Differential, RG, Midlane read, Ball Finishes

[forhuskers]

I love this forum. I lurk around and read a lot of threads trying to get better. What I need help with is some terminology and what it means.

As I understand it (and feel more than free to correct me) the higher the differential number the more a ball will flair. Does more flair= more hook? What defines a low, medium or high differential? What is the usefulness of the differential number?

What are the most important specs to look at when choosing a ball that will define what it is going to do? The "perfect scale" number on bowlingball.com is an indication of how much a ball will hook correct? As an example here are some specs from a couple of balls:

Storm Hyroad RG 2.57 Differential--0.046 Flare Potential--5"-6" (High) Finish--1500 Factory Polish Perfect Scale--173.8

Storm Fringe RG--2.53 Differential--0.045 Flare Potential--Medium Finish-1500 Factory Polish Perfect Scale--188.6

What makes the Hy-Road have a high flair potential and the Fringe a medium? The Hy-Road has a larger differential and flare potential, yet the Fringe has a higher Perfect Scale number therefore will hook more???

When the term "midlane read" as in the ball reads the midlane early, for example, is used what does this mean? A ball with say a 1500 grit polish will break earlier than a 4000 grit polished ball as the 4000 will slide more and snap harder at the breakpoint, correct? What about a 500, 800, 4000 grit matte as opposed to a 500, 800, 1500 matte finish?

Lastly, I have a Brunswick alpha-max (4000 matte), a Storm Hy-road (1500 polish), and a Columbia300 Burst (4000 polish). Bowlingball.com has, what I think, is a good deal on a Brunswick ulti-max (500, 1500, rough buff polish) Would this fit into my arsenal between the alpha-max and the Hy-Road, or would it not make enough of a difference to consider?

I'm so confused!!

I hope this isn't too long and too many questions. I'm trying to soak up enough knowledge to get in the 21st century. Big difference from the days of having a Columbia yellow dot for oil and a Columbia White Dot for dry! Oops! I'm dating myself.

[billf]

Here's the Mo Pinel article on differentials http://wiki.bowlingchat.net/wiki/ima...nel-Nov_10.pdf

Early mid-lane read basically means it reads the lane after 15' quickly and therefor goes into the hook phase soon.
Lower grit coverstocks generally do hook earlier than higher grit covers. Polish goes longer than matte which goes longer than sanded. Going longer refers to how quickly a ball reacts to the friction upon leaving the oil pattern. Revs are what causes push. Push is where the ball goes past the oil and into the friction before reacting. So a polished ball with high revs will go further down lane, storing energy, before grabbing and hooking than a sanded finish ball with medium revs. So a low rev player can use a polished ball to get further down lane for the break point to create a stronger angle to the pocket. Or, the same entry angle as a high rev cranker using a matte finish ball.
Now, the wrong layout on the ball for that bowler can negate everything above.

Perfect scale. This is the balls ability to still retain hook potential. The higher the number the more oil the ball's hook potential is retained. So a ball with a rating of 224.5 NEEDS oil to skid through the entire skid phase. This phase is paramount in retaining energy for the hook and roll phases.
That's why high rated balls hit the pocket like a feather, if they get to the pocket, when the lanes start to dry up.
Now, when they dry up I move way right (ball side) to get the ball to the break point. Why does this work? Straighter line to the break point is actually a shorter distance than crossing 20" or more of lane horizontally to get to the break point down lane.

Match the ball's design with the drilling and the bowler for optimum scoring potential. Let's use the Marauder as an example. It's polished and designed to go long with a strong back end reaction. So it's designed to NOT read the mid-lane quickly and the polish allows it to push past the pattern before reading the friction. So in theory, you wouldn't want to get it drilled to read the mid-lane early or play up the ten board with too many revs. Both would go against how it was engineered. So a high rev player would move away from the ball side, towards the middle. This increases the distance the ball travels to the same break point.

Did I make any sense or just ramble? lol

[noeymc]

u just helpd me if i got this right becuz i am a low rev player i shoud get polished balls right?

[billf]

You don't have to. Polished balls will help you get the ball to the break point while retaining energy. If you want, get any ball. Low rev players can benefit with lower drill angles and learning where to start on the approach. Get the baddest ball you want, drill it accordingly and play up the 5 board. It will still hit. Move to the middle and you may struggle depending on your axis rotation.

[noeymc]

i play the 10-15 boards i ma see if my dude will help me get my revs so i can see what i got going on cuz i been guessing i rather get a lot more serious on this stuff i want my 190+ avg lol

[Perrin]

If I understand right, step 1 is getting information about how you as an individual bowl.

your PAP, ball speed, revs, tilt and rotation.

Then once you have all that you can determine how cover/core core combinations work for you to help you choose a ball for different lane conditions or ball reactions that you're looking for.

so I guess the answer for important things to know are exactly what you listed. RG/Diff/Coverstock the harder part is knowing what those #'s mean to you as a bowler.



Again all this would be alot easier if the ball companies would be required to use a common system to rate their cover stocks and cores

[forhuskers]

Thanks a lot for the reply Bill. Just to follow up, assuming a THS to 44 feet and buffed out another 2' and given the balls I have, the best sequence would generally be: alpha-max, Hy-Road, Burst? I can go up 10 as a stroker, or I can move fairly deep inside if warranted. I don't know what my revs or speed is, but as compared to other bowlers I seem to have more revs than about half of them and my normal speed is a little higher.

I like to analyze things and find out why they work as they do hence the questions. You ought to see me during golf season! I just haven't been able to get a handle on the bowling ball specs and relate them to how the ball rolls down the lane. It seems more complicated than golf with all of the possible variations. How much of a difference does the drilling pattern make as compared to the coverstock?

[billf]

How much of a difference does the drilling pattern make as compared to the coverstock?

Excerpt from the article previously linked: In my experience, the layout created by the drilling technique is about 40 percent of ball reaction while the balance hole location and size are 60 percent of the reaction. I have also observed that a ball’s designed reaction may be reduced by as much as 29 percent or increased by as much as 55 percent by the drilling technique used on that ball.

[Mike White]

How much of a difference does the drilling pattern make as compared to the coverstock?

Bill gave you a classic political response. While it might be correct info, it is not related to the question you asked.

It has been claimed that the cover stock, and it's preparation accounts for 70% of the ball motion, core positioning accounts for 25%, and the static weights account for 5%.

The drilling pattern would effect both the core positioning, and the static weights.