😳

Hey Nick,

In general, you’ll probably want a weaker cover ball for this type of situation, and I tend to lean into recommending a symmetric if you’re not comfortable/experienced moving deep into more oil and “swinging” the lane a bit more - although there are plenty of weaker/cleaner asyms that could work for you - really won’t know until you give it a shot. There are PLENTY of options to choose from in terms of a “ball down” situation from those that you mentioned, and they all vary in “weak”ness bc the term is quite relative.

I’d suggest anything from the list below before a P2 given what you said, although the P2 Pearl could very well be usable for this situation but I’d still venture to say maybe a touch stronger than what you’d need.

1. Hustle

2. Zen 25

3. Typhoon

4. Hyroad (or road warrior, THE road, etc but OG hybrid is the top dawg of the bunch imo)

There are tons more options across the large swath of brands, but Typhoon, THE road, Road Warrior & Zen 25 are all discontinued now I believe and I’ve seen them for pretty cheap at sites like BowlerX.com (esp if you pay for the yearly membership).

As I said, dozens of other options so by no means are these the be all end all.

Good luck!

I should also add; I’m not an expert by any means - just another internet opinion that has been wrong in the past and will continue to be wrong lol so take it all for what it’s worth! I’m plugging my wife’s 14lb ruby today and drilling it for myself soon, never rolled a 14 and missed out on grabbing a ruby before it got discontinued, so we’ll see how it rolls for me. I have a 15lb emerald that will have a different layout on it so not sure how fair the comparison will be.

Hey Travis, there are a lot of questions here but I’ll try and address everything I can.

15 vs 14 lbs carry can be different in a few ways - it’s all dependent on the bowler though. Is it guaranteed that your revs change significantly with the change in weight? No, I don’t believe so, but from what I can gather anecdotally it seems that people find their rev rate does increase by a small percentage with the slight drop in weight. As far as the scientific aspect in relation to better carry one way or another, there’s a fantastic book called ‘bowling beyond the basics’ that dives incredibly deep into this very topic. If you’re really curious about that topic I’d absolutely recommend that book. In regards to layout, I personally wouldn’t change anything unless you’re after the same exact ball motion between two balls. Lets say you have a 14lb & 15 lb hyroad, the 15lb will have a negligibly higher rg but a significantly higher diff. It should have the same general shape ball to ball, but if you were after the closest ball motion you could get between the two, you could talk to your PSO and he could likely tweak the angles to give you something that lowers the diff a bit in the 15 to better match your 14.

This is all to say, you’re newer to the sport, sounds like you’re grinding hard and doing well.

My biggest advice to you is: experiment with what what works for you. Keep an open mind on concepts you learn about, there is SO much info on bowling out there, some outdated, most of it’s great, and a small percentage just flat out wrong. Find what clicks and makes sense to you. And while you’re grinding this hard at this stage, make sure you’re checking in with some coaches and building a good foundation for your future. And of course above all else, keep it fun.

Good luck 🤘🏻

Loving these quotes Brad, keep em coming! The hard work vs talent one is 🔥

Drill ‘er up! They’re meant to see some lane time imo.

9/ is a good frame, keep telling yourself that.

It depends on what kind of 10 pin you’re noticing. Be vigilant of how your ball is going through the pocket and off of the pin deck. The key to carrying better lies in knowing how your ball is finishing.

Sounds fun! A short and a long… without knowing too much about your arsenal or experience on sport shots:

- Surface is your friend with flatter patterns like these.

- Going to want a “slow” ball for Boardwalk. I have a short pin, early rolling Clone for stuff like this that I really like. Urethane and/or something with a pretty aggressive cover, lower RG Asym. Start right and see if the gutter hooks, move in accordingly but keep your angles in front of you.

- Probably a “quicker” asym to start on the Eiffel Tower, something that has a sharper and later shape. Still want to have your angles in front of you but I’ve only had success on Eiffel playing pretty far left to start. Really depends on the house and who you’re bowling with. If this shot gets broken down well, it can play a little softer, but it’s been a nightmare for me in the past before realizing just how far left I needed to stand/target.

- Make your spares!

-If things go sideways, look around at who’s having success, try their lines, move your feet and stay vigilant with ball motion.

- oh and, fun! Have some of that if you’re able.

Good luck!

Nice set Aiden!