I was reading at Buddies Pro Shop about the different balls Pro's use in tourneys.  Almost everyone that uses a Storm, namely Duke and Weber, scuff the back flares with a low grit abrasive.  Why do they do that and why is it only with Storm balls?  Also, why just the "back flares" and not the whole ball?  What are the back flares?  Sorry for the newb q's...Thanks guys =)
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Bowling Since March 2006

Arsenal:
Doom Raw Hammer
House Ball (spares)
Average: 130-160

I don't think it's only with storm balls, but...What that is refering to is that the pros are sanding the track lines that the ball rolls on in the backend of the lane.  By leaving the "front" flares polished, the ball will still roll cleanly through the head part of the lane.  Sanding the back flares will increase traction and likely reduce the over/under that a polished ball would have.  It's important on tour to get through the heads clean, but have a controllable yet strong backend motion.  As a generalization, polished balls that are clean through the heads normally have a sharp backend that can be prone to over/under reactions, and sanded balls that have a smooth, strong backend usually grab too early for what the pros deal with.  So the pros aim for clean front and smooth, controllable and relatively strong backend.  Only sanding the track lines that the ball rolls over last, the back flares, helps to achieve this.

FYI, conspirator, the PBA guys are allowed to sand parts of the ball.  It's only a USBC rule that says that you have to sand or polish all of the ball.  They obviously don't abide by those rules.
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- Andy

Edited on 4/13/2006 7:41 PM