New balls over rated.

[westie]

I have bought a few expensive balls in the last year or so.
An Elnino 2000, Reaction Roll, Super power pearl amongst others.

These balls WERE all good at one stage (SPP is still newish), but on the lanes
I have been bowling on my XS, which I bought in 98, has been cooked in the boot of my car many times and looks like marble, is the strongest ball I have by far. Last night I struggled in the first game with new balls (171), then switched over to the old trusty XS and then bowled 276 223 258.

Is all the technology in these new balls necessary for Australian conditions and
is it a conspiracy by the manufactureres to make bowlers buy more balls?

 

[bworld]

Hi Westie - Yes you are probably right, some of the old balls are possibly just as good as your new ones. Remember that a ball is just that, a ball, there are no bad balls, just bad choices.

Sometimes because of the center you bowl in, an old XS is the best choice, and using your newer balls are not a good choice. Bowling is a game where you have many choices, where to stand, how fast to bowl, what target to aim at, should you loft/lift/lay the ball on the lane, what hand release do I use, should your followthrough be short or long, should I forward or side roll the ball, and what ball do I use. All bowling balls encounter skid, roll and friction along the way, how early or late that happens will depend on how fast you bowl, the ball will then hook, and that depends on how much you can do that as well. All lanes either have oil or not, some have a little some have a lot, there are many reasons why a ball reacts well or reacts bad. When you get it all right you bowl well.

Ball manufacturers produce a large range of equipment, they are catering to a large market with many needs, walking into a proshop with 20 - 30 balls on display can be very confusing, proshop operators are there to help you choose which bowling balls are best suited to the environment you bowl in.

Sometimes a mid priced ball will be best, sometimes a particle ball is OK, sometimes a urethane ball is the best choice.The idea is to have an arsenal that suits your needs, if you bowl in one center at the same time each week, one or two bowling balls are probably enough, if you bowl in many centers 3 - 4 balls are about right, they should be different from each other, this can vary greatly depending on your style of bowling, and skill level. If you travel nationally 5 - 8 may be needed.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Patrick Birtig

 

[sandor]

I agree with you Alan newest is not always the best, you should purchase balls for the conditions you bowl on regularly and also suit your release.
Most of the top end balls these days are re-works of existing equipment with name changes, coverstock tweaks, colour changes, core changes and factory finish.
Much of this new equipment cannot reach its performance potential if the lanes are not dressed to suit the ball characteristics and you don't have the game to fit that particular ball.
My current arsenal at present is:
Total Chaos (2000)
Cuda/C (bought second hand for $50) (1996)
Blood Beast (1998)
Black Prohook (1992)
Blue Dot
The Chaos stays in the bag most of the time
The other balls work fine for me most of the time

 

[Brenton Davy]

Alan, the thing that you must remember about todays equipment, is that in the main, it is very "condition specific". Not only are the covers and cores designed for very specific lane conditions, but with the miriad of set up options available, it is very easy for a ball to be unsuitable for the conditions you may encounter on a given league night. It is vital that your pro shop operator knows your game and knows what combination of coverstock/core/drill setup is best suited to the conditions you are likely to encounter.

I guess what I am saying is that todays equipment is not over rated, especially the midrange equipment available (which incidentally is usually a superceded core with a current coverstock) at reasonable prices. The point is, for tournament conditions, your newer equipment is more likely to be effective and on league conditions, often older. less reactive equipment is more appropriate.

 

[AdrianS]

Couldn't agree more, aggressive stuff for the STP open, anything from the X-calibur onwards for everything else.