I think E.A.R.L. says 17-1/2 board, 4 - 6 degrees, 17 MPH.

Amateurs can usually achieve 17-1/2, 4 and about 15 MPH. To achieve the steeper entry angles, requires significant more RPM's. 400-600.

Then, all this stuff has to be matched up, so the ball rolls-out just before entering the pocket.

Who knew it was so tough? When I was a kid in the 60's, we just pointed-up a 16 pound industrial-diamond and hoped :-)

Agree with both of you about women bowlers.

I hate to say I bowl like a woman but if I compare the way I bowl to a pro player it is probably Missy Parkin.

I have always been impressed by the way Missy Parkin bowls. A while back she was throwing 16 lbs with little effort. I don’t know If that’s the case today. Her style lets you roll a heavier ball with little effort..

Going back to the posts about mechanics and form, I went on a mission this summer to fix my timing and increase my ball speed as a product of it. Did some research and found something that works for me. I am putting extra focus on my initial stance and being sure that my all the weight of the ball is in my non-bowling hand before I start. Similar to what was said earlier, I just make sure I'm starting my ball on my second step. Then, I stop thinking about anything except for keeping my head steady on target. My ball speed is higher, my carry has been really good and with my equipment I can play nearly a whole arrow right of where I used to before. When I can execute that correctly, I'm bowling really well. It's just a matter of being sure I do that every time.

Mark

I think that anything a bowler does to relax their delivery arm is good. What I've read, relax grip pressure, which will relax forearm, which will relax bicep/tricep.

The biggest gains come from staying relaxed on the way forward. If a bowler tries to pull, generally their head will begin that motion, then their shoulder, bicep/tricep and then the forearm. Everything wants to slow the swing down and pull the launch-angle left.

The combination of less ball speed and just a slight pull can cause the elbow to get outside, their arm rolls slightly and the result is a high hit or split.

The added benefit of a smooth swing, it allows the bowler to post-up without falling off to the right.

Finally, we only have a fixed amount of RPM's. Where those RPM's get expended is crucial. We don't want them used up going through the heads, we want them down-lane when the ball begins to roll. During the roll-phase RPM's more than double.

That leads into another topic, balls that scrub off too many RPM's too early. If you can throw 20 MPH, no sweat. If you're like me, I need to conserve all the ball-speed I can.

Mkirchie, it's interesting that you mention initial stance. My previous stance when swinging the ball (I'm a rightie) was standing with both toes aligned. Someone gave me a tip to stand with my left foot slightly forward and together. Apparently I was told this forces my torso to already face my target to the right when I release the ball.



It has helped my inside line deliveries for sure. When bowling straight up or outside, I line my toes up again.

I've been staggering my feet for years. It was pretty standard for 4-steppers. When I switched to 5-steps, I just kept it. I think it was supposed to put you in a more athletic position to start from 'and' open you up to the right.

When I started the thread top Storm balls were 174.95. Now at 184.95. New high everyday price.

My last Roto Grip Hustle RAP was $179 + tax. $119 for the ball and $60 to drill it, with a thumb-slug and finger lifts.

Last ball I drilled was the All-road a couple of months ago 73+ 55 drilling and 20 for removable thumb insert =148.

The life cycle of most bowling balls are very short, some less than a year before they're replaced with a "2.0" version. If you don't need it right away, most models fall into about $130 price range within a few months of release. Storm/Roto Grip is sort of an exception, many of their balls stay priced high. The Storm "Phaze" series is a good example.

I have no real brand preference, I go with balls specs that look like a good fit for me and then price. I've had a few duds but that's to be expected.