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Author Topic: Using balls not drilled for myself  (Read 1552 times)

Mako

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Using balls not drilled for myself
« on: April 18, 2018, 11:29:46 AM »
So lately I have been purchasing used balls on various internet sites/FB groups that are all single drills around my span. Now I know the other numbers are not going to be in line with my specs, but the ball fits.
 
I have been using one of the balls for over a month and over the 4 weeks my 24 games average out right near my normal average. Some high games, some low.
 
My question is, am I hurting myself by not using equipment drilled exactly for me and my specs?

 

Juggernaut

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Re: Using balls not drilled for myself
« Reply #1 on: April 18, 2018, 12:26:18 PM »
 A ball is a ball, and it does what it does.

 Many times, I’ve heard pretty good bowlers say they could or would stay with a ball at times when maybe they should change, just because it fit so good that they felt comfortable enough with it to make better quality shots with it.

 Certain drilling’s do certain things for certain people. Just because a ball wasn’t originally drilled to your “specs” doesn’t mean it’s bad for you. As a matter of fact, throwing different balls with different drilling’s is how a lot of guys figured out what works best for them, and they didn’t know their specs at the time.

 Back in those days, dual angles, Val’s, and paps were not common bowling vernacular, and many guys just knew they threw it good with the pin in a certain spot, and the label in another. For years, all I knew was to drill a ball with finger and negative side weight, lol.

 As an example, I was always told that Walter Ray Williams didn’t know his own specs, and didn’t concern himself with them. He just told the shop what he wanted, had them drill it accordingly, then decide whether he liked it or not by the reaction it actually had, not the one it may have been supposed to have. He didn’t care how it was drilled, only what it did for him.

 If you do find a drilling that seems to work better for you, you might gravitate towards balls with very similar drilling’s, but you won’t know until you try.
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Pinbuster

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Re: Using balls not drilled for myself
« Reply #2 on: April 18, 2018, 02:15:41 PM »
As far as drilling layouts go. Assuming you are using the same hand and that you track outside the thumb.

80+% of bowlers will have a pap within 1 inch of each other. So an effective layout for one bowlers will be effective for 80% of other bowlers.

Now if you get a ball drilled for the opposite hand or a full roller then all bets are off.

When you get to span.

A short span will not hurt you. A long span (particularly anything over 1/4" over) can be used for a short term but if you bowl a lot of games over time it will haunt you.

When PBA tournaments were all longer formats very few threw long spans and almost all of them had hand problems.

Left and right pitches in the thumb are crucial for reducing wear on the thumb and exiting the ball the same.

Forward reverse pitch in the thumb can be problematic depending on the strength of the bowler and how relaxed their grip is.

I have been amazed over the years of how many bowlers bowl with bad fittings and think they have found a good fitting. A good fitting should allow you to hang onto the ball with minimal effort and the ball automatically comes off you hand at the correct point in your swing.

Simply because you can score well on house conditions doesn't mean you have a good fitting and if things hurt after bowling, even up to 10 games a set, then you probably have fitting issues.

One can get away throwing an ill fitted ball for a short period but it is nothing I would ever do. 

Bigpoppa3000

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Re: Using balls not drilled for myself
« Reply #3 on: April 19, 2018, 05:18:27 PM »
As far as drilling layouts go. Assuming you are using the same hand and that you track outside the thumb.

80+% of bowlers will have a pap within 1 inch of each other. So an effective layout for one bowlers will be effective for 80% of other bowlers.

Now if you get a ball drilled for the opposite hand or a full roller then all bets are off.

When you get to span.

A short span will not hurt you. A long span (particularly anything over 1/4" over) can be used for a short term but if you bowl a lot of games over time it will haunt you.

When PBA tournaments were all longer formats very few threw long spans and almost all of them had hand problems.

Left and right pitches in the thumb are crucial for reducing wear on the thumb and exiting the ball the same.

Forward reverse pitch in the thumb can be problematic depending on the strength of the bowler and how relaxed their grip is.

I have been amazed over the years of how many bowlers bowl with bad fittings and think they have found a good fitting. A good fitting should allow you to hang onto the ball with minimal effort and the ball automatically comes off you hand at the correct point in your swing.

Simply because you can score well on house conditions doesn't mean you have a good fitting and if things hurt after bowling, even up to 10 games a set, then you probably have fitting issues.

One can get away throwing an ill fitted ball for a short period but it is nothing I would ever do. 

I could not agree more with having a good thumb. If you change anything on these balls, get the thumb plugged and redrilled to the right span and pitch. I have had balls that fit so well I know they will go exactly where I want them to and balls that have the pitch just off that I couldnt hit the broadside of a barn with if my life depended on it.  If you cant clear the ball off of the hand, and I think most importantly the thumb, you will never be consistent, and you will damage the tendons in your hand. It got to the point that I would pinch a nerve every time I threw a ball and my tendon would keep swelling up and the nerve pain would get worse. Short span is somewhat alright, but longer span and you will destroy your thumb. I took a bevel and spent hours reshaping all my thumb holes and shoving tape in them until they were all consistent because having a poorly pitched thumb destroyed my consistency with those balls and honestly made me bowl so bad that it wasnt worth bowling with those balls.

Mako

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Re: Using balls not drilled for myself
« Reply #4 on: April 20, 2018, 01:20:49 PM »
You guys have made me regret buying used balls  ;D

Guess I will just turn around and move them myself for cash to buy something new!

Pinbuster

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Re: Using balls not drilled for myself
« Reply #5 on: April 20, 2018, 03:06:56 PM »
There is nothing wrong with used balls. But the odds that the thumb pitches and spans are correct is slim.

I would plug the thumb to correct any span issues and to put in your pitches. The only bad thing I can think of for plugging a thumb only is you will generally have to drill thru the plug and it can break out.

imagonman

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Re: Using balls not drilled for myself
« Reply #6 on: April 20, 2018, 03:16:51 PM »
Mako-
Do you have a ball that was fitted & drilled for your hand? if so....Why wouldn't you want all of those you own - identical to that one?
open the thumb and use a 1-3/8 or 1-1/2" slug drilled to your specs

Juggernaut

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Re: Using balls not drilled for myself
« Reply #7 on: April 22, 2018, 11:02:04 AM »
You guys have made me regret buying used balls  ;D

Guess I will just turn around and move them myself for cash to buy something new!

 There is nothing wrong with used bowling balls, as long as they are in decent condition.

 I’ve shot some of my best ever scores with used equipment, including my only 800 series.

 Just make sure to get them redrilled to fit you specifically.
Learn to laugh, and love, and smile, cause we’re only here for a little while.