Been struggling my last game for the last month or so. 1st 2 games are usually good and then I can't break 190 the last game. I have been switching to a less aggressive ball the last game but I am starting to wonder if I should keep the same ball but just start moving left. Back in the day you just moved left with the same ball. Now a days the move seems to be to ball down and stay in the same spot. Sometimes I think it was easier in the old days when you only brought 2 balls to your league. Bringing 5 can lead to confusion. Currently throwing  Crux, Respect Pearl, IQ Tour, Ride and Super Natural. Also have a Respect but have a hard time fitting it in my arsenal. Crux is hard to put down.  Great rolling ball. Bowl mostly in leagues with some tournaments later in the season. Sometimes it also is confusing when you strike in practice with all 4 balls. Which one do you pick?

Don't watch strikes, watch the ball go through the skid, hook, and roll phases. You could easily throw the ball going through the phases correctly and ring a 10 while a different ball might carry a mixer.

On most house shots today I do not see any reason to have 5 balls.  I understand wanting to throw various pieces, but honestly with a med solid and Pearl or hybrid you can cover most true house shots.

Depending on who is on the pair with me, I usually move right (righty) in the second game, then either move back left with the same ball, or ball up to a ball with a sharper look to get around the spot. Being a tweener, I get trapped in Tweener Hell, where the guys with hand are left of me, so if the move is too small, I jump right into their burn, and if I move right, I'm in the track with the dumpers. So if I start out the night with something that is smoother (King Cobra or Night Hawk), I will move left 3rd game usually with something like a Black Ops or Dream On.

This only applies to a THS.

I always chase the shot long before I consider balling down.  In fact on a wet dry house shot I probably move in and ball up, then stay with that ball until I just cant get any deeper with my feet and target.  At that point I would ball down from my Marvel or Paradox, to my Cobalt Vibe.  Seldom run in to this anyplace except long format tournaments.

I think balling down to keep from moving is a poor strategy in most circumstances except maybe when I have something out side 5 board and just don't want to move to another zone. 

   

I had a good conversation on this topic with my opponent in our scratch league last night. We both agreed that 80% of league bowlers make ball changes in order to keep from moving in as the shot transitions.  In todays environment the balls blow up the heads much quicker than any carry down can develop.  Also most synthetics are aging, and the surface is a lot rougher than it looks, meaning you are going to get quicker burn as the oil goes off the heads than was the case on a new pristine surface.  Once the heads go balling down doesn't work unless you go down to urethane or polyester.

Bottom line, bowlers need to be comfortable all the way from 5 board to 20 board.  I understand that most league bowlers  are going to have difficulty developing this comfort level, but their time would be more productive working on making adjustments, than packing 6 balls through the parking lot. 

I chase the shot inside and change my release as the shot dictates, but ball changes are usually required as well because some balls just don't match up well when having moving in; they burn up too much early even as you migrate in to find more oil. To be a good bowler these days, you can't just adjust OR make ball changes; you need to be willing and able to do both as the conditions dictate.

That is exactly the reason I recently bough a Ride.  Lets me stay way out before having to move in. Ball just isn't strong enough to move inside of 10 for me. 5 man is a different animal,especially if bowlers are throwing their dull stuff. Might be able to last 1 game outside with Ride before that also starts hooking too much. Not sure there is a ball out there right now that I could use for all 3 games at this house. Maybe on a good night the IQ Tour. When I was a lot younger, when I needed to throw harder ,I could.  Not the case anymore as age has caught up to me. Respect pearl is also a good ball to start with. Eventually it will go too long when moving in,thus coming in behind headpin or worse.