And(y),
WHile there are balls that hook a lot and balls that hook a little, the amount a ball will hook is NOT the factor that is important or relevant for a ball. It is the amount of oil for or on which a ball can be used to its best advantage that is the most important characteristic of a ball. Most balls will stradle the line between a lower and a higher amount of oil.
In general, we talk about:
- dry to light oil,
- light to medium-light,
- medium-light to medium,
- medium to medium-heavy, and
- medium-heavy to heavy oil amounts.
The vast majority will fall into 1 to 2 adjacent categories for a particular style of bowler:
- low revs and speed,
- medium revs and speed,
- high revs and speed.
(Of course there are many combinations of revs + speed).
In any of these oil categories and for any style of bowlers, there will be
small, medium and large hooking balls.
The most important category of ball is not its hooking amount but its oil handling ability. A ball will often be most appropriate in one category for each type of bowler. A ball can also often be used fairly well on/in one oil category above and one below, again depending on the type of bowler.
A ball intended for dry lanes will skid 65 feet on medium-heavy to heavy oil amounts.
A ball intended for medium-heavy to heavy oil amounts will try to hook at 15-20 feet on dry lane conditions. Once it starts to hook that early, it will do what we often call "burning itself up in the heads or the midlane" and then roll out. It often winds up hooking as little overall as the ball that skids 65 feet.
Both are equally ineffective.
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"We get old too fast, and too late, smart."
