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Author Topic: Quick judgement on new balls  (Read 2403 times)

Pinbuster

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Quick judgement on new balls
« on: July 19, 2004, 08:11:42 PM »
How quickly do you decide if you like your new ball or not?

Generally I can go out and almost immediately start using a ball in competition after only a game or two of practice with it to understand its breakpoint and how much it hooks.

But twice I’ve had balls that I almost immediately knew I didn’t like after throwing the first game. All the specs seem right, a manufacture I like, favorite cover stock, my favorite drill pattern, but the ball just doesn’t have the right break point and/or it refuses to carry. No amount of surface change or drilling change seems to get the right reaction.

I know a couple of other bowlers who have experienced the same thing, an almost immediate dislike of a new ball.

After that initial reaction you can never seem to gain confidence in the ball.
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Pinbuster

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Re: Quick judgement on new balls
« Reply #1 on: July 20, 2004, 12:19:31 PM »
Sawbones – I know my time frame has changed. I have generally felt that I can make about any ball work on a house condition. But sometimes, no matter what you do to the ball, it just doesn’t work for your style. I can generally pick that up pretty quickly.

I always try the ball out on a known condition and generally have a ball I’m trying to replace and that I know will work on that condition.

The bowlers I mentioned in the first post both are very good bowlers (one a PBA champion).

Going way back, you really didn’t know how a ball would perform until you got some track burned in it. But today a ball generally performs at its peak right from the start.

I generally like to see others use a ball before I will buy and it is amazing how quickly you develop an eye for what works. Some balls just don’t roll very well for the bulk of bowlers and they just don’t carry. And some balls seem to carry well for a variety of styles.
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mumzie

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Re: Quick judgement on new balls
« Reply #2 on: July 20, 2004, 12:27:54 PM »
Well, there have been several times in my recent past that I've suffered greatly from "newballitis", where I just won't put the silly new ball away, and keep trying to make it work on the wrong kind of condition.
Then I end up with a negative first impression.
Then the ball sits for a couple of months, unused.
Then I pick it up one day, thinking "I wonder...", and I then remember why I bought the stupid thing in the first place! I fall in love all over again.
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before they are easy.
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JOE FALCO

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Re: Quick judgement on new balls
« Reply #3 on: July 20, 2004, 12:44:00 PM »
Like mumzie I've had similar experiences where I've thought the ball wasn't right and put it away only to discover another day that the ball was just what I wanted! The only BIG DISAPPOINTMENT to me was the EMERALD. Never got a decent game from that ball! I keep trying .. someday it will work (I hope!).
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channel surfer

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Re: Quick judgement on new balls
« Reply #4 on: July 20, 2004, 12:55:36 PM »
I have yet thrown a ball I couldnt use for something. I can usually throw 1 game with it, and tell if i'll be using it a lot, or if it will sit in my bag waiting for that certain "condition" that I may or may not see.

If i throw a ball and dont like it, id most likley just plug it and drill it. But i trust my ball driller, and since I know about "ball dynamics" now, I can usually chose what drill patterns will work and what wont.

I would never blame the ball, I would blame the drilling though.
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JohnP

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Re: Quick judgement on new balls
« Reply #5 on: July 20, 2004, 06:29:26 PM »
I think we all have a mental picture of what we want a ball to do.  For me, it's 40 feet straight down the lane, then arc into the pocket with power.  If I get a ball that has a skid/snap reaction, I can tell pretty quickly that I'm not going to like it unless I can tone it down some either with surface or a balance hole.  --  JohnP
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janderson

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Re: Quick judgement on new balls
« Reply #6 on: July 20, 2004, 07:00:52 PM »
I'd never judge a piece of equipment after a few games and after only throwing it on a single condition, regardless of how "crappy" the reaction seemed to be.
For example:

quote:
If I get a ball that has a skid/snap reaction, I can tell pretty quickly that I'm not going to like it unless I can tone it down some either with surface or a balance hole.  --  JohnP


I agree with the not liking skid/snap - I generally dislike any skid/snap reaction - but a ball that is skid/snap on the first condition I try it on (say a fresh, flat pattern) may be an absolute gold mine on lanes with burnt heads and heavy carrydown.

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Edited on 7/21/2004 12:32 PM
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charlest

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Re: Quick judgement on new balls
« Reply #7 on: July 20, 2004, 08:06:21 PM »
The old expressions,
"Never say, 'never'."
and
"You can't tell a book by its cover."
are as true for bowling as they are for many other things in life.

While I've found balls that didn't work for me initially, they did later on other conditions or with another drilling. I have also found balls that seemed to work great in the first 2 or 3 practices, but never worked in any league or tournament thereafter. Lastly, I have found balls that didn't work first time and never did work, but they  were few and far between.

If I may suggest ...
For any ball that does not appear to work the first time, put it away for a month or more. Then dig it out and try it again on another completely different oil pattern. You've got nothing to lose and everything to gain.
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twister

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Re: Quick judgement on new balls
« Reply #8 on: July 20, 2004, 11:36:56 PM »
I agrre with charlest "never say never". Some equipment, Dynothane soakers for example, require a good 20-30 games just to break the ball and put a track in it. I always give a ball at least 15-20 games before dropping the ax.
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Scott Merritt
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MSC2471

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Re: Quick judgement on new balls
« Reply #9 on: July 21, 2004, 03:13:25 AM »
How quickly do I determine if I like a new ball or not- usually within the first 5 to 10 games. Everything that I have right now in my arsenal I would consider good to great, with the V2 particle and the Barbed Wire getting significantly less use than the El Nino Wrath and the Eraser Pearl Particle. I can only think of one or two balls through the years that I hated, and knew that I didn't like within the first couple of weeks of having these balls. The black Phantom was a tough ball for me to get under control, I don't remember throwing many high series with 3 consistent games with that ball. Champions Dragon was another hit or miss ball for me depending on the conditions.

I think after a couple of games practice with a new ball I can use it in league, but I also have a better awareness of putting a ball away when it doesn't fit the shot placed out on the lanes. Just because it's a new ball, there's no sense in throwing a heavy oiler or a medium/light condition or lighter, is there?

Matt
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JohnP

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Re: Quick judgement on new balls
« Reply #10 on: July 21, 2004, 12:12:42 PM »
janderson -- You're right, of course, for people that bowl in multiple houses or a lot of tournaments.  In my case, 95+% of my bowling is done in my home house, and the shot is pretty consistent.  --  JohnP
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janderson

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Re: Quick judgement on new balls
« Reply #11 on: July 21, 2004, 12:45:41 PM »
John - Absolutely.  No harm done there if you know what the condition is going to be and you know how the ball reacts on that condition.

Another suggestion: I like to rotate my various "niche" balls through my practice sessions.  The goal is to try every piece of equipment on every general "type" of lane condition and gauge the reaction. You simply don't know for sure what a ball is going to do for you on a condition until you try it. Luckily for me, several of the different houses here have very different lane conditions and surfaces, so I can choose what general (wet/dry, short/long, wood/synthetic) conditions I want to practice on.  Then, I keep a journal of notes to remind me of what equipment did and did not work on which lane conditions. That journal has been a life-saver, or more to the point money-$aver, in several tournaments.
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Edited on 7/21/2004 12:41 PM
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