why do i struggle with oil

[fitzy]

i'll try to keep this simple but in and around christmas time i was bowling quite well..i was averaging 200 ish in practice (not as much in lague :confused: ) i had confidence in any ball i used.but in the last month or so my center has increased the amount of oil they are putting on the lanes...they've put more oil on the heads and increased the oil from 38ft to 40ft...with my equipment this should be better for me!shouldnt it? but i just cant get any of the balls to move.last night i was standing around 13-15 board aiming 2nd arrow (almost bowling a straight ball)

unfortunetly im pretty speed dominant (approx 21mph not sure of revs) so i accept that this may be part of the problem.also i do muscle my swing a bit (im getting some coaching next week for this)...could these issues play such a big part in ball reaction?

after reading a few posts i've realised that my cleaning/maintenance routine may not be good enough!all balls are cleaned using clean n dull after every session and a hot water bath when i feel they need one.on the ebonite site they say you should refresh the surface every 30 games or so and a full resurface after 60 games.....up untill now my cnv has on been refreshed once.at the moment im experimenting and all my equipment is at 2000 sanded except bwc (bwb was 1000 polished,cnv 2000 polished,beat'n 2000 dull) but still im getting very little reaction from them....

any input or advice would be gratefully appreciated

[Dilktuff]

I can say this, speed kills. Its not always the problem, but, being a bit of a speed freak my self, when the oil gets heavy its ALWAYS a good first step for me. More times than not, cutting a little speed does the trick. Its a problem I have often so I understand. Also, if i get behind on ball maintenance and then hit heavy oil its a good reminder to get to cleaning. With high ball speed, I have found that good maintenance practice is essential. Make sure if you speed is up, you stay behind the ball on heavy oil. May help too.

[Jermarace Miller]

Muscling the ball on a heavy oil pattern when your revs cannot compensate for it will do things like that. Relax your arm, bowling is the sport where you do not have to be tense to bowl good. If you can slow down your arm swing and in a sense "go with the flow" you will be able to have the desired reaction that you are looking for.

[Sabotage]

yes you really need to keep up the maintenance on your bowling balls. this is a huge factor, keeping them maintained is key.

but, with your speed you could easily be throwing the ball so hard its not reading the lane and you miss your break point because it cant read it because of the speed.

i throw my ball pretty fast as well and moving up on the approach seems to work for me

[can-ham]

If your pro shop has a rejuvenator, go for that (if not a hot water bath will do).
You should also try taking your Bite down to 800, fight oil with friction.

[fitzy]

my cnv is in 'hook again' now.im going to have to spend more time on my bwb and no mercy without a doubt.unfortunetly we dont have a proshop at our center,it closed.theres a mobile one coming 7th march and hes the one whos going to coach me (usbc qualified) so hopefully that will help.im getting videoed so i may be able to post that on here

[bluerrpilot]

unfortunetly im pretty speed dominant (approx 21mph not sure of revs) so i accept that this may be part of the problem.also i do muscle my swing a bit (im getting some coaching next week for this)...could these issues play such a big part in ball reaction?


Absolutly....With that kind of speed you will need to use very strong layouts, strong covers and plenty surface to get the ball to read the lanes. Otherwise your relying on clean, fast backends in order to get the ball to turn over

[fitzy]

Otherwise your relying on clean, fast backends in order to get the ball to turn over

good point! quite a few of the more experienced bowlers have complained about the backends before (including myself).it seems you have to have a fairly slow ball speed or alot of revs to get a good reaction...

[Street Racer]

speed and not having the correct surface..

have a clean release with strong tilt with the correct speed

[fitzy]

having spent all weekend cleaning,the cnv was in the 'hook again' treatment for 40 hrs,bwb had hot water bath (17 buckets) and no mercy 7 buckets.all i can say is it was time well spent.i bowled in the league last night and after the last couple of weeks i didnt really want to bowl,but what a difference it made got a good consistant ball reaction.i managed 198 201 224 623.not the best series but after the last couple of weeks im happy with it.

at least i know i have to improve my ball maintenance now :)

[TenPinSniper]

When that mobile proshop come pick up a few bottle of cleaner.
Liquid Cleaners
Black Magic Rejuventar (http://www.buddiesproshop.com/product/2734/Ultimate_Bowling_Products_-_Black_Magic_Rejuvenator_-_8_oz.htm)
Lane Masters Ball Cleaner (http://www.buddiesproshop.com/product/3947/Lane_Masters_High_Performance_Bowling_Ball_Cleaner _-_32oz_.htm)
Power House Power Wash (http://www.buddiesproshop.com/product/4779/PowerHouse_Power_Wash-_5_oz.htm)
Doubt he'll have Valentino's Remedy RX.

Gel Cleaners
Power House Clean and Dull (http://www.buddiesproshop.com/product/4778/PowerHouse_Clean_n_Dull_-_5_oz.htm)
Neo Tac Hook-It (http://www.neotac.com/hookit.html)
Ultimate Bowling Products Ultra Clean (http://ultimatebowling.com/ballcare2.asp)
(Ultimate Bowling Products make the Black Magic Cleaner listed above as well.)

Gel Cleaner generally work better than Liquid Cleaner. Recommend getting once of each. Use the Gel every couple weeks to deep clean between baths.

Go the automotive section of your local box store (Wal-Mart, Target, etc) pick up some microfiber towels in a budle of 8 or 10 for about 5-10 bucks per package.

[Waveb67]

I'm sorry for stating the obvious but I didn't read it above. It's a very good idea to wipe off your track and grips before every shot for consistent reaction; also make sure to launder your towel when it gets dirty.

[VmsTopGun]

Hammer Staffers have made the simplest suggestion, move right.

on heavy fresh lanes at a demo days, the BWbite wasn't going anywhere on my normal line, Hammer staffer comes over and says feet and target, 5 boards right, and he was.......

[idlehourlegend]

If its a house pattern its very simple, miss right move right, miss left move left. Meaning if your shot misses the headpin to the right, move right, if it misses to the left move left. Oil would be a move right, you cant slow your ball speed down, put more hand in the ball, move to a stronger ball, but the simplest is move right.

[PinSlayer]

i'll try to keep this simple but in and around christmas time i was bowling quite well..i was averaging 200 ish in practice (not as much in lague :confused: ) i had confidence in any ball i used.but in the last month or so my center has increased the amount of oil they are putting on the lanes...they've put more oil on the heads and increased the oil from 38ft to 40ft...with my equipment this should be better for me!shouldnt it? but i just cant get any of the balls to move.last night i was standing around 13-15 board aiming 2nd arrow (almost bowling a straight ball)

unfortunetly im pretty speed dominant (approx 21mph not sure of revs) so i accept that this may be part of the problem.also i do muscle my swing a bit (im getting some coaching next week for this)...could these issues play such a big part in ball reaction?

after reading a few posts i've realised that my cleaning/maintenance routine may not be good enough!all balls are cleaned using clean n dull after every session and a hot water bath when i feel they need one.on the ebonite site they say you should refresh the surface every 30 games or so and a full resurface after 60 games.....up untill now my cnv has on been refreshed once.at the moment im experimenting and all my equipment is at 2000 sanded except bwc (bwb was 1000 polished,cnv 2000 polished,beat'n 2000 dull) but still im getting very little reaction from them....

any input or advice would be gratefully appreciated



I would work more on slowing your ball speed down. I just started bowling again back in November or so after a 9 year break. I had a higer ball speed of about 20 ish. I had bought all new balls (5 of them total) The alley I bowl at has heavy oil I had to work on slowing way down. I am down to about 15mph now. I am not sure of my rev rate but guessing I would say about 250 to 300.

Every now and then I still speed the ball back up and I pay for it when I do..

[fitzy]

I would work more on slowing your ball speed down. I just started bowling again back in November or so after a 9 year break. I had a higer ball speed of about 20 ish. I had bought all new balls (5 of them total) The alley I bowl at has heavy oil I had to work on slowing way down. I am down to about 15mph now. I am not sure of my rev rate but guessing I would say about 250 to 300.

Every now and then I still speed the ball back up and I pay for it when I do..

i had some coaching on saturday and we used the digitrax software.my average ball speed was 21mph.so the main problem is speed with a slightly forced swing,so thats what im working on in practice now.....how did you go about slowing down??

if i hold the ball lower down it doesnt really make a lot of difference....im working on slowing my approach down so hopefully that will make a difference

[PinSlayer]

i had some coaching on saturday and we used the digitrax software.my average ball speed was 21mph.so the main problem is speed with a slightly forced swing,so thats what im working on in practice now.....how did you go about slowing down??

if i hold the ball lower down it doesnt really make a lot of difference....im working on slowing my approach down so hopefully that will make a difference

Most of it was slowing my foot work down. The faster I am with my feet the faster my ball speed. I try to make sure I am not THROWING the ball and be sure to roll it natural. Just practice. I still get the speed up but when I do I wash out or come in very light leaving something nasty..

[Paul1979]

i had some coaching on saturday and we used the digitrax software.my average ball speed was 21mph.so the main problem is speed with a slightly forced swing,so thats what im working on in practice now.....how did you go about slowing down??

if i hold the ball lower down it doesnt really make a lot of difference....im working on slowing my approach down so hopefully that will make a difference

Thats a pretty quick shot! Thats my spare ball speed there.

My strike shot is around 17mph.

Do you stand right at the back of the approach and them take big steps? One thing you could try is moving up the approach a few feet, this should make you take smaller steps and slow the whole motion down a touch.

But you really should just be using what you have to your advantage, speed will be good on very dry lanes. :) and then as Idle says, if your missing right, move right.

[BubbaRay]

There is alot of good advice here that you should try.

Just remember one thing, There is an old saying and tip in this game that everyone forgets about. That is

If you keep missing the pocket to the right, Move right.

If you keep missing the pocket to the left, Move left. It works, trust me.

[idlehourlegend]

If its a house pattern its very simple, miss right move right, miss left move left. Meaning if your shot misses the headpin to the right, move right, if it misses to the left move left. Oil would be a move right, you cant slow your ball speed down, put more hand in the ball, move to a stronger ball, but the simplest is move right.

Beat ya to it Bubba :p

[fitzy]

Thats a pretty quick shot! Thats my spare ball speed there.

My strike shot is around 17mph.

Do you stand right at the back of the approach and them take big steps? One thing you could try is moving up the approach a few feet, this should make you take smaller steps and slow the whole motion down a touch.

But you really should just be using what you have to your advantage, speed will be good on very dry lanes. :) and then as Idle says, if your missing right, move right.

thats the thing paul my 1st and 3rd steps are small my 10yr old daughter stands further back on the approach than i do...i stand just in front of the 1st set of dots and still im a little short of the foul line

[Lonewolf300800]

how many steps do you take Fitzy? however many you take, try this technique the next time you bowl. go up to the foul line turn around and take whatever number of steps you normally take plus 1/2 step more. that should be your starting point on the approach. also, try to get a song in your head or count your steps and get a cadence or rythum to your steps; this will help if your timing and if you need to slow down or even speed up your steps.


thats the thing paul my 1st and 3rd steps are small my 10yr old daughter stands further back on the approach than i do...i stand just in front of the 1st set of dots and still im a little short of the foul line

[fitzy]

how many steps do you take Fitzy? however many you take, try this technique the next time you bowl. go up to the foul line turn around and take whatever number of steps you normally take plus 1/2 step more. that should be your starting point on the approach. also, try to get a song in your head or count your steps and get a cadence or rythum to your steps; this will help if your timing and if you need to slow down or even speed up your steps.

i take 5 steps lonewolf....i've been trying the slow count in my head whilst im bowling and it seems to help,i've just got to get used to doing it

[Lonewolf300800]

fitzy, like you said the more your practice it the more comfortable you'll become with it. hope all goes well.

[fitzy]

fitzy, like you said the more your practice it the more comfortable you'll become with it. hope all goes well.

thanks lonewolf....just getting ready to go and practice now so ill let you know how it goes.my wife will have the stopwatch ready :D

[fitzy]

just got in from practice and i think it went very well.my wife timed the shots as i released the ball untill it hit the head pin (time in seconds)

game 1 - 2.3 - 2.6 (ave speed = 16.9mph) - 195
game 2 - 2.2 - 2.5 (ave speed = 17.4mph) - 206
game 3 - 2.3 - 2.6 (ave speed = 16.9mph) - 181
game 4 - 2.3 - 2.6 (ave speed = 16.9mph) - 226
game 5 - 2.3 - 2.5 (ave speed = 17.0mph) - 130
game 6 - 2.3 - 2.5 (ave speed = 17.0mph) - 236

the last time i as timed like this i was 1.9secs = 21.5mph....i was 21mph on saturday according to the digitrax system.all ball speed calculations where taken from http://www.csgnetwork.com/bowlingballcalc.html

[Lonewolf300800]

I'll have to try that stopwatch method sometime. The one house I bowl in shows the mph of your bowling ball, but since it's a little in front of the rack it's not very accurate. Everyone says to add 2-3 mph to the number shown to get a more accurate speed reading. I'll have to find somebody with a stop watch to clock me then put the numbers into the website and see what it tells me. thanks for that info, and keep up the good work on your game.

[fitzy]

thanks lonewolf my wife just used my mobile phone

[Lonewolf300800]

fitzy, this is why i love this site and all the info everybody shares. i just looked at my cell phone (a TracFone) and realized I have a stopwatch on it, cool. have to try it soon. thanks again.



thanks lonewolf my wife just used my mobile phone

[fitzy]

fitzy, this is why i love this site and all the info everybody shares. i just looked at my cell phone (a TracFone) and realized I have a stopwatch on it, cool. have to try it soon. thanks again.

no problem mate,glad i could help.i agree with your comments about this board aswell.i've only been bowling about 1yr after a 10yr absence and the info i've gained from these boards about these new aggressive balls,cleaners etc has been invaluble,so thx everyone

[excalibur]

no problem mate,glad i could help.i agree with your comments about this board aswell.i've only been bowling about 1yr after a 10yr absence and the info i've gained from these boards about these new aggressive balls,cleaners etc has been invaluble,so thx everyone

Same here I had been out about 17 years and the sources of information and advice on here are great. :D