First Off- Congrats on how the Men did this weekend at the Hoosier. Even though you didnt win because of format, that kind of domination is something all of you should expect out of each other every tournament you go to. A team that isnt great cant possibly lead that field by that many pins. You guys are, and should have every ounce of confidence you can possibly have heading into Sectionals and Nationals.
Secondly, Ive been meaning to do it, but i finally put together a list of the Rg's and Diff of your bowling balls. You guys have the pleasure of using 3 different companies, and I strongly consider you to. Managing an arsenal with 3 different companies can be more confusing, than just using the balls of one brand. But hopefully i can make some sense of it with this post. Here is the list.
intellect - 2.48/0.052
Scholar - 2.488/0.052
Exile - 2.512/0.050
intrigue - 2.512/0.050
Brute - 2.491/0.032
Cross - 2.487/0.050
Jab - 2.487/0.050
Gold Rhino Pro - 2.520/ 0.048
lt-48 - 2.565/0.038
Ringer solid - 2.534/0.03
Strike king - 2.578/0.028
Thug unruly - 2.505/0.052
Thug - 2.505/0.052
Ruckus Schizo - 2.540/0.052
Ruckus Feud - 2.540/0.052
Rude Dude - 2.557/0.040
Dude - 2.557/0.040
Diva Devine - 2.516/0.052
Hooligan - 2.553/0.040
Guru - 2.501/0.044
Score - 2.492/0.054
Yeti Uncaged - 2.482/0.054
Reax Gusto - 2.536/0.038
Reax Pearl - 2.508/0.048
Reax 2 - 2.508/0.048
Yeti Unleashed - 2.482/0.054
Yeti Untamed - 2.482/0.054
The first number is RG, the second number is Differential. RG is essentially when the ball wants to read the lane, front to back. Its when the core wants to turn over. The higher the RG, the longer it will take the core to turn over, making it go longer down the lane. The Differential is how much the ball flares. This is essential to getting the ball to go through the pins correctly. How much a ball flares dictates the left to right motion. When it get to where the ball turns over, how much is it going to go left. Higher diff balls have more flare. When your ball is flaring more., it is seeing fresher cover more often of the time. Making the ball go left more when it decides to hook. Lower diff balls have a skinnier flare line. The flares are more on top of each other, making the ball see less fresh cover, and making the shape more forward downlane.
One thing that has helped me out so much the past couple years is being able to see my ball react, and know why it did what it did. Im not the best at it yet, by any means. But once you figure out your equipment, moves and ball changes become much easier. For example, if your ball is continuing too sharply, where you have the 4 pin/10pin reaction. Your ball has too much diff, and you can immediately go to a lower diff ball. Also, higher diff balls can make the ball puke, or what i call bleed. The ball is seeing to much fresh cover too early and making it roll out. thats why a lot of lower RG high Diff ball can have a rollout effect, which can be useful, just not all the time. Alot of time you see bowlers throw these balls on shorter patterns, because they are looking for that rollout effect. Barnes is a magician at it. These balls are your Mastermind line. Sometimes is can look great, and other times it can seem pukey. But knowing why can help you throw it at the right times. A lot of the better balls the past decade have included lower diffs. The IQ tour is a low RG, low diff ball. the low RG allows bowlers to see they ball see the lane on time, and have a controllable motion downlane. One thing Storm has done beautifully is keep balls like this is their line, and build around it. That why bowlers still throw the IQ tours and Hyroads. Because they can almost match up on anything. This would be your Brute. I havnt seen you guys throw many Brutes, and that shape is something that has been key throughout the several years. If your mastermind is "bleeding", you can just go to the Brute, and use the RG to play a similar part of the lane. When the pattern starts to break down, you can move to your higher RG stuff. This new Rhino Gold seems like a ball you can go to later in the day, before you get into LT'48s. The Lt-48 is high RG, low Diff, so its going to go far down the lane, with not much shape to it. This is the ball you guys seem to like to throw late in the day, but if its going to long, The Rhino Pro can be a ball that will grind through where your LT-48 is missing.
One thing i noticed that all the premium college players did was they had a certain set of balls they used, every tournament. One specifically was Blanchard. He would throw the same 4 balls every single tournament. Every tournament would go, start with ball 1, then 2,3,4. Start with ball 1, then 2,3,4. over and over again. He knew he had a 4 ball arsenal that he could get to match up on any condition, and he dominated. Thats some of the reason wichita can be so good every year, is the players individually have good arsenals, and they throw the right balls at the right times.
Here is a list of each category of bowling balls. i strongly enourage you to get at least one of each category in your bag.
Low RG/High Diff
Masterminds
Melees
Thugs
Radical Score
The Yetis
Dive Divine
Low Rg/ Low diff
Brute
Guru
High RG/ High Diff
Gold Rhino Pro
Ruckus Schizo and Feud
High RG/ Low Diff
LT-48
Ringers
Strike King
Dude and Rude Dude
Reax Gusto
An example arsenal would be :
Mastermind
Brute
Gold Pro
Lt-48
Spare ball
If there still seems to be gaps, or one specific ball just doesnt seem to roll well (because that happens, sometimes a certain ball just wont roll well for you.) in that case, make sure you replace it with a ball of similar numbers. the last thing you want in your arsenal is a gap.
I hope this helps guys. Take care and enjoy the snow days.
