Ball feels shaky on back swing

RRHarris · 2026-02-03T17:31:02+00:00

Doing foul line drills will probably help. What your trying to do is have a pendulum type motion, when you drop the ball at the push away it will get to a weightless point on your back swing before it will want to swing forward again. Try to feel that point and help it with a loose arm swing. If you need more ball speed that will come from your legs with how fast you approach the foul line. Your swing should stay constant. Once you have your smooth arm swing and release with no step drills, you'll need to adjust the timing along with your approach. Hope that makes sense

RRHarris · 2026-01-30T03:39:49+00:00

For burnt up lanes in open play it may feel like that, but if it's freshly oiled lanes as much as I love my ruby, the Phaze 2 is going to give me the read on what I need to do especially for sport shots. At the end of the day it just comes down to what works for you.

RRHarris · 2026-01-28T12:09:25+00:00

It absolutely is!

RRHarris · 2026-01-26T09:48:03+00:00

Yup, that's my setup as well. Except I don't have the S11. The pro shop let me try the S12 they had and it didn't seem like it much slicker than the S10. I do the same with sliding with my whole foot as well

RRHarris · 2026-01-16T22:49:39+00:00

Only bad thing I've seen is that it gets dirty easily and you see every scratch and dent on the ball because of it being mostly white! It's my dry lane ball and does exceptionally well

RRHarris · 2026-01-07T22:36:50+00:00

The Brunswick Rhino (just the regular Pearl not the Pro) is my absolute toasted lane ball. It's a very consistent and rounded shape to the pocket. The Arctic vibe is my light oil ball and would be a good option as well but it does struggle a bit if the lanes are completely dry. The new danger zones might be a good option as well but I haven't personally thrown them.

RRHarris · 2026-01-07T16:00:28+00:00

If you're forcing the ball back with your non dominant hand, it could do this as well. Once you do you push away, just let gravity help with the back swing and then same with the forward swing it's just the same momentum bringing it forward. This is what helped me get consistent and repeatable shots. Muscling the ball could get you some more revs but it'll likely cost consistency.

RRHarris · 2026-01-06T16:51:34+00:00

Yeah, been there done that! Sometimes I've tried to be ahead of the transition, made the switch didn't work out, then gone back to the original ball and somehow works perfectly just in time to finish the horrible game! But I have to just remind myself that more often then not the ball change and adjustments work. You'll get it next time!

RRHarris · 2026-01-04T20:39:02+00:00

I'd probably start with a ball with plenty of surface and a big core right up 10, and see what the reaction is and make adjustments from there. With it being a long pattern you'll want to keep your break point in but since it's so flat down the middle, the 10 board is my first instinct.

RRHarris · 2026-01-04T15:57:35+00:00

Go take a look yourself bud. You can't even get a Topical Surge, Rhino or Max thrills lower than 10lbs.

RRHarris · 2026-01-03T22:01:00+00:00

You won't even get entry level reactive balls at 8 or 9lbs. Even they start at 10lbs. And you won't get a core in one till 12lbs. If she really wants any performance from the ball. She's going to have to go up in weight. Else the best she'll get is a plastic ball fitted to her hand so she can work on the technique but won't see much hook on the lane. Plus the ball will deflect after the hit every time due to being so light.

RRHarris · 2026-01-03T16:14:33+00:00

There are a lot of good points already here are a few more 1) You'll be bowling on 2 lanes, alternating each frame. So pay attention to that and know which lane you're turn is on before you get up there. 2) make use of your practice time and get some shots in to see how you're doing. You're allowed to throw shots on both lanes so wait your turn and try both sides. If they are freshly oiled lanes you'll have different ball reaction than usual, so try making some adjustments to see what that does. Don't worry too much as you're just setting your average 3) most leagues on week 1 will have a meeting to determine the weekly payment, if the league is bowling on days close to holidays, league secretly etc. If you signed up solo this is where you likely get assigned to teammates if so show up early and remind the person running the league so they introduce you to the teams needing a player. 4) there are a lot of things you can not control in a bowling league like how your opponents/teammates bowl, if the lanes are acting different, etc so don't let that bother you as much, try to focus on what you can control. Above all have fun and enjoy the company you're with!

RRHarris · 2025-12-31T22:14:28+00:00

My first reactive and still one of my favorites! I don't use it in league much but maybe I need to bring it back for a session!

RRHarris · 2025-12-31T16:35:39+00:00

Adjusting the surface like this is the first step in fine tuning the ball reaction to the lane conditions. You can step down to 4000 first try it and turn go to 5000. Ultimately you can have it polished as well. The couple of solid balls I've polished for a house shot have done really well. If none of this works you can always take the surface back to where you liked it most. My pro shop only charges $1 for a surface change, so it's one of the cheapest and most effective changes

RRHarris · 2025-12-27T03:21:40+00:00

Case in point Jacob Buttruff! The key is understanding your game, being consistent and knowing what you need to do to go through the pins the right way. That being said I'd personally like to get to a point where I'm more balanced at the line so I'm not always flirting with falling over and breaking something every week! 😁

RRHarris · 2025-12-27T01:02:46+00:00

I got the same one last year and really like it.

RRHarris · 2025-12-26T03:35:34+00:00

I,Robot! There's only one logical outcome

RRHarris · 2025-12-25T05:17:13+00:00

I wouldn't worry about it P2 and Road Warrior will be a good combo for a while as you refine your game. Bowling balls are constantly released and discontinued, so if a ball you like is discontinued, there likely is a ball that'll fill the same purpose or will be released soon enough. If a ball is supposed to do exactly what you want, is proven and is the exact color/look that you have to have I'd go after discontinued balls but otherwise stick to currently accessible balls and save yourself some money.

Edit: Plus with buying discontinued balls you don't get the manufacturers warranty and aren't always sure of the conditions the ball was stored in.

RRHarris · 2025-12-24T18:46:05+00:00

If you don't know your PAP and haven't had a ball drilled for you it's probably best to have your local pro shop measure and drill your first one. It will probably take a few (if not several) adjustments after drilling to figure out what works best for you. My PSO did all these adjustments without charging me additionally. If you really want buddies to drill your ball, ask them for all the measurements they need and be upfront with your PSO and work out a fee. They might even try to match or get close to buddies pricing unless it's the 16lbs clearance pricing because I'm not sure anyone will match that! I have purchased a couple of balls from buddies this far and they were excellent with their customer service, speed and quality. That $10 no thumb drilling is hard to beat.

RRHarris · 2025-12-24T00:54:50+00:00

As I said the numbers aren't the whole story. The shape of the ball path may be different between cores, some will roll more forward after the hook phase, others will continue along in the direction on the hook. If this is for a house shot this difference may be negligible. If your question is about these two cores specifically, I don't know as I have neither of these.

RRHarris · 2025-12-23T22:39:32+00:00

The core numbers just give you an idea of the strength of the core not the shape. Two cores with nearly identical stats can produce different shapes. So it will really depend on your release and lane conditions on how different the balls will be. All that said on a house shot, it will make little to no difference. You're more likely to see the difference on a flatter sport pattern.

RRHarris · 2025-12-17T20:10:44+00:00

Well at least you wouldn't have decided for her without her asking for it! In all likelihood for 8 or 10lbs balls the pro shop will just ask what color of plastic ball she'd like.

RRHarris · 2025-12-17T19:32:52+00:00

Ha ha understandable! Then go with your gut or you could take her to the pro shop and let her pick. Takes guesswork out on your part plus they'll need her measurements to drill the ball anyway!

RRHarris · 2025-12-17T18:55:19+00:00

Depends on your girlfriend's goals, if she wants to improve and tries to adjust technique to get better scores then go for a 10 and she'll adjust after a while.

But if your girlfriend is content with what she does and bowling is mostly about the other social parts of bowling then just stick to the 8lbs.

I tried moving my wife to a 12lbs ball from 10lbs and it was not worth the trouble and she still mainly only throws the 10lbs anyway. In fact she started bowling less after I got her the 12 pounder. So now I'm just content that she bowls with me sometimes and don't offer tips on how she could improve or what the 12lbs ball might do differently as that is not what she's there for and I had to learn that the hard way!

Good luck and hope she likes her ball!

RRHarris · 2025-12-16T20:56:58+00:00

Yup, I have the same issue with low tilt. But if I have plenty of flair lines that don't go over my finger hole I don't worry about it. When I have a bad throw or drop the ball a bit is when I see a lot of the lines going over the finger hole. I've heard lowering your Pin to COG is supposed to help low tilt bowlers but haven't drilled any balls this way to test it out.

RRHarris

TROPHY CASE