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Author Topic: Best Bowling Balls for Dry Lane  (Read 50973 times)

john178

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Best Bowling Balls for Dry Lane
« on: June 21, 2012, 01:10:06 PM »
What are some of the best bowling balls (any brand) for dry lanes ?

I'm a right hander and like to play the track area (15th board to gutter).  My ball speed is generally between 13.5 and 14.5. 
« Last Edit: June 21, 2012, 01:11:46 PM by john178 »

 

Track_Fanatic

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Re: Best Bowling Balls for Dry Lane
« Reply #1 on: June 21, 2012, 01:22:01 PM »
Urethane all the way.  New pieces are coming soon too.

budda

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Re: Best Bowling Balls for Dry Lane
« Reply #2 on: June 21, 2012, 01:51:49 PM »
Since I am a hammer guy, I would have to go with the new blue for when they get really dry. But the Razyr is by far the best dry lane ball I have ever thrown.
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Track_Fanatic

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Re: Best Bowling Balls for Dry Lane
« Reply #3 on: June 21, 2012, 01:55:10 PM »
The new Columbia u2 sounds like a good piece.  Resurgence core with urethane. 

charlest

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Re: Best Bowling Balls for Dry Lane
« Reply #4 on: June 21, 2012, 07:32:33 PM »
Poppycock and horse manure on Urethane
UNLESS you are extremely rev dominant.

I am rev dominant but balls like the Blue/Green centaur, the Slingshot, the Recon Silver, Chainsaw (& SOS)  and even the Tropical Breeze solid have all the control of the urethanes, with the exceptional hitting power of resin, except maybe the original Desperado, which does hit like resin.

So unless you are extremely rev dominant or the backends are 25 feet long and sanded, try a mild resin before trying urethanes.
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northface28

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Re: Best Bowling Balls for Dry Lane
« Reply #5 on: June 21, 2012, 07:57:26 PM »
Poppycock and horse manure on Urethane
UNLESS you are extremely rev dominant.

I am rev dominant but balls like the Blue/Green centaur, the Slingshot, the Recon Silver, Chainsaw (& SOS)  and even the Tropical Breeze solid have all the control of the urethanes, with the exceptional hitting power of resin, except maybe the original Desperado, which does hit like resin.

So unless you are extremely rev dominant or the backends are 25 feet long and sanded, try a mild resin before trying urethanes.


+1, some people are so quick to throw out urethane suggestions, when in actual practice 1/10 Bowlers should be using urethane. For most, urethane will flat 10 all day. Especially when going left to right (right handed) which is what most people do on dry Lanes.
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scotts33

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Re: Best Bowling Balls for Dry Lane
« Reply #6 on: June 21, 2012, 10:02:59 PM »
Poppycock and horse manure on Urethane
UNLESS you are extremely rev dominant.

I am rev dominant but balls like the Blue/Green centaur, the Slingshot, the Recon Silver, Chainsaw (& SOS)  and even the Tropical Breeze solid have all the control of the urethanes, with the exceptional hitting power of resin, except maybe the original Desperado, which does hit like resin.

So unless you are extremely rev dominant or the backends are 25 feet long and sanded, try a mild resin before trying urethanes.


One of the better posts on BR this past month!  Agreed...this dumbing down to urethane might make sense to a few but the able bowler can use lessor hooking resin equipment with better carry than using urethane. 

To me using urethane with some speed straighter to get best angle might make sense for some. When 15 to the gutter is blown up ability by better bowler moving in using axis rotation with a lessor hooking orb also might make sense in more than one way.  Depending on his/her bowling stats/technique.
Scott

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Re: Best Bowling Balls for Dry Lane
« Reply #7 on: June 21, 2012, 10:49:29 PM »
I forgot.  I thought I was still in the 80's.  What's urethane anyway?  Learned to bowl with urethane.  I remember when urethane used to hook a ton back then.  Never had a problem with kicking out the 10.  I am certainly not rev dominant.  Maybe because I was able to control my speed and entry angle.  Then with these resin balls like the first one out.  I forgot the name of it but it changed the game.  Oh yeah, the Excailbur.  Then all of a sudden, what is a symmetrical ball versus asymmetrical?    Then you got the particles.  Then after that the soaker coverstocks.  Then we have the changing of lane conditioners since resin, particle, and soakers burnt the lane up faster.  Now we have resin that is like particle.  I would rather bowl with urethane than the equipment out now.  Place the cores that are in balls now into a urethane coverstock and screw resin.  bring back some kind of integrity of the game that is barely still there.  But everyone wants the 'hook in a box' instead of learning how to bowl the right way.  Yeah, the heck with urethane.  Thats just old school. I certainly need to get in the 21st century.  I can't wait until we can use a remote control bowling ball in a sanction league.  Can you imagine what that would be like? I wonder what kind of coverstock and cores would be in those.  It would be like the old atari bowling game.  I shot a lot of 300's with that.  I also shot 300's with urethane and took me a helluva long time to shoot one with resin and particle.  I left a lot of flat 10's with modern equipment and still do.     

northface28

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Re: Best Bowling Balls for Dry Lane
« Reply #8 on: June 21, 2012, 10:56:49 PM »
I forgot.  I thought I was still in the 80's.  What's urethane anyway?  Learned to bowl with urethane.  I remember when urethane used to hook a ton back then.  Never had a problem with kicking out the 10.  I am certainly not rev dominant.  Maybe because I was able to control my speed and entry angle.  Then with these resin balls like the first one out.  I forgot the name of it but it changed the game.  Oh yeah, the Excailbur.  Then all of a sudden, what is a symmetrical ball versus asymmetrical?    Then you got the particles.  Then after that the soaker coverstocks.  Then we have the changing of lane conditioners since resin, particle, and soakers burnt the lane up faster.  Now we have resin that is like particle.  I would rather bowl with urethane than the equipment out now.  Place the cores that are in balls now into a urethane coverstock and screw resin.  bring back some kind of integrity of the game that is barely still there.  But everyone wants the 'hook in a box' instead of learning how to bowl the right way.  Yeah, the heck with urethane.  Thats just old school. I certainly need to get in the 21st century.  I can't wait until we can use a remote control bowling ball in a sanction league.  Can you imagine what that would be like? I wonder what kind of coverstock and cores would be in those.  It would be like the old atari bowling game.  I shot a lot of 300's with that.  I also shot 300's with urethane and took me a helluva long time to shoot one with resin and particle.  I left a lot of flat 10's with modern equipment and still do.     

Bowl the right way? You must mean hitting up on urethane to get it to hit, oh, ok.
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BallReviews-Removed0385

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Re: Best Bowling Balls for Dry Lane
« Reply #9 on: June 22, 2012, 01:51:22 AM »
Okay, I will put a plug in for the Slingshot, but my Pearl Urethane Avalanche gets more action from me (call me weird).  Here's why. I bowl a second shift league, and by games 2 and 3 they can get quite dry.

Both balls cover about the same amount of boards for me, but the Urethane Avalanche responds slower to the friction, so it's easier to control the last few feet before the pins. It seems to hit better than any of the solid urethane balls I've seen so far, but that is all depending on the bowler and their exact situation.

To each their own, but when used in the right situation, there is still a place for urethane in 2012.

« Last Edit: June 22, 2012, 08:20:56 AM by notclay »

Strider

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Re: Best Bowling Balls for Dry Lane
« Reply #10 on: June 22, 2012, 06:05:19 AM »
I learned to bowl with rubber and plastic, then graduated to urethane and beyond.  Even then when the lanes were dry, I preferred to throw rubber or plastic instead of fight urethane when there's not enough oil.

Personally, I don't like urethane for dry lanes.  Urethane is great when there is head oil and flying back ends because urethane doesn't over react to dry.  But when the whole lane doesn't have much oil, urethane rolls way too early, forcing me to move way left which causes the urethane ball to burn up way too early and hit weak.

Urethane seems to work fine for the guys with high ball speed and lots of turn (and axis rotation and/or tilt).  With that game, urethane actually makes it past 30 feet before doing it's thing.  For the majority of us, there are better options.

raidernation34

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Re: Best Bowling Balls for Dry Lane
« Reply #11 on: June 22, 2012, 08:01:42 AM »
First and foremost charlest is the man, he is super knowledgeable and always gives great advice. The Lane #1 Chainsaw and Chainsaw SOS pack a tremendous amount of punch in the dry, hard to go wrong with either.

Russell

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Re: Best Bowling Balls for Dry Lane
« Reply #12 on: June 22, 2012, 08:19:42 AM »
charlest is dead on here....

Too many bowlers think that a dry lane ball is something that lets them stay parked in the same location and hit the pocket.  You need to move your feet away from where you were.

If you throw urethane and stay in the track....the better bowlers will leave you in the dust.

BallReviews-Removed0385

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Re: Best Bowling Balls for Dry Lane
« Reply #13 on: June 22, 2012, 08:21:36 AM »
Solid urethane and pearl urethane are different animals... On toasty lanes I will bowl anyone with their reactive stuff. 

You can move your feet, but eventually every bowler has the point where you can't get the ball to corner all the way back, and still carry. I can play where most people have vacated and stay clean, while you can strike, open, strike, washout...

Maybe I am the exception, but dry is dry, and most reactive balls lose their control at some point. It's not for everyone, but it has been a life saver for me on second shift league.

By the way, I have come to know and appreciate charlest, and I don't necessarily disagree with his assessment, but there simply is not one answer to this question that will fit everyone.





« Last Edit: June 22, 2012, 08:38:44 AM by notclay »

Good Times Good Times

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Re: Best Bowling Balls for Dry Lane
« Reply #14 on: June 22, 2012, 08:53:03 AM »
Are we talking "dry" or "complete toast" where the front's are all the way gone? 

This is a key point....
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