Coach’s Corner Tip

Your Arsenal and PBA Conditions

(from November 2008)
How do I build an arsenal that will work on a variety of sport conditions? How much does surface preparation come into play? Let’s examine these questions this month as we build a 6-ball arsenal that will allow you to play almost any lane condition.

While there are a variety of reactions as numerous as the number of balls on the market, there are fundamentally two types of ball reaction at the break point: arc and flip. A ball that arcs at the break point changes direction more slowly and makes a smoother move toward the pocket past the break point. A ball that flips makes a more violent move at the break point and charges toward the pocket at a steeper angle. Both are useful types of reactions in your arsenal.

As always, consult with a technically-qualified Pro Shop professional to get the proper fit to your grip, without which all you equipment is not nearly as useful.

How would you build a 6-ball arsenal? Let’s put three types of balls that arc in this arsenal, and two types of balls that flip. The three types of balls that arc are one that arcs with a very early move, one that arcs more mid-lane, and one that arcs much later down the lane. The two types of balls that flip can be described as a ball that flips more in the mid-lane and one that flips later down the lane. While these are somewhat general descriptions of ball motion, you should be able to classify any bowling ball in your bag into one of these categories. So, we need to fill the following 6 needs for bowling balls:

1. Early arc
2. Mid-lane arc
3. Late arc
4. Mid-lane flip
5. Late flip
6. Spare ball

Let’s also assume that your resources are limited, and you want to build this arsenal up slowly. Start with the mid-lane arc ball and a spare ball. This will be your “benchmark” ball that you can use to read almost any lane condition. This ball will give you predictable motion and will almost always allow you to get to the pocket. The need for the spare ball in your bag is obvious. The third ball to put into your arsenal is the late arc ball. This is a great ball to have in your bag when the lanes break down and you can’t get the mid-lane arc ball down the lane enough any more. Now you have two controlled balls, one that works most of the time and one that works as the lanes dry out.

However, sometimes those smooth balls just don’t provide the hit and carry that can be necessary on some lane conditions. A ball that flips mid-lane will now give you the 4th ball in the arsenal for those times when you need a strong move for better carry. Next, the 5th ball is the one that flips late for when the lanes get very dry and it becomes difficult to get any ball that arcs to store energy far enough down the lane.

Finally, the 6th ball is the one that arcs very early, as this ball is necessary for the long patterns and some medium to short patterns where the mid-lane gets very difficult to control. Remember, on a sport pattern the most important thing to watch for is the shape of the ball motion, not how much the ball hooks.

How can we use these six balls on the PBA lane conditions? On Cheetah, you will either not need the ball that arcs early or you will need to change the surface on this ball so that it is not very aggressive, usually a 2000 to 4000 abralon finish. You will generally start with either the mid-lane arc or the late arc ball, and then move to the mid-lane arc or the mid-lane flip balls as the pattern starts to transition, followed by the late arc and late flip balls as the lanes open up and then blow out.

On Viper, you will usually use the mid-lane arc or mid-lane flip balls to start, then possibly use the early arc ball in transition, followed by the late arc then the late flip ball as the block progresses, depending upon how difficult it is to make the ball get off the break point with some energy to hit at the back of the lane. You will still want smoother surfaces to help the ball store energy through the 22’ of dry lane past the end of the pattern at 38’

On Chameleon it’s all about surface preparation, as you need to get every ball in your bag to match the surface of the lane and the volume of oil to go pretty straight as much as you can. The mid-lane arc ball and the late arc balls should both be adjusted to bring them a little closer together so that you can easily go from one to the other. You can use the flip balls with a stronger forward roll release, but I would favor scuffed surfaces to smooth off the break point a bit for these balls.

On Scorpion (42’), you need to make sure you have enough cover as the lanes blend and you need to move inside a bit. The mid-lane arc ball, followed by the early- arc ball, then returning to the mid-lane arc ball followed by the mid-lane flip ball is a typical progression on this pattern.

On Shark (44’), you want to get the ball to roll early, so you need more surface (but don’t get carried away). Generally, a 500-1000 abralon (sometimes 2000) surface works on the early arc ball (depending upon the oil volume), with a 1000-2000 surface on the mid-lane arc ball, and a 2000 surface on the late arc ball. For me, the flip balls are not as useful on this surface until late in the block, so I apply a little surface to these balls also (1000-2000) to put them into play more on the longer pattern. The late flip ball is not useful very often on this pattern.

The layouts on these balls have a lot to do with the actual reactions, but here is a sample of what an Ebonite or Hammer arsenal would look like:

1. Reaction Ebonite Hammer
2. Early Arc NVD Anger
3. Mid-Lane Arc Pin Slasher or Gamebreaker Black Widow or BW Bite
4. Late Arc Bash Psycho
5. Mid-Lane Flip Playmaker or Complete NV Venom 
6. Late Flip Clash Razyr
7. Spare Maxim BW Spare

You can construct a similar arsenal using any manufacturer or combination of manufacturers. You can also create layouts that would change the categories into which I have placed these balls. For example, I have a Complete NV that arcs mid-lane and I have one that flips mid-lane, using each and surface preparations to match up to the condition at hand.

So, try classifying the equipment in your bag using this method, then try to use the method to understand how to play different sport patterns. Remember, controlling how far down the lane the ball makes its motion, combined with the shape of the motion, will enable you to maximize scoring on most patterns!