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Author Topic: Opinions on bowling arsenals and what you think is needed today  (Read 4171 times)

ignitebowling

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A lot of great talk/post recently about bowling ball layouts, surface adjustments, and marketing when it comes to bowling and todays game.

Here is a picture of one of our bowlers arsenal that is getting ready to go bowl across different sport patterns at Junior Gold this week. How many feel this is needed just to bowl competitively in leagues these days? Or just to compete in say your city, state, or other local tournaments?


Also a link to the post/discussion just added on our fb page.
https://www.facebook.com/ignitebowling
« Last Edit: July 14, 2016, 11:37:56 AM by ignitebowling »
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Impending Doom

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Re: Opinions on bowling arsenals and what you think is needed today
« Reply #1 on: July 14, 2016, 11:31:03 AM »
Needed for league in one house? Overkill.  Needed for tournament play on different surfaces and patterns?  Might have 1 or 2 more.

mrwizerd

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Re: Opinions on bowling arsenals and what you think is needed today
« Reply #2 on: July 14, 2016, 11:34:53 AM »
For a tournament such as Junior Gold, I think that arsenal is appropriate because of the varied conditions they will encounter.  For a house shot, nothing more than 2+plastic should be required.

ignitebowling

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Re: Opinions on bowling arsenals and what you think is needed today
« Reply #3 on: July 14, 2016, 11:40:53 AM »
That is why I am curious how many bowlers, especially some newer bowlers feel this is what is needed to bowl in league. Or any tournaments.

When does it become too much for any bowler to make good decisions on ball choices and trying to bowl. We all know and see  people that bring these setups every night to bowl and go through every ball in the bag in a few frames it seems.
« Last Edit: July 14, 2016, 11:42:29 AM by ignitebowling »
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spmcgivern

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Re: Opinions on bowling arsenals and what you think is needed today
« Reply #4 on: July 14, 2016, 12:10:00 PM »
I have been guilty of a "just in case" arsenal.  I used to bring five balls to league.  Partly because I always took the same two bags with me whenever I step into a bowling center.

But now I have 2 balls for league.  In fact, I am bowling in a sport shot league and I am taking the same 2 balls.  Score the best I can with those two and then go home.

If I were a professional bowler, I would probably have more. 

If I were a top junior bowler with aspirations to win Junior Gold, then I would take more.  If I am going for experience, then those listed would be fine.  The deal with Junior Gold, for those with a chance to win, is you will run across bowlers of more varied ability than a pro stop.  All types of styles and all types of balls.  Plus, many may approach the shot in a way detrimental to the top bowlers making transitions even more unpredictable.

SVstar34

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Re: Opinions on bowling arsenals and what you think is needed today
« Reply #5 on: July 14, 2016, 12:16:24 PM »
League I can cover with 2, 3 balls max. I've run into an issue at tournaments because for leagues I don't need anything that's very strong. I've got a couple other strong balls that sit until I go to tournaments but even then I've lacked a ball to chew through oil because I've gotten used to bowling on surfaces that still have a lot of friction when there is more oil

Bowler19525

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Re: Opinions on bowling arsenals and what you think is needed today
« Reply #6 on: July 14, 2016, 12:21:15 PM »
When you reach a point that you go through every ball in your bag over the course of only a few frames, you have too many balls and are basically overwhelming yourself.  Keep it simple.

Typical house bowlers should be able to put together a reliable arsenal with 3 "performance" balls and 1 plastic or urethane for dry/spares.  One for a benchmark (based on the typical THS for that house), one to ball down to as needed, and one to ball up to as needed.

Sport shot and tournament bowlers will need a larger arsenal of course, but league bowlers bowling once or twice a week on THS conditions don't need a huge arsenal to be successful.


St. Croix

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Re: Opinions on bowling arsenals and what you think is needed today
« Reply #7 on: July 14, 2016, 12:53:55 PM »
League I can cover with 2, 3 balls max.

+ 1; I bowl in 2 leagues in 2 places which are very different how they oil their lanes. I am OK with this small arsenal: Sigma Sting, Venom Panic, and Blue Hammer.
« Last Edit: July 14, 2016, 12:55:53 PM by St. Croix »
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trash heap

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Re: Opinions on bowling arsenals and what you think is needed today
« Reply #8 on: July 14, 2016, 01:08:39 PM »
The total number of bowling balls in an arsenal is what ever you need it to be. It can be 3, 5, 10, 20 balls. The key is the experience and knowledge with each ball. You should have confidence and a game plan with the ball you are switching to.

It's all about gaining experience and learning from it. Trial and error.

An arsenal can look good on paper, but does it work out on the lanes for you.

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CoorZero

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Re: Opinions on bowling arsenals and what you think is needed today
« Reply #9 on: July 14, 2016, 07:12:46 PM »
I bowl in two or three leagues overall with one or two being at the first house and one at the second house. The first house has older synthetics and they like to constantly tinker with the shot and type of oil used. I like the unpredictability though, it's fun and gets you out of settling into one specific area for the whole season.

The second house has even older wood lanes but the oil machine isn't in the greatest shape. It was constantly flooded from about 10 or 9 out on the right side this past season, and a handful of times it just spit out REALLY long flat oil. When it gets dry there you really see the old wood lane surface coming into play, but otherwise it doesn't react like you think it would. Kind of a unique place compared to the others in the general area.

Even with the big differences between the two house I can easily get by with two or three balls for league play. Tournaments are a different animal altogether though and it's smart to bring as many different pieces as you can. It's hard to go overkill in that regard.

bcw1969

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Re: Opinions on bowling arsenals and what you think is needed today
« Reply #10 on: July 15, 2016, 10:32:08 AM »
I believe much of it depends on who the person is as a bowler. if a bowler is not very versatile, just as I am not very versatile--if the bowler can't do many different things with the same bowling ball, then it may be  much easier and beneficial for that type of a bowler  to change balls rather than trying to change themselves. Thus the need for more options in a bowling bag.

Brad

avabob

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Re: Opinions on bowling arsenals and what you think is needed today
« Reply #11 on: July 16, 2016, 03:54:36 PM »
You don't need an arsenal for leagues.  Bring a versatile strike ball, like a strong pearl, and a a spare ball.  Then learn to move with the shot instead of switching balls trying to stay in the same place while the shot migrates in. 

tommyboy74

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Re: Opinions on bowling arsenals and what you think is needed today
« Reply #12 on: July 16, 2016, 04:41:56 PM »
It's all dependent on the bowler.  In my case, I don't bring more than 3 balls just because there really isn't too much that changes on our THS.  Normally, I have a benchmark ball (Sigma Sting- pearl cover), a Tribal Fire (hybrid) below that, and a Covert Revolt (solid, above the Sigma).  It covers basically everything I would see in league and I'll just  make adjustments or manipulate my release as needed.  Also, I'll flatten my wrist out for spares instead of going with a spare ball.

Sport shots and tournaments are where the rest of the arsenal will come into play.
Current Ball Arsenal
Heavy:
MOTIV Jackal Legacy
MOTIV Mythic Jackal

Med-Heavy:
MOTIV Trident Odyssey
MOTIV Forge Fire
MOTIV Covert Revolt

Medium:
MOTIV VIP ExJ Sigma
MOTIV Sigma Sting
MOTIV Pride Solid

Medium-Light
MOTIV Venom Shock
MOTIV Tribal Fire

trash heap

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Re: Opinions on bowling arsenals and what you think is needed today
« Reply #13 on: July 26, 2016, 11:16:01 AM »
and I'll just  make adjustments or manipulate my release as needed. 

Most of today's bowlers have no interest in making adjustments or manipulating their release. Just need to find that magic ball.


 
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