Author: johncongdon

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Bowling

Store Your Bowling Spec Cards

Your pro shop operator should have your bowling specs on file.  If you decide to purchase a new bowling ball, they do not have to fit you again.  So if they have your specs on file, why shouldn’t you.  bowlingball.com now gives you the ability to store your specs in your account.

Most bowlers do not know their specs.  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it sure can’t hurt for you to have.  I have heard many stories over the years of pro shop owners just closing up shop, or airlines losing bowling balls on the way to a tournament out of city or state.  Fitting is not a science, it is more of an art.  If you have a great fit already, then you really don’t want to change it.

Your bowling specs include your span (distance from thumb to fingers), hole pitches (the angle the holes are drilled in the ball), hole sizes (the diameter of the holes being drilled), and much more.

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Bowling

Brunswick Siege Bowling Ball Drilling Layouts

We have been working on making the bowling ball drilling layouts easier to obtain for bowling balls as we add them to our site.  Checkout the [bowlingball value=”7128″/] product page and look at the tab menu under drilling layouts.

As more information becomes available we will add it.  In the mean time you can see how this new section for bowling ball drilling layouts works.  We are working on getting a bowling ball reaction video done on the [bowlingball value=”7128″/] and should have it up in a week or two.

[bowlingball value=”7128,i150″/]

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Bowling

Roto Grip Nomad Pearl

It’s coming close to that time of year again, and there is no slow down in bowling ball manufacturing. Roto Grip has a new bowling ball coming soon, the [bowlingball value=”7206″/]. There hasn’t been much information release about this bowling ball yet, but we are keeping our eyes on this one. Roto Grip has been making some fantastic bowling balls lately.

The [bowlingball value=”7206″/] is using the Ultra Vision Pearl Reactive Coverstock and the Rotary Core. It comes to you with an out of box finish of 1500 polished. For more information, or to be notified when this ball is available, please enter your email address on the product page at bowlingball.com.

[bowlingball value=”7206,i150″/]

Categories
Bowling

Roto Grip Nomad

Coming soon to your favorite online bowling ball retailer (bowlingball.com), the [bowlingball value=”7205″/]. There hasn’t been much information release about this bowling ball yet, but we are keeping our eyes on this one. Roto Grip has been making some fantastic bowling balls lately.

The [bowlingball value=”7205″/] is using the Ultra Vision Solid Reactive Coverstock and the Rotary Core. It comes to you with an out of box finish of 1500 polished. For more information, or to be notified when this ball is available, please enter your email address on the product page.

[bowlingball value=”7205,i150″/]

Categories
Bowling

Bowling League

Bowling in a league can be intimidating to someone that hasn’t ever done so.  There are many leagues setup for first time bowlers, such as “Just for Fun” leagues, “Have a Ball” leagues, and “Practice” leagues.  All of these leagues are usually low in price and are aimed to only be mildly comptetive.  As far as costs, you are probably looking at $10-$15 per week.  The “Have a Ball” leagues are designed to let you bowl and earn a bowling ball throught the course of the league.  Your weekly fee is going towards purchasing a bowling ball while you have fun.

There is some confusion about sanctioning and what it means.  Basically, if you are bowling in an USBC (United States Bowling Congress) league, you have to be a member of the USBC.  You have to pay a couple of fees that are normally clumped together into one dollar amount.  These are both the national fee and your local association dues.  If you join multiple leagues, you only have to pay these fees once per year.  If your two leagues are in different bowling centers, then you may have to pay the national and local dues at one bowling center, and just the local fees at the other bowling center.

As you get better, you can build up into a more competitive league where you have a chance to make a little money.  These leagues will run up to about $25 per week, but if you find a good handicap league, then you don’t have to worry about having a high average. 

The key is to get people to join leagues.  Our sport is suffering league shrinkage every year because people are not returning and the ones that do are not bringing in new bowlers.  If you love to bowl in league, make it a point to try and recruit at least one person, or one team for next season. 

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Bowling

Storm Natural Bowling Ball Release Coming Soon

The [bowlingball value=”7136″/] is set to release in Late June.  Information on this new bowling ball is scarce at this time.  The information available so far is that this bowling ball will sport the U2S™ Urethane Coverstock, the Turbine Weight Block, and will have a 2000 grit [bowlingball value=”4999″/] finish.

More information to come soon.

[bowlingball value=”7136,i150″/]

Categories
Bowling

Columbia 300 Cool Noize Bowling Ball

Columbia 300’s next release for their Noize line of bowling balls is going to be the [bowlingball value=”7135″/].  This Mid Performance Bowling Ball is sanded to a Polished 2000 Grit Abralon finish and has a strong mid-lane reaction. 

The name is a little funny to me.  We have teased our Columbia 300 reps that the ball is really pronounce “Noisy” instead of “Noise”.  They love that one.  The [bowlingball value=”7135″/] is scheduled for release in June.  I look forward to bringing you more information as it becomes available.

[bowlingball value=”7135,i150″/]

Continue reading “Columbia 300 Cool Noize Bowling Ball”
Categories
Bowling

Brunswick Siege Bowling Balls

Brunswick is coming out with a brand new line of bowling balls in their “Pro Performance Line”.

The first in this series is the [bowlingball value=”7128″/].  It features the new MACE asymmetrical core which is supposed to be the strongest core made by Brunswick.  As usual, I can’t wait to be able to give a full report of my findings for these bowling balls.

[bowlingball value=”7128,i150l”/]

Here is the information straight from Brunswick Bowling:

The deadly [bowlingball value=”7128″/] is the first in our new series of Pro Performance balls and features the new MACE asymmetrical core as well as the new solid Recoil coverstock. This is a strong ball that battles heavy oil and responds quickly to friction for great pin action.

Core

M.A.C.E. ” Mechanical Asymmetric Core Engineering. The MACE™ core has three major benefits, Ultra Low RG core system to engage the Recoil coverstock, High RG differential to aid in traction through heavy oil and High RG asymmetric differential to quicken the response time to friction. Designed as a two component elliptical core
system, the MACE core is dynamically the strongest asymmetric core ever produced for a Brunswick ball.

Coverstock

Introducing Recoil™ coverstock the next extension in Brunswick coverstock technology. Recoil is a revolutionary coverstock developed by Brunswick to improve the mid-lane and backend traction of the ball on today’s slicker oils and lane surfaces. The Recoil coverstock was discovered through testing of new formulation additives and process changes in coverstock manufacturing.

Ball Motion

The Siege™ unites the new Recoil coverstock and the MACE core to produce a ball motion that is both aggressive in the oil and aggressive on the backend. The Siege is your ball when your game needs help battling heavy oil conditions and poor pin action.

Seize the lanes, Conquer the pins, Defeat your opponent!!

Micro Finishing Pads

Micro finishing pads have revolutionized the bowling industry by creating smooth surface finishes that many bowlers would assume are polished with a wax or similar compound. The benefit to the bowler is these finishes create length similar to balls coated with compound finishes, but are better able to handle today’s thicker oils and carrydown. The Siege is finished with 1000-grit micro pads driven by the new Haus high speed bowling ball resurfacing machine.

Reaction Characteristics

Out of the Box: With its 1000-grit micro pad finish, the Siege will provide excellent mid-lane recovery and a strong continuous backend reaction that matches up on medium to oily lane conditions for a wide range of bowling styles.

If your Siege goes too long:. A smooth surface will sometimes cause the ball to go too long before breaking. To get your Siege rolling sooner, dull the surface with a 500-grit micro pad. To further increase hooking action, use a rougher abrasive to create an earlier reaction.

If your Siege hooks too early: Smooth your Siege with 2000-grit micro pad to increase the length. If more length is needed smooth the surface to 4000-grit micro pad. If more length is still desired use Brunswick’s Factory Finish High Gloss Polish to increase length to the maximum.

Reaction Setup: The Siege can be drilled using the standard drilling techniques developed for asymmetric bowling balls.

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Uncategorized

Keith Spear Embraces Social Networking

In a surprise move to the majority of the bowling industry, bowlingball.com‘s CEO, Keith Spear, has become a social butterfly.  The once very private individual beloved by local bowlers has transformed himself into a worldwide chatty cathy.  Every once in a while you will find some blue M&M’s in the stream of Twitter Vomit, and it appears Keith is the person responsible for these tiny little M&M’s.

Want to know more?  Follow these links:

Keith Spear on Twitter
Keith Spear on Facebook
KeithSpear.com

Categories
Bowling

Brunswick Wild Thing — Coming Soon

Brunswick Bowling is going to be releasing their next ball in their “Wild” line soon, the [bowlingball value=”7127″/].  This reactive resin bowling ball has the ConneXion Reactive Coverstock, Paragon Core, and is finished with a 4,000 Micro Pad.  Until I get a chance to throw the [bowlingball value=”7127″/], I can’t give my personal opinion.

Here is what Brunswick has to say:

Core

The new ultra low RG Paragon core in Brunswick’s new Wild Thing bowling ball was designed with two intentions. First, lower the RG to create a faster revving core that will provide improved mid-lane traction. And second, raise the RG differential to increase the track flare potential which will generate more overall hook with standard layouts and the use of interchangeable thumb sleeves.

Coverstock

The Wild Thing utilizes ConneXion coverstock known for its unbelievable traction response from foul line to head pin. The aggressive connection of the Wild Thing to the lane surface inspires confidence in the ball reaction that allows bowlers to play the lanes the way they want to.

Ball Motion

The Wild Thing and its new ultra low RG core system improves the adhesion of ConneXion coverstock to accelerate the response to friction and turn its attack loose on the pins. This core/coverstock combination allows the Wild Thing to generate a shape never seen before in the Brunswick line.

Wild Thing… I Think I Love You!!

Micro Finishing Pads

The bowling industry is starting to embrace the surface finishes created by 2000-grit and 4000-grit abrasives. These abrasives create a glossy finish that many bowlers would assume are polished with a wax or similar compound. The benefit to the bowler is that these finishes create length similar to balls coated with
compound finishes, but are better able to handle carrydown. The Wild Thing is finished with 4000-grit Abrasive pads driven by the new Haus high speed bowling ball resurfacing machine.

Reaction Characteristics

Out of the Box: With its 4000-grit micro pad finish, the Wild Thing will provide excellent length and a strong back-end reaction to match up on medium to oily lane conditions for a wide range of bowling styles.

If your [bowlingball value=”7127″/] goes too long:. Shiny surface finishes sometimes cause the ball to go too long before breaking.

To get your Wild Thing rolling sooner, dull the surface with a 2000-grit micro pad to increase hooking action. To further increase hooking action, use a rougher abrasive to create an earlier reaction.

If your Wild Thing hooks too early: Polish your Wild Thing with Brunswicks Factory Finish High Gloss Polish to increase length.

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