hammer and on our league fun bowl we had yesterday at the end of our league play the Blue Hammer was working much better with more of a controlled hook. I am too old finally to use balls with low grit surfaces. I don't have the speed anymore to control them. My highest speed is only a 12.5. Well, I am looking forward to next season in September. Let's see, this will be 36 years of bowling.

[Aslan]

You might want to look at reactive resin balls that are on the lower end of the hook range rather than throwing plastic and urethane.

The plastic and urethane, unless you have a ton of RPMs, are likely to heat weak and leave you a lot of corner pins. If you're on dry conditions, and have a lot of hand to go with that lower speed...maybe you can get it to work. But if you encounter too much oil or lanes start to transition, I would guess there'd be problems with carry.

The good news is...someone in your position with a lower speed...you can find a good reactive resin "fit" at the lower end of the cost range. Something like a Tropical Breeze or the lower end of the 900 Global lineup. Something with a high RG, pearl cover...something like the old Brunswick Slingshot.

I wouldn't put surface on anything if I had a lower speed...unless I bowled in a heavier oil house. The problem with a surfaced urethane ball is you're going to see too much movement early...then it won't hit hard...the opposite of what you want.

But, that's my 0.7 cents without seeing you actually throw the ball. I have a teammate that has the same problem though...and he also sometimes will resort to plastic. Even if it looks like it's gonna work for a few frames, he almost ALWAYS ends up losing carry and leaving 10-pins or 2-pin combos and he gets frustrated. He tries to go with something more surfaced and can't keep it right of the pocket...but his plastic ball won't carry. It's obvious (to me) that he needs a ball that is going to ignore the lanes/speed issues until the breakpoint...then break hard so he can carry. But, he has an "aversion" to shiny balls and just keeps going back and forth between two bad options. It's frustrating to watch.

[Ryster]

A family member has slower speed and has transitioned to performance plastic (plastic with a weight block, such as the Pyramid Pathogen Blue Dot) and pearl urethane equipment. They also have some lower end reactive equipment, and use Vise Slip Agent to add length. The Slip Agent adds length but does not increase backend reaction like a "normal" polish.

The new Radical "The Spy" ball is another example of performance plastic and may be a good choice for someone with a slower ball speed.

[Hammer]

You might want to look at reactive resin balls that are on the lower end of the hook range rather than throwing plastic and urethane.

The plastic and urethane, unless you have a ton of RPMs, are likely to heat weak and leave you a lot of corner pins. If you're on dry conditions, and have a lot of hand to go with that lower speed...maybe you can get it to work. But if you encounter too much oil or lanes start to transition, I would guess there'd be problems with carry.

The good news is...someone in your position with a lower speed...you can find a good reactive resin "fit" at the lower end of the cost range. Something like a Tropical Breeze or the lower end of the 900 Global lineup. Something with a high RG, pearl cover...something like the old Brunswick Slingshot.

I wouldn't put surface on anything if I had a lower speed...unless I bowled in a heavier oil house. The problem with a surfaced urethane ball is you're going to see too much movement early...then it won't hit hard...the opposite of what you want.

But, that's my 0.7 cents without seeing you actually throw the ball. I have a teammate that has the same problem though...and he also sometimes will resort to plastic. Even if it looks like it's gonna work for a few frames, he almost ALWAYS ends up losing carry and leaving 10-pins or 2-pin combos and he gets frustrated. He tries to go with something more surfaced and can't keep it right of the pocket...but his plastic ball won't carry. It's obvious (to me) that he needs a ball that is going to ignore the lanes/speed issues until the breakpoint...then break hard so he can carry. But, he has an "aversion" to shiny balls and just keeps going back and forth between two bad options. It's frustrating to watch.

My Blue Hammer seems to work a lot better now that I put a 2000 grit surface on it. With both my yellow dot Columbia and my blue hammer I get good carry. A lot of my first ball shots give me 9 pins down if I don't strike. Being left handed I have no problem picking up the 7 or 10 pin leaves. We have synthetic lanes and a 43 foot pattern. My Blue Hammer is okay with my speed now that I gave it a 2000 grit surface. I could probably hit it with 3000 even. Right now I am okay with how both balls are performing.

[Hammer]

A family member has slower speed and has transitioned to performance plastic (plastic with a weight block, such as the Pyramid Pathogen Blue Dot) and pearl urethane equipment. They also have some lower end reactive equipment, and use Vise Slip Agent to add length. The Slip Agent adds length but does not increase backend reaction like a "normal" polish.

The new Radical "The Spy" ball is another example of performance plastic and may be a good choice for someone with a slower ball speed.

My Columbia yellow dot and my Blue Hammer are working fine on our synthetic 43 foot patterns that we have. After hitting the Blue Hammer with 2000 grit surface it is much more controllable on our house lanes. I just have to stay away from low grit surfaces. Our lanes are not dry. I have a lot of oil on my bowling balls when they come back after a shot.