I am trying to help a teammate with ball selection. He is getting back into bowling after about two decades off. He bowled in league with me last year and struggle with ball reaction at our house. We play on synthetic lanes with a medium-dry 44' THS. It breaks down very quickly since we have 5 man teams. His current arsenal includes a Hammer Brick and a Hammer Wrench (which he got mid-season due to struggling with the Brick). He has a bad back which limits his swing and ball speed. I would consider him a slow speed/mid-average rev player. His ball speed usually registers about 12-13 at the pins. He does tend to spin the ball slightly; more than coming through behind it. I can't remember his layout exactly off hand but I believe it is pin above the ring finger for both balls. The ball typically rolls out about 1/2 way down the lane and thus he struggles with pin carry and consistency. I think the wrench was a step in the right direction being a pearl to conserve energy and usually doesn't work too bad the first game or so for him but it gets too aggressive for his speed and the lanes by midway through the second game. I want to help him improve and can't decide whether to suggest he get a less aggressive ball (and if so what one) or change the layout of the wrench, etc. I was thinking he needed something that could really get him through the heads without losing much energy. Possibly a weaker pearl than the wrench. Storm Scream? Hammer Nail Titanium? Any thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated.

Check out the 900 Global Wisdom.  That ball is made for that exact reason.

I am trying to help a teammate with ball selection. He is getting back into bowling after about two decades off. He bowled in league with me last year and struggle with ball reaction at our house. We play on synthetic lanes with a medium-dry 44' THS. It breaks down very quickly since we have 5 man teams. His current arsenal includes a Hammer Brick and a Hammer Wrench (which he got mid-season due to struggling with the Brick). He has a bad back which limits his swing and ball speed. I would consider him a slow speed/mid-average rev player. His ball speed usually registers about 12-13 at the pins. He does tend to spin the ball slightly; more than coming through behind it. I can't remember his layout exactly off hand but I believe it is pin above the ring finger for both balls. The ball typically rolls out about 1/2 way down the lane and thus he struggles with pin carry and consistency. I think the wrench was a step in the right direction being a pearl to conserve energy and usually doesn't work too bad the first game or so for him but it gets too aggressive for his speed and the lanes by midway through the second game. I want to help him improve and can't decide whether to suggest he get a less aggressive ball (and if so what one) or change the layout of the wrench, etc. I was thinking he needed something that could really get him through the heads without losing much energy. Possibly a weaker pearl than the wrench. Storm Scream? Hammer Nail Titanium? Any thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated.

If what you are saying is true, then the Brick and Wrench are way too strong for him.  Not sure why someone didnt recommend something on the low end when he first got the balls drilled; especially considering he had been away for 20 years.  I think even the Nail Titanium is going to be too strong.  If you say that the Wrench is quitting half way down the lane, then either he needs to do something like a Storm Tropical Breeze (has a core though the diff is so low it is basically insignificant) or a Columbia 300 Scout/R.  If you really want alot of control and something more playable for longer periods of time. then he could maybe get away with the Storm Super Natural; which is a polished urethane ball but has a core to help with hit at the pins.  There are options.  But stay away from mid priced stuff as those balls should be too much for the condition you describe.

Yeah its crazy to watch a mid performance pearl ball roll out at 30 feet...he seems to get away with it on a fresh shot and if he keeps his speed up but by the second game when fatigue sets in and lanes break down he's all over the place and struggles just to get to the pocket. Unfortunately our pro-shop operator is of the "just sell them a ball whether they need it or not" mentality which is why I don't personally go to him anymore.

Check out the 900 Global Wisdom.  That ball is made for that exact reason.

Wisdom looks like a good ball but I think even this would be too aggressive for him.

If what you are saying is true, then the Brick and Wrench are way too strong for him.  Not sure why someone didnt recommend something on the low end when he first got the balls drilled; especially considering he had been away for 20 years.  I think even the Nail Titanium is going to be too strong.  If you say that the Wrench is quitting half way down the lane, then either he needs to do something like a Storm Tropical Breeze (has a core though the diff is so low it is basically insignificant) or a Columbia 300 Scout/R.  If you really want alot of control and something more playable for longer periods of time. then he could maybe get away with the Storm Super Natural; which is a polished urethane ball but has a core to help with hit at the pins.  There are options.  But stay away from mid priced stuff as those balls should be too much for the condition you describe.

I was equally disappointed to hear he was sold a Wrench since the pro shop operator bowls in league with us and has seen his reaction. There was no way this was going to even be in the ball park as far as performance.Terrible advise but that's neither here nor there at this point. I was thinking of suggesting the Tropical Breeze hybrid to him as well. I'm hesitant to suggest urethane to him only because our house has a hard enough time carrying corner pins no matter who's throwing the ball. However, the supernatural being a hybrid may help at least get him to the pocket with better carry than say the original natural. He definitely needs something at almost an entry level to be able to consistently get to the pocket but I don't want to sacrifice his carry.

Can he hit the pocket on a regular basis?  If not, don't worry about his carry until he can consistently hit the pocket. 

Ball down enough so he can hit the pocket without the ball rolling out.  Start with a plastic ball if you need to.  Then you'll be able to figure out where to go to start worrying about carry.