March 2023 Arsenal Update
bowlingball.com Staff Writer, Cortez Schenck
Published: 3/9/2023
We are just about to the halfway mark on the PBA Tour. The first half of the season has been rough for me. I'm consistently having issues getting through the PTQs.
We had a break last week, so I spent some time at home and made small changes to my arsenal and game. This past week was a nice little tune-up. I feel more confident going into the next events.
When I was home, I decided to drill up a Gem, Revenant, and Eternity. I put layouts on them that I normally don't use and put the pins a little closer to my axis. I decided to drill these balls with these new layouts for a couple of reasons. One of the main reasons is that we are bowling on lanes oiled with a Brunswick machine.
For those that don't know, a Brunswick machine can only put out forward oil on the lane. This typically causes the ball to have a hard time slowing down when it's trying to "hook", I noticed that since being out here, much of my equipment is too quick and angular off the spot. I needed to drill a few balls that were smoother off the spot and earlier.
The Gem will be a ball I will use on the fresh. It's a slower-response bowling ball but still hooks a lot. I also think the Gem will be a good fit after I throw urethane. Urethane typically carries oil down the lane, so this ball should have no problem dealing with all the carry-down. I see the Eternity being a good compliment to the Gem. I used the same layout on it, and I added a little bit of surface to it. I see this ball working when the Gem starts to get a little lazy down the lane and starts to pick up too early..
Lastly, I drilled the Revenant for later in the block when the lanes start to hook a lot. I originally had a Wolverine Dark Moss I was using, but I noticed this ball is a little too angular for the patterns we have been bowling on. Luckily, the Revenant is a clean bowling ball that doesn't go sideways off the end of the pattern. It's unique in that it's smooth off the spot. I am hoping these smoother and earlier bowling balls give me some different shapes to play with while out on tour.
-Cortez Schenck
