Back to Basics

For the purposes of creating a well rounded collection of bowling balls there are a few ball motion basics that absolutely must be observed.  Although ball motion is a hot term in the industry right now, it is incredibly vague what people mean when they talk about it.  Furthermore, it is one of the most misunderstood aspects of the game.

First, what is good ball motion?  That may sound like a trick question.  However, it is my belief, and based on conversations with many competitive bowlers, a common belief that there is one type of ball motion that is far better than all others.  SMOOTH ball motion is by far the most productive ball motion. 

Why, then, are there so many different types of bowling balls?  Shouldn’t everyone just make one type of ball?  These are the responses that I always get when explaining this concept to bowlers.  Of course, the answer is a resounding no. 

The variables the ball encounters while bowling are far too vast for one ball to conquer them all.  These hundreds of balls being released every season by bowling ball manufacturers are all attempts at producing smooth ball reactions on the maximum number of patterns.

Creating this smooth ball reaction on many patterns is a daunting task.  However, it is really quite simple to understand if we look at it in as basic a fashion as we possibly can.  Given that, we will be simplifying ball motion to its absolute core; the two factors in creating smooth reaction.

Factor #1

Friction Production: The first basic factor in understanding ball reaction how much friction a ball will create.  This is the simpler of the two aspects, and is easily observed.  Most bowlers already look at patterns from left to right. Friction production is primarily going to influence the left to right hook.  A ball that creates more friction will have more hook potential on most patterns. 

Factor #2

Response Time:  While friction production primarily determines how much a ball hooks, response time primarily determines the shape.  When a ball responds, it can do so quickly (making a hockey stick type shape) or slowly (more like a banana).  Also, this is the more difficult aspect of ball motion to understand, as it has more to do with the motion from the front to the back of the lane.  This second factor is of the utmost importance because it is the most often overlooked.

It’s Not Always as it Seems

Something to note at this point is that both factors influence the front to back motion of a ball on the lane and the left to right. I am simply attempting to simplify the concepts. A ball that creates very little friction, but responds very quickly will hook more left to right than a ball that creates a great deal of friction, but responds slowly on many dry lane conditions.  This is simply because of energy retention that results from the low friction production.  The occurrence of a Recon hooking more than a Cruel frustrates and baffles many league bowlers.  This phenomenon explains such an issue.  The Recon retains its energy and the Cruel, on dry lanes, uses it up too quickly for the bowler to recognize the hook.

Next, we’ll discuss why these two factors are so important and why you have to understand both to grasp proper ball motion.