Rethinking ball weight 13 - 16 pounds

[slmrcs]

After getting back into bowling after a 7 year break, I've been rethinking some long held believes about ball weight.
This has come from the break, but also what got me back into bowling, as a used ball I bought for $10 from my proshop that weighs 13 lbs. I got it b/c after happening to go bowling after a friend invited me, my old 15 pound stuff felt heavy, and I was never as good a bowling as I thought I should be (highest average 183).

So went from 15 lbs, 0 lateral pitch, 1/8 reverse, to 3/8 forward and 13 lbs.
Everything changed. More accuracy, more revs, better control, less stress on hand.
Since done a lot of work - apparently, my old drillings where horrible, and now at 10/16 lateral, 1/8 forward, and have 13 and 15 pound balls.
Anything I have now is vastly better then old drillings, but still the question of weight remains.

More weight = more carry?

First, from online message boards, people who go from 16 down to 15 or 14 do not report loss of carry, yet still in pro-shop, the guy is telling people who are looking to upgrade out of plastic to try to move up in weight, and I still see people talk about being able to handle however much weight.

But's lets be realistic. Ball weight should not be about the most you can hold, it's a piece of sporting equipment, and should be about what gives highest scores. And I'm been wresting the the issue that as much as I got the 13 lb ball as an experiment, never intending to really use it in a league, I bowl far better with it than 15 lbs. BTW I'm male, 5'8, 155 lbs.

Consider these 5 factors to score and carry:

1) Accuracy
2) quality of ball roll
3) angle
4) speed
5) ball weight

In online discussions people talk about power in terms of F = MA or Force = mass * velocity squared.
So the idea is that a lighter ball will carry as well with increased speed.

This analysis was more correct before urethane, and especially resin.

We all know what it feels like to get poor roll on a ball, and see it not drive through pocked. Poor roll on a 16 lb hits weaker than good roll on 13.
By role I mean - friction. resin balls go to skid - hook - roll motion. Getting good roll, energy and friction at the time the ball enters the pocked is what makes resin so strong and plastic so weak. If power was from speed and weight, resin would give more angle, but not power.

A lighter ball, that is thrown well, is better than a heavy ball, thrown poorly. Not a lighter ball thrown faster - well, with good roll at the moment of impact. That's the big point of this post, A lighter ball is not just trading weight for speed, in fact can give a whole lot more

What is the advantage to 1 more pound of weight if it means:
less accuracy, less speed (or less ability to adjust speed according to lane conditions), less revolutions, less ability to cup, less ability to hold onto ball and get a clean release, inconsistency in ball roll

Then add this onto of a sport condition - which is about making shots and putting the ball into the pocked with good roll.

Of course with everyone it's going to be different, but right now I can say a lighter ball means I preform better in so many different ways, I couldn't imagine wanting anything heavier than 14. In fact, I'm really thinking about sticking with 13 - because it's more fun to rev it up and put up high scores, then to struggle getting my release down with 15 pound. Although I think the the guy at the pro-shop will this I'm crazy for wanting a 13 pound ball. But I'm planning on starting a sport shot league next week, and I don't see the point to using anything of higher weight.

And one of the nicest things about less weight is, the fit doesn't have to be perfect. When my 15 pound stuff feel good, I have no problem using it, but with me things change based on time of day, temperature, how much I bowled. But 13 pounds and the tape that goes directly on thumb, makes that a non-factor. Not everyone needs to drop weight, but I think it has many more advantages to it, if people try it out.

[billf]

I agree. But if going with a higher weight doesn't hurt the quality of the roll, speed, accuracy, etc, etc, then why not go up in weight? On the other hand, I also wonder how many people that have been bowling for many years have arthritis in their hands and fingers due to the extra pound or two? Or if dropping a pound or two could have at least delayed the arthritis.
Just so I'm clear, when I say more speed I'm referring to being able to hit the "ideal" speed at the pins of 18-21mph. Throwing 35mph won't do any good.
I can hook my plastic on a fresh 44' THS. It's 14lbs where my others are 15lbs. Now you have me curious how many more revs I'm generating with that ball. May be time to put some tape on the ball and start the camcorder again.

One area you posted did have me confused. You said mass X velocity was more correct before urethane. Can you explain how you figure that? The ball changes affect angle, coefficient of friction and other carry factors but a 13lbs ball traveling at 16mph will still have more force than a 14lbs ball at 14mph no matter what the coverstock is made of. If anything the newer styles are actually more dense than older and therefor would actually create even more pin action. every action has an equal and opposite reaction, so the harder an object that hits the pins the more the pin will travel, add velocity to that and you multiply the percentages exponentially.