Urethane equipment on modern conditions

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Mo Balls
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Urethane equipment on modern conditions

Post by Mo Balls »

I have been finding myself using weaker and weaker equipment when i go out to bowl on house/league shots. I have been having a lot of success recently with Power Groove Reactive, but by game 3, I need weaker smoother stuff...

Well, I have decided to dabble in urethane equipment, and being 21, I have no experience with it. I have a blue hammer with the PBA Plastic Ball Championship layout (in wiki) that I drilled a while back to play with, but it out-hooks a lot of my reactive stuff. It was more to test the theory of that layout... and it created amazing results.

I recently got an Avalanche Urethane (waiting to be drilled 65/3.5/35) that I hope will be a new, effective weapon in my bag.

Has anyone on here played with new urethane equipment with any success on modern patterns? What kind of differences did it make on how the lanes break down? Carry problems? Is urethane an effective solution on more competitive patterns?
[size=150][color=#BF0000][b]M I N I - M O[/b][/color][/size]

PAP: 3 1/2 x 5/8 up
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MoRich [color=#BF0000]Perpetual[/color] [color=#FFBF40]MOtion[/color] - 70/4/45
MoRich [color=#000000]R[/color][color=#0000BF]ip[/color][color=#FFFFFF]R[/color] - 65/3.75/30 P3
Brunswick [color=#0000BF]Avalanche[/color] [color=#BF008F]Urethane[/color] - 65/3.5/35
Brunswick [color=#BF00BF]Power Groove[/color] [color=#FFFFFF]Reactive[/color] - 80/3/50
Faball [color=#FF0080]High Rev 3D Offset[/color] - DT
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kellytehuna
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Re: Urethane equipment on modern conditions

Post by kellytehuna »

I believe the key reason bowlers with more hand find success with Urethane is that is has a LONG, smooth hook zone built in to the ball. I've been considering Urethane for a long time now, at least for use in my house.

I would imagine urethane would be great on shorter, drier patterns. Ryan Cimineli had a lot of success last year using a Natural. Worth a shot right?
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Easy10pins
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Re: Urethane equipment on modern conditions

Post by Easy10pins »

I only use urethane on THS now. I have a Lane#1 Liberator I purchased from the bowling center manager for $50. I shot my first 700 series with it.

I don't have to worry about other bowlers burning up my line because I play up 5 all night long with great results.

I will probably pick up a new Natural or Pearl Natural in the near future.
I use whatever ball works for me....
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Re: Urethane equipment on modern conditions

Post by sigman300 »

I have an Avalanche Slide and an Avalanche Urethane. The urethane out hooked my Slide on Cheetah and it does just fine on THS on Pro lane to wood w/ Guardian
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Re: Urethane equipment on modern conditions

Post by cujoman »

i only use urethane plastic or rubber for last few years best thing i ever did more control smooth arching hook good on all house patterns most kiegal patterns and can be successful on pba patterns got the natural it has the modern core which makes it unpredictable urethanes best with pancake block one problem i have increased my pocket pct but have a lower strike ratio per pocket hits but have increased avg 10 pins cause hit the pocket a lot more and avoid unmakeble spares like splits
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Re: Urethane equipment on modern conditions

Post by cujoman »

balls in my bag

amf 3dot classic hgm 300 hser 798
columbia white dot hgm 279 hser 771

gold angle hgm 299 hser 776 white pattern
pink hammer hgm290 hser 726 cheetah pattern avg 185 pba league
natural good on pba patterns but less effective on houseshots same with the scout
cujoman
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Re: Urethane equipment on modern conditions

Post by cujoman »

try the older urethanes like the angles older hammers or gyros
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billw212
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Re: Urethane equipment on modern conditions

Post by billw212 »

As you found out, the old Blue Hammer is very strong, even though it is older urethane. This was one of the biggest hooking and strongest balls of its day - before there were resin balls, asymmetric cores, and before all this modern coverstock technology.

Quite a few companies are back to making urethane again. I think it is a popular option today on sport conditions with shorter oil, and also in older houses that have wood or Guardian surfaces, and especially those that are not properly maintained.

The ones being made now are:

AMF - Hype Urethane (if these are still around?) and they were remaking the old black Angle for a bit, but I think those are discontinued, too.
Brunswick - Avalanche Urethane
Lane #1 - The Liberator
RotoGrip - Grenade
Storm - Natural and Natural Pearl
Visionary - Ogre Urethane

I might have missed one or two, but these are the big players.

I bowl on old wood with Guardian, so I have 3 of these: The Natural, The Liberator, and the Ogre. I like the Natural alot, it is the one I use the most. I am probably going to try the Natural Pearl after Christmas. The Ogre is harder than the Natural, and for me, it hooks less. The Liberator is also a nice piece, though you should be aware the cover is not tunable. It is a dull surface ball that cannot be shined or polished. Even high grits of Abralon don't help. Not necessarily bad, it just is what it is.
None of these are what the old Blue Hammer is in terms of hook.

To your questions of affecting lane breakdown or pin carry, I can only speak for myself. My stats are below. In their box condition, none of these should affect lane breakdown any more than any other ball, IMHO. Sanded balls will always tear up a pattern quicker. For carry, urethane may not yield the same strike percentage as resin, but urethane is still playable and still hits very hard - especially urethane balls with modern cores. There is no reason to avoid urethane because of carry concerns.

And we are usually playing urethane instead of resin for a reason - we are looking for control on beat up conditions, the lanes we are bowing on have bad surfaces, or the oil pattern is too short, light, squirrely, or beat so that a resin ball would over react. In that case, we accept a slightly lower strike percentage to gain some control on a condition where a resin ball would not be playable. Its a fair trade off, as we would almost certainly score lower with the resin ball under those circumstances anyway.

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