Do we have any bowlers here? I just came home from a successful bowling night. Some of you probably know that for a few years now I have been trying to overcome a shoulder injury from a beach volley ball incident. Well, tonight I finally moved back up to a 16 lb ball and it felt good. The first game the ball threw me around, but after that things went well. I rolled an old Brunswick Axis from '92 that I got for $3 and resurfaced last week. I was very happy with how it went. I am trying to develop a curve so I think I will give it a bit more grip before we go again this weekend. Eventually I would like to move up to a urethane ball like the Pathogen.
Glad you are feeling better after the volleyball issue in your shoulder So, how is this curve achieved? Is it similar to "English" in ping pong/reg tennis? A sort of spin?
Yes, very much. Start with your hand flat, as you would to throw a heavy ball. As you are releasing, rotate your wrist to the handshake position and you should get some hook. Of course, how much oil is on the lane, the type and weight of the ball you through, and the finish on the ball all play a part in making the ball hook. I have a cheap ball with a hard plastic surface that does not "react" much. The old lady throws a hard rubber surfaced ball from the late 70s I resurfaced for her and gets quite a bit more hook with that because it has more "grab." The urethane ball I mentioned has more grab yet, and then there are ones called reactive resin balls that grab even more-- they would likely be way too much for the dryer lanes that we bowl on.
I have tried over the years to be a better bowler...seems I am stuck in the 130-160 scoring average. Still have fun though! We have a pretty large bowling alley by us where there is plenty of lanes to mess around on.
I had my first ball drilled for me at bowlingball.com-- I used their standard drilling option in the XXL lefty size, fits like a glove. So yeah, I got big hands.
Holy crap...I thought it was a huge spread for a fingertip grip ball!! You know what they say, big hands, Big............ Gloves!!
I used to bowl regularly. Used Hammer 3D and Storm reactive resin balls, we had an alley manager who really put the long oil down. Bowled 2-3 leagues a week for several years, averaged around 188-190 when I finally quit. Also did the ABT (Bowling Tournaments - Amateur Bowlers Tour (ABT)) for a few years but never did well enough to make any money. Quit more because of having a young family and no time or money, than wanting to quit bowling. I got rid of every ball, shoe, bag and accessory I had. This past spring our Boy Scout troop had a bowling fun night, I came in after not having touched a bowling ball for almost a decade, house shoes, house ball and threw a 655 in three games. Got me to thinking that it was just as much fun as I remembered, maybe I'll start again. The local house does a good job on the lanes and apparently they see a lot of 300 games and high 700 series from league regulars.
Just found this thread and started laughing once I saw the span between the holes drilled in the ball. "Now that guy's got a bear mitt for a hand" I see it's already been addressed!
Time to get a finger tip ball and one with a weight block in it, if you want to start throwing with a hook. Also get some good ball cleaner as it helps. After so many games, I used a 5 gallon pale of super hot water and dish soap, to get the oil out of the ball. I have a machine that does it now, but if the ball stops moving as much, it's time to get the oil out.
Riding back from our "weekly" bowli g trip (three days late because she got sick). My first game was pretty good, I tied my top score. My second game was even better. But my last game... I now have a high score of 195! Everything felt great tonight, I was able to keep up with the lane as it changed and I feel on top of the world.
Thanks. Couldn't have done it with out my ball. Mainly because I can only get a few pins to fall down from fear--so far!
Just wait till your average is that high, and you have to bowl out your azz just to get average. When you have an off night, it's way off..........with an average up there. At least the drinks are still wet though, can always count on that.
Just happened upon this thread. Here's a pic of some of the things I earned over the years in league. I was able to find some patches, some 300 rings, a 299 ring, an 800 series ring, high league average with a 222 and an 11 in a row plaque. Most of this was earned about 15 years ago. I was diagnosed with lupus 17 years ago and with the pain that comes with it my bowling has slowed down over the years.
