Brunswick Power Groove, Dry or Reactive for amateur?

[Sam]

Hi,
I'm Sam, new to the forum. I have a strongly developing interest in bowling and have been heading out once a week to try to improve. Some mates I are starting a team in a social league. I bowl quite straight but like to very occasionally dabble in cranking it. I also bowl reasonably fast in comparison to most of the people I've been with. I'm ready to move away from house balls and shoes as I'm finding it frustrating having to search for a ball each time I head down, only to have one that is slightly different and takes a couple of frames to adapt to.

I'm a pretty big guy these days, about 6'1" and 84 kgs, and I use a 13 lb ball most times. They tend to be the ball my hand span and finger size fits best. After looking on the forums it seems most people of my size tend to use quite a bit larger ball than I do. Is a 13 lb ball insufficient for my size (do I just need to toughen the hell up and move to a heavier ball)?

I have been looking to get a ball for a while and think that a Brunswick Power Groove might be around my mark. Just to get away from the plastic and have facilities a bit more hook when I desire it. I'm not sure if I'd be better off going for a Power Groove Reactive which would tend to hook more, or to go a Power Groove Dry, which I think would tend to go straighter (correct me if I'm wrong, it's been quite a learning curve working out what all the numbers mean exactly). Seeing as though I almost always bowl straight, would the Dry be a better pick? Or would I be better off having the facilities of the Reactive so that I can develop more hook in the future if I so desire? I plan to use only one ball so will they both be adequate for varying conditions especially considering I'm only an amateur and probably won't know what's going on anyway?

Thanks guys for any help

Wow, really sorry for the size of the post, I like to be thorough. What a way to start out posting on a new forum .

 

[tonx]

Sam,

Firstly, congrats for looking to take the sport up a little bit more seriously than once in a blue moon. Its great to see a newbie comming in to our sport!!!

In reply to your post, there are several balls that you are able to look at to suit your needs. The brunswick groove series, the storm hit series and the ebonite tornado and elements series have been the most popular choices for bowlers like yourself, looking for a first reactive.

If the groove is your choice, im sure that the reactive would be fine for what you are looking to use it for. You should be able to learn with this ball different hand positions, strike lines and the like. The dry may be a little squirty on anything other than really dry lanes.

If you are using a house ball at 13, going up to a 14 with a properly fitting ball should be no problem whatsoever. You might want to look at trialling a fingertip drilling as well, as this is what top bowlers use to increase control and revs.

Try getting ahold of Max from Bowling Balls Australia, he might have 1 suitable for you in stock. I have ordered off him before and found the service great!!!

hope this helps...

 

[thehittmann]

my first ball was a power groove its not a bad ball but i would recommend something that hooks a little bit more

 

[CSP]

Sam,

You would probably best to purchase a power groove dry. Why I say this is because you have just started in the sport and learning to hook the ball will take alot of practice and frustration. Having a ball that will go a little longer down the lane before it hooks will help with your accuracy and learning consistency to the pocket.

Once you have practiced this for a year and your release and follow through is consistent and your targeting and ball roll is improving then you could purchase a ball that hooks a little more for you and still keep the groove dry for the drier conditions.

Another point to why I say order a power groove dry is that most lane conditions these days don't have alot of volume of oil on them and if you purchase a ball that hooks earlier then you will struggle to keep the ball on the lane and that's even more frustrating.

Good Luck with the improvement of your game. Best to also see you local centre about coaching, much easier than trying to coach yourself.

Christian

 

[thehittmann]

what weight ball are you looking at getting?

 

[Sam]

I was thinking 13 lbs but now thinking maybe 14??

 

[Bowling Balls Australia]

G'day Sam

I think Christian has given you some good advice with his ball selection for your needs. If it is any help to you, we have a 13lb Power Groove DRY in stock at the right price. We also have some similar "first reactive balls" in 14lb if you are open to other options, namely an Ebonite Ice, Columbia Super Trooper, Columbia Flipside Panic & Visionary Green/Blue Centaur - these too are at bargain basement prices.

Furthermore, we can get you any ball you like from our US distributors at discount prices, approx. 10 day delivery.

By all means ask some questions about these balls &/or do some research at www.ballreviews.com

Let me know if we can help in any way. Regards........Max

 

[hamster]

Hey sam
If money isn't an option then go with your choice. But a suggestion would be to see if you pick up something 2nd hand first that is cheap so you get a better understanding of your game.

As in the next few months there will a new list of balls out in the market and you'll have a better understanding of what you want to do.( ie; crank it)

hamster

 

[Street Racer]

hey there, i bowl with ya Power groove reactive (but not 4 very long now ), is a good ball to use in dry to medium lanes, i highly recommend it 4 beginneers coming off a plastic to a reactive, wat lane conoditions r u bowling, just one thing, when u get it plugged and yeh, make sure they dont put to much polish on, i had mine down 1 week ago, and the ball is just skidding down the lane and not doin nothing so yeh

 

[Sam]

Hi, Ended up going with the 13 lb Dry R. Picked it up from Max @ Bowling Balls Australia on Friday. Got a great deal and I must say Max is completely excellent to deal with. Got a great price and couldn't have been happier with his service. The ball is extremely aesthetically pleasing, the green and chrome looks really nice, with silvery swirls through it. Got it drilled today (went conventional after a talk with the driller).
This ball is excellent, when I got it right with it, it went very right. Will take a bit to get fully used to it. I don't really know how to describe this, or if it was just a placebo, but it seems to hit the pins 'harder' than the house balls, like it sort of drives through really hard. Maybe this is just what happens when you get a ball drilled to your own sizes, but it seems really good.
Will report how I'm going when I get a few more games under my belt with it. At the moment though, loving it.

 

[thehittmann]

Yeap you are probably right with how its hitting the pins harder. If the ball's drilled correctly to go with how you bowl the weight block in the ball should make it rev up in the backend and drive through the pins. A houseball tends to lose revs between the mid section and backend and mainly you have to rely on your bowl speed so there is still some decent hitting power when the ball gets to the pins.

I sold my 1 season old power groove (yellow+chrome) today for $30. Hopefully the dry will do a decent job for you I have heard a fair few good reviews about it. My PG was drilled conventional and drilled for maximum legal side weight to get the most hook out of it but I had a lot of trouble getting it to hook on anything other than a dry lane. Took the shine off a bit with scotch pads and this helped it to hook on a little more oil.

I just picked up a purple silver pearl power groove from max last week for my girlfriend. She's going fingertip on this one. She bowls straight at the pocket at this stage so If she can get this ball to hook at all then that is a bonus.

 

[Street Racer]

well good to see that u made a good choose, 2nite out of my groove i got some better crazy backend action that i havent seen before on my groove be4, just hope i get the same reaction at toowomba if my Razor Blade doesnt come in be4 friday