Hello Folks!
First I'd like to say that I'm new here and a complete novice at the sport. I've been reading some of the posts and I'm impressed by the answers people get to thier questions.
Anyway, Here's mine... I was recently given a couple of old balls. One is a Brunswick Black Diamond and the other is a Grey Rhino. I'm wondering if anybody knows what kind of hook I can expect to get, if any, (After plugging & drilling) on lanes with medium oil.
I throw a Zone ball now (Cheap plastic), drilled conventional and it's dead straight. I've recently been having some degree of success with it, but I get allot o' splits and 10's. I'd like to be able to apply a little hook to cut down on the splits and use the Zone as a spare ball... Does that make sense or should I have another coffee and rethink my plan?

The Grey Rhino is a plain (non-reactive) urethane ball with a basic weight block. Probably better suited for medium-dry to dry. If you drilled it fingertip, you could get it to hook some. I could not find any info on the Black Diamond. Are these ball the same weight as your Zone? Also, are you sure your Zone is "plastic", because there are lots-n-lots of zone models? If you graduate to fingertip and like it, you will eventually want you spare ball to be fingertip.

If I remember right, Black Diamonds were hard rubber balls made in the 1960-70s. It should hook about the same as Fred Flintstone's Obsidian ball.

They would make nice planters if hollowed out....

Well... Thanx for the input... Fred Flintstone's ball eh... Planters you say... Well I have a hunk of steel pipe that I've been thinkin would make an interesting canon experiment. Maybe now I have some appropriate ammunition ;-)
Seriously though, thanx for the info. I knew the Black Diamond was old, but wasn't sure how old and it's drilled like a house ball... It goes pretty straight, might make a good spare ball. It would be like throwin a little history down the lane, kinda cool...
I was kinda hopin' to be able to do something with the Rhino. A guy in our league uses one... Red or Burgundy, I think... He's a left handed stroker and gets a really good hook out of it.
The grey pearl I have is already drilled fingertip, the thumb fits perfect and the span fits (Thumb all the way in and creases of the first knuckles halfway over the fingerholes, hand relaxed & wrist brace on), but the finger holes are too big and I find myself gripping the ball when I've tried to use it... Makes for a sloppy release and unpredictable direction of travell to put it mildly...
Anyway, to answer Big Mack's question, they're all 15lb balls and the Zone ball is one of Brunswick's very bottom end balls. I think they called them the Cosmic Zone or something like that... It's a 2003, black w/ sparkles. I bought it my second year in the league, just because I couldn't hang on to the house balls with those big salami finger holes. I think I paid about 70 bucks Canadian and the guy in the Pro Shop threw in a bag.
It's treated me well. Just having a properly fitted ball brought my average up 20 pins or so. Recently I've been practicing some changes to my release and I've got it up another 30 or 40 pins, but I leave allot of splits and 10's and I can see the benefits in a hook to help eleviate that.
So... Am I correct in thinking that a ball has to be drilled fingertip to get the hook??? I release the ball "handshake" style and it spins like crazy, but the Zone is a straight ball and I tend REALLY hurl it. Once I got some hook on it when I was standing stopped at the foul line and threw it from a bolt upright position and had my cellphone up to my left ear... The shot was very slow and just missed the gutter before turning into the side of the rack... I don't want to have to be on the phone when I bowl.
Man! look at this reply... Too long. Anyway, thanx for your help guys. I may get the Rhino drilled and leave the Black Diamond on the mantel for a conversation piece.
What do you think of a Power Groove for a first timer hook ball??? I've read that the Storms go kinda long...

Thanx Again,
Greg.

If you have inserts in the Grey Pearl, you can have the next size smaller ones put in for a snugger fit, probably about $15 CDN.

All things being equal, a ball drilled fingertip hooks quite a bit more.

I like my Ebonite Tornado, I think it is milder. I tried a friends Power Groove and found it to be "hooky" on dry, but to be fair it was not drilled for me.

Are you folks missing hockey?

The Black Diamond may make an excellent spare ball and should go very straight. I have people constantly wanting mine when they find out I have one. Danny Wiseman was throwing one last year for a spare ball. Don't plan on hooking it. The grey Rhino is probably the only Rhino I haven't had at one time or another. Rhinos were very good balls in their day but that was 20 years ago. Still it would be a nice ball to play with for fun if in good shape. Keep the Black Diamond for sure. There are generally 2 series of Black Diamonds. One has a crown and the other a a Diamond logo. The one with the crown is the older of the 2.

Smash49

I put some fingertip grips into the Rhino... I get a mild amount of hook out of it, but the thumb is a little loose and I find myself gripping the ball. I tried it tonight, but was all over the place with it. I'll take it into the Pro Shop next week and let them have at it.
My Black Diamond has the diamond logo... I threw it a few times tonight too. It does go nice and straight, and when it's in the pocket, it really shakes things up, but I think I'll keep it as a mantle piece.
As for hockey... I've heard enough spoiled rich people arguing with other spoiled rich people about who's gettin' more than who. They all get paid too much and we get stuck with the ticket prices... Leaf tickets are brutally expensive! Hockey's the only sport I follow... My Hockey Night in Canada ritual is in the dumper. Ah.. The whole thing just pisses me off beyond words.
People will tell you that, when you first meet someone, there are two things you don't talk about, Religion and politics... Around here, hockey will probably be added to that list.
But that has nothin' to do with bowling... I can still watch that on TSN.