Expert: - 3/5/2008

Question
QUESTION:  hello, my pap is 5/34 w/ 1/2 up
I want to know what would be the best drill for my game. my average ball speed is about 14.8. 3/4 roll. on house patterns. 37 -42 feet. I have been playing w/ storm products. I must confess that i have struggled from 220 last year to 205 this year.

T-road solid & t-roal pearl pin under index cg 3 inches out. shift leverage.

please before I purchase rapid and attitude

ANSWER: Alvin,
What's going on with your present equipment that you are getting new balls?

Why have you struggled? What's happening this year, different from last year? Do you bowl on wood lanes or synthetic? How much are you hooking the T-Roads?

Not sure what you mean by shift leverage. Is your pin to PAP leverage? If so, is your driller putting the pin under your finger to get the balls to read earlier? Have you done anything to the surfaces? Do you clean the balls? wipe them during play?

Storm stuff is great, but why the Rapid Fire and Attitude Shift? What do you want the balls to do?

Bowling balls are tools. You should arrange your arsenal to cover the paths to the pocket that you want to play. Balls help you control the lanes, not just move around until you find out what part of the lane they work on.

Thanks for the question. Please help me fill in the blanks and I can better evaluate what's happening. Good luck.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Response,
I believe that my changing over to storm from Columbia has made a difference, I do bowl on synthetic lanes in three different houses. the other change is that I have trying to stay behind the ball more but that's not working.I do clean my balls after league play not while I am bowling but I will now. My shift is drilled leverage. I also have been experimenting with my pitches going from 5/8 reverse to 1/16 in the thumb maybe that could be a big problem.I have since gone back to the 5/8 and it seems to help some.  
I am a stroker that plays down and in with some belly. I want my balls to pick-up the midlane better.What do you suggest.

Thanks Again

Answer
Alvin,
Cleaning your equipment will help with consistency. Just wiping the balls off with a towel helps consistency from shot to shot.

Your pitch change is fairly drastic. By adding the adjusting of your  delivery, you are making a couple changes, that can mess you up, without being able to identify which adjustment is causing the problem.

A delivery adjustment will change the track and roll of your ball. Your horizontal PAP co-ordinate is over pretty good. You are all ready fairly high tracking, and more up the back than around the ball. The layout influences the roll. So, a change in your release changes the layouts effect on what the ball will do.  

Any fit adjustment should be approached in small steps. Adjust 1/8 inch at a time. When you hang up, switch back, a 1/16th or an 1/8th.

What length is your grip (over 5 inches long)? 5/8ths reverse is a bunch! What are the pitches for your fingers, and what style grips (if you use them)?

Your speed and mass bias (bumped toward your vertical axis line) will help with getting the ball to pick up earlier. Also, your more "up the back" delivery will get the ball to read earlier.

Strong layouts (like leverage) may cause the ball to roll to soon, if lanes aren't oily enough, or with your slower ball speed, and may cause the ball to lose energy down lane and not hit well. Are you experiencing any of this? Do you have an idea of your rev rate? or axis tilt?

Higher pins will help with reaction down lane, and a bump (pin buffer) closer to your vertical axis line will help with stronger reaction at the pins.

Thanks for sticking with this. Look forward to hearing back from you, but I will be out of town so I may not get back to you until Monday.
Good bowling.