I have a Centaur drilled, for dry conditions, stacked with the pin above my fingers, the CG is in about the center of the palm and the MB was removed by the thumb hole.  It works great, except that it seems to have a very small area for strikes.  I can’t miss my mark by more than a board on either side.  If I pull it inside my mark it finds the oil and skates into the pocket leaving the 2-8 or worst.  If I get it outside my mark it won’t make it back to the pocket.  When I hit my mark it buries in the pocket for ten in the pit.  It’s rare for me to get it to hit light and mix up the pins for strikes.  I don’t think the small area comes from a lack of entry angle because my line is with my feet starting at 20-22 and my mark is the ball rolling over 8 at the arrows.

My question:  Is the Centaur’s low differential the cause for the small area or is it the weak drilling.  (I know what I’m going to hear is that it’s the combination.)  When I considered this ball with this drilling most opinions were that it was too weak for such a weak ball.  After throwing it for a couple of months, I’m positive I wouldn’t want it to start hooking any earlier.  It seems a stronger drilling would just create an earlier hook, that I don’t need.  What I don’t understand is what gives you an area on the lanes to strike as opposed to just a one board spot?

I have an X-Factor Reloaded that’s drilled 3-3/8” pin to PAP and on any given night it seems to have 3-4 boards on either side of my mark that will carry a strike.  (At least as long as the oil holds out.)  I don’t really want to change the Centaur because when the lanes are bone dry this is my go to ball.  (It has a lot more area when there is no oil.) I was wondering if I take a Storm Blaze that is drilled with a 5” pin to PAP (it hooks way too much on this dry condition) and have it re-drilled like the Centaur; would the higher differential (.041) give me the area like the Reloaded?  (The Centaur’s differential is .015)  Is the low flare/no flare the problem?  Would the Blaze’s potential 5” flare give me that much desired area I’m looking for?  If I’m not mistaken the weak drilling will reduce this 5” flare, but it should flare more than the Centaur does.

My stats are listed in my profile.  I have the Centaur shined with Neo-Tac Polish-It.  The box dull finish burned up on these dry lanes and left no pop for the pins.

Thanks to all that can shed some light on this problem.


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Why can't it be as easy as 1-2-3???

RG differential is responsible for making the ball flare, so the same piece of coverstock isn't rolled over more than once.  Low differential balls don't flare much, so if you look at the oil rings on the ball when it comes back, they'll be very close together.

I actually know nothing about the Centaur in particular.  If you seem to have no area, it means that either you're on a very difficult shot, or you're not matching your equipment to the condition you're on properly.

Also, Polish-It is a good way to cripple a coverstock.  If you want a finer surface on the ball, have your pro sand the stuff off and use a proper polish on the ball.

The answer above is correct.  

Low differential works great when you have big backends.
High differential works on sloppier backends and a lot of oil in the pattern.

Drilling a weak or low differential weak makes it a speciality piece only good for lightly oiled to dry lanes.  I use a general rule of drilling my weak balls strong and strong balls weaker.  This seems to cover a lot of conditions.

One thing done by some is taking a strong ball(example in my case is a Retro Roto Blue or a El Nino Wrath and drilling pretty weak) for me this is pin over ring and this will delay the strong flare these high diff balls provide to the back and still provide hitting power.

So to summarize.

Low diff balls for dryer or shorter.
High diff balls for wetter and blended patterns.
High diff balls drilled very weak for length but still flip.

These ideas work.

REgards,

Luckylefty
PS of course dulling and polishing will also have a dramatic effect.
PPS in agreement with what you said, I have a Sonic X pearl(diff. 20).  On oily lanes or longer patterns it has a one board strike area!  ON shorter patterns  it goes up to almost 3 boards.  If pulled into oil it leaves a washout, if swung on an oily pattern it also leaves washout.  Sonic boom .29 diff gets that one board extra hook to not do that!

Well thanks for all the information.

I think I’m going to leave the Centaur as it is right now.  It’s the only thing I have that won’t hook off the lanes when they’re bone dry.  (This happens just about every week by the third game.)  

LuckyLefty’s rule about drilling strong balls weak is what I think I’m going to try with the Blaze.  When there is still too much oil out there for the Centaur and not enough for the Reloaded, maybe the Blaze drilled weak will fill the slot and open the lanes up for me.

If this doesn’t work, I’ll consider shelling out the money for a second Centaur drilled stronger.

Thanks again for the help, it’s really appreciated.

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Why can't it be as easy as 1-2-3???

Another thing I've noticed with Neo-Tac control it.  I put a couple of coats on a ball a while back, gave me about 4-5 ft more skid, also killed the backend reaction.  Might be another reason why you have no area.
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~~~SrK - Have balls, will travel

Spending the kids inheritance one tournament at a time.

I guess I was only thinking of filling the gap I was having on these lanes when I can’t throw the Centaur or the Reloaded.  (This is generally around the second game and can last into the third.)  

I’ve tried the Blaze (drilled 5” pin to PAP) and the Trauma ER (drilled 4-1/4” pin to PAP) for this shot and they both start to hook way too soon and way too much.

What about re-drilling the Trauma ER weak?  (With the pin above and between the finger holes.)  When I thought about the Blaze I didn’t pay much attention to the RG being only medium-high, I only looked at the differential.  (The ER is 2.51 RG and .059 differential.)  

 The pin, CG and MB are not in a straight line on the ER.  The pin was about 4-3/4” out and the ball had a lot of top weight before it was drilled. (Around 4oz. I think.)  To give you an idea of what the pin, CG & MB look like, if you draw a line from the pin to the MB the CG is 1-1/2” right of the line and about 1-3/4” above the MB.

As for what Scotts33 said about comfort zones:  I’m a down and in bowler at heart, but since I’ve been bowling at this house the swing shot has let me score much better.  My style though limits me on a swing shot.  I can’t seem to get the ball to slide out very far.  If my line has dried up and I try to stand at 30, roll over 20 at the arrows and swing it out to 5 it does one of two things.  If it gets out to 5, I can’t get it to turn the corner. (Limits of my ability.)  Or it doesn’t make it out to 5 before it starts to grab the lane and hook.  (Not that the lanes are too dry for that shot. I just don’t think I have the axis angle to get it to slide out that much.  I see big crankers on my pair playing this line.)

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Why can't it be as easy as 1-2-3???