i thought about it yesterday... how well do i know my equipment and what reaction i will have from each different ball? this did include speed, release, axis tilt, wet-to-dry transition and reaction to carrydown.

i wonder how many 200 average house bowlers REALLY KNOW their equipment. what made me embark on this morning's quest was watching a 208 average bowler hitting the pocket and, while i watched him move back, move up, move right, then left and changing his line by FIVE boards then... nothing was stopping his ringing/flat 10s. eight 10 pins in one game. the next game was wild: 3 splits in the first four frames. he went to the bag and kept bringing out ball after ball. one game, FOUR different balls.

i am a "lowly" 170ish average bowler, but even i could see his first ball checking up way early and rolling out before the pins. his corner leaves were expected as far as i was concerned. but the balls he brought out were as strong or STRONGER than the first: so his problem was amplified. finally he grabbed a pin-over-finger hotrod and wham, he started to strike.

this is just an exapmle, but it made me realize how few bowlers probably know what the problem is and what they have to correct it. if he knew his arsenal well enough, he would have hauled out the hotrod right as his  first ball wound up and puked at 50 feet.

i threw just about all of my gear today with the same release on the same line, just to see how i would rate it in relation to each other. i figure the more i know about my stuff, the more confident i will be about hauling out a ball when i feel the lane is too much/too little for what i am using.
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funniest thing i have ever read on here:

originally posted by Bjaardker, about if brunswick sells 2nds/blems:

Yeah, they're called Lane #1s....

JUST KIDDING!!!

I know EXACTLY of the bowler you spoke of.  One of the guys in my leagues is that man, carbon copied.  He buys new balls all the time, throws them all the exact same way and if the lanes don't match the ball, he is screwed.  He is just over 200, but started at about 170 last year until he started buying ball after ball.  He cannot figure out transition, or identify what his ball is doing.

For me personally, I've kept a chart that will tell me how far I should move when I make a ball change.  For instance, when I step from my medium oil ball to my light oil ball, I know I should move my feet and my target about 6 boards (depending on condition, but a good base scale)  I am normally good about figuring out what my ball is doing and keeping on top of it, but I also have a good partner who helps out on my Monday league.  Yesterday, on the oh so easy THS, I came out with a nice strong 247, then began transition.  Shot 214 (average) with a couple mistakes, but the last game I became lost and stumbled to a 182.  I went home very frustrated and disgusted that I had become lost.  This morning, I wake up and realize exactly what my mistake was, and now I'm itching to get out again.  My whole point here is, if my adjustment was only to change to a different ball, I'd be just as lost and confused every week, and never get CONSISTENTLY better.
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D <~~~~ Used to be terrible wiffing 10 pins.  Now through much practice, can wiff any single pin spare at any time.

Darrell Guzman
guzmand19 - Yahoo IM and MSN screen names

With the balls that I usually bring to league and tournaments, I know the reaction shape of each ball and when to usually put them away. I have had times where I stayed with a ball for a couple of frames too long, but then when I make a switch I can usually recover. One tournament in VT in December last year I moved to the Rule on a pair with a little more head oil than the previous pair I bowled teams on with the Hot Wire. After throwing 243 and 217 games, I went up in the 3rd through 6 and left 4 solid 7 pins, all with minor tweaks in terms of lining up, angle I was playing or hand release. I switched to the Hot Wire and threw 4 out of the next 5 strikes...

With my new equipment I will have to go through a relearning period, so most of the time I use that practice time to learn my new equipment and how it reacts on a variety of house/tournament shots.

Matt

Hey Don, at least he tried moving around before switching balls.  Far too many people immediately reach for another ball before making any adjustments at all.  Some high average bowlers don't know their equipment very well at all.  They are very good at throwing the ball and repeating shots, but equipment details bore them.  I've seen 220+ guys who probably couldn't even tell you what brand they are throwing.

I like to go out and throw 3-4 balls on a condition just so I can see the differences.  Sometimes I'll work on lining up with each piece of equipment to see if I can get it to work, and somethimes I'll just throw the same exact line with each baLL just so I can watch the ball's movement down the entire lane.

The only guy I hate is the one with 4-6 oil eaters drilled exactly the same way.
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