Expert: Russ King - 12/11/2007

Question
QUESTION: I've recently learned that negative side weight may help a ball to carry better. I was told that a ball with little to no positive side weight will carry more then 80% of the time because transition and change of direction is shorter. I also learned that by doing this, the ball will loose energy. The question I propose is, if I'm bowling on a house pattern, which do you think would hook sooner? sharper? harder? smoother? I hope I was clear enough. Thanks In Advance!

ANSWER:  A house condition is say 35' oil ten to ten.Outside ten is dry from foul line to 35' on synthetic.

There are 3 types of negative. 2 are label shift & the other is just axis.
Label has to be put into the pattern at the time of drilling the ball also label at pap & punch weight hole there to less than 1 oz..The axis weight can be added any time by just drilling a hole in your pos. axis point (pap) in a ball that is already drilled.

AXIS LABEL SHIFT NEG. IS BEST FOR A STROKER TYPE.THIS ALSO TAKES THE VERY EXPENSIVE SHAPED WEIGHT BLOCK & JUST MAKES IT A BRICK.ALL THE WEIGHT IS ON YOUR AXIS . SAY IF THE BALL HAS 4.5OZ. TOP., YOU WILL HAVE TO DRILL AN AXIS HOLE TO TAKE AT LEAST 3.5OZ. WEIGHT OUT TO GET BACK TO ZERO.TRY THIS FIRST ON THIS DRILL. YOU CAN GO 1/4 OZ. AT A TIME FOR ADDED NEG. EACH TIME YOU TRY TO THROW THE BALL. THIS WAY IS BETTER THAN TAKING OUT TOO MUCH & HAVE TO ADD SOME BACK WITH BALL PLUG.IT IS BETTER TO DO THIS WITH A BALL THAT HAS A LIGHT TOP SAY LESS THAN 2 OZ..USE A BIG DRILL BIT. BIGGER THAN 1 1/8. TAKING WEIGHT OUT AT THE SURFACE MEANS MORE THAN WEIGHT NEAR THE CORE.

NEG. FOR CRANKERS YOU NEED A LOT OF LIFT/FINGERS TO DELAY THE NEG.EARLY ROLL.THE MORE LIFT THE MORE LENGTH MEANS MORE SKID ARC/SNAP.A STROKER WILL GET EARLY ROLL/ARC.

IF YOUR BALL IS ROLLING OUT & LEAVING SOFT TENS, YOU NEED TO SHINE THE BALL UP TO COUNTER THE BURNING UP FROM FRICTION & SAVE THE ENERGY FOR THE HIT.

IF YOUR LEAVING STRONG SOLID TENS,YOU MAY NEED TO (JUST A BIT) DULL UP TO CHANGE ANGLE INTO THE POCKET.

I USED TO LOVE NEG AXIS IN URETHANES ON WOOD. NOW SYNTHETICS MAKE A VERY DIFFERENT REACTION.YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH HIGH FRICTION IN THE HEADS(FIRST 15FT) OF THE LANE.IF YOUR BOWLING ON WOOD, YOU DON'T NEED AS MUCH LIFT/FINGERS.

AXIS WEIGHT IS AFFECTED MORE THAN CONVENTIONAL WEIGHTS(FINGER/SIDE)BY THE ROLL YOU PUT ON THE BALL.THERE IS NO IMBALANCE(TOP WEIGHT) TO SHIFT ANGLES.

TRY PUNCHING A NEG. AXIS HOLE IN AN OLD BALL FIRST FROM ZERO & MOVING FORWARD 1/4 OZ AT A TIME TO SEE WHAT WORKS BEST FOR YOU.

NEG. DOES NOT WORK AT ALL FOR SOME BOWLERS.EVERYBODY IS DIFFERENT SO YOU WILL HAVE TO EXPERIMENT.I WOULD USE 3 PIECE PLATE WEIGHT BLOCKS FIRST. OTHER MORE EXOTIC BLOCKS ARE VERY EXPENSIVE TO JUST THROW OVER ON YOUR AXIS.

HERE IS THE CATCH,
         I HAVE LEFT TENS WITH EVERY WEIGHT THERE IS.TODAYS GAME IS ABOUT THE TYPE OF ROLL YOU PUT ON THE BALL, BALL SPEED & WHERE YOU PUT THE PIN.A SLOW TO SLOW/ MEDIUM SPEED SEEMS TO CARRY BETTER ON TODAYS SHOTS WITH A LOWER TRACK TYPE OF ROLL(AROUND 2" FROM HOLES TRACK).

TO GAIN ENERGY FOR THE HIT, YOU NEED TO LESSEN THE EARLY FRICTION. A VERY SHINY MIRROR SURFACE WILL SAVE THE MOST.

I PLAY THE WALL(HOUSE SHOT)EITHER WITH A PLASTIC DOWN & IN OUT SIDE 10. OR DEEP TO JUST INSIDE 10 SWING OUT WITH A MORE REACTIVE SURFACE.MESSING WITH THE DRY BUMP IS DANGEROUS IF YOU HAVE LIFT/FINGERS . YOU GET OVER/UNDER REACTIONS DEPENDING ON HOW THE BALL ENTERS THE DRY.

THE MYTH OF HITTING ANGLE IS JUST THAT! A MYTH.MAYBE ON WOOD IT MEANT SOMETHING. BUT NOT ON SYNTHETICS.

YOU REALLY NEED TO HAVE A SOLID GAME TO MESS WITH NEG. & NEG. AXIS WEIGHTS.YOUR GETTING INTO EXOTIC WEIGHTS FOR EXACT CONDITIONS & THAT EQUIPMENT MAY NOT WORK AT ALL ON THE OTHER 97% OF LANE CONDITIONS.

SO, I WOULD TRY EXPERIMENTING WITH SURFACES BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE. YOU CAN ALWAYS CHANGE THE SURFACE BACK WITHOUT ANY PERMANENT CHANGES TO THE BALL.

YOUR PRO SHOP WILL HAVE A BALL SPINNER. WET/DRY SANDPAPER HAS MANY GRITS TO EXPERIMENT WITH.ANDB THERE ARE A FEW VERY GOOD POLISHES (FINESSE IT) FOR A MIRROR SHINE.

REMEMBER, SHINE FOR DELAY & AN INCREASE IN POWER FOR THE HIT,AND DULL IN THE OIL FOR STABILITY.

IT IS VERY INTERESTING TO SEE THE DIFFERENT REACTIONS & HITS WHEN YOU CHANGE FROM ONE GRIT OF PAPER TO ANOTHER. IT IS LIKE HAVING 36 BALLS IN YOUR 2 BALL BAG.

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

QUESTION: Great job!! ...the reason why I asked this is because I would like to open up the lanes more. I want to be able to play the inside track area. I am a stroker but have a fairly high rev rate with ball speed of about 16mph. Everything I throw has a dulled 800grit surface. EVERYTHING. Nothing recovers the way I want if at all. All my equipment have the pin either above or next to my ring finger. Would you recommend moving the pin below my finger? I'm drilling a new ball soon and I guess I'm just looking for some advice on pin location, cg, weights, etc. Thanks Again!

Answer
ALWAYS EXPERIMENT ON USED/OLD EQUIPMENT FIRST.SAVE THE NEW BALLS FOR A FINAL 100% BEST DRILLING.

If all your equipment is 800,I would change one to 600 & another to 1000.Then see if you are getting closer to what you want.

An inside line in the oil may need a pin out/away from the ring finger. This pin (up by ring finger) makes the ball tend to go long. Maybe it is going too long for you.Try surfaces. If you don't find the exact reaction,then plug up one & leverage weight it with a pin 3 3/8" away from your axis point up going to your fingers.This moves the top weight exactly center inbetween your axis point & center of your grip.It gives you the most potential for a hook/arc.You will also need a weight hole for legal weights.Start at one full oz. of side & work back taking out 1/4 oz. at a time to find an exact reaction.Getting close & then still tweaking on surfaces for a 100% match.