It is no surprise that having a well-rounded arsenal is one of the first steps in setting yourself up for success. Now – does having all sorts of different bowling balls actually equate to winning? No, it does not. But what it does do is provide you with a variety of options to tackle whatever patterns you may be facing throughout your event.
One of the biggest challenges we face as competitors is “what bowling balls do I bring with me?” and depending on your travel accommodations, perhaps you can bring more to certain events than others (if you are driving versus flying). The first step in building your arsenal is truly understanding what you currently have; meaning, what type of bowling balls ARE they? I suggest creating a basic spreadsheet that includes a few different columns – name of your ball, core (symmetrical or asymmetrical) and cover (is it reactive, pearl, urethane, solid, hybrid, etc.).
Once you have this spreadsheet completed, you are now able to see your entire arsenal in one place. And by all means that is just a starting point – if you’d like to add additional columns that include the bowling balls RG, differential, and PSA numbers that is extremely helpful also. (Keep in mind that only bowling balls that have asymmetrical cores will have a PSA number.)
Now, we all have a favorite bowling ball – that is true for every bowler. The one that just always seems to go down the lane no matter what pattern we are bowling on – so of course, pack that one! But now looking at the spreadsheet, you can determine for certain what type of bowling ball that is. For example if it is your Phase2, you know it’s a Solid Reactive Symmetrical bowling ball. As you determine what other bowling balls to add to your travel arsenal, start by filling in gaps. Look at your list and determine which ones are truly different – symmetrical pearl, asymmetrical solid, symmetrical hybrid or even asymmetrical pearl. There are a variety of core / coverstock combinations and the goal is to once again, have a variety!
As I mentioned at the beginning, having different options in your bag is going to be the first step to setting yourself with the best chance to compete! To take it one step further, I also recommend jotting down some notes about how YOU see your bowling balls react. Bowling balls are created with a certain ball motion in mind, however, how the actual bowler throws a bowling ball has an impact on that as well. Very important to not only know WHAT type of bowling balls you have in your arsenal but also to know HOW they react for YOU!