First ball Cherry vibe and PAP, catch 22?

[coreyva]

First a bit of background. I bowled on leagues 7-9th grade in the late 70's. Averaged about 160. High game of 279. Then moved around and didn't play again till the early/mid 80's for about two years. Averaged about 175. Now I'm getting back into it and getting my wife involved so that we can join a league together. It's been a fight just getting 150 games with house balls. I've always thrown a hook, and they just don't. So I've ordered up a CV and will be getting it drilled on Monday. Since this is going to be my main ball (for now?), I'm assuming I shouldn't get it drilled weak as others have mentioned for drier lanes. I throw ~18mph and am not sure of my revolutions. I line up on the right dot, throw over the far right arrow, and have it hook in. So knowing that, what would you think I should get it drilled like? The bigger question has to do with PAP. Since I'm just throwing house balls now they can't determine my PAP. As I understand it, it's a catch 22. You need to know your PAP in order to drill the ball correctly, but on your first ball you don't know it. The guy at the pro shop said he would know how to drill it for me, but I'm wondering what others do. Since the other bowlers I know, are using house or plastic balls as well, I don't have access to any reactive core balls. So should I just defer to his knowledge or is there some other way to determine it?

Thanks.

[cobaltstg2]

deffinately do not drill it weak if its going to be your main ball for a while .. get it drilled like the #1 layout according to hammers website with you pap...i have mine drilled this way and i play just like you do it it works great for me heres a pic of minehope this helps youhttp://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p102/cobaltstg2/Picture0059.jpg

[Stampy79]

Well, the best way to find your PAP when looking at a ball you have thrown is to throw a plastic ball. It will not flare and continuously roll over the same area. This makes it easy to find your track and then your PAP. If you do not know your pap, you should have him watch you bowl, but he can actually do it without knowing your pap too. Just use a 5 over up 1/2 and you will be very close to a good drilling on the charts. I know some will disagree with me on this, but the honest truth is that most pro shops will not take the time to go through all this for most new people. Sorry to say that, but its true. If you drill it as I say, you will still have a good layout if you use that #1 drilling mentioned above. Good luck on that ball , its a good choice. Just remember you can always adjust the cover too

[Cobalt]

Since you don't know your PAP, trust your Pro shop guy to drill it. There is a way to make a layout on a ball for people that don't have a determined PAP, and it works pretty well. I've done it dozens of times and no one has been unhappy with it.
He can't drill the ball based on the drill sheets that came with the ball, because the pictures are just an example of what it might look like when drilled. If you read under the layouts, it has information about Pin distance and such. That is the exact information on the layout that the Pro shop guy uses to drill the ball if you had a PAP

[coreyva]

Thanks all for the info. I'm sure I'll invest in other balls soon than my wife expects. ;)

Stampy, one follow up question for you. What is the point of reference when you say "5 over up 1/2"? I'm sure it's probably second nature for drillers, but just wondering for my own curiosity.

Thanks again.