Expert: Russ King - 7/28/2006

Question
In a 4 ball arsenal- what type of bowling balls would you incorporate?  Age 48 from St. Louis, Missouri

Answer
First one would be a spare ball.Usually a hard shiny plastic that goes real straight.This ball will save you when your strike ball is off & I think is the most important ball(White dot,Maxim,Boogie ball).

Second on is a WILD CARD.The ball that just feels good in your hand & the one that you seem to go back to when the others won't work.

The third one is a Strike Ball.This one is a medium to medium hard for a cranker.Medium for a stroker.Pin is in line with the ring finger(under,above)& maybe 1/4 side weight.This is a contrillable strike ball that won't run on you & stays around the pocket.

The 4th one would be a ball that backs up your other strike ball.One that hooks more with a duller surface.I would buy 2 of the same ball & keep or shine one up a little & have the other one duller.Or at least stay with the same company(Ebonite,Storm,Brunswick,Columbia ect.).For a cranker you want to have this one not too dull(maybe 1000 grit)at the most and pin at 1:30 ish.with same or twice side of the shiny strike ball. While for a stroker this could be 800 grit with twice the weights of the first strike ball & pin in a 1:30 - 2:00 ish position.This ball should hook 2 to 4 or even 6 boards more than the other strike ball.

 Now if you have very few revs & medium to slow speed(STROKER),you might try a pin down by your thumb.This would help pin carry.
You can fine tune your equipment to suit you by changing the surface of the strike balls(spare ball stays shiny).The dullest you really can go is for a stroker is 600 & a cranker 800 without a rollout.The grades are 600,700,800,1000,1200,1500,2000 and after 2500 you can use FINESS IT FOR A REAL SHINE.Sanding SHOULD be done with a ball spinner & wet/dry sandpaper.

Practice with all 4 balls in every game(remember practice is for practice not score!)Get to know your equipment so well that you can change balls from frame to frame & hit what you should hit!