You Never Stop Improving Your Game - bowling

Bowling Digest, June, 2000 by Bill Spigner

* I have been bowling for 45 years and carry a 185 average, and my interest in the kegler sport is still quite strong. However, with all the rapidly changing technology in bowling ball cover stock and inner cores, I find it difficult to find the best approach to improving my game. Will a polished or dull reactive resin urethane cover provide the greatest hook potential? Do all major bowling ball companies have their own ball-testing device like Brunswick's "Throbot," or do they send their new creations to a private test laboratory? Each major bowling ball company may create its own cover stock and core design, but do they all manufacture their own complete ball?

The key to improving is a continuing learning process in all facets of your game. First of all, you should always be working on the mechanics of your delivery, trying to make your shot-making more efficient with less effort. Second, always keep learning more about the limitations of your physical game, organizing what you can do and when to use what you know how to do. Also, keep learning more about your emotional side, which will help you keep focused on your game.

Then there is the equipment side of the game. Once you have a good understanding of how you're throwing the ball, it becomes very important to know the bowling balls today. The higher the level you compete at, the more important it becomes to understand the balls and how to use them. You need to have an arsenal of equipment that complements your abilities and knowledge. With all the choices that are available today, though, it's very easy to buy balls that will either overlap or not fit in with what you have, and thus satisfy your needs.

Using the right equipment is definitely a way to improve your game. You can pick out equipment in one of two ways. The first is to explain to your pro shop operator what you have and what you feel your needs are. With that information, the pro can guide you into a selection of balls to choose from. Every major ball company makes a complete line of equipment to cover all the bases.

The second way to pick out equipment is personal study. You can look up ball reviews on the Internet, read magazines and books, watch other bowlers and see what equipment they're using--and when they use it, ask them questions about it. A better understanding of the bowling ball will make it a little easier to add balls to your arsenal to improve your bowling. However, you don't want to add a ball to your arsenal that will confuse you as to which one to use. If the balls you have are too similar in their reactions, it becomes difficult to make a decision on which one to use.

Regarding your question about dull or polished providing the greatest hook potential: If the cover stock is the same, a dull ball will always start hooking sooner than a polished ball. What you have to do is determine where you want your ball to start hooking. If your break point is too early, the ball will lose energy and not hit; a polished ball can give you a later break point and a harder hook into the pins. If the ball is breaking late, a duller ball will bring your break point closer to you.

One of the most important things for you to know is how much hook is comfortable for you to roll. Establishing your personal parameters on your hook potential will help you in selecting equipment to roll at the right time to give you your best break point. The key is getting the ball to break at the right time so the ball will have enough energy to carry pocket hits. Start looking at getting the ball to break at the right time, not trying to hook the ball more.

Regarding ball testing, Brunswick is currently the only company with a robot like the Throbot. However, all the major ball manufacturers use computers to aid in the development of the cores. They refer to this as "CAD," or computer-aided design. The urethanes typically are made by an outside source.

Each company has a staff of players who test the balls; most of the major manufacturers have pro and amateur staffs. These bowlers test the balls on varying lane conditions and in comparison to other balls on the market and their own equipment. Before a ball hits the market, a lot of testing and thought has been put into it.

The manufacturers want to add to their equipment line and not overlaps balls. For example, with the active balls--particle balls--the companies are filling in the gap between the resin urethanes and the particle urethanes to give the bowler more ball-reaction choices. Just as you are adding balls to fit your arsenal, the manufacturers are fitting balls into their equipment lines.

Finally, not all companies have a ball manufacturing plant. The major companies that have their own manufacturing plants in the United States are Brunswick, Columbia, Ebonite, Hammer, and Storm. All of these manufacturers also make balls for many different companies.

* I have two questions. I do a full-roller, and it has started to roll over the thumb hole. How can I get it off? And how do I change from a full-roller to a semi-roller?