BallReviews
General Category => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: xiek376 on December 09, 2013, 07:07:54 PM
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Just back into bowling after a long layoff. I bowl on a weekly league now with a ths. I saw the pro shop and they set me up with a c system maxxed out and a spare ball. I'm bowling better than I ever have with a 208 average so far. A common theme for me has been my 3rd game being my worst as the lane transitions. Was thinking about adding a slightly weaker ball. How many balls does a ths bowler need in an arsenal?
The pro shop recommended a melee if I want to stay with Brunswick or a storm iq pearl if I'm open to any brand. What do you think? I think the storm actually has a bigger hook rating than my maxxed out, but maybe the pearl factor causes it to make sense. I'm still learning a lot about all of this.
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easily 3 balls.
I have a 4 ball roller, so I take 4.
spare + 3
mine arent necessarily stronger or weaker, my strongest has an earlier breakpoint
then longer and still decent backend
3rd is a bit weaker overall
absolute curve - 1000 + polish
vow - 2000 + polish
eruption pro - 1000 + polish
all drilled pretty close to the same for THS. pin over fingers
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Easily two balls and a spare ball. The Melee, Strike King, or Ringer Platinum from Brunswick would be great. From Storm I'd step down to a Lights Out or one of the Tropicals.
That gives you a ball to work with for light to medium and medium to heavier oil.
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I take 4 to leagues. One for the flood, one that can handle medium-heavy, one benchmark medium piece and then one for the desert. Could easily get away with 3.
Currently I have been using my Defiant, Critical Theory, Nomad Dagger and Frantic.
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+1 for the melee. Would make a perfect compliment to the maxxed out.
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I'm carrying 4
Disturbed
Nomad
Blackout
Spare
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I bowl one house league, I take a lights out and a spare ball. If I could, I'd just take one. But ball damage looms when shooting corner pin spares. Ive busted many a spare ball
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Thanks for the replies! Sounds like I should definitely add one more ball. Sounds like the iq pearl might not be the best complement to the maxxed out and the melee might be a better fit. That makes sense, but my pro shop has seen me bowl and knows the lanes I bowl on and his top pick was the iq tour pearl to complement my maxxed out. I'll have to talk to him some more about his reasoning.
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I carry 2, one to throw, one to balance out the bag. If the shot is the same every week, why carry 4?
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I carry 2, one to throw, one to balance out the bag. If the shot is the same every week, why carry 4?
If the shots so easy, why not work on shooting different lines to practice for the hard stuff.
A ball change during league is more of a mentality and feel thing for me. I typically carry 3, but am getting a new 3-4-5 ball option bag this week, so I will probably go with 3 + spare ball for typical league nights :)
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League isn't for practice, I can practice if I so choose. Lol and when you're in brackets, practicing odd lines doesn't get it done . . I don't like switching balls. Even if you're familiar with all your equipment, I feel like an adjustment with the ball you're throwing (barring the lanes getting super trashed) will be easier than wasting a shot or two dialing in a new ball. Obviously this can't be universal, but sometimes you can have too many options.
I carry 2, one to throw, one to balance out the bag. If the shot is the same every week, why carry 4?
If the shots so easy, why not work on shooting different lines to practice for the hard stuff.
A ball change during league is more of a mentality and feel thing for me. I typically carry 3, but am getting a new 3-4-5 ball option bag this week, so I will probably go with 3 + spare ball for typical league nights :)
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League isn't for practice, I can practice if I so choose. Lol and when you're in brackets, practicing odd lines doesn't get it done . . I don't like switching balls. Even if you're familiar with all your equipment, I feel like an adjustment with the ball you're throwing (barring the lanes getting super trashed) will be easier than wasting a shot or two dialing in a new ball. Obviously this can't be universal, but sometimes you can have too many options.
Sorry, I was just giving you a hard time ;) I bowl twice a week on medium old wood, so I tend to see quite a bit of transition and then we often bowl for cash after. When I bowl and there are not brackets or side games, I almost never change balls.
On a side note, I'm still way up on the year for pots and brackets!
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Ah, that explains it. Lol I'm trying to right the ship as far as brackets go, I'm a bit under breaking even, but my competition is pretty ridiculous. I shot 770 a couple weeks ago with 244 my last game and won 2 of the 5 finals I was in.
League isn't for practice, I can practice if I so choose. Lol and when you're in brackets, practicing odd lines doesn't get it done . . I don't like switching balls. Even if you're familiar with all your equipment, I feel like an adjustment with the ball you're throwing (barring the lanes getting super trashed) will be easier than wasting a shot or two dialing in a new ball. Obviously this can't be universal, but sometimes you can have too many options.
Sorry, I was just giving you a hard time ;) I bowl twice a week on medium old wood, so I tend to see quite a bit of transition and then we often bowl for cash after. When I bowl and there are not brackets or side games, I almost never change balls.
On a side note, I'm still way up on the year for pots and brackets!
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I also don't like changing the ball. I use to roll with 3 for a THS, one medium-heavy, one light, and spare. Now I just use the medium heavy and the spare. Hand position and speed are the only things i change.THere is about a 2 mph difference from when i start to the last game.
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I don't think there is a right or wrong number of balls to bring to league. There are times when I bring my 4-ball roller with the Joey Strap, so I end up with 5 balls. I obviously don't need that many since my house shot is fairly consistent week to week. Still, I like having options, and sometimes it's just fun to pull something different out of the bag from time to time. If I wanted to, I could easily get through a league set with one ball. Still, I don't often do that. Again, I like having different options at my disposal.
Now, as to recommendations, I think two balls would be sufficient for most people, three if you want a dedicated spare ball. Have one for medium to medium-heavy, one for medium to medium-light, and, again, a spare ball if you feel the need. Most house shots are so ingrained that they make different balls react similarly on the lane anyway. Get yourself two entry-level pieces that cover the aforementioned conditions, and you're probably more than good to go on your THS.
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I take a 3 ball bag, so 2 reactives and my spare ball. If I can't find anything then the bowler has the problem.
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When I could bowl leagues ( damn work) I took three, One I used 99% of the time, the other was a spare. The 3rd filled the bag but I occasionally used it if something odd was going on with the lanes.
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If the house puts a consistent shot down, you don't need more than 3 including a spare. Now, if you are struggling and nothing feels the same week to week, then I can justify bringing 4 maybe 5 to leave. Lately I've been carrying 4 + spare because I have been struggling but usually just use 1 or 2 for the night. Sometimes I'm bowling horrible and nothing works. But it's all in my head.
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When it's all in my head, a ball change usually helps on a THS. It's going to react about the same, so I'll move a board or two with something I don't usually throw and it gets my brain off my physical game. The more I can keep my brain off my physical game, aside from posting every shot, the better.
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Agree. hard to see the need for more than 2 plus a spare ball.
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In two of my leagues that I bowl, the THS is the same from week to week. However in one other league I always bring six balls. (Its a comfort thing) We never know what is going to be out there from week to week. Sometimes it's a toasted desert; sometimes it's dry mids with oil on the back and fronts; sometimes it's a not so severe reverse block; just depends on how the wind blows!
In my other two leagues I bring 4 balls; 3 working balls and a spare.....but I always have two in the car. LOL! ;)
P.S. Personally I'd go Melee and Strike King, just my two cents.
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On my Wednesday night league I can get away with bringing only my Diva and MoJave plus a spare (so 3 total).....the shot is consistent every week so I'm matched up and prepared with a condensed rig.
On my Thursday night league on old wood, I can face a variety of conditions so I take 4 plus a spare (so 5 total)....
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In my league the shots the same from week to week. But it's an older wood house. If we bowl the team with 4 good bowlers throwing new equipment the shot changes drastically. Compared to the team with 4 elderly people pushing oil down the lane. I usually take 3 balls plus a spare ball. Sometimes it's 4+1.
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When I was bowling all the time before health issues stopped me for over a year and a half, I only needed 3 but carried 4 since I have a 4 ball bag. I have sold those 4 balls plus another due to having to drop in weight.
Since just now starting to get back into bowling a bit, I am carrying 1 ball of lighter weight, but will have to get another soon as the 6 and 10 pins are killing me because my ball keeps hooking out from them due to my inability to throw the ball straight without it hooking at the moment. Trying to get my timing and mechanics back on track after such a long lay-off.
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Used to be three, but in past few years I have added a 4th ball (Urethane Ball) to the arsenal.
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I'm asking for a 2 ball shoulder strap bowling ball bag and selling my 3 ball roller. I'm tired of carrying it around, space to find it at the bowling alley and don't feel I need 3 balls for a league anymore. The only reason it would make sense is if I had a spare ball which I don't use.
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Something with surface, something without surface. I personally could get away with 2 balls (Hook Hybrid and Hook Solid) for the house shots. You're more than likely going to find friction, and then just need to get lined up off of that. Maybe my War Eagle to get a different shape. Around here, I can get away with that in the slickest house around. THS have built in friction.
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I always bring 4 balls, with either a RotoGrip Grenade or Storm Super Natural for my weakest ball. Most nights I will end up using 3 balls, because my heavy oil ball doesn't get enough oil, but I bring it anyway, just in case. Also, for me, it's easier to load and unload 2, 2 ball bags (stacking 4 ball Storm Rolling thunder) than one 3 ball roller, weight-wise anyway, plus there is pockets and space galore for anything else I bring.
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I am bringing 5 (4+spare) just because it is all about surface for me right now. 5 man league on less than two year old SPL's. Big weather and temp swings make the fronts and mids super tight or fairly nice and it is too hard to resurface during practice.
Top to bottom:
Strong drill asy at 1000, medium drill hybrid at 1500, weaker drill asy at 2000 and weaker yet drill sym at 2000.
Starting with the weakest that gets out the corner. As I chase, I go up in arsenal. Averaging 219 in a house where my previous winter high was only 211...2nd highest average in house that has only 7 300's and 2 800's in 66 years of operation.
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I used to take 6 to leagues 10 years ago. As I grew wiser and my skill level got better my arsenal has been declining. 5 years ago I had a 5 ball arsenal, mainly on the heavy oil side. For the last 4 years my THS arsenal is only 3. I have 12 total balls but right now only using a Storm IQTP, Storm Lights Out, and Storm Natural. All with about the same drilling, just totally different surfaces and shells. From time to time I'll toss a stronger piece in the bag to play with for a few weeks then go back to my normal 3 I currently have in the bag. Might pull the IQTP out this week and put my Marvel Pearl in for a few weeks. Last set I shot with that ball was 699, 684 the week before that.
Currently averaging 205 on Wednesday nights.
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Bring as many as you want, you have to carry them.
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Bring as many as you want, you have to carry them.
Well said...
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I carry 2 balls and spare....
Other stuff is the car just in case the lane man was tripping...