Expert: - 3/2/2008

Question
I recently was asked to sub on a leage and It is going to be perminent.  I,m sick of the houseballs and would like to get my own ball again. I've always thrown a straight ball, except when I mess around and through a 2-finger curve. I've been doing a little research on how to throw a proper curve and Ive got it down mentally. So now I need to apply and pratice.  I was looking at getting the Columbia Rival(or maybe the Wrath), how do I determine pin and possible weight placement along with finding out my PAP?

Answer
Mark,
Your going from a house ball to a performance ball?

Or if you learn to throw a curve with a basic plastic ball, you've actually learned to hook the ball. If you can hook plastic you can hook anything. What kind of ball did you have before?

Bowling balls are tools. It sounds like your planning on getting a table saw to cut a stick in half.

Your making this way more complicated than it needs to be. The more expensive the ball, the more it can do (the more it will do whether you want it to or not). When you learn with a performance ball, you learn what the ball can do, not what you can do to a ball.

Your trying to jump a step. Learn what you can get a ball to do, and you will NOT be a straight ball bowler anymore.

As a pro shop operator and ball driller, my job is to make bowlers better. You don't sound like your objective is to be better, just better equipped. Better equipment is a very short term, quick fix.
Lanes change, other bowlers get in the way, etc. what to do next?

The frustration from being unable to control the lane either translates to a bowler becoming a ball-a-holic, buying new balls at every opportunity (something some stores LOVE), or just feeling so incapable that even though you've invested in top flight equipment, you've not improved you physical skills, so you don't improve significantly as a bowler, and you quit.

One of the reasons I do this, is to help others enjoy a sport I love, but a sport that demands more than just the latest ball. Tiger Woods didn't become a superstar because he got old enough to buy really expensive clubs!

To use another golf analogy, many bowling centers are putting out lane conditions that are way easier then they used to be, much like a green tapered into the hole like a giant funnel (we'd have a great short game then), lane oil can be placed to funnel balls towards the pocket.

To address the weight, pin placement, etc. questions, you can't determine anything until you learn to throw a ball that fits, the same way, in the same direction.

Have the store/ball driller look at how you roll a houseball, get an idea of what you do by observing your delivery and ball track on the houseball. That should help the driller get an idea of what your general game is about. Some.

Thanks for the questions. Good luck with your investment.