Expert: - 1/8/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hello. On saturday, I purchased a Raw Hammer Doom. I purchased it, to be my dry lanes ball. I have a very strong arsenal and was had a gap in that portion of my bag. I have a Raw Hammer Anger, Track Machine, and a spare ball. Both the Anger and the Machine hit really hard and are very strong in the backend for me. I throw roughly 14-17 mph, depending on the lane condition, but mostly 15. I can throw both out and in and down and in, but I'm not as good at down and in as I was when I didn't get a powerkoil wrist support. I did some research using ballreviews.com and a few of the reviews said the ball turns a lot more than a dry lane bowling ball. So, now I'm kinda scared that its  going to turn too much for me, my machine turns a lot on the backend. So my question is can I get it drilled so that I can still use it on dry lanes? Also, I'm not very knowledgeable on the area of grits and sanding, and I would like to know what grit would make a bowling ball turn less. And does putting the ball in the lustre king machine make it turn less? What are some other ways to reduce hook on a bowling ball without having to move left and throw out and in. Thanks.

ANSWER: Danielle,
You bought way too much ball. Changing the surface, making it smoother will help. Very weak pin positions (5 1/2, 6 inch pin to PAP) will help, but the core and cover is too much.

Who would sell you this ball if you wanted it for dry lanes??? A dry lane ball features smoother surface and weaker core (high Radius of Gyration), you have NEITHER with the Doom.

The smoother the surface the better. A Lustre King will melt a soft polish on your ball. The soft polish/surface will hook a lot on a dry lane (ball has a bigger footprint, smooth but soft contact area).

Unfortunately, web information, like ballreviews.com are often driven by the information seeker being serviced by a myopic, house bowler who doesn't understand the multitude of elements a player deals with.

For example, the 220 average house bowler with a strong rev rate and better than average ball speed finds plenty of oil in the puddle in the middle (board 10 on the right to board 10 on the left) of most Typical House Shots (THS). While your slower ball speed doesn't push the ball far enough down the lane, and the additional time tracking to the pins allows your Track Machine to react a lot! You might feel a condition is violent and very over/under, while the rev monster gets more push from their speed and a stronger reaction from their rev rate.

The sport of bowling is very personal. What is your favorite ball? It could be a hated ball on a different lane condition. So when a player praises a ball, the ball's layout, surface preparation, and speed traveling down a lane matches up well with the axis rotation, axis tilt and rev rate of the bowler ON THE PARTICULAR LANE CONDITION. Change the lane, ball doesn't work.

I've meet bowlers with ten years of experience that average pretty good, and they don't realize that (often) bowling centers condition their lanes differently, with different conditioners, with different machines, on a unique schedule. The sport is different for different players, on different surfaces, with different balls.

The helpful soul on ballreviews wants more to tell you how well he/she bowled versus using X-ball on a 33ft flat sport pattern, they, with 18mph, ball speed, with 12 degrees of axis tilt and 35 degrees of axis rotation, used a 4 1/2 pin to PAP, with 4 inch pin buffer, and a slightly adjusted surface (2000 Abralon) to shoot 720. They don't mention that the same ball on your house pattern would be TERRIBLE, because they really don't know why what they do works, just that it does (did).

Many ball companies have staff members that check in on all the major chat/ball seller sites to correct the misinformed. Many contributors encourage the naive to jump on some ball or another, and I wouldn't be surprised if the websites have staff touting stuff (as the latest magic bowling ball) they are looking to move! So I would remind everyone "Let the Buyer Beware". If the seller has no investment (like a pro shop does) in you being a better bowler, they don't care what you buy, JUST that you buy. Not someone I look to for information.

Thanks for the questions, good luck.

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

QUESTION: Ok, well I'll see if I can re-sell it then. But, what other balls would you recommend for a dry lane condition? I've looked at the Sahara but was discouraged because it's a Morich ball and they are release sensitive and it happens to assymetrical. But, I'm also really liking the Punisher. Do you no any other dry lane balls I can look at?

ANSWER: Danielle,
How dry a lane? A Vibe is for dry lanes and 19mph. A Razr is for dry and straight. My 45 year old rubber Tornado is for bone dry???

What does the Anger do when it gets too dry and you can't move in? Where are you playing on the lane when it gets tough to control (standing where, sliding where, throwing at what target)?

Thanks for the questions. Looking at Hammer stuff specifically? Fill in a little info and I can suggest some ideas.

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

QUESTION: Well, pretty much when the lanes are too much for my Machine. My Anger is my heavy, my Machine is my medium oil to medium dry lanes. I throw the Machine the most often, because it's the most versatile. When the lanes get to dry for either my Machine or Anger the ball starts coming up really high and jumping when it gets to the pocket resulting in 4-9 (my calling card). lol
My most comfortable shot is to throw from 10 to 5, but when the lanes get even drier I'll throw 15 to 5 at about 17 mph tops and I stand on the left side. (I'm still learning to throw further out, this is new to me.) I can do that for about a game, but after that I'm tired. I can also throw down and in but my equipment is fairly strong. Also, I throw on saturdays mornings in a youth league, but on sundays I bowl at different houses for a travel league. I'd say about 6 different houses at the most.
I bowled a 737 roughly 3 weeks ago with my Machine throwing 12 to 5 and the backends were dry especially anything outside of 5.
And yeah, I'm really fascinated with Hammer, I just love how hard their stuff hits! I don't mind Track either. I just looked into both of the Vibes and I'm a bit confused about them. Which one is better for dry the both say from med-to dry lanes? I think I prefer the Emerald. All I'm really asking for is a bowling ball that will turn less on the backend than the Machine. I do know a few hand positions that could take off a bit of turn, I just don't like having to use my Machine when the heads are burnt and the pocket is jumping like mad. Thank you.

Answer
Danielle,
You are using a very strong core for medium to dry. The lesser core and cover of a Vibe, drilled to accommodate dry lanes (mentioned earlier) ought to work.

Not seeing you throw, not knowing how your ball rolls, not having any idea of your layouts, something less than a high end Track ball that you use for medium to dry lanes should help (good estimated guess).

Thanks for sticking with it. Good luck.