I live in the US, and I’ve started to take up bowling again after not bowling much over the past 20 years. Where I live there are only two bowling alleys and each has synthetic lanes. I am used to bowling on wooden lanes, but apparently that’s considered old school.
I never had much of a curve, but my friends who bowl say that it’s much harder to throw a hard curve on these newer surfaces. Since I mainly throw a straight ball that puts me at an advantage as they now have to adjust their bowling style and equipment accordingly.
I want to get a new ball, but I have no idea what kind of ball to get that would be suited to synthetic lanes. And I plan to bowl mainly in the winter, if that makes any difference. Where I live in the Rockies is fairly dry, so I need a ball that would work best in low humidity environments.
What type of bowling ball would work best given these conditions?
That’s probably a question you want to ask the guy in the pro shop at your local bowling alley. Seriously, he/she will know lots more about local lane conditions than we will here, and he/she will custom fit you with an appropriate ball as well.
I’m a bowler, but not a very good one (I’ve bowled in a handicap league for about five years and currently have a 152 average), and don’t know anything specific about either synthetic lanes or different brands of bowling balls. Having admitted that up front…
If you’re currently using a bowling ball that’s anything like 20 years old (!!), you’re going to be pleasantly surprised in the action in today’s reactive-resin bowling balls. One of my fellow bowlers just retired his ten-year-old bowling ball in favor of a new one and he tells me that the new one hooks a lot more than his old one did (and his new ball isn’t supposed to be one of the higher-hook ones). (I don’t know this from direct experience because - at the suggestion of my fellow bowlers - the first thing I did when I joined the league five years ago was buy a bowling ball at the local pro shop. I had never owned a bowling ball before that point.)
Also, if your old bowling ball is a sixteen pounder and you are expecting to buy a new one of the same weight, be aware that a lot of pro shops don’t even stock sixteen pound bowling balls anymore. They’ll order one for you if you insist, but most of the pro shop folks will tell you that today’s fifteen pound balls are all you need.
I threw a straight ball for the first two years I was in the league, and couldn’t put any hook on a bowling ball to save my life. Then someone told me about the “suitcase grip” and I’ve used it to roll a modest hook ever since. (You can Google “bowling suitcase grip” to see lots of instruction and examples on how to use it.)
(I’m a 65 year old male, 5’8" and 175 pounds, roll my bowling ball at 14MPH (if I can believe the screen stats at the local alley) for a 152 average, and am currently using a 15lb Ebonite “Vital Sign” bowling ball because it was one of the ones the pro shop guy recommended and it was on sale at the time. Your local pro will probably recommend a different ball. Follow his/her advice.)
2nd, go to a good pro shop with the lanes you describe. He/she will have you bowl for them, watch how you deliver the ball and will get you a correctly custom fitted ball to get the most out of your style.
3rd on the previous advice. I don’t bowl much anymore, it’s too hard on my knees, and I haven’t encountered the synthetic surface yet. I have heard grumbling about it though. Nothing real bad, but I’ve heard the ball doesn’t catch and hook in the same place on the lane anymore. The surfaces are supposed to me more consistent, but again, no personal experience to confirm that.
Another voice chiming in. I’m coming back from a 20+ year layout as well, and the changes in bowling are drastic.
The league I’m in voted to change houses. The new house is oiled so drastically different from the old that I can no longer pick up right side spares. I’m gonna have to go buy a plastic ball for spare shots. I might even start using it as my primary ball in this house to cut the hook down.
Synthetic versus wood lanes are different but, IME, the amount of curve or hook you have is more effected by the treatment of the lanes (i.e. when they were oiled, in what pattern and how much) than the surface itself.
Now, wood lanes do suck up the oil faster so if you are bowling at a cheap or casual establishment who do not treat (oil) the lanes at least once a day, the movement of your hook will be larger.
All that said, you said your ball is straight. We can argue for a long time about angle of entry being better for getting strikes if you have at least some directional movement but since you are a relative newbie, I will leave that out.
For the most part, the more expensive equipment is geared towards people who have a curve or hook. The weight of the ball will be situated in different ways to give a different amount or shape of curve when the ball is thrown. That’s what you are paying the big bucks for (that and surfaces that stick to/grind the lane better).
So, I would go with something relatively inexpensive. Since I was sponsored by Brunswick at the time, I am partial to their equipment.
I would try a non-reactive polyester ball like the T-Zone. MSRP is 80 bucks.
You haven’t said if you already have your own ball or not. If you don’t, you will see a huge improvement in accuracy from having the holes fit your hand correctly regardless of the quality of the ball.
My balls of late have cost me about 300 dollars each. They have reactive resins on the outside that need to be maintained and do break down after a while. The poly balls you can just run through the dishwaster (on hot, no soap) and they are good as new (I use one for my spares sometimes).
What is your current ball and how many boards does it move? How many would you like it to?
Picking the correct ball is only one part of the equation. You really need to have it drilled by an expert. My guy (in Mississauga, ON if you are nearby) brings you in, watches you bowl with your current equipment, recommends the hardware and then drills it correctly for your style and what you would like it to do.
Since the counter weights in each ball are different, you can drill them in different ways to get different results. For example, I am a lefty. So, since some balls have a right-handed weight (or one that is designed to move from right to left) it will need to be drilled with the label upside down or on the side. I have a lot of natural movement (seriously, give me an unweighted ball of the same weight as mine and it will move about 10 boards without any odd arm twisty things by me) so often the ball is actually drilled to move less (I know, sacriledge).
If you don’t have a serious ball-drilling dude at your alley, find a bowler that looks like they know what they are doing. Usually this person will be bowling alone. Ask them who they use.