Drilling strong balls weak vs drilling weak balls strong

Which layout is right for me?

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Mongo
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Drilling strong balls weak vs drilling weak balls strong

Post by Mongo »

I got into an interesting conversation with one of my teammates about the advantages of drilling stronger balls weak and weaker balls strong....and when both have their advantages.

Personally, I'm really starting to feel that, for the most part, the weak ball/strong layout combo is better for most house shots. House shots are generally designed to provide built in friction and big balls, even with a weaker drill, are going to create a lot more transition. A weaker ball, even with a strong layout, is something you can keep in your hand longer and have a more consistent look throughout the session.

On the other hand, on sport shots, there is no built in hook, so a bigger core/stronger cover is going to help you blend out the shot. I would think a weaker layout will create a smoother motion and controllable breakpoint.

I'd really like to dig into this further and discuss. I could be totally wrong, but would like hear your opinions/experiences on playing with different layouts.
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JMerrell wrote:Mongo,
We need to work on getting that teddy bear body of yours more open throughout the approach.
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EricHartwell
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Re: Drilling strong balls weak vs drilling weak balls strong

Post by EricHartwell »

Interesting topic.

Quite often weak balls have both weaker covers and weaker cores. I find this situation is even more true with the lighter weight equipment. So to put a Strong layout on one is necessary to get them to roll.
With the lighter weights the Strong covered balls have weaker cores. So to put a weaker layout on it the core is taken out of the equation and tougher sport shots get even tougher.
Mongo wrote:On the other hand, on sport shots, there is no built in hook, so a bigger core/stronger cover is going to help you blend out the shot. I would think a weaker layout will create a smoother motion and controllable breakpoint.
On shorter patterns yes. But on the longer patterns this will not work so good.

Many sport/challenge patterns are made tougher by a low volume of oil. Making them transition faster. Just witnessed this first hand in our state tournament doubles and singles block. With only 6 bowlers on a pair you were lucky to get through 3 frames without having to move. The pattern was long enough and with no free friction on the outside that anything weak could not recover.
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Mongo
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Re: Drilling strong balls weak vs drilling weak balls strong

Post by Mongo »

EricHartwell wrote:Interesting topic.

Quite often weak balls have both weaker covers and weaker cores. I find this situation is even more true with the lighter weight equipment. So to put a Strong layout on one is necessary to get them to roll.
With the lighter weights the Strong covered balls have weaker cores. So to put a weaker layout on it the core is taken out of the equation and tougher sport shots get even tougher.
On the weaker ball/strong layout combo, I was thinking house shots only. I'd argue that in about 80% of house shots, weaker balls are the way to go with all of the friction. In fact, I'm usually shocked when I see huge scores shot with big core balls in league. I rarely ever see a house pattern hold up that well.
Mongo wrote:On the other hand, on sport shots, there is no built in hook, so a bigger core/stronger cover is going to help you blend out the shot. I would think a weaker layout will create a smoother motion and controllable breakpoint.
Eric Hartwell wrote:On shorter patterns yes. But on the longer patterns this will not work so good.

Many sport/challenge patterns are made tougher by a low volume of oil. Making them transition faster. Just witnessed this first hand in our state tournament doubles and singles block. With only 6 bowlers on a pair you were lucky to get through 3 frames without having to move. The pattern was long enough and with no free friction on the outside that anything weak could not recover.
On the longer sport patterns, it tends to be light/long so you get more transition because the heads tend to go, but players are still throwing stronger balls because of the oil downlane.

Essentially, I was looking to compare these layouts on conditions where both are playable (i.e. < 40' and medium volume/house shots).
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JMerrell wrote:Mongo,
We need to work on getting that teddy bear body of yours more open throughout the approach.
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