Opinions on urethane?

[Phonetek]

I see 3 more Hammer urethane balls have been announced. The black solid, purple solid and red pearl. Obviously just remakes using new tech. Actually I’m not sure about a purple solid, can’t remember if there was ever one before.

Personally I love the recent purple pearl. I have one and it hits and carries great. It’s smooth, predictable and rolls really well for me. However I hear a lot of people tend to frown upon their use during competitive play because of the carry down.

Do you think it should matter to the individual bowler that it screws up other people’s scores if they are using something that works for them and they are still using 100% USBC approved balls?

Or do you think it’s okay if you’re struggling with reactive equipment to keep on struggling because you’re afraid of the repercussions?

Discussion…

[boatman37]

My thoughts are urethane should not be allowed. That being said, it is legal so why not? I wouldn't like it if someone was using it but it's within the rules so can't complain. Why shouldn't it be legal? There are so many options out there in reactive balls that there should be something you can find. And having them allowed only widens that gap from the top level league bowlers to the middle of the road league bowler. The middle of the road bowler (me) would struggle to figure out how to combat that while the top guys are rolling 240's. I can only think of 2 guys in our league that use urethane and one mainly only uses it for corner pins and the other is a 230 average. His teammates give him a hard time (all in fun) for using it

[chrono00]

Assuming I could strike with it, I’d be more inclined to use it if I knew it would get in someone else’s head

[Timmyb]

I don't use it (except for my spare ball), but I don't have an issue with those that do. Yeah, it'll mangle your line if that person is in your tracks, but that's what adjustments are for.

[J Anderson]

When I’m bowling in a serious league I only use urethane or plastic on spares. Actually, the only serious league I bowl in right now is a sport league and there is a definite stigma in giving up and throwing your spare ball at the pocket instead of keeping on with reactive to find a decent line. My spare ball is a Storm mix, urethane but no modern core. Now if I had something like a purple Hammer, no one would say a word about using urethane on the first throw.
In fun leagues I throw what I feel like throwing, the heck with what anyone else thinks or says about it.

In my opinion, one amateur bowler throwing urethane is not going to cause significant carry down on a pair during league. If eight out of ten on the pair decide to throw urethane now that’s going to cause a problem, but you can’t point to one bowler and say it’s his fault.

So throw the ball that seems to work best for you, and don’t whine about others bowlers messing up your line.

[RobLV1]

While carry down with urethane is an issue, it is a smaller issue than most bowlers make it out to be for the simple reason that most league bowlers are not accurate enough to cause a significant amount of carry down on one spot. The bigger issue is that the surface on many urethane balls rip up the front part of the lane, requiring the bowlers who do not have enough hand to overcome any carry down on the back ends, to move left which further complicates their issues.

Urethane is great for the pros who throw it at 20 mph, for for normal league bowlers with tamer ball speeds, it just wreaks havoc for everyone!. Urethane should not be illegal, but bowlers need to learn enough that they are no longer stupid enough to use it in a league on a house shot!

Rant over.

[Timmyb]

Urethane is great for the pros who throw it at 20 mph, for for normal league bowlers with tamer ball speeds, it just wreaks havoc for everyone!. Urethane should not be illegal, but bowlers need to learn enough that they are no longer stupid enough to use it in a league on a house shot!

Well said. Like I said, I don't ***** if one or two folks use it. There's just not really a place for it on a house shot.

[SRB57]

While carry down with urethane is an issue, it is a smaller issue than most bowlers make it out to be for the simple reason that most league bowlers are not accurate enough to cause a significant amount of carry down on one spot. The bigger issue is that the surface on many urethane balls rip up the front part of the lane, requiring the bowlers who do not have enough hand to overcome any carry down on the back ends, to move left which further complicates their issues.

Urethane is great for the pros who throw it at 20 mph, for for normal league bowlers with tamer ball speeds, it just wreaks havoc for everyone!. Urethane should not be illegal, but bowlers need to learn enough that they are no longer stupid enough to use it in a league on a house shot!

Rant over.

My opinion is the same as yours. One of my teammates uses a purple hammer and does not have very good ball speed and it doesn't seem to work all that well. On a house shot it is not necessary. On a sport condition it may be more useable. I have thought of getting one to try and use on 10 pins but have not yet. The pros have high rev rates and speed and the patterns they bowl on make it work. Also on a house shot 1-2 guys throwing urethane don't seem to effect the shot for me as I am inside of them. So I am sticking with resin for now. Steve

[RobLV1]

Unfortunately, one of the reasons that league bowlers start throwing urethane is that it keeps them from having to move out of their comfort zone; the track area. It really doesn't help them, in fact it hinders them, but it does help them to stay comfortable.

[ALazySavage]

There is a place for urethane, but a large majority of bowlers really do not understand what it is and the challenges (and benefits) that urethane provides. Agree with many on this thread, I really struggle to see a proper application on a house shot (very rarely is the best approach a smaller entry angle with a breakpoint closer to the bowler) as the way a house shot is built you can create a fair amount of miss room in areas of the lane (distances) that urethane doesn't attack. Urethane can provide a safety net, either good or bad, depending on the bowler and their understanding. I have one urethane piece that is a "things are bad, stop the bleeding" piece that I will pull out on a sport shot if I'm completely lost or if I'm playing a short pattern and like the look better than my other "earlier" pieces (attacking earlier parts of the lane).

Urethane shouldn't be illegal and honestly I think we are skewed by watching PBA finals - urethane is typically more predictable and when you are watching the best of the best on a telecast we must remember that these people are highly accurate, with 450+ rpm and significant ball speed, bowling during a period when they are bowling well (to make the tv finals). If you want to see an honest picture of what urethane is just watch the early stages of a regional where there are a ton of people playing with urethane and not scoring because they are not seeing what the ball is doing (at times it is much easier to see this motion from a distance rather than at the line). The second instance that many of us see it in is during a house league and the bowler either has the piece as a hand-me down and I'm just happy they are out bowling or they are pulling it out and I can (a) adjust accordingly and (b) can expect they are not going to score as well as they could - which helps my team win. Look at the urethane ball being thrown and look at the surface, 9 times out of 10 they haven't touched that ball with surface for a while so they are not blowing up the fronts with a 360-grit ball and as Rob says, they are not accurate enough to really create a defined spot down lane.