Reading the "What's in your arsenal?" thread made me really think about this term we use and if it is really effective or not?  

I myself and alot of the bowlers I know and work with have gotten away from the top-down to-bottom type arsenals and I think alot of people would better their bowling and ball selection if they got out of the habit of specifying one ball to a certain condition.  The ladder formatting for arsenals looks good on paper, but how many of us honestly know from one shot what is exactly out there and what ball is "for the condition"?  Truth is on a great majority of house shots 90% of the balls out on the market will work on the pattern.  It's not really until you start facing certain tournament, sport, PBA, and "challenge" conditions that it takes more of a thought out decision of what to use and where to play it on the lanes.  What I am doing and what I see alot of people doing now is just getting a set of balls(anywhere from 3 to with certain coverstocks and cores that they like and laying them out for a particular reaction that they want to see.  Then when we encounter lane transition it's much easier to say:

"Ok I need xxx ball that will give me more or less push/read/angle/roll" or what have you to fit the condition."

My biggest problem is what we consider or use as "dry lane balls".  This seems to be the number one misconception when trying to fit this niche.  I am not bashing any manufacturers or companies but there really is a problem with most "Dry Lane Balls" on the market.  The main problem I see is the use of aggressive coverstocks that are used on higher end balls and put into weaker weightblocks that want to push all the way through the lane with no form of read.  All this gives you is something that skates forever and checkmarks at the earliest sign of friction(whether it be at 25 feet or 50 feet).  Then when people see dry, they still play the part of the lane with the most friction instead of moving around and looking for oil or somewhere to feed the ball to down the lane.  Another thing that bothers me is the way most people lay out "dry lane balls" is completely absurd.  Alot of people figure:

"Well since this is a dry lane ball, I should drill it aggressive so it isn't too weak"

This is a major problem because now what you've done is counteracted what the ball is designed to do now you're stuck with something that's too aggressive for whatever your definition of dry may be, and not effective on anything with a larger volume of oil because the cover or core strength is too weak to give you a read of the pattern.

Since coverstock is the majority of your ball reaction, what I am seeing alot of the better players doing is going to a certain ball/favorite ball and drilling 2 or 3 of them with different layouts and cover preps to combat the transition of the lanes without having a need for a "dry lane ball" or a ball for "carrydown".  The surface matchup and layout is what determines the reaction and the need for a change, not the actual makeup of the ball or what it is designed to do.  What I am doing for the guys that I coach collegiately and on the youth level is showing them different hand positions to create needed tilt/push and matching them up with a necessary surface to combat drying/transitioning lanes and you do not need a weak ball to do it with.  

Think about it if you ever see a long format tournament situation.  As the lanes transition and dry up, look at the guys at the top of the leaderboard and look to see what they are using and where they are playing.  I'm willing to bet at least 80% of the time they are still using either the same ball they started out with and using a different release from a different angle to get to the hole, or using a semi-agressive ball with a smooth sheened surface to actually read the condition instead of giving you the "All or nothing" reaction associated with dry lane balls.  It's either all skid and jerk at the friction or nothing whatsoever.  Reading the condition is the name of the game and a ball that actually reads the condition is what separates the top guys from the pack.
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-DP3
Respect the Game