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Author Topic: Fresh start in bowling, do I need anything more than a Strike King?  (Read 3652 times)

neondx

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So I started off bowling seriously a couple of years ago with a 14lb Brunswick Damage. Loved the ball. It did exactly what I fantasized about, go down lane and then hook to the left all of a sudden as if something inside was controlling it. It was always predictable too and very very smooth in what it did.
I thought well this is great, if I spend a bit more I bet the next ball I buy, a higher end "heavy oil" ("if it's good in heavy oil must be a MONSTER in medium-dry oil right??" not) would have even more hook. It never did anything for me. If it wasn't just continuing to go straight it would kind of leisurely move to the left. I was never happy with it.

I only bowl on house shots or open lanes and last year I did a league that would often be freshly oiled. But I've read that house shots are never actually heavy oil so maybe my heavy oil ball was just never in the right environment?

See what I really want is that go down lane straight and then snap to the left like a hockey stick. I am also a fan of the banana just not for me right now in this point in time.
I have two 15 lb heavy oil balls. One is an undrilled Vivid I'm not sure what to do with to be honest. Maybe someday if I join a tournament or something it would have some use.
I kept going back to my Damage and it's still my favorite ball.


BUT back to the main point of this topic. I want to have a fresh start.

The Strike King looks great, it's powerful even for an entry level ball and seems to be able to go from the 1 board back to the pocket no problem in the right conditions. Not only that but it's a pearl which is what my Damage was. Also, going to go back to 14lbs since I was always more comfortable with it.

I was just wondering if there was any type of need, for what I bowl on, to get a ball above it? Like a Ringer or one of the Meanstreaks? Would there be enough separation or would there be too much overlap?

And buying a high/pro performance ball would seem pointless for me right? especially with lower revs, 15mph ball speed and house pattern/open lanes?
« Last Edit: November 10, 2013, 02:40:23 AM by neondx »

 

BallReviews-Removed0385

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Re: Fresh start in bowling, do I need anything more than a Strike King?
« Reply #1 on: November 10, 2013, 03:43:05 AM »

The Strike King is a great value, and I love mine.  For about $10 more, though, you could get into the new Platinum Ringer (Nov. 14th) and have something that does everything your Damage did, only better, in my opinion.

It should be a bit more forgiving on the fresh than the Strike King, too.

charlest

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Re: Fresh start in bowling, do I need anything more than a Strike King?
« Reply #2 on: November 10, 2013, 05:03:55 AM »
So I started off bowling seriously a couple of years ago with a 14lb Brunswick Damage. Loved the ball. It did exactly what I fantasized about, go down lane and then hook to the left all of a sudden as if something inside was controlling it. It was always predictable too and very very smooth in what it did.
I thought well this is great, if I spend a bit more I bet the next ball I buy, a higher end "heavy oil" ("if it's good in heavy oil must be a MONSTER in medium-dry oil right??" not) would have even more hook. It never did anything for me. If it wasn't just continuing to go straight it would kind of leisurely move to the left. I was never happy with it.

....

See what I really want is that go down lane straight and then snap to the left like a hockey stick. I am also a fan of the banana just not for me right now in this point in time.
I have two 15 lb heavy oil balls. One is an undrilled Vivid I'm not sure what to do with to be honest. Maybe someday if I join a tournament or something it would have some use.
I kept going back to my Damage and it's still my favorite ball.


....

And buying a high/pro performance ball would seem pointless for me right? especially with lower revs, 15mph ball speed and house pattern/open lanes?


I'm not sure if you understand about "high performance" balls, like the Vivid or what ever else you used for "heavy oil".

As far as I understand reactive resin balls, stronger, "high performance" balls don't just hook more in heavy or heavier-than-house-shot oils, they require it. They will appear to go straighter when used on lighter house oil patterns, because they are using up the energy you applied at the release in the heads and/or the midlane, instead of at the backend providing hitting and carry power.  They need that heavy (better phrased as "heaver") oil to retain energy. When they don't "see" that higher amount of oil, it is said that they "burn up" too early.. Such balls go straighter and leave what is termed weak leaves, like 6 pins barely falling in the gutter, rather than flying into the 10 pin or rebounding off the side wall.

On such lighter oil conditions, weaker balls like the Damage and the Strike King will appear to hook more and have more pin hitting power than really strong balls like the Vivid.
"None are so blind as those who will not see."

LuckyLefty

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Re: Fresh start in bowling, do I need anything more than a Strike King?
« Reply #3 on: November 10, 2013, 07:55:42 AM »
The Damage is killer ball on a medium to lighter top hat.  You need nothing more unless some day you start going on heavier shots.

I have a Strike King and from what I have seen the Damage is just a slightly stronger version with a very similar move down lane.

My Strike King is almost the same color and I believe the covers are almost the same.

Both are powerful off the break for me the Strike King smoother because of my weak drilling on it!

Regards,

Luckylefty
PS some of our near 200 average 1 ball bowlers in our lighter oil top hat house use only the damage.  Every day!
It takes Courage to have Faith, and Faith to have Courage.

James M. McCurley, New Orleans, Louisiana

larry mc

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Re: Fresh start in bowling, do I need anything more than a Strike King?
« Reply #4 on: November 10, 2013, 12:44:36 PM »
Columbia eruption pro is a great ball for most conditions except extreems

Juggernaut

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Re: Fresh start in bowling, do I need anything more than a Strike King?
« Reply #5 on: November 10, 2013, 12:48:31 PM »
neondx,

 Ball reaction can be a very strange thing. I have always said that balls should be rated on their hook potential rather than just saying "this ball hooks more than that one", because that isn't always true.

 Many factors are involved, but the best analogy I have ever seen has been a comparison between a balls "hookability" and a cars gas mileage.

 A "high performance" ball (like the vivid) will use more energy going down the lane, simply because they generate more friction. The friction is what allows for a higher hook rating, but also causes the ball to burn up its energy quicker.

 Like a car, if your ball runs out of fuel (burns all the release energy) before it finishes it trip (reaches the breakpoint), there won't be anything left in the tank to make the last turn (has no energy left at the breakpoint to make the turn). No matter what hook potential the ball has, it won't do it if all the energy is already gone.

 Plain and simply, if the ball you are using is too strong for the condition and your release, it is running out of energy before the job is done.

 On the other hand, the more economical model probably burns less energy, and still has some energy left when it reaches the destination, and can make that last turn much easier.

 The Damage is a shiny, slick, pearlized ball that conserves energy very well, and has a very reactive cover which will read the dry breakpoint rather strongly, as long as it still has energy in it.

 If you really liked the reaction you got from it, and aren't looking for a ball to do anything majorly different, my advice would be to stay with that same type of ball.

 
Learn to laugh, and love, and smile, cause we’re only here for a little while.

hammerj

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Re: Fresh start in bowling, do I need anything more than a Strike King?
« Reply #6 on: November 10, 2013, 08:01:29 PM »
The strike king is great for light to med oil. The Ringer is a great ball for med house shot. I have one and just love it.