Featured Bowling Tips and Techniques Articles
Featured Bowling Ball Reviews
Brunswick Mastermind Scholar
The Brunswick Mastermind Scholar is the fourth release in the Mastermind lineup. It is the first Mastermind that comes out of the box polished. The Scholar pairs the same core from the other releases with a new reactive pearl coverstock named Honor Roll A+ Pearl Reactive. This ball easily glides down the lane farther than any of the previous Masterminds and it retains the most amount of energy for the... [Read More]
Radical Guru Mighty
The Radical Guru Mighty is the follow-up release to last year's popular Guru. It uses the same asymmetrical weight block that was found in the original. The Mighty Guru differs from the original in that it has a hybrid coverstock and a smoother 4000 SiaAir box finish, whereas the Guru had a solid cover and a 1500 SiaAir box finish. The Mighty Guru offers more length and back end reaction... [Read More]
Hammer Bad Intentions
The Hammer Bad Intentions is the second release in the “Bad” high performance line from Hammer. This ball uses the same core design that was used in the Bad Ass and wraps it with the new Juiced Xtreme solid reactive coverstock. This cover comes from the factory prepped with a final finishing step of 2000 Abralon, making it a valuable tool on heavy oil lane conditions. The Bad Intentions was... [Read More]
Storm Rocket
The Storm Rocket is the first 2015 addition to Storm's popular Thunder line. This ball pairs the highly successful R2S Hybrid coverstock with Storm's new Booster core shape. This is the first new core shape to enter this price point in a few years. The Rocket comes out of the box at the standard 1500 grit polished finish and it will give most bowlers lots of success on medium volume... [Read More]
AMF Pure
The new AMF Pure is the latest hook monster for bowlers with lower rev rates, higher speeds, or who just flat-out want to see a ball hook. The Pure uses the same super aggressive F90 Solid coverstock that we saw previously on the Incinerate and pairs it with the same core shape that was in the Decimate. The core has been modified a small amount, giving this version of the... [Read More]
Storm Crux Pearl
The Storm Crux Pearl is the first 2015 addition to Storm’s Premier line of high performance bowling balls. This ball pairs the Catalyst core shape from the first Crux with Storm's ERG Pearl Reactive coverstock. This cover comes out of the box with Storm's standard 1500 grit polished finish. This gives the Crux Pearl added length and a much stronger change of direction downlane than the first Crux. This ball's... [Read More]
900 Global Break Down
The 900 Global Break Down uses a familiar core shape to other balls in both the Break and Eagle lines, but the densities have been altered. The changes result in a much lower differential and a higher RG. This equals to more lope through the front of the lane, with a much more controlled motion at the back of the lane. This ball is finished with the NEAT T pad,... [Read More]
Hammer Black Widow Red Legend
The Hammer Black Widow Red Legend is the follow-up to the very popular Black Widow Legend from last year. Using the proven core shape from the Black Widow line and, given how good it was in the reincarnation with the Legend, the Black Widow Red Legend had to be pretty good to not disappoint. And, it certainly did not disappoint any of our testers. The Red Legend uses the NBT... [Read More]
Columbia 300 Delirium
The Delirium is the first mid-price release for Columbia 300 of the 2015 calendar year. This ball uses the Resurgence core from the Eruption line and it is surrounded by the Bend-It Pearl coverstock that was used previously on the upper-mid priced Vow. This ball is finished with 500 and then 2000 Abralon pads before Powerhouse Factory Finish Polish is applied to it. It is rougher than previous releases and... [Read More]
Track Hx16
The Track Hx16 is the third ball in the "H" series of balls designed for high rev rate bowlers. It uses Track's dual density I-Core weight block which has been used in several previous high performance releases. This strong asymmetrical core is wrapped by Track's DR-8 Hybrid reactive coverstock, prepped with a 1000 Abralon pad and Powerhouse Factory Finish Polish. Cranker liked this ball best on our medium pattern. He... [Read More]
The BTM Archive – Featured Content
Words Can Be Dangerous
My philosophy about coaching youth (in bowling or any other sport), as I have written previously, focuses on a two-fold agenda: Using the sport to teach lessons about life. Giving the youth bowler the tools to become the best bowler they can be as they mature as an athlete and a person. This is a... [Read More]
Lining Up Off Everyone Else
This is the time of year you prepare for USBC Championships and The BTM and The 123. It’s important to be mentally “all in” as well as making sure your equipment and physical game are sharp and ready for the challenge (as you read in last month’s Round Table article). There is a lot of... [Read More]
Is it Time to Call it Quits?
Every now and then you will see a bowler slam his/her bag down and declare, “I’m through with this!” Toward the middle or end of bowling season, you see players threaten to quit and never come back. Fortunately, most of these declarations pass with the speed of a player’s frustrations and disappointments. Yet, sometimes the... [Read More]
Take Charge with Technology – Part 1
It is an amazing time to be a bowler. New high-tech bowling balls are introduced each month. Bowling shoes with interchangeable soles and heels are commonplace. Everywhere you look you see mobile devices. While many bowlers use them to check email, update Facebook, tweet, text, or play games, these gadgets are capable of more –... [Read More]
The Art of Unlearning
It has been four hundred years since Sir Francis Bacon wrote that “knowledge is power,” yet it has never been truer than it is today. It has always been difficult to gain knowledge as learning often entails unlearning beliefs. Unlearning is hard. In the past, it has even been dangerous. In 1633, Galileo was imprisoned... [Read More]
The Bowling Diet – Part 1
If I asked most bowlers who their favorite athlete is, they probably would not name another bowler. Such is the stigma of our sport, that we even view ourselves as non-athletes. Bowling is a precision sport, so while it doesn’t require the same athletic abilities as football, basketball, or tennis, it does require fitness to... [Read More]
Storm Introduces the Vector Layout System
When Storm introduced the PSA Drilling Guide in 2005, drilling instructions for balls with a strong preferred spin axis, it was met with a variety of reactions ranging from “What is a pin buffer?” to “Ah, this explains it!” This guide introduced the Pin Buffer System of laying out balls which helped bowlers position the... [Read More]
Demonstrating Ball Motion
This is the time of year when young athletes decide to learn more about bowling. The reasons for the additional learning desire could be an upcoming move from middle school to high school (we don't have middle school bowling in Kentucky), a move to a new school, an increase in average, or bowling presents. I... [Read More]
