I've become addicted to Del Ballard's Gutter Talk shows on pba.com.  There is some great bowling info in all those shows.

My favorite is a conversation between Del and Randy Pedersen, where they discuss why neither of them was having any success last year, what they tried to do to be more successful, and why nothing they did helped.

In the course of the conversation, one theme kept popping up, getting your ball to "read the lane right".

Del says something like "Every week, I try 18 different things, and it just doesn't seem to matter.  My ball always does the same wrong thing."

And then, "That's the whole deal.  We've not been able to figure out the right trick to make our balls read the lane right."

Del and Randy agree that Brad Angelo "has that little trick going."

Del says, "All he does is change balls to change carry.  He doesn't do it to change reaction."

Randy replies, "His speed is perfect for what we're bowling on.  Here's the difference(between him and me): if he goes to a ball that's really weak, with his speed being soft, he can get it to read.  If I go to a ball that's really weak, with my speed being firm, it never reads it.  And then when I try to get soft and hit one, it hooks early.  And that's the dilemma I'm facing week in and week out."

So... what the hell are these guys talking about?  When someone as good and as knowledgeable about bowling as Del Ballard Jr. says he can't figure out a way to get his ball to read the lane right, it really makes you wonder.  Why can't he figure out what Brad Angelo does, and do it also?

Do you see any of this in your THS leagues, or does getting your ball to "read the lanes" only apply on more difficult conditions?

What does "read the lane right" really mean?  Isn't it all about friction (or lack thereof), and losing axis tilt at the proper moment so that the ball hooks and then rolls into the pocket at the right angle, with the right forward roll?

Isn't there always someone in your leagues who seems to have a trick that you don't have, that gives him extra area and better-than-average carry?

What are some of these tricks?  Does it have to do with axis tilt and rotation, or is it more than that?

I love listening to the conversation between Del and Randy, but I don't always understand what they mean. I'd appreciate any insights from the better bowlers here...
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seadrive
Cogito ergo bowl

nope, it's only about matching up your revs and ball speed when you strip everything else down.  There are some factors behind this though that you have to realize.  Not everybody tracks the same way.  If you take 2 bowlers, bowler A is a spinner, bowler B is a tweener.  If you have bowler A and bowler B bowling on the same exact condition with the exact ball speed on medium-heavy oil lane condition with the same ball throwing over the same part of the lane.  Well then it's obvious that bowler A would need more revs or slower ball speed or the combination of the two in order to get his ball to the pocket compared to bowler B.  Also, everyone can read the lanes, it's not that hard, it's the way you adjust to them or perceive them is what makes the difference between pros and league bowlers.  I'm not sure if I covered everything that you intended by this post so you'll probably need additional help. Hope that helped.

Hey Seadrive,

IMHO, even though Del and Randy are pros and "great" bowlers, what they "need" to do to get the proper reaction on the lane is not their "A" game.  Yes, they can probably throw 7-8 shots doing what needs to be done but Brad does it naturally or has made it part of his natural game.  Multiply the amount of mistakes per game by 42,48,56 games? If you look back at the shows this past year, you'll see a fairly consistent pattern when certain players showed up.  

Drier shot with opened corners - Robert Smith showed up on this

Pattern B (I think, could be wrong) - Shafer won the Empire State and made the show in Medford

Dry heads and down and in shots - Jaros, Mika and Walter Ray popped up more

So it still comes down to what an individual does best or naturally.  Brad's spin or lower track helps him clear heads easier and stores a bunch for the backend without muscling or forcing.  I think this is one of the main reasons he's done so well because only a few of the stops actually had heavy or good oil.  Majority of the time it looked pretty dry out there.  I'd still say that if you looked at who did well this past year, it was whoever could clear the heads and store pop on the back.  Jaros(3 titles, doesn't turn it much), Mika and Walter(2 titles, fire thru the heads), Brad is one of the few tweeners who's done exceptionally well considering the patterns.  PDW is pure talent
and changed dramatically to high rotation and no lift thru the ball to adjust to conditions.  

I'd be willing to bet that only a small percentage of "pro" golfers can stand on the tee and work a ball in "any" direction.  Not everybody can change their "feel" and repeat it as easy as that.  Same reason why I believe that Shaq can't make free throws...no feel at that distance.

Edited on 9/13/2004 6:44 AM