Hey all ... I want to get GOOD.

OK, thinking only of Ernie, and the confusion of conflicting advice. I still think 16lb is the way to go, but, definately no less than 14lb.

"house balls" are not a good indicator of what weight you can properly handle, because of their terrible fit to your hand. They're made to fit everyone, so consequently fit nobody. 16lb house balls, particularly.

I don't want Ernie, or anyone else starting out, to waste money. Buying, and having drilled, a 12lb ball, IS a waste of money.

I agree with Peter B - find a S/H one and have it drilled to fit. May as well start with fingertip, although, to start with, the ball will feel heavier than it really is, but only because you will 'feel' you haven't got as secure a hold of it. That's an illusion, and will disappear in a couple of games.

Go get 'em, Ernie.
 
Reporting back from my 14lb experience last night...

Started with the ol' trusty 12lb monster(!) and bowled a so-so 138.

Upgraded to the 14lb house ball for Game 2 and was handling it OK. Now, this is where you're all completely right! I've always assumed it was 'cos I couldn't handle the weight...but it's the damn gigantaur finger patterns! I found a 14lb ball that was kind of comfortable and bowled with that. Took a bit to get used to, but I was handling it OK. Bowling at Chadstone, all things were looking good on a Monday night...then all of a sudden, off go the lights mid-game, the fluorescent pins start to glow (WTF?), there a kids everywhere (school holidays) and a giant projector screen starts blasting music videos right above my lane. You could barely see the lanes (was a bit off putting) and I proceeded to struggle, finishing with a rubbish score of 123. Just awful.

I decided to stick with the 14lb ball though for the final game. Started with my first ever TURKEY (the messengers bailed me out twice). Reached 100 by the 5th frame...but followed that up with my only open frame (5/4) in the 6th (I choked when my friends hinted at a 200 game). Final score was 195 which included a flukey 7-9 slider split for a spare in the 8th. Overall a descent night's bowling (138-123-195 for an average of 152), as my goal is to average 150 as I progress with a house ball.

So, the 14lb upgrade was a success, and would be even better if I had my own ball drilled correctly. Also, during Game 2, I started off bowling with the 14lb and using the 12lb ball to pick up the spares...but after a while the 12lb ball felt extremely light, which in my mind, was a good sign, so I changed to using the 14lb ball full time.

P.S. I am never bowling again during 'disco hour' again.
 
Good on you, Ernie.

Definately, get a S/H reactive ( 14lb ) drilled for you. Spend as little as possible, and in a few months you'll know , with a pro-shop's help, what to spend a bit more money on, for a good result.
 
Well done Ernie. Swapping balls for spares is something most of us do, but it's important to keep all your equipment at the same weight. The only time I ever went to a hard plastic ball was for the 10 pin. Remember, it's just a single pin. You don't need to do anything special to knock it down and there's no excuse for missing one. ;)

Distraction is something a bowler has to endure. You just have to learn to block it out. Stay focused.

All you need for a 200 game Ernie is a double and close every frame.
 
15-16 lbs is a good place to end up, but not necessarily to start. 14lbs seems to be the minimum to get the most out of the reactives, but it might take you a few months to get a decent action with one of these balls anyway. the lighter balls would be good to get your muscles used to moving the way they need to in order to bowl a good stlye of shot, while not providing the result down the end with the pins. stick with the heaviest ball you feel comfortable bowling with, and after a while at that level you can move it up a pound. 14 is a bit light, 16 is a bit heavy, 15 is just right, but then this all depends on your style also. if you don't have much in the way of revs, a 16 is probably OK as you won't have the driving force of the hook adding to the weight. 14 lbs is fine if you're swinging the ball out and bringing it back to the pocket, but if you're too direct there may be too much deflection for a consistent result. whichever way you go will be fine though, as you'll adjust your style and aim to what works best, and when you cant, then it's time for a new ball.
 
My weekly update with my 'straight-line' house ball approach ... bowled 3 games at AMF Chadstone with a 14lb ball that fit my fingers OK.

Bowled 168, 153, 162 for an average of 161.

Considering I want to average 150+ and not bowl under 125, I was relatively happy.

No 'amazing' games there, but at least my consistency is improving (I followed up my 139 and an awful 123 with a 195 last week).

Stuffed up on three 7 or 10 singles which are usually my bread and butter.

Bowled a turkey for the 2nd week in a row, which is always fun.

Will look to purchase a 2nd hand reactive 14lb ball soon and start to learn how to hook/swing ... I'm slowly tiring of the straight and narrow style.
 
Weekly update:

Game 1: 168 (2 open frames)
Game 2: 191 (2 open frames - opened frame 1 with a 7-10 split, which may have ultimately cost me my first 200 game).
Game 3: 134 (I don't know what happened, but I was put off by the awkward sliding approach of an amateur bowler in the lane next to me, and I 'forgot' how to bowl. I was all over the shop, footwork was suddenly like a foreign notion. I had 'writer's block' and felt like I'd never bowled before, and failed to hit the 1 pin nearly every time. After just 4 open frames over the first 2 games, I had 4 in teh first 5 frames in this game. Embarrassing.)

Ah well, an average of 164, which means I have improved my average night's score every week over the past 4 weeks from 138 to 152 to 161 and now 164.

I just hope I rid myself of "The Chokes" next week.
 
I might be able to get my hands on an 'attractive' brown 14lb Brunswick "Grizz" for a relatively cheap price. I have done some research and it is a Urethane ball with a 3-piece reactive core suitable for medium oil (hard to find any info on the net re: this 'classic' brown ball.

The only review I found was this:

-----

Likes: Not too many. I do like an ugly ball, though.

Dislikes: Looks and hits like a toasted marshmallow.

-----

Although someone on these forums did list it as a ball they'd like to see re-made.

Is this an OK ball to start with (in terms of learning the 'real' way to bowl)? Or should I avoid the old, urethane balls completely if I'm trying to swing/hook?

Thanks...
 
Update - Monday 20th October

The first time my average has dropped over the past 5 weeks...

Game 1: 177
Game 2: 129
Game 3: 145

Average: 150

Ended Game 1 with a spare...and a 5! Took that final ball form into game 2 by starting with a 5 and a gutter (WTF?) and slowly dug myself of a rut to reach my goal average of 150 ... just!
 
have you bought yourself a decent ball yet and surely some of the more experienced bowlers can help you out with some tips on how to improve i'm sure your local pro shop can help on deciding what ball would help improve your game there are plenty of entry level reactive balls out there my daughter has a brunswick power groove(and it carries the pins quite well and heaps better than a house ball) which cost only a couple of hundred bucks and when you do get a ball go FINGERTIP
 
Finally! Broke through the 200 barrier!

Game 1: 171
Game 2: 203
Game 3: 134 (I was still on a bit of a high from Game 2 and was not really concentrating at all)

Average: 169

Still haven't purchased a real/reactive ball. Keep getting sniped on Ebay at the last moment. Soon, though...
 
2 Messengers with a 14lb plastic (and i dare say throwing very few if any revs) in three frames and a "slider" 7-9 split conversion. I think u might be confused...but on a lighter note, welcome to a great sport!
 
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