I did the test staff thing last year. Your line up looks good.
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"deserves got nothing to do with it."
-- William Munny

I have to say that the Blue Sparkle will move less than the G-3.  I use the Burgundy on heavy, G-3 on medium with fresh backends then the Blue Sparkle when the backends start flying too much for the G-3 or Green Gargoyle.  The Green Gargoyle will go further down the lane than the Blue Sparkle but it has a stronger backend.  Not as strong as the G-3 but more than the Blue Sparkle.  I usually start with the G-3. If that starts to jump I switch to the Green Gargoyle.  If the backends are still too strong I switch to the Blue Sparkle.  I use the Slate when the lanes are fried but even then it can sometimes be too much ball.  Remember, urethane tends to grab earlier than resin so sometimes it will actually move more then resin when the heads are dry.  I can't use the Slate for the ten pin.  I can only use plastic for that dreadful pin.

Ooohhhh...ok. I see what you mean. Well Fencer, how about this one. I plan to get all of my equipment drilled label leverage (hope I said that right...) so I'll have a predictable reaction from ball to ball. Now, I've had a chance to throw a ball with a stacked drilling, and man, with the ball that I was using (It was an old Columbia300 Beast...maroon in color.), if I let it go correctly, the ball would go long, hit the break point and roll hard as nails to the pocket!

I guess what I'm tring to say is if I had the arsenal I listed above drilled label leverage, wouldn't the G-3 be below the Blue Sparkle then? Also, if I wanted to combine a combination of label leverage and stacked drillings, which setup would go to each ball? I'm thinking that you'd put stacked on the Burgandy and Blue Sparkle Gryphons and then do label leverage for the G-3 and Slate Gargoyle. What do you think?
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When you've moved up, moved back, adjusted left and right, cupped, flattened out, have thrown everyting in your arsenal, and the pins still don't cooperate, just say, "Aw to HELL with it!", and throw the ball!

i would definately talk to whoever is drilling your balls about your predicament. have him watch you for a few games, and see what he thinks of what your saying. i would definately be worried about overlap between the g3 and the blue sparkle. i dont think you'll have any problems with the burgundy or the blue slate, but if you do, sanding or polishing should correct these problems.

i wouldn't just look at drill patterns, but also pin length, top weight, weight holes, and side weight. all these play a factor in how the ball is going to react on the conditions you are looking at. Hopefully your driller is knowledgeable enough to help you out some here, and doesn't just give you label drillings on everything.

do not be so worried about having every condition covered. since your high series is a 6 somethin, im guessing that you probably average in the 170 range. at this point, i dont think having every condition covered will help as much as some good old practice. 3 balls at your level plus a spare ball would pretty much be all you would need. Having anymore balls then that will just make you not use some/switch too much between balls when it might just be inconsistency that is causing the problem.

I see so many bowlers with 5 million balls that just get confused when they have too many balls, or after shooting an amazing game, switch balls because the lanes are drying out only to shoot a bad game after. For the league bowler who is looking to excel on a THS, sticking with one ball through a 3 game set and just moving feet and target accordingly is usually the best bet to winning pot games. Once you start wanting to have a chance in tourneys, thats when buying a new ball and trying a new drill might pay off. That ball might just be matched up to what you a looking for and be the perfect ball for the condition. You win the tourney and the ball pays for itself and much more.

Work out a good relationship with some of the old pros at wherever you bowl and the owner. This will help with practice costs, practive efficiency, etc. you know, if you go 9/ every frame, you'll shoot 190. Now granted, with THS, you are bound to get at least a few lucky breaks every game.

So work on your spare game. Keep track of how many misses you have each game (A miss is considered missing any spare not a split, washouts and baby splits count as misses). once you get down to the level of under averaging under 1 for a 3 game set, you'll be amazed at how much your game has improved. it not only improves your accuracy on spares, but also on strikes. What i would suggest for spares first is screw the urethane, its too strong, and get a plastic ball. If you have to get it from another company, you're only out prolly 75 bux.

In practice, figure out where to stand and what target to throw at on each and every spare you can think of. Straighter is greater, the possibilities of chops is deterred. Just keep working on your spares with whatever practice routine you like, there are many out there. Some like throwing first ball at 7 or 10 or whatever, second strike ball. Some ppl like low balling, shooting for a low score with gutters being strikes/spares. Some like shooting at baby splits, some like shadow bowling, etc. etc. Theres a ton of different ways to practice spares, and its one of the most overlooked aspects of the game by beginning bowlers.

Take advice from guys you know are good bowlers. hang around them and become good friends. It will pay off as you will find great pointers on hand position, finger position, axis rotation, ball selection, ways to move, proper form, etc. etc. Hope you take my advice because it will really pay off in the future!
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stanski

Hey all, thanks so much for the repllies! Well, I guess I'll break down my responses this way:

Omega and Tappa, thanks for the second on my arsenal.

Stanski, even though that was a long post, it was very, very informative. There are some things you do need to know though. I've been bowling off and on all my life. My problem is I just never stuck with it. I was either quitting because of lack of patience or I was hurt and had to stop.

As far as contacts and stuff go, I've always had a pro shop to go to for my questions and to help me out with my game and equipment. The situation now is I have a shop that I go to that has a wealth of knowledge there and the owner is well known in my area and could go pro if he wanted to. He'll be coaching me as soon as I can get my stuff.

I've always had only two balls at a time when I've bowled, so I've always had to adjust. I've never really had a "true" arsenal of balls before. This will probably be my first time having something for oily, medium, and dry conditions. Oh, believe you me, I can adjust! I'm somewhat of a "Generation X" guy, but I've definitely been taught by the old school!

Fencer, thanks much for the replies too. Don't worry, I'm good at hitting my target, but I have plenty of room for improvement! I'm going to try and find these drilling on either Visionary's website or someones bowling site so I can see what they look like. I really appreciate your help especially being a Test Staff member. Man I can't wait!

Again thanks for all of the replies from everyone. I'm still not 100% about what to get between the Green Gargoyle and the G-3. I mean, I know it'll depend on the drilling layout and all, but I guess I'm just not sure which one I'll get. Once I get these four balls, the only thing I'll need from that point on is a plastic spare ball. That's a five ball arsenal, more than enough for me right now. Heck, by the time I'm ready to get everything, Visionary will have another ball out and I'd probably have to start the process over again!
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When you've moved up, moved back, adjusted left and right, cupped, flattened out, have thrown everyting in your arsenal, and the pins still don't cooperate, just say, "Aw to HELL with it!", and throw the ball!