Expert: Russ King - 4/11/2007

Question
How do you find your PAP? Once you know it is it possible to mark it on an undrilled ball? Once you know it does the PAP change depending on the placement of the pin?

Answer
In the old days,you put a slice of white tape 1/4 down the side of the ball inbetween the fingers & thumb. Then you threw it adjusting the tape until the tape didn't wobble.The problem now is the balls now flair.The revolutions change each rev.Find the ball track(where the ball rolls)After some games you can see a rubbed surface. This is the track. Find the first one,usually equal distance from thumb & fingers. Trace the rub all the way around the ball with a light color pencil/crayon to see the line.Put it on the table to where you can walk around the ball.Move the ball around sitting in a roll of say duct tape to where the center ring of the tape roll makes the ball stable sitting in the ring.As you walk around the ball, adjust it as so the ring you traced in the ball doesn't move . If the line traced doesn't move ( evenly around)get a nail & right at the top of the ball, make a little hole with the tip of the nail by spinning it with your fingers like a drill hole.A little dot will do. Then fill it in with paint or something you can see.This is real close to your PAP.Once you find one, it won't change much from ball to ball.Once you have one, you can estimate it to a new ball.I HAVE A HIGH ROLL.THE WEIGHT BLOCKS DO MAKE A CHANGE IN MY PAP.SOME BALLS LOWER MY TRACK THUS CHANGING MY PAP A TOUCH.THIS ONLY STAYS TRUE ONLY FOR ONE HAND POSITION.AS YOU ROTATE YOUR HAND TO DIFFERENT RELEASE POSITIONS, YOUR TRACK WILL CHANGE & SO WILL THE PAP.
ON TODAYS BALLS, I DON'T THINK PEOPLE NEED SUCH EXOTIC DRILLS ANYMORE.EVERYTHING IS PIN PLACEMENT & SURFACES.STATIC WEIGHTS TAKE A BIG BACK SEAT & DON'T MEAN MUCH NOW.THE MORE EXOTIC YOU GET, THE LESS CONDITIONS IT WILL WORK GOOD ON.I WOULD CONCENTRATE ON THE PIN & DULLING UP OR SHINING THE SURFACE TO FINE TUNE THE BALL.
CHANGING THE PINS WILL CHANGE THE TRACK THUS CHANGING THE PAP. IT DOES ON MY STUFF!!!