Apologies up front for the length of this post, and any grammatical errors, as I've been rewriting and editing this for a few hours now.
I was out of bowling from 1995 until 2018, so I'm trying to do a lot of catch up. I watch way too many videos trying to get better, though I have found I truly enjoy the information Mo provided as a result of the no balance hole rule. I've been researching this question for so long, I'm a mental wreck As you'll see, I'm in waaayyyy too deep at this point and really need assistance getting out of this Mad Hatter's maze.
My Specs:
- 55, pudgy, still think I'm 25, but the body doesn't obey
- RH
- Speed: 17.5 mph (using Ten Pin Toolkit video analysis)
- Rev Rate: 270 - 300
- Tilt: 10-13, measured with oil rings and by video. I've improved from 7.5 initially
- Axis Rotation: generally around low 50s, under 30 when I successfully stay behind the ball for a couple of throws
- PAP: 5 3/16 up 3/8 (as of spring 2022)
Conditions I bowl on:
- Sport, Challenge, and House leagues, 1 house is AMF boards, noticeably more friction, other house(s) are old Bowl America's with Anvilane (current Sport shot league)
- 2021-2022 THS avg: 192; Sport avg: 180 (over 4 patterns, 36 weeks)
- I would like to get over 200, be competent in tournament play, and bowl a PBA50 event, with an actual shot at cashing those events
I rarely pull any of the Syms out. Most of those were drilled up for an older PAP, I would not say I view any as a Benchmark, though 1 is closing in on being that. It's a PRIDE at 50 x 3 5/8 x 45 when my PAP was 4 7/8 ^1 3/8. Actually wondering what the new PAP did to those angles and it's shape. It's less jumpy/angular now. It used to never get into a roll before reaching the pins. I also was hitting mid 16's to mid 17's on the lane's speed sensor. Now I range from high 13's to mid 15s unless the pattern has very low up front friction and the ball has half it's normal speed drop.
Oddly, the 15# I rarely use has my best house league avg, only 7 games though, including a recent 277. That ball is simply too worn out. It's a Purple Edge solid I bought used, baked 3 times and still oozes oil if left in the trunk. After buying it, I left it in the trunk 45 minutes, and it looked like I pulled it out of a bucket of oil.
Present day quandary:
- Would like to try some 15# balls, with proper layouts. I am hopeful I can get my Revs into the low 300's and tilt to maintain 13
- redrill or new closeout has been my plan in case this doesn't work out to keep costs down
-- The new stuff I discuss below is all Radical because of what's available at close out pricing near $100 ea.
-- I love the idea of getting a good sense of the true numbers of the drilled ball in the box, so if I can do this with Radical, yeah! though I am currently mostly Motiv - the goal was for these to be the most versatile/used of a 6 ball arsenal (house shots and less hard sport conditions)
- I can shoot spares with any ball if I need, even throw it backup, so If I have to lose The Spy for a Counter Attack Pearl, that's fine
Main Influences in trying to build an Arsenal and figure out layouts:
- Mo Pinel
- Ronald Strickland Jr / CTD
-- BTW, why do his layouts for Angular and traction seem to be the opposite of Mo's? ex: Mo suggests a 3.5 P2P, RSJ a 5.25 P2P. Huh? - JR Raymond
- Rob Johnson / Lane Side Reviews Arsenal building Videos
- Bowling This Month for comparing balls based on the Tweener Tester
- couple local Pro shops, and the person I am getting coaching from (I'm gathering info from multiple points in an attempt to gauge how much faith/stock I can put into each PSO)
BTW, I have an obsession with the Results core. I like weird and Radical stuff, so this core just plays into my manias. Research suggests the Solid version would make an excellent Benchmark/use on multiple conditions ball
********* Aiming for maximum versatility in a 3 ball only bag *********
Benchmark Sym replacement?: maximum control in place of something like a Bonus/Venom Shock/IQ Tour etc Sym ball. Spares, Short patterns, Stay to the Right conditions
Results - 90 x 1.25 x 45 (or whatever properly fits my specs) or Mo's D drilling for my specs
(as a fan of the once Great 80's football franchise, the team formerly known as the Redskins, I like the color scheme )
The following are the main influences on this idea/decision:
- after breaking down the Throwbot video comparing drillings A and D, D mimics my usual line with better impact angle and exit position
- There's a Bowling Science where Mikey uses 3 Results with Max Pin Up, Early Rev, and Short Pin. I like the shape of the short pin for a stay right type of ball, something to replace a Urethane perhaps
- Other reviews of this ball for speed dominant and matched bowlers
- Payback is a consideration, but I really want to try a short or Pin under on this core
Medium/Heavy Benchmark option: Asym Benchmark useable on most conditions, guessing Versatile layout
Results Solid: What layout is the big question, using Paddock app, came up with: 65 x 3 7/8 x 45
Factors for choosing this ball:
- Bowling this Month tweener testing - the Tweener bowler has very similar numbers to me: 17.8 / 320 / 10 / 65 / 4.5 Up 0
- Tweeners layout puzzles me though: 70 x 3 3/8 x 50 It's like a mix of Mo's Max Flip with a control layout's VAL.
-- Wouldn't that go too long and break weakly?
-- Or is the motion this person is getting the motion I'm not realizing I'm trying to find? - The layout I picked here was using Paddock to try and adjust from Tweener's specs to mine
- Tweener found the solid useable on all patterns, so this appears to be a very multi purpose ball and surface
-- And why I'm considering mimicing his layout, adjusted for me, if his layout is that versatile on this ball - I have considered just getting 3 solids and drilling A B and D style layouts as Mo recommended those drillings for a Speed Dominant bowler in an Arsenal building Mo Monday vid
Angular Piece:
Results Plus (If taking Pearl, might as well take the other color. Or better off with a 2nd Solid here? or is only Surface important?)
- Max Flip layout, trying to adjust for my specs in Paddock: 70 x 3 1/2 x 25 (I'm scared of this kind of layout, no clue what it will do for me, i have nothing like this)
- in my research, I found no difference in the OG and the Plus.
-- in the Plus Throwbot video, they use a different line for the OG than in the OG's video, which caused it to look lesser in my opinion.
-- Other reviews I found show very little difference - oddest research point: JR Raymond drilled this 85 x 5 x 85. What the heck? But he loved how it blended the pattern, he was practicing on a 37' pattern iirc. I can't fathom what that drilling is doing, and I'm pretty sure I can't pull that off
I have tried to plan out a 6 ball eventual arsenal, if this test works out as I hope it will. Here are some ideas I've had:
Closeout options in the $99-109 range:
- Results, all 3 versions
- Both Counter Attacks
- Pandemonium Solid
- Bonus Pearl
- Sneak Attack
- Payback
- Bigfoot - fascinated by a core that can be Sym or Asym based on the drilling. appears to be a med/dry condition ball
- The Informer would be an option if it popped up on sale at like $120
The vernacular of the arsenal building I'm using has the following: 3 Control pieces, 3 Angular Pieces; I ea Heavy/Strong, Medium/Benchmark, Dry condition. One of the Dry might be Urethane/Spare or straight up Spare. I do have a 14# Spy, and that thing is funny as heck to use as a strike ball. it's one of the main reasons I want to build a Radical bag. I swear it hits more like a 15 than a 14.
If I were to slot the 3 options I'm trying to get for this test bag, I'm looking at the Results Solid to fill both the Heavy and Medium Control ball, because it appears to be that versatile. The Short Pin or Pin Down Results, or Counter Attack (solid or pearl?) seems to fill a Dry spot depending on choice. The Angular option would fit either a Heavy Angular or Medium Angular depending on surface I am theorizing.
If going back to 15 works, and I fill out a 2nd bag, the current thinking might be: a Trailblazer, then the Results Plus becomes the other angular option. Get a Payback, and the R Solid becomes the Heavy Control option. That sort of thing. Even the Crypto and TB Solid if I get that far
Thanks for you patience, looking forward to your smackdown of my crazy talk, and being depressed for a few days when you tell me that many Results' is silly