How many people throw spare balls (I'm talking plastic, pancake core, no XXXL's or anything like that)

I used to use one, and when I dropped to 15#, I never bought a new one.

My question is, for those of you who own spare balls, do you think it helps your game, especially on tougher conditions, and if you own one, do you throw your strike ball weight, or one pound less (ie if you throw 15# your spare ball is only 14#)

I'm debating whether to pick up a 15# and keep my weights the same, or opt for a lighter 14#

I use plastic and it helps a lot.  Use the same weight as your strike ball, otherwise you could experience timing problems going from lower weight to higher weight after each shot.
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- Andy


Teh BrUnSwIcK pwnz j00!!!!!!!112

I use a plastic ball as well (Team Storm spare). All my equipment is 15 or 16 lbs but my spare ball is 14. I use it for all left side spares (even the 2-4-7-8), but throw my strike ball at right side. I have not really practiced using it at buckets/washouts/right side spares much and dont feel comfortable using it in league just yet. Unless the lanes are really dry, plastic wont hook much.
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Hell hath no fury like a woman scorn for Sega....

Yup, sure do use plastic! Same weight as everything else. It helps me alot, especially with those pesky 10 pins, which I left a lot of today btw. Anyways. Also nice to have some super controlly when nothing else wants to work, throw up 5.
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16 years old, and proud of it! Still not mature either!

I have a PINK White Dot, in the same weight as my strike ball (14).
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White Dot
Nationally ranked "Rock, Paper, Scissors" player

I have a plastic White Dot for Ten Pins. One other advantage to having a plastic spare is on a short oil shot throwing the spare ball a time or to in practice helps carry the oil a little bit.

I use a spare ball for everything. Just got a new target zone - wore out/tracked up the maxim. Also - the thumb completely cracked out.

There are 2 reasons I use the sapre ball for ALL spares.
1. - takes the lane condition out of play, and
2. - saves wear and tear on the strike ball - it doesn't go in the gutter and bounce out, getting gouges on it.

The spare ball is the ball in the bag that overall gets the most use.
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-- Whether you believe you can, or you believe you can't - you are right.

I play 15 lbs. balls and have a 15 lbs. polyester ball which I mainly use for 8 or 10 pin leaves, 3-10 baby splits and odd leaves (I am a right-handed stroker).

All balls are drilled fingertip, but I do not play my spare ball with any hook, just with a completely broken-back wrist and thumb downward, making the ball skip. It is a remnant from conventional grip times, and it works fine for me. I can play very exact this way, just changing pressure of my fingertips upon the release to adjust by 1 to 3 boards, depending on line and lane condition. Ball goes down the lane almost straight and ends up like a full roller. Only on dry backends the ball will start to make a slight leftward hook, but very controllable.

From my experience a difference between strike and spare ball is counter-productive. For some time I used a 14lbs. ball for spares, and it was not very exact - I threw it halfway down the lane! A friend of mine, playing 15 lbs. too, made similar experiments, and he did much the same and got back to his 15 lbs. polyester ball - itt was even worse because he puts more muscle into his swing.
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DizzyFugu --- Reporting from Germany

"All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream..." - Edgar Allen Poe