New to bowling looking for good spare ball

[RyanP]

Hello everyone,

Brand new to the site and have recently picked up bowling within the last 3 weeks. Looking to be a pretty serious bowler. I knew if I wanted to be good at bowling I would have to get my own ball. So I went out and purchases the Hammer Black Widow Legend and I am liking it so far. My average game is about a 160-175. I am right-handed, and I throw a 16 pound ball. So now as to why I am actually posting this, I am looking for a good ball that I can throw straight with minimal to no curve to pick up spares with. I have no certain brand that I enjoy over another. Though I do have to say I have enjoyed Hammer so far.

Thanks in advance,

RyanP

[Amyers]

Any plastic or low end urethane ball will work. Some prefer urethane some plastic I prefer plastic myself as I can still get a decent amount of hook out urethane. If looking at plastic the only real difference between balls is if it has a full core or not. If you plan to use your spare ball as a strike ball on really dry conditions you may want to spend the extra money for a full cored ball if not don't bother just pick something that you like the color on. Full cored balls are Hammer Taboo Spare would be a good option Urethane Motiv Artic Sniper if you just plan on using it exclusively for spares save the money and buy a White Dot or Maxim

[RyanP]

Thanks so much Amyers. I do plan on getting a third ball in the arsenal a few months down the road to hook on more dry lanes. But do you think that is a good idea? Or more of a waste of money than anything? Again thanks so much for your response!

[Amyers]

Ryan it really depends on a few things and what is important to you. It depends on how well your shot holds up during league play and how dry your lanes get during your practice sessions. Another factor is how comfortable you are moving your feet. Some people prefer to adjust balls rather than move farther inside. I'm pretty comfortable moving in so I very rarely have to change balls during league play I also tend to play farther inside from the beginning so my line tends to last longer than those guys who play 2nd arrow out. Usually if I change balls it's more to get a different look than I've run out of room.

Practice also plays a role how dry do your lanes get for practice. One of the houses I bowl in doesn't put out much during the week and if I come in on Thursdays to practice I have to throw my plastic I might be able to use a very weak reactive I don't know but it's just practice so it doesn't really bother me much.

My advice is to really get comfortable with your first ball and get used to playing different lines with it before adding another ball to the mix unless your really just struggling in the third game of you league sets.

[Aslan]

Spare ball doesn't matter. As long as it fits your hand...and is round...all a spare ball has to do is go straight.

I've been 'tempted' by the advertising just like anyone else...kinda want to get that Motiv Arctic Sniper....but at the end of the day why pay twice as much for a ball that does the same thing as a polyester Pyramid ball or Columbia WD or Brunswick TZone or Ebonite Maxim??

For my current 16lb arsenal...I bought a undrilled 16lb Brunswick Guardian Glow-in-the Dark House ball for like $50 drilled...something like that. It works just fine (when I make my shots). For my 15lb arsenal, I found a plugged Ebonite Maxim at the local pro shop...guy charged me $35 to drill it...now I have a spare ball for 16lbs and a spare ball for 15lbs. And unless I throw them into the pin setter trying to pick up a corner pin (which has happened)...I'll probably never need to spend money on a spare ball ever again...other than $5 here and there to polish it up nice from time to time.

[FireCapt782]

https://www.bowlingball.com/products...new-color.html

Just ordered this one.

[dnhoffman]

A Storm Mix would be my suggestion. Priced well, urethane, good ball.

[dnhoffman]

I forgot to add, buy the urethane (like the Mix) instead of a polyester/plastic ball because the urethane will last you much, much longer with normal wear and use.

[got_a_300]

Here is another plastic ball that has a good full core in it
a Hammer True Blood it has the full Hammer First Blood
core in it only difference is it has a plastic shell on it and
it's about half the price of the First Blood.

[Aslan]

I forgot to add, buy the urethane (like the Mix) instead of a polyester/plastic ball because the urethane will last you much, much longer with normal wear and use.

Yeah...because plastic is so fragile. I mean, bowling centers probably replace their plastic house balls at LEAST once....every 15 years. And, yeah....spending $49 every 15 years...thats a bank breaker. You might want to put a quarter in a jar every month just so you're prepared for that eventual expense.