House Ball V Viz-A-Ball

[boston_represent]

Hey people,

Got a rather quirky topic to discuss. Do you think a house ball hits harder than a Viz-A-Ball? I have a mate who swears this to be true. He is a lefty and bowls league with a straight ball at the 1-2 pocket and recently drilled up a 15lb Brunswick Viz-A-Ball. He throws with a high ball speed and no matter how acurate he seems to hit, he leaves all kinds of mess and the Viz-A-Ball seems to hit like a wet noodle, deflecting further off the pins than a house ball. He leaves solid pins all over the deck, often splits. When he switches back to the house ball, he gets noticably better drive through the pin deck and leaves very little if anything from a pocket hit. Carry is vastly improved.

When he first brought this to my attention, I didn't take it seriously but upon closer investigation, I was quite baffled by the difference and couldn't offer him much of an explanation. He often backs up lousy a 150 game using the Viz-A-Ball, with a 210+ game using the house ball. His shots are pretty consistent; the carry is the huge difference. I know many people will read this and think it is just an inconsistency in his game or a mere excuse for poor bowling.

I'd like to hear if anyone else out there has noticed the same thing. Having watched him bowl, I'm scratching my head wondering why the ball hits so poorly, creating a different sound too.

 

[jimcross]

Is the Vis-A-Ball drilled with a 'conventional' or 'fingertip' grip?

 

[boston_represent]

Jim, it's 15lb drilled conventional. After witnessing the way the ball bounces off the pins, I'm starting to think that Viz-A-Balls were only made to aim at one or two pins, and not designed to be thrown at a full deck. He leaves a wider variety of spares than I've ever witnessed. It's time to get him onto a reactive ball soon I think.... :g:

 

[piequat]

This may be a stupid comment, but I'll give it a go anyway.

House balls are generally duller than Viz-A-Balls, maybe the surface (shiny new Viz-A-Ball) has something to do with it?

 

[jimcross]

Thanks - I've got no answer. A straight or reasonably straight delivery of a 'plain', that is non-reactive ball, can have a quite different roll entering the pins, with a 'conventional' grip, from a 'fingertip', which affects deflection, therefore carry. Both being the same, I have no idea.

Just thought - They're not the same, are they? It's probably not the same drilling as the house ball, is it?

 

[tonx]

A large majority of house balls are urethane.

 

[RobbieB]

Lol, Tonx beat me to it. If it is deflecting a lot, as a naturally suspicious person, I would also get the visaball weighed by someone who didn't drill it. I know of a few people who have paid for one weight and been given another.

 

[jimcross]

Yes, Robbie and Tonx - I was trying to find a difference, because of course, there has to be one. There is no magic. One or both of you have probably got it. I'll place my two bob on weight. Weigh them both !!

 

[atx106]

i used a vis-a-ball before i switched to fingertip and i can tell you vis-a-balls are great for spares, HORRENDOUS for strikes. house balls can give strikes, vis-a-balls deflect more than the spaldeen balls you can get for $3 at rebel sport

 

[jason_doust]

Never thought of it like that before, but I think Tonx and Robbie have the answer. Urethane is used in a lot of house balls as it's quite cheap; A little more expensive than polyester, but much more durable. It also has a larger surface footprint, giving more traction on the backend and the pin deck, despite being soaked with oil.

I'm pretty sure I drilled this ball, although I can't really give any useful comment on the weight as it was bought to me for drilling. Happy to weight it up to confirm though.

One thing's for sure, I wouldn't recommend sanding it! (Unless you want a white ball!)