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Grex Sports Item 63: Bowling...The Best Ball????
Entered by picard on Thu Jun 19 18:10:23 UTC 1997:

A big controversy between all bowlers would be the best ball, of course
for the best hook, I bought a Combat Zone about 3 weeks ago that costed
me $180...I see a lot of Pro's Being sponsored by Zone now, and I 
believe they have the best ball, My Friend has a danger zone, which
has slightly less hook, but he throws with a bigger hook anyway...
Both balls having a half urethane half resin, oil-repelent surface.
I was wondering if any of you have a Zone and what you think of it, and
of everyone what ball you believe to be the best ball.  and for you
Zone owners your care and maintnace of your ball...

9 responses total.

#1 of 9 by albaugh on Thu Jun 19 19:37:16 1997:

Speaking of bowling, I heard from Chris Schenkel (sp) on WJR's sports rap last
night that ABC TV is parting ways from televising the PBA tour events.  And
as that was his only gig remaining at ABC, his next bowling-cast will be his
last work for ABC sports.

#2 of 9 by omni on Thu Jun 19 22:39:04 1997:

  First I heard of this. 

  But then again, maybe ABC decided that the ratings were not enough to
justify the coverage, but I can say that I learned a lot from the telecasts.

  As I said to picard in e-mail- I really don't buy into the reactive resin
revolution. I maintain that I could just as well with balls from the past,
such as the Yellow Dot, The LT 48, and the Black Angle.

#3 of 9 by mwarner on Fri Jun 20 02:42:40 1997:

I wonder if the price of bowling balls is affected by sponsorship the way
the price of a pair of nikes are.  At least a $180 bowling ball has more
ingredients in it than a similarly priced pair of sneakers.

#4 of 9 by picard on Tue Jun 24 17:45:49 1997:

I'm wondering omni, if you could bowl just as well with an older ball, why are
bowlers not using older balls in the PBA???  You've obviously not bowled in  a
while...I think you should start again, things have changed, lane condidtions,
oiling...synthetic lanes...might want to look into it.

#5 of 9 by omni on Tue Jun 24 19:20:57 1997:

   I don't need to be on the cutting edge. The PBA'ers do, because they are
paid to be. Every ball they use on TV gives that manufacturer a boost in
sales, and that's why you don't see the pros using old balls. I have bowled
on synthetics, and I have done just as well as I have always done.
   Some day I will return to bowling, but it's not on the top 99 things I want
to do before the year 2000. I'd like to find another job that pays the rent
first. As far as getting a new ball, I learned long ago that it is not the
ball, but the guy behind it that counts.

#6 of 9 by picard on Tue Jun 24 21:23:04 1997:

I believe it is the ball with the bowler, the bowler getting a ball 
and making it work for them, there is a ball for every bowler...and if it's
not the ball and it's the bolwer you said before you once bowled with like
16 balls or somethihng, well, if it's the bowler only, why did you have more
than one, you'd only need one if it was just the bowler...right?

#7 of 9 by omni on Wed Jun 25 04:28:47 1997:

  Fair enough question to ask.

   The 16 balls were before I learned what I know now. I had soft plastic,
hard rubber, soft rubber, hard plastic etc ad nauseum, that is until I learned
from a few books that I took the time to read that you need at the most 2
balls, one for your strike shot, and one for the corner pins and spares. The
reason I have 4 today, is that it gives me a greater latitude on the lanes
than if I only had 1, but even though I have 4, 2 is all I bother bringing
to the center at any one time.
   The reason I settled on the Angles is that they demonstrated good
performance under most lane conditions. I mostly use my Black Angle and a blue
Crown 2000, which is on the hard side for spares. But I don't always use the
Crown for the spares if I feel I can cover the spare with the first ball.
   If you watched the tour telecasts and Nelson Burton's tips, he recommends
carrying 2 balls, 1 for your strike ball, and the second for spares. I must
admit that on that score, he was right. 

   I used to bowl on very oily lanes hence the use of the LT-48, and I really
had to hold it back, I then went to the Yellow Dot and found nirvana because
that had given me what I had been wanting in a ball. (I also bowled in a
league which featured very dry lanes, and for that I used a Blue Dot, and
rolled a 650 with it.) It is with the Yellow Dot that I bowled my highest
series, 698.

#8 of 9 by picard on Wed Jun 25 19:49:06 1997:

Ok, if it's not the ball, why didn't you just reply by saying how to pick
up spares with mechanics andn ot with a different ball, you must admit, that
the ball does help a bowlers game...

#9 of 9 by omni on Wed Jun 25 22:46:50 1997:

  I tend to run on sometimes.

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