Author Topic: are my ball choices really my downfall (Read 5306 times)

toomanytenpins · « **on:** May 26, 2013, 01:59:53 PM »

I am confused and have been for the whole time I've been bowling. I keep buying balls,less lately,that don't perform as expected and are even much less than other balls I have. For example,I just purchased an Iq pearl and a freight train and on everything I have bowled on the iq has the better performance. The balls are drilled very similarly the iq is box and the ft is 1500 over 360 now,but wasn't much different before this surface change. The iq is stronger in board cover and downlane reaction and recovery. Is it my choice in balls that's killing my game. In trying to find balls for heavier oil,trying to find similar reacting balls for more demanding conditions I step out of my ability level with these balls that never seem to perform as advertised or expected.
In the last few years I have bought and liked;rising star,iq pearl,hellraiser revenge. Balls I have that haven't liked so well;hellraiser,(good on drier lanes),mission x,omg,mission,freight train,(also good on drier shots when iq is too much) nexxus at 500.
Those instances when I find a shot where the iq isn't enough or I am leaving ten pins with the revenge,nothing else I have is any better if not worse.

charlest · « **Reply #1 on:** May 26, 2013, 04:30:26 PM »

(Since you referenced the IQ Pearl as polished, I assume you mean the IQ Tour Pearl. My statements below are based on that.)

I don't understand how you can possibly compare an IQ Tour Pearl, which is a polished pearl for medium oil with a 1500 grit dull Freight Train, which is meant to handle very heavy oil and then say the IQ has more backend?

?

If the IQ has more backend, you more than likely are not bowling on heavy oil but on medium oil. Small wonder a 1500 grit dull FT has hardly any backend; it's probably burning up in the midlane, expending all its energy.

You have to compare like balls to like balls.

Can hardly believe you use the Freight train on "drier" shots.

toomanytenpins · « **Reply #2 on:** May 26, 2013, 04:46:53 PM »

if I wasnt so self conscious I would post a video,but i promise you I had to put the iq tour pearl down because it was hooking too much,picked up the ft and through the next 9 in the pocket solid ten in the pit. and that has been the case since I drilled them. I can start off with the ft,have to switch to the iq tour pearl when i start to leave tens and go back to the ft when the pearl hooks too much.

charlest · « **Reply #3 on:** May 26, 2013, 04:56:35 PM »

Quote from: toomanytenpins on May 26, 2013, 04:46:53 PM

if I wasnt so self conscious I would post a video,but i promise you I had to put the iq tour pearl down because it was hooking too much,picked up the ft and through the next 9 in the pocket solid ten in the pit. and that has been the case since I drilled them. I can start off with the ft,have to switch to the iq tour pearl when i start to leave tens and go back to the ft when the pearl hooks too much.

Please remember that house oil patterns tend to hide the difference between balls.
The FT is not a dry lanes ball. You are getting lucky that it burns up just enough in the heads and/or the midlane to be usable on drier lanes. It is NOT a dry lanes ball. The IQ Tour Pearl can be a great ball for medium oil. Many people have success with it.

Use a ball designed for the amount of oil on which it will be used.

ValentinoBowling · « **Reply #4 on:** May 26, 2013, 08:51:52 PM »

I used to only select bowling balls which received the best ratings in Bowling this Month. After a string of 4 bowling balls which were duds, I decided that reviews aren't important. I now buy for the lane condition I am bowling on, and then adjust the surface with our products.

I haven't purchased a ball in a while, but I am attracted to midrange price balls, these are going to be the best for THS and medium lane conditions.

-Kevin

Brickguy221 · « **Reply #5 on:** May 26, 2013, 09:35:32 PM »

Quote from: ValentinoBowling on May 26, 2013, 08:51:52 PM

I used to only select bowling balls which received the best ratings in Bowling this Month. After a string of 4 bowling balls which were duds, I decided that reviews aren't important. I now buy for the lane condition I am bowling on, and then adjust the surface with our products.

I haven't purchased a ball in a while, but I am attracted to midrange price balls, these are going to be the best for THS and medium lane conditions.

-Kevin

Ditto for me on buying balls with the best BTM ratings Kevin and like you, many turned out to be Duds for me. I now no longer buy a ball when it first comes out. Most of the balls I buy now are based on their performance of several bowlers and have been been out a few months and some several months. This method has helped me eliminate as much as possible of getting a ball that won't perform for me.

completebowler · « **Reply #6 on:** May 27, 2013, 08:15:45 AM »

This in my opinion is the way to go. As a shop operator I would love to sell 20 of every newest latest greatest release. But 9 times out of 10 I end up steering customers to the stuff I have seen perform for awhile. Personally, I very seldom drill a brand new release. Most times I get a read off what others are using before I put holes in something.

And I never ever pay attention to the reviews. Might watch some videos but never the written reviews.

Quote from: Brickguy221 on May 26, 2013, 09:35:32 PM

Quote from: ValentinoBowling on May 26, 2013, 08:51:52 PM
I used to only select bowling balls which received the best ratings in Bowling this Month. After a string of 4 bowling balls which were duds, I decided that reviews aren't important. I now buy for the lane condition I am bowling on, and then adjust the surface with our products.

I haven't purchased a ball in a while, but I am attracted to midrange price balls, these are going to be the best for THS and medium lane conditions.

-Kevin

Ditto for me on buying balls with the best BTM ratings Kevin and like you, many turned out to be Duds for me. I now no longer buy a ball when it first comes out. Most of the balls I buy now are based on their performance of several bowlers and have been been out a few months and some several months. This method has helped me eliminate as much as possible of getting a ball that won't perform for me.

mainzer · « **Reply #7 on:** May 27, 2013, 09:42:53 PM »

Quote from: toomanytenpins on May 26, 2013, 04:46:53 PM

if I wasnt so self conscious I would post a video,but i promise you I had to put the iq tour pearl down because it was hooking too much,picked up the ft and through the next 9 in the pocket solid ten in the pit. and that has been the case since I drilled them. I can start off with the ft,have to switch to the iq tour pearl when i start to leave tens and go back to the ft when the pearl hooks too much.

If you are not bowling on true heavy oil i would have no doubt the IQ Tour Pearl would look like it is hooking more and it maybe. However if you bowled on the USBC Mens Open Team Pattern i guarantee the Freight Train would cover more boards and give you more room to hit on the lane.

Just because a ball is rated for heavy oil doesn't mean it is supposed to hook more it means it is supposed to hook on more oil. Not cover more boards than the step down ball.

No offence but i don't think you understand the pattern you are bowling on nor do i think you understand how different equipment works on different conditions.

Look at it this way. Would you use a Driver to hit off the tee on 100 yard par 3? No. Would you use a sand wedge off a 550 yard par 5 tee? No. Same theory with bowling balls. Freight Train is probably not the best choice for the average ths with free hook right and free backend at the end of the lane. IQ Tour Pearl would be a far better option in that scenario. Be willing to bet that if you bought a Freeze or 505A it would look like they were covering the same number of boards as IQ

timisu87 · « **Reply #8 on:** May 27, 2013, 11:55:43 PM »

I think this is a great opportunity for you to expand your knowledge of your ball selection. Buying the latest and the greatest is not necessarily going to yield you the best results. When I first started I did not even know there were that many bowling ball companies but it took a couple years of researching and acquiring knowledge before I fully understood ball dynamics. We all started in the same position you're in. Here's what you need to do some research on:

1) What type of lane surface do you bowl on?
2) Have you talked to your pro-shop operator in full detail of your arsenal?
3) Have you adjusted any of the surfaces of your bowling ball to meet your center's conditions?

You can PM me privately and I will be more than happy to point you in the right direction.

Gizmo823 · « **Reply #9 on:** May 28, 2013, 08:14:28 AM »

Here's why bigger hooking balls work better on "drier" conditions than medium hooking pearl balls. Pearl balls respond more sharply and quickly to the dry than bigger hooking balls do. Bigger hooking balls also burn up on drier conditions which means they won't appear to hook as much. I have a pretty dry condition at my home house, and my Misfit pearl hooks nearly as much as my Brutal Nightmare, but I use my Brutal because the transition isn't as sharp, it's more controllable. But when I find some oil, the Misfit gives me fits, and the Brutal acts the same as always. The difference is that the IQ does all its hooking on the backend, the FT spreads that hook out throughout the entire lane, and the point of a big hooking ball is to have control and stability on heavier volumes, because the last thing you want is quick direction changes on oil.

Armourboy · « **Reply #10 on:** May 28, 2013, 03:28:03 PM »

Quote from: completebowler on May 27, 2013, 08:15:45 AM

This in my opinion is the way to go. As a shop operator I would love to sell 20 of every newest latest greatest release. But 9 times out of 10 I end up steering customers to the stuff I have seen perform for awhile. Personally, I very seldom drill a brand new release. Most times I get a read off what others are using before I put holes in something.

And I never ever pay attention to the reviews. Might watch some videos but never the written reviews.

Quote from: Brickguy221 on May 26, 2013, 09:35:32 PM
Quote from: ValentinoBowling on May 26, 2013, 08:51:52 PM
I used to only select bowling balls which received the best ratings in Bowling this Month. After a string of 4 bowling balls which were duds, I decided that reviews aren't important. I now buy for the lane condition I am bowling on, and then adjust the surface with our products.

I haven't purchased a ball in a while, but I am attracted to midrange price balls, these are going to be the best for THS and medium lane conditions.

-Kevin

Ditto for me on buying balls with the best BTM ratings Kevin and like you, many turned out to be Duds for me. I now no longer buy a ball when it first comes out. Most of the balls I buy now are based on their performance of several bowlers and have been been out a few months and some several months. This method has helped me eliminate as much as possible of getting a ball that won't perform for me.

Reviews aren't bad, but like any thing else you gotta be able to break them down and read between the lines. The biggest thing for me when looking through reviews is to see who its coming from, if its being reviewed by a staffer I tend to take them with a grain of salt because they are almost always going to say its a good ball. I also tend to toss out those that say that it has zero flaws and can be used on anything ( anyone with a brain knows this just won't happen) as they either haven't thrown it that much yet or they are over exaggerating.

Basically I guess what I'm saying is I tend to look at and believe reviews where they give them 4/5 or whatever. They tend to be much more objective and will give you the ups and downs of the ball.

As far as the OP, as others have suggested I would talk to your local pro shop guy and pick his brain. It honestly sounds like you are using way to much ball for the conditions you are throwing on. It really sounds like you are throwing on a medium condition and while the IQ Pearl may work for that on fresh, you may want to look at something from the lower end balls once the lanes start changing.

Cheaper does not mean bad or lower quality.

toomanytenpins · « **Reply #11 on:** May 29, 2013, 12:34:00 PM »

nw honestly is the ft the latest and greatest ,no,I havent,in quite awhile gone and bought the latest ad greatest I did some research looked at the numbers and got a good deal so I thought it was worth a try. That being said All I know is when I eeded the ball to hook it went straight and I dont mean from 25 to 5 to the pocket,nor do I mean to say that I use the iq tour pearl on heavy oil thinking I am playing on heavy oil and am not. There have been times where the iq wouldnt wrinkle and the ft was still less than that. If A ball would require that much oil to move than I wont say it sucks ,but it wasnt what I was hoping for. I wont even attempt to say its not me,but I have a few peices that I do like and for me this,for heavier longer conditions isnt it. I dont understand I think I started this post by stating that. I might never see a shot other than league as I dont do tourneys and the likes,but when Igo thru every ball I have and nothing will move,and the balls come back wet I think I am bowling in oil,If I make adjustments and the ball that gives the better look in this condition is not the ft but the iq tour pearl,it makes me wonder about the ball choice. If there is oil on the ball there has got to be oil on the lanes.

toomanytenpins · « **Reply #12 on:** May 29, 2013, 12:40:00 PM »

you all make good points and thank you all ,my pro shop operator suggested the iq for heavier oil ,any comments.

Impending Doom · « **Reply #13 on:** May 29, 2013, 01:05:27 PM »

The Train series isn't meant to go from 25 to 5. It's more to control the front to back motion. Personally, on a house shot, the Train is going to puke. Your previous post where you said that you sanded it to 500 grit shows that the ball is dying before the arrows. If I wanted to bank it off the dry, I would use something in the Eagle series. Not the Train series.

Author Topic: are my ball choices really my downfall (Read 5306 times)

toomanytenpins

are my ball choices really my downfall

charlest

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toomanytenpins

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charlest

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ValentinoBowling

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Brickguy221

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completebowler

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mainzer

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timisu87

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Gizmo823

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Armourboy

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toomanytenpins

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toomanytenpins

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Impending Doom

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