A ball recommendation

Bowling ball related topics including new products, arsenals and comparisons.

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Narcissus80
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A ball recommendation

Post by Narcissus80 »

Hi, i’ve been bowling on a league since 2021. I do ball left handed and i have a strom tropical 13lb and a hammer truck 13lbthat i use and for my 7 pin i have a tzone plastic 14lb. Do bowl once a week 3 games each. My bowling average is in the 170’s. So, this march i ended up getting Calcific Tendonitis in my bowling shoulder. I thinking of getting a bowl maybe to help my shoulder out so, im not forcing the bowl down the lane just so it hooks in. What bowl should i look into getting. I was thinking pyramid antidote or a pryamid path rising.

I do try to throw my bowl between the 2nd and 3rd arrow on the left. I stand around the last do on my right depending on the bowl and lane condition. If that helps
Last edited by Narcissus80 on August 18th, 2021, 10:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: A ball recommendation

Post by 44boyd »

For a new bowler, I’d recommend taking that money and get coaching to make sure fit/release/form/spare system/ability to read the lanes/transition etc.. are sound before you fall into looking for new equipment.
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Re: A ball recommendation

Post by kajmk »

44boyds advice is golden.
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Re: A ball recommendation

Post by Narcissus80 »

44boyd wrote: August 18th, 2021, 5:05 pm For a new bowler, I’d recommend taking that money and get coaching to make sure fit/release/form/spare system/ability to read the lanes/transition etc.. are sound before you fall into looking for new equipment.
I’m not a new bowler. I’ve been bowling on league for about 19 years. The 2 bowling bowls i use are well over 7 years old.
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Re: A ball recommendation

Post by weberd72 »

If you are having pain in the joints and you think they are related to bowling, you should look at the ball fit and the weight of the ball you are using. You can't out bowl a bad fit even if you are bowling for 19 years. I can say this from my own experience.

The IBPSIA fitting guide posted here is probably the most revolutionary thing I have read in my bowling career. I was able to self-diagnose some bad fit issues with pitches from reviewing this that fixed most of the pain issues I had going on for about 10 years. My ball fitter is great, but he can't feel what I feel when I throw the ball. Always good to do some research on your own to work better with your fitter.
http://wiki.bowlingchat.net/wiki/index. ... nformation
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Re: A ball recommendation

Post by TonyPR »

So you’re standing on the last dot to your right (30 or 35 depending on the bowling center) and trying to bowl up 13 at the arrows? If this is what you’re doing it’s no wonder the shoulder hurts and your right knee and lower back may be up for injury soon. Asuming you want the ball to hit 10 at 44’ (you should also have a focal point at the pins) using 13 at the arrows, ball should be laid down at 14 which means you should be sliding at the 19 board.

My advice as a coach is to invest in a few lessons with a coach that can teach you proper alignment to the line of play before you think about new equipment. You will bowl much better and will prevent future injury.

This is a good place to search for coaches in your area trained by the best to teach direction and swing/body alignment:

https://www.kegeltrainingcenter.com/new-page-1

Hope this helps
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Re: A ball recommendation

Post by TomaHawk »

Narcissus80 wrote: August 17th, 2021, 5:39 pm Hi, i’ve been bowling on a league since 2021. I do ball left handed and i have a strom tropical 13lb and a hammer truck 13lbthat i use and for my 7 pin i have a tzone plastic 14lb. Do bowl once a week 3 games each. My bowling average is in the 170’s. So, this march i ended up getting Calcific Tendonitis in my bowling shoulder. I thinking of getting a bowl maybe to help my shoulder out so, im not forcing the bowl down the lane just so it hooks in. What bowl should i look into getting. I was thinking pyramid antidote or a pryamid path rising.

I do try to throw my bowl between the 2nd and 3rd arrow on the left. I stand around the last do on my right depending on the bowl and lane condition. If that helps
Shinier ball surfaces and higher rg values can make getting the ball down the lane a little easier. Ball selection depends on a variety of factors, the amount of oil on the lane is the primary concern. For heavier volumes of oil, a dull ball is usually preferred. Lesser volumes, a shiny ball is usually the choice.

As for your shoulder, how did you develop your present shoulder issue? Is it a natural occurrence, work related, or from bowling?
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Re: A ball recommendation

Post by Narcissus80 »

TonyPR wrote: August 19th, 2021, 4:03 am So you’re standing on the last dot to your right (30 or 35 depending on the bowling center) and trying to bowl up 13 at the arrows? If this is what you’re doing it’s no wonder the shoulder hurts and your right knee and lower back may be up for injury soon. Asuming you want the ball to hit 10 at 44’ (you should also have a focal point at the pins) using 13 at the arrows, ball should be laid down at 14 which means you should be sliding at the 19 board.

My advice as a coach is to invest in a few lessons with a coach that can teach you proper alignment to the line of play before you think about new equipment. You will bowl much better and will prevent future injury.

This is a good place to search for coaches in your area trained by the best to teach direction and swing/body alignment:

https://www.kegeltrainingcenter.com/new-page-1

Hope this helps
I do bowl left handed.
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Re: A ball recommendation

Post by TonyPR »

Yes, I know and many of the athletes I coach including my daughter bowl left handed too. Left handers count boards from left to right, you mentioned on the last paragraph of your initial post you stand “around the last dot on my right”. What do you mean by this? Middle board is 20 next one right of it for a lefty is 25 and so on…
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Re: A ball recommendation

Post by Narcissus80 »

The dots are the 2 set by the bowl return and i stand at the dot that is Furthest away from the ball return and at the second set of dots. Not sure what dot number you call that.
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Re: A ball recommendation

Post by TomaHawk »

??? how did you develop calcific tendonitis,,,
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Re: A ball recommendation

Post by Narcissus80 »

TomaHawk wrote: August 19th, 2021, 6:48 pm ??? how did you develop calcific tendonitis,,,
Honestly i dont know. Never had this problem until this year. But. It is 2021 who knows. 😅😅
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Re: A ball recommendation

Post by TomaHawk »

As I've read with calcific tendonitis, it seems that lifting one's arm above the shoulder tends to aggravate the symptoms associated with that condition. Effective bowling technique almost always requires the arm to move forward at least to shoulder level.

If you're determined to go through with bowling, special care must taken when going through the fitting process. If you can throw a ball with a reasonable amount of comfort, maybe your fit is good enough for your present game.

In your opening request, you asked, which ball is best suited for your game. Both of the balls you mentioned appear to be polished. That's a good thing, less effort is required to get them down the lane. If the oil pattern isn't too heavy, they should recover down the lane, and have enough energy left to strike. Pick the color you like best.

Also from your description, you play kind of deep on the lane, especially for a left hand bowler. Try moving closer to the left gutter, letting the ball roll up to the pocket from the outside rather than trying to hook the ball from the middle of the lane. Moving left will also save a lot of wear / tear on your arm, body, and hopefully, your shoulder.
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Re: A ball recommendation

Post by TonyPR »

Narcissus80 wrote: August 19th, 2021, 6:17 pm The dots are the 2 set by the bowl return and i stand at the dot that is Furthest away from the ball return and at the second set of dots. Not sure what dot number you call that.
For a lefty, on the right lane (even number lanes) the closest dots to the ball return are the 5 or 10 board (depending on the bowling center). On the left lane (odd number lanes) the closest dots to the ball return are the 35 or 30 board (depending on the bowling center). A lane has a total of 39 boards, board 20 being the center board. Lefties count boards from left to right, right handers count boards from right to left. Asigned numbers to pins remain the same for both lefties and right handers.

Following the above guidelines if you were to play straight up the 10 board (ball lays down on 10, crosses the second arrow and hits the furthest back and furthest left tracer mark at 41’ (lane has 60’ from foul line to pins), you should be sliding on board 15. If you were to be sliding on say 20 or 25 and trying to hit this mark at the arrows I guarantee that the ball will seldom hit to 10 board back at the tracers as the swing will most likely be going behind the back and around the body and the release will be too far from the ankle with probably too much axis rotation. Release early you will miss left, release late you will miss right, speed will not be as high as it could be and axis tilt and rotation will likely be too high making the ball jump at or near the pattern exit. Of course a high ratio house shot will tend to mask these flaws in technique.

I know you just asked for ball advice and I know a lot about balls, but based on what you wrote about your swing alignment, as a coach it is my duty to reply as I did. For house shots the best ball for you would probably be something like a GB2, IQ Tour or Web Tour, something that would easily help blend the wet/dry. Of course, good technique will always be more important.
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Re: A ball recommendation

Post by TomaHawk »

That's a lot of information for a 170 average bowler with a bad shoulder, asking about Pyramid bowling balls
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Re: A ball recommendation

Post by TonyPR »

No it’s not, and his bad shoulder is going to get worse if he keeps trying to hit 13 from 30-35, I am not going to be responsible for that. If it wasn’t a house shot he would be 120. Are we just trying to sell bowling balls or are we trying to better our sport? BTW he has been bowling 19 years
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Re: A ball recommendation

Post by TomaHawk »

Bowling has always been made up of mostly recreational bowlers. This person asked a simple question, at least I thought it was. Give a simple answer. The game is not as complexed as some would like to make it.

Also, my impression is, he is having fun, even with his medical condition.

Every day, hundreds of casual bowlers come to the center to a have good time, using house balls I might add. Know something? I enjoy watching it. All the yelling and screaming when they get lucky enough to strike. It makes my heart smile. That's bowling.....at their level.

Sometimes, they want equipment of their own, they come to the shop to purchase something that fits their hand. I do not try to get them into the latest and greatest hook monster, that would be selling something.

But, if someone walks through the door and says: "I want to be a better bowler". Well, that's a whole different ball game.
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Re: A ball recommendation

Post by TonyPR »

Ok, I’ll give him a simple answer:

Get some basic coaching or your injuries will get worse.

There we go, happy?
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Re: A ball recommendation

Post by TomaHawk »

We know, ALL people that bowl need lessons. Questions: Do they want it? Why don't more people seek out professional support?

Sometimes, what seems so obvious to us, is not even a part of their thought process.
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Re: A ball recommendation

Post by boomer »

I think Tony's reply SOUNDED complex but really wasn't.

Here's a quick thing, though, for Narcissus - count from your side of the lane. That way we can talk to each other, even though lefty / righty. Arrows are 5 boards apart, but we still call them first arrow, second arrow, etc. So as a righty, the right-sided arrow is first, then second, etc. For you, that would be the left-most arrow as first arrow. Easy.

Same with the dots when we stand (although I tend to count, for myself, from the big center dot - so I stand 1 or 2 dots left of center and typically aim around the second arrow)

That's just vocabulary. Now we can talk. :)

And the advice regarding your shoulder is really good. You can get whatever ball you want - if you throw the ball in such a way that hurts you, any ball will do that because it's not really the ball doing it.
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