Hi, I just found this site - it looks great.

I've been a casual bowler (maybe 5-6 trips to a bowling alley per year) for many years.  I never really studied bowling but I enjoy it, and I've never owned a ball or bowling shoes; I just rent them when I play and try to find a ball without too many dents.  

I always assumed a curving ball was for more advanced bowlers and until this week had no clue that oil on lanes even existed.  Mostly I just throw a deliberate, pretty slow, but fairly smooth straight ball.  My average is probably about 145-150 but I once bowled several times in the same week and had a 197.  A few times I've had 5 strikes in a row.  My ball just goes straight for the pocket; on a decent game I might get 3-4 or more strikes with one or two accidently coming on the opposite side (a Brooklyn?).  My straight shot comes in pretty handy when trying to hit spares.  Last data, point - I'm not that strong (old shoulder injury) so I like to bowl with a 12 lb ball (don't laugh too much .  

Anyway, I spent some time doing some research on the web and discovered the whole notion of oil, the need for a curving ball, etc.  After considering various balls I discovered the original Fury, and then the new Fury Pearl.  (Like others here I have a bit of soft spot/preference for Brunswick.)

So, if I were to buy a 12lb Fury Pearl, the questions are:

1. Will it still go straight when I play my regular straight shot?

2. What are the chances I could learn to throw and control a curve?  (My understanding is that the Fury Pearl will curve later, with a less of a big arc, than the original Fury - true?)

3. Will the Fury Pearl be ok under various conditions (dry, medium, oil) - keeping in mind that I'll probably try to roll it straight until I figure out how to throw a curve?  (The place I'm most likely to bowl tends to be  medium to oily.)

4. Given that I'm buying my first ball (and it might be overkill but I unless it will hurt my game I figure I can "grow into it"), what is the recommended hole drilling configuration?  (Whatever you folks recommend I probably won't understand completely (or at all?) but I'll pass it along to the person who drills the holes.)  I'd like something that will give me decent control with a modest/moderate but usable curve.

5. On the Brunswick web site is a spec sheet:

http://www.brunswickbowling.com/uploads/1N/qJ/1NqJY0DZntqWttWzX6nbWQ/Ball-dynamics-all-weights-Jun07.pdf

- This spec sheet seems to show that the core used in the 12 and 13 lb balls is different than the core used in the 14, 15, and 16 lb balls.  Maybe this is a reason not consider the Fury Pearl?  Any idea what the difference in "performance" would be with the different shape of the core on the 12 and 13 lb balls?  

I read somewhere that a rental ball plays 2 lbs heavier than a purchased ball but I have hard time believing that; for 1 lb more I might move to a 13 lb to get the better core but I'm can't imagine being happy with a 14 lb ball.  (With rental balls I've tried all the weights and 12 lb is the max before I feel like I'm fighting the ball.)  Maybe even with the lesser core technology the 12 lb Fury Pearl would still be ok, or not?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help with these questions.

 

Edited on 8/19/2007 9:50 PM

Thanks for the quick replies - I appreciate it - I'm definitely up for any sincere advice.

BrunsRicOH - I noticed you drilled 220 balls in one day - pretty amazing; do you have have any advice on how to drill a ball that will go straight when I want it to go straight and also give me a chance to develop a controllable curve?  (is there some middle of the road, safe drilling configuration?)

- What do you think the chances are that I could somehow throw a 12 lb Fury Pearl straight and over time figure out how to develop a curve?

- I saw (and appreciate) MegaMav's reply - it's just kind of hard for me to imagine how I could go from not being able to make a ball curve at all to making it curve too much  (I feel like a total rookie when I read about ball specs, drilling instructions, etc - it's a lot to figure out).  My thinking is how could such a nice ball be any worse than the balls you rent (it should go straight and hit the pins solid, right?) and if it curves a bunch I'll figure out how dial-out some of the curve, no?  (Or maybe reducing the curve takes even more arm strength?)

Thanks

Edited on 8/19/2007 11:23 PM

Hi Brian,

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.  I generally get the idea of wasting $ but what I'm not quite getting is why the Fury Pearl would be wasted $s.  

- will it be harder to make it go straight than a BVP?
- will it be too hard to make a Fury Peal curve?

- Also, can you please give me the definition of "flat hand"; any more info on that would be helpful.  (I feel like a guy asking Henry Ford and his managers to describe what they mean by internal combustion

My guess is the difference in these balls might be $100 plus or minus; after waiting a few dozen years to buy a ball I figure I'll go for whatever it takes to get the sense of what's possible; on the other hand if a Fury Pearl is going to be so hard to manage that I'll seldom hit the pocket or more often than not throw gutter balls, then it would probably be the wrong ball.  Another way to say explain it is that I'm willing to do some "research and development" with my technique and if somehow the "higher performance" ball will help me figure out what's possible/desirable than I'm happy to make the investment.

Either way, I appreciate all the experience and insight everyone is sharing.  I'm clinging hard to the Fury Pearl but a few more posts telling me to consider something else and I might have to listen to all the voices of experience

Thanks again