10 pin bowling balls etc

IceShock

IceShock

IceShock

Soldato
Joined
16 Dec 2005
Posts
4,054
Location
Halifax W'Yorkshire
Hello there.

Im pretty good at 10 pin bowling now, i have been going for a few times per week for the past year on and off, but my bowling style isnt anything special, i dont have a custom bowling ball or anything i just use whats there, and i bowl in a streight line iv not learn how to hook it, like a curve shape like pros.

I can get on average if im playing my best about a 170 score which isnt verry high but for its not as bad as my friends etc lol.

And i would really like to start to hook the ball etc, but i tryed to do it today i read a lot of tips on the internet, but the bowling balls at the place i bowl are just too greezy and have a lot of oil on and they have chunks missing out of them and everything so it didnt happen.

So im wondering what sort of bowling ball would i need?
I found this website: http://www.petesproshop.co.uk/acatalog/bowling-balls.htm
There is Reactive Bowling Balls & Polyester Bowling Balls, which type would i need to even begin starting serving the ball etc please?
And allso, i use a 10 bowling ball with large fingers, but the problem is, some times every now and again i end up throwing it because its slightly too light, plus Large fingers are about 1 millimetre too tight, but extra large is miles too big :S

Any help on this would be awsome.

Thanks for reading :)
 
Join a club.
I'm sure the members will have advice and some will probably let you try theirs.
 
yeah the local bowling thing is about 15 miles away tho. me and my dad have got invited to join them but we wouldnt exactly be able to go constantly every week or so, because im a motocross racer too, so i have to do that every other weekend, when i do go to the bowling alley its when theres a weekend with no plans or nothing to do really.

but anyway, do you know what the different ball types do etc? and which would be best tho because im probibly going to order one anyway :)
 
are american lanes longer than ours?

just a question, i love bowling, i bowl similar to you, ive scored over 200 once by luck.

im sure they are longer, so have more time to hook em :D
 
used to be a sponsored bowler (team) :D

you can hook a house ball, even after the lanes have been oiled (general session lanes are oiled differently to league sessions in most centres).

instead of trying anything special early on, find a weight of ball that swings naturally in your arm, nothing that needs pressure (too heavy) and definitely nothing that is too light.
the way i learnt was (reverse this for a left hander..) hold the ball in your hand, look down at the lane and see the arrows, go to the furthest on the right. you want your ball to go down the alley from the first arrow aiming at the next arrow down the lane.
your hand should be straight with the ball on the inside ( kinda like O] ). swing the ball back, let it come back naturally keeping the hand straight let the ball go just as it comes past your legs.

you should see the ball go over the first 2 arrows then start to swing in towards the pocket.

chances are it will either go straight on (very oily lane) or will curl in early (dry lane and bowled a bit slowly), but it will give you an indication of where to start.
from this point i started to tweak my starting point, my delivery and the weight of the ball.

i used to bowl from left of the head pin, wide out right and back into the pocket, that took some big wrist action :D

one thing to remember, in most strikes the ball will hit less than half of the pins, so you are relying on pin action to take the rest out, this takes some precision and of course some power.
 
IceShock said:
but anyway, do you know what the different ball types do etc? and which would be best tho because im probibly going to order one anyway :)
Click to expand...

best to go see a shop owner or something and maybe get a few lessons from a shop pro or league trainer.
there are so many insert shapes to balls, places to drill the finger holes, that it takes some time to get the perfect ball for you. its not something that anyone online could really recommend you.
 
Buy a Columbia White Dot. Get it drilled fingertip and work on bringing your hand up from under the ball.

You will develop the wrist action over time. Resist the temptation to "crank" the ball, this is just forcing the hook, and over-rotation of the ball.

You want a consistant hook, not an irregular crank which i see soo many "hook" bowlers produce in order to look flash.

The world of bowling balls is massively complicated, and to start with you just want a bog standard custom drilled ball to develop the correct technique. Dont get drawn into the hype. Later on when you have developed a decent strong technique you can look at buying balls to change and excentuate (sp?) parts of your roll.

Buying a heavy breaking ball with a complex core now will do nothing but complicate your game, and leave you unable to control your ball.

Oh, and one more thing, Spares win games.
 
thank you for the replys.

The trouble i have with finding a perfectly weighted ball, is that below 10, they dont have large finger holes.. so i cant see if a lighter weight is better, and the one up which is a 12 at my bowling alley (its a big bowling alley 24 lanes), the 12 is a tad too heavy for me to grip properly, for example if i swing it theres a 30% chance that my fingers will slip a tiny bit.. but thats to do with it being verry used and greezy anyway i guess.

i have watched a fair few of the bowlers who are in the club bowl, and they all hook it.

Thanks for the replys about that the balls there will hook aswell if i learn to, so ill probibly just let my skill increase naturally befor i go and buy a ball. oh yeh allso, where would i buy one from anyway? iv never ever ever seen a bowling shop neer me, lol.

oh one last thing, if i ever did decide to get a ball, what sort of plastic is best for hooking anyway, Reactive or Polyester.

thank you :)
 
Malt_Vinegar said:
Buy a Columbia White Dot. Get it drilled fingertip and work on bringing your hand up from under the ball.
Click to expand...

i might buy a cheap ball, but i dont know where to get them drilled or anything like that.

but i noticed it said as a discription for that columbia white dot that its good for beginers and as a spare ball, iv found one the same description but it can be drilled for my size, would that be better? plus it looks nicer :)

and its same price too, nice and cheap as i dont need anything fancy

http://www.petesproshop.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Ebonite_25.html

Ebonite Maxim Glow Captain Midnight
Ref: PB-24
Price: £46.50

or is the other company a better ball maker?






--- :edit: ---

Iv just relised, when i bowl i dont use my fingertips,.. mainly because it would slip out as the balls are fairly worn and greezy, but if idid, i dont think id be able to grip a 10 using fingertips, so would it be too heavy? but in general 10 feels nice for the style of bowling where you just put your fingers in it and bowl lol.

but like i said, i have a problem where smaller balls dont have big enough holes and 12 is too heavy, and theres not a 11 to try :(
 
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A mate of mine had an Ebonite Maxim, was a reasonable ball. Most of these type of entry level balls are much of a muchness.

About the weight of the ball. When you bowl with a correctly drilled fingertip ball you will find the weight less of an issue, the grip is much tighter, and the swing will feel more natural. You wont be concentrating on gripping the ball at all.

My first ball was a 12lb columbia white dot, and i evenually moved up to 15lbs when i moved to reactive balls. I dont think anyone will have any problems bowling with a correctly drilled 12. I was a little weed when i used that weight!

Dont buy a ball online, go to a shop and speak to the owner, they deal with these questions all the time and will be able to advise you personally, mock up your grip in a specially designed ball to imitate custom drilling.

Most shops are in bowling alleys themselves. Where are you based?
 
sorry for the late reply,

yeah if the balls was drilled for my fingers and it didnt feel like 500,000 people with dirty hands had used it befor me i guess i could use a heavyer ball as i would be able to grip it.

im from Hebden Bridge neer Halifax. Halifax its self has a 10 lane bowling alley, its nothing special, but i go to Burnley bowling alley about 14 miles away, theres 24 lanes so you can allways get on.

I have no idea at all where theres any bowling shops or specialist things etc close to me :S
 
davestar_delux said:
Just a quick hi-jack if I may, if you can get strikes throwing straight all the time, why would you want to curl the ball?
Click to expand...

Its all about the perfect angle into the pocket (1 and 3 pins, or 1 and 2 if your a leftie), which you cant get if when bowling straight. If the lane was 4 times wider, you probably could get it ;)

Its not ideal for picking up spares, however, which is why we have a non-reactive ball for picking them up. This way you dont have to alter your release, but the ball will not react and have a flatter line.
 
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