Smooth, not every house shot plays the same, if you don't need 4 balls then I'm not insisting you carry 4. The house I bowl in has two different lane oiling machines each one can break down and do weird things to the lane.

Some nights I had to start off with a heavy oil ball going across the second arrow out to 5, and by the end of the night I would be in front of the ball return using my dry lane ball, during the rest of the night I would have changed balls 3 times speeds 5 times angle 6 times and release 6 times. Some nights I would stop at the Pro Shop and pick up a new ball and still have 5 balls in my locker and not have a ball that would work for that place, then the next week I would use the same ball all 3 games.

There is also no reason that your league balls will not work on some of the sport/pba patterns. Most people don't have the cash or desire to keep up a 12 to 20 ball arsenal when an eight ball arsenal with a few release and speed changes will expand your arsenal to match up just as well with less cost.

Well, if you don't know what to expect out of your house shot, then by all means carry inside whatever you can lug in. But from all the houses I have bowled in out here in NY, the houses usually use the same pattern day in and day out, whether that's light or heavy. I keep any extra balls in the car. I like to carry in a particle pearl ball because it will play on anything from lightish to heavyish oil. I have learned to carry one wherever I go. The other ball I carry in depends on what is normal for the house. If the house is usually on the heavy side, I carry a matte ball ( that is almost never ). If the house is usually on the light side, I carry a low differential pearl ball for more length ( the norm ).

Problem i have is when to change to a differnt ball or when to move instead. Sometimes i move too much and not change ball quick enough or change balls to quickly and not move enough.

I bowl at two different houses. One is medium oil, the other light. (however today it was bone dry) The one that is medium, usually seems to play more consistent. Meaning, I guess I am more consistent there. The one that is light to bone dry is very inconsistent.

Off topic....does it cost a lot for oil these days? Why would any house consistently let the lanes get so dry?

The house I bowled at last year had heavy/heavy oil. You could see the oil spray off the ball (like a truck through mud) as it went down the lane. Unfortunately that house closed and is something else now, i.e. no longer a bowling center.

I'm only in my second year of bowling, so I am slowly building an arsenal. I'm not at the point where I can tell when to switch balls due to the lanes breaking down. Right now I am just trying to take the approach of getting a ball with different surfaces.

My rule of thumb is if I am getting to the pocket but not carrying I try to watch the ball's reaction and see if it is burning early and leaving flat 10 pins or over hooking and leaving solid back row pins.

If the ball is burning early and not finishing strong enough I move into the oil at least 4 boards with my feet and 3 with my eyes at the arrows with the same ball and get it out to the same break point with a little more side rotation, if the ball doesn't turn the corner I go to a less aggressive cover and snappy pin over fingers drilling, this usually works.

If I am leaving solid back row pins I move in again 4 and 3 and play the same break point this usually gives the ball enough room to lose some of it's energy and carry out the back row pins.

If I am not finding the pocket and the place I bowl at there are many nights like that I try to change my release and go more end over end with it and go more direct to the pocket, sometimes this means I have to play a shot similar to the one Barnes was playing on tv yesterday by playing across the third arrow and only getting the ball out to 12 or 13.

I carry four balls, and my setup is a lot like this. I'll usually switch balls at least once during league, as the shape of my shot changes--I'd rather make a big change if I think it will give me more room to miss, rather than make a small move and try to get by on accuracy.

Heavy oil: Storm Agent
Benchmark: Brunswick Urethane Groove (non-sanded)
Light oil/Down&In/Spare: Brunswick Target Zone
10pin: Columbia White Dot

I keep looking for ways to dump the White Dot so I can carry another aggressive ball, but I haven't found another consistent solution for the 10pin yet.

Hey untutored,
How come you don't use your Target Zone for your 10 pins, since it is also a spare ball/polyester ball, instead of using a separate White Dot? That way, you can carry much more aggressive balls.

With dry edges, my Zone will cut right in front of the 10pin, making for a very difficult shot. Since I also use the Zone as a strike ball, I don't want to wax it up to reduce friction.

The White Dot is more highly polished to start with, and then I wax it with the machine at the bowling alley. I throw my deep strike shot, and the WD glides right over to the 10 even in dry conditions.


I've tried to use the Zone for 10pins using a couple of different techniques, but I haven't found anything I can rely on so far--right now I'm working on taking the 10p with a new hand position. The last couple of years, I've been joining a summer league just to experiment with new ideas, so that will be something I'll work on this summer.

I had the same issue with my Columbia 300 Scout Reactive ball. I found two things that work for me. I don't have a plastic or urethane ball to throw at ten pins. The first thing that I found out is that if I stand on the filler board and pull my index finger in toward my other fingers and extend my small figure out as far as I can I can get a straight roll out of my ball. The last thing you have to do is throw it anywhere between the 20 and 15 boards. The other is to again stand on the filler board and walk at a steeper angle towards (kind walk at where the two pin would be) the ten pin and let the ball slid across the lane (again hitting anywhere between the 20 and 15 boards until it hits the dry and picks up. This one's kind of tough for me to suggest without actually seeing you throw the ball and seeing how it reacts.

Coach Jim, terrific thread, I was going to leave a specific post about my current fascination with equipment (yea I got the ball bug all of a sudden). This is after bowling with basically one ball for 4 1/2 years (Columbia Titanium Messenger Pearl, it's the brown Messenger).

I bought a Blue Vibe at Nationals thinking it'd be a good dry lane ball. Boy, that sucker moves more then I thought it would. Our lanes have been pretty bone dry as of late, but it defintely moved more then my Messenger (one bowler friend of mine thinks I've burnt out the Messenger and need a new benchmark ball). BV might even make a decent new benchmark ball for me.

I've been considering, Momentum, Rival, Storm Street Rod Pearl. The guy at Nationals that drilled my ball said I might like their new Psycho (Hammer guy).

The Brunswick booth in Albuquerque was busier then all the others combined.
I talked to the guy there, telling him we bowl on wood lanes and he suggested a
Rampage or an Avalanche. Probably for drier lanes. He said for Albuquerque, I'd need something stronger (I averaged 182 with my Messenger in Albuquerque).

So I guess my question is, stick with Columbia 300, or just mix and match and try them all. It sounds like fun but I know since the Messenger was a good ball for my home house, something similar makes sense doesn't it?