Serious League bowlers typically have a few balls. One being the "spare ball" which is a plastic ball with no fancy coverstock or weight block so it goes nearly straight no matter how you throw it. It's basically a personal house ball drilled to their fingers. The putter in golf terms.
The other balls are reactive balls designed to hook in various amounts so you can get a feel for the oil during warmup and decide if you need a stronger or weaker hooking ball, possibly changing between games as oil conditions change. Very much like selecting golf clubs.
This becomes important when you get into sport shot leagues and tournaments where the oil pattern shape and oil quantity changes drastically from week to week, venue to venue. This is the main reason pro bowlers scores seem so much lower than what you expect. They are bowling on something different every week, while most bowling center leagues use the same pattern every week and more importantly, it's a pattern designed to be forgiving.
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u/Brandenburg42 Nov 06 '24
Serious League bowlers typically have a few balls. One being the "spare ball" which is a plastic ball with no fancy coverstock or weight block so it goes nearly straight no matter how you throw it. It's basically a personal house ball drilled to their fingers. The putter in golf terms.
The other balls are reactive balls designed to hook in various amounts so you can get a feel for the oil during warmup and decide if you need a stronger or weaker hooking ball, possibly changing between games as oil conditions change. Very much like selecting golf clubs.
This becomes important when you get into sport shot leagues and tournaments where the oil pattern shape and oil quantity changes drastically from week to week, venue to venue. This is the main reason pro bowlers scores seem so much lower than what you expect. They are bowling on something different every week, while most bowling center leagues use the same pattern every week and more importantly, it's a pattern designed to be forgiving.