Can a hook be achieved by a House Ball?

[jrmc114064]

Can you practice or even accomplish a hook with a house ball. My bowling alley has balls with the name eXtreme engraved into all the balls. Do the house balls have any sort of core and also what kind of cover stock?

[JerseyJim]

Can you practice or even accomplish a hook with a house ball. My bowling alley has balls with the name eXtreme engraved into all the balls. Do the house balls have any sort of core and also what kind of cover stock?

If the lanes are dry enough, you can hook with just about any ball. However I would look around for balls that have been discarded by other bowlers, and find one with a span that is similar to yours. I did that one night when I had a unexpected sub opportunity. I found a Ebonite Gamebreaker in the racks, and added a few pieces of tape to the thumbhole. I threw a high 500 series with it. I picked up my spare ball by taking a ball that was discarded by an old team mate. He didn't like shooting straight at spares. When I was browsing through the racks at the alley that I bowl at, I discovered a couple of Lane 1 balls, a couple of balls in the Brunswick Inferno line (almost tempted to take one), and some Ebonite balls.

[littlelegs]

If I take my thumb out I can get a fairly decent hook with my spare ball with the right revs and tilt, even on a freshly oiled lane. That said it's hard work and not too consistent. You've usually gotta really crank the revs though to get a good reaction on a normal house ball, or throw it very slowly. Revs can be hard enough on a properly drilled ball let alone a house ball.

Similar to you Jim, my wife first tried a reactive ball (albeit in slightly bad shape) by using a discarded ball that had become a house ball. It was how I managed to persuade her to get a decent reactive ball and luckily the hole size and span were a reasonable fit. A few games with it and higher scores and she was convinced.

[StormGirl]

I can get a hook out of house balls throwing it along the gutter. It'll hit the pocket everytime

[Special_K]

thats how i started out with a house ball and a hella spin on it, i bought my first high performance ball
havents used a house ball since

[WaltMisser]

Yes; However, keep in mind that in more ways than one, NOT all "hooks" are created equal!

[aussiedave]

Why a house ball? If you are a bit strapped for cash I can understand.
As someone else suggested, you can try a pre-loved ball off the pro-shop racks or maybe someone in your league may have an old ball they don't want anymore.
The best way to get a ball to hook is to use a fingertip grip - if you think you would be uncomfortable without a thumb in the ball you may have to purchase an inexpensive plastic ball. I am working off the assumption you are looking for something on dry lane conditions?
If so, plastic is an inexpensive option and you can get them drilled in such a fashion that they can indeed hook as they do have a pancake weight block in them. My teammate hurt his wrist some time back and went to a lighter plastic ball drilled for hook and he gets an amazing amount of hook out of this thing, you would swear it was resin. He has been bowling for 30 years though.
The other nice thing about the plastic option is that you can get a lighter ball and throw it a bit harder to get it to skid more and go straighter for those spares.
ad.

[Drano]

Any ball is physically able to hook. house balls do not have cores and are made with a plastic coverstock. the slower you throw a ball, the more time it has to hook, meaning the more it will hook overall. the more revolutions you put on the ball in the form of roll, not spin, the more it will hook. if you want to see a house ball hook, take your thumb out of it and throw it with two fingers/two handed, and throw it slowly, 12-13 mph, or slower.