I'm just curious why people only go 3-10 games with a ball and pitch it? Even if I get a ball that seems to be a dud, I'll find some way to throw it, something to work with it on.

At first I wasn't keen on my Infinite One, but it now has a total of at least 100 games on it. And my Black Widow. Jesus. Well over 200. I used to do a lot more practicing whenever I wasn't working full time, and everything has a LOT of games, except my newer stuff.

So just my curiosity, why pitch/ditch something after a couple weeks of league? Can you REALLY judge a ball from those few games?

i sold my lucid after 10-15games
changed it to every surface it just hit like a pillow so it was either redrill or sell
after youve been a ball whore for a while you can just tell if it will work or not

Eh... I'm just of the mind that, if I bought a hi-performance ball at a high price, I'm going to find a way to work it, than take the monetary loss. I couldn't justify it for myself. Then again, I don't get to get new equipment often. Or, as often as I would like.

During league Tuesday I saw a guy throwing a fit after his first three games with a ball, and he took it to the pro and said, "Fix it." Then decided he didn't even want a resurface or anything, and literally went outside, and threw the bowling ball at the concrete skate area next to the bowling alley, and destroyed it.

That, and the auctions on ebay, and some of the sales posts here. If it's because you got another ball and no longer need that one, sure, very understandable. But if it doesn't "Work," I don't know if I could justify it, but that's for myself. To each their own! It was just a curiosity.

I do from time to time. I'm mostly looking for where a ball hooks instead of how much. If I buy a piece then I practice on and play all areas of the lanes while comparing it to what I would normally throw. What I'm doing is judging separation from my other pieces. If a ball is too close to what I have then it better strike tremendously to stay in the bag. The reason why I do this is because for a long time, my M.O. was to buy balls on hearsay and what I ended up with is balls with minimal or no separation. I could stand in the virtually same spot and throw 3-4 balls. After taking the Innovative Pro Shop Class this year and learning to drill, I now focus on the numbers or know more about balls to either lay them out differently if they dont pose enough separation or drill them the same if they do.
Its mostly doing your research. The gentleman who posted above about his Lucid, may not have had anywhere near enough oil for that ball to work properly get through the heads. That plus a long pin to PAP on an Asym will create an insane amount of flare causing the ball to burn up before it gets to the breakpoint. That ball is probably the strongest storm has ever made, forget just being pearl. You have to do your research on equipment and layouts (find your own sweetspot) in order tokeep from pitching a $200 ball.

I have 300+ games on my afterburner and just shot my 2nd best series ever....2 days ago........ball has never been resurfaced.

Cav

Here's what a Silver Level coach said in another forum recently he replaces his about every 40-50 games:

I just always think of a bowling ball as a giant hard sponge. It will soak up anything you put on it. I don't think a ball needs to go into the rejuvenator until about 40 games and it will get a ton of the oil out of the ball. I would recommend a resurface right after that. A Bowling ball is only good for about 100-150 games imo. At that point you should really replace it, either with a used one with less games or a completely new one. Personally, I go through a lot of bowling balls and sell them before they ever need to be rejuvenated.

Once a ball loses its initial reaction from the factory surface, it can never be brought back the same as it was. The factory surface is something you only get when a ball is brand new. Some guys will change the surface before ever throwing it so they can duplicate the surface later on. So I would recommend the solution offered up by the MoRich resource and if that doesn't work, definitely consider replacing the ball.

Also:

When I attended the Silver Coaching Conference at the ITRC in Arlington a couple years ago, that was the information they gave to us. A bowling ball will have a completely different reaction and basically "die" somewhere between 100 to 150 games. So if you only use one ball, then yeah it would only last you about one season. You may be able to extend the life of a bowling ball by wiping it with a micro fiber towel after each shot and making sure to clean it after each set bowled.

With the way I see these coverstocks soak up oil these days, I kind of think 100 games is a conservative number. Seems like you would be rolling over a layer of oil after like 30 games, lol.

And:

Preventative maintenance definitely makes a big difference. For me, I usually don't bother with it as I am usually getting rid of a ball and moving on to another after about 40-50 games with it.

I have a storm virtual gravity that has to have well over 1500 games on it.  I got it when they first came out and bowl in 3 leagues a week and countless tourneys during the season.  This year i finally tried to retire the ball but couldn't get the same look and more importantly scores out of any other ball.  Of course I have resurfaced the ball numerous times and clean it every time I use it.  I just can not find a ball to replace it but as long as I can keep scoring well with it my first virtual gravity will stay in my hand and continue to be the first ball out of the bag.  Also I got a second VG and drill it the same but still no luck with it.