PRO TIPS: Choosing equipment to fit your game

This article is focusing on trying to match up your bowling equipment for your game and how you play the lanes. All good bowlers must learn enough about their own game to know what equipment will allow them to play their own game. If you are a down and in player (more direct) in most situations you want to use equipment that will not force you to cross more boards than you are comfortable with. On the other hand you don’t want to select a ball shell so weak it does not pick up a roll soon enough. If you are a power player and you have a tendency to make your mistakes to the right you need to use a ball that will give you a little area to the right and not force you to point it up to the pocket. Be careful not to choose too big a ball or too much surface, cause it will force you to stand very deep and have to cover a lot more boards. Below are some examples of different balls. There are so many balls on the market today that there is no way to mention all of them. 

Balls with strong coverstock

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1. Rock On (Columbia 300) 
2. Monster (Brunswick) 
3. Vortex II (Ebonite) 
4. Trauma ER Recovery (Storm)
5. Heat II (Track)

Balls with medium coverstock
1. Gold Messenger (Columbia 300)
2. Command arc (Brunswick)
3. Violet 3D (Faball/Ebonite)
4. Erasit (Storm)

Balls with weak coverstock
1. Scout (Columbia 300)
2. Groove (Brunswick)
3. Nail (Faball/Ebonite)
4. Too Hot & El Nino Wrath (Storm)

In competition try to play your A-game. Don’t assume you can play the lanes the same way as someone else who has a very different game than you. If you are more effective the more to the right you play try to use bowling products that will let you stay in that area of the lane for a longer period of time before you are forced to move inside. The more you have to move inside and set the ball down in more oil the more you will have to use a strong enough ball that will recover (hook back), or more surface. 

All things considered you must pay a lot of attention to the lanes because they rapidly change because of the new aggressive cover stocks made today and you may need to switch to a weaker shell as the league night goes on. There are many times when a bowler who hooks the ball more will choose a stronger ball than a straighter bowler because they need to get much deeper and be assured that the bowling ball will recover. Try to stick to your A-game and learn to choose the right equipment for your style of play. In future articles I will cover some ball layout suggestions. 

Follow the links for additional Pro Tips:

How to stay calm under pressure

Learning how to grind IT out

Breaking out of a Slump