The New Hammer Axe: Not The Best Name

I recently purchased the new Hammer polyester bowling ball called the Hammer Axe. I was very excited when they released a new spare ball, as I am a die hard Hammerhead, but did not like the past few releases. The Black Widow spare ball was cool, but I do not like clear bowling balls like that, but merely a solid and dark colored bowling ball like the Axe.

Then I got to thinking, is Axe the right name for this bowling ball? Many times when we are bowling, we leave more than one pin, for example a 6 - 10. If you only hit one of these two pins, you just chopped that spare. Now, what do you do with an axe? You chop wood. Seems like this may not be the best name for someone trying to sell bowling balls. I sure hope I do not do a lot of chopping with my new Axe!

My Review of the Hammer Jigsaw Corner

For all you die hard Hammer fans out there that liked the Hammer Jigsaw, watch out. Here comes the Hammer Jigsaw Corner. This bowling ball is absolutely nasty, I have yet to come across a condition that this ball will not hook in. The ball has the Hammer Jigsaw Core and the Quick Corner 5/4 coverstock, finished to a 4000 grit with Powerhouse Factory Finish polish. This ball is great for medium to heavy volumes of oil, and that is why I got it. The layout of my ball is 50 X 3 7/8" X 60 using the dual angle layout technique. I have found that this ball works really well early in the Shark PBA pattern, especially since I have sanded the finish down to a 500 grit abralon finish. I also found some success using this bowling ball early in the Cheetah PBA pattern as well by taking a few revs off my normal release and moving right on the lanes. Even though this ball is meant to have a great overall hook potential, it is also very versatile. This is a great bowling ball and I recommend anyone have this bowling ball in their arsenal!

My Review of the Hammer Psycho

One of the recent releases in Hammer bowling's raw hammer series is the Hammer Psycho. This ball has a new core called the Raw-Hammer Assault core and a pearlized version of the Max-Hook Reactive coverstock. The factory finish is a 4000 grit sanded finish with Powerhouse Factory Finish polish. The idea of this bowling ball is to give you good length on medium conditions, with a very aggressive backend. The layout I used for this bowling ball is 60 X 3 3/8" X 35 using the dual angle layout. I wanted this ball to be what I use when there is a lot of carrydown on the lanes, and I need something that will still hit the pins hard. So far it seems to work perfectly, but I have found that in order to really carry with this bowling ball, I have to keep the surfaced roughed up with a 1000 grit finish with no polish on the ball. With the combination of the layout above and a low grit finish, this bowling ball really packs a punch and I have found much success with this bowling on the Scorpion and Shark PBA patterns.

My Review of the Hammer Black Widow Venom

One the Hammer Black Widow was introduced many years ago, I just had to have one and I loved it. I threw that ball for years and finally decided that it was time to upgrade my arsenal. I decided to purchase the Black Widow Venom. This bowling ball has the Widow series core with their Lethal Bite Reactive coverstock, coming from the factory with a 4000 grit sanded finish and Powerhouse Factory Finish polish. The characteristics of this bowling ball give it good length and awesome backend. The layout I used is a 35 X 4.5" X 30 using the dual angle layout. With this layout I hoped to see this ball read the lanes fairly early, and maintain a strong, but arcing backend motion. I will use this ball mostly in medium to heavy oil conditions. I sanded down the coverstock with a 1000 grit abralon pad to get this reaction, and this bowling ball works great for me on conditions like the Chameleon PBA pattern. The way I see it, if the bowling ball your throwing says Black Widow on it, you have a great ball in your hands, and the Venom is no exception to this rule!

My Review of the Hammer Razyr

Hammer has recently done something that no other company has tried recently. They designed a new bowling ball called the Razyr, and I love this ball. The Razyr has a pancake core just like a plastic ball, but it has a much more aggressive Recoil Reactive coverstock. The factory finish is sanded to a smooth 4000 grit finish and polished with Powerhouse Factory Finish. What this means to you is this ball is great for any lane condition where you need the ball to get through the front and middle part of the lane, and maintain a strong backend. I use this ball anytime the front part of the lane dries up and I have trouble with my stronger balls burning up and hooking to early. I thought this would be a great bowling ball on the Cheetah PBA pattern, but I have since realized that since it retains all of it's energy and has a very sharp backend, I did not carry well. I still have the factory finish, and if I roughed the surface up, I bet you could tone down that sharp backend and use this ball on just about any pattern. I have really loved this ball so far and really appreciate Hammer being so innovative and creating so many wonderful products!

How to Build a Bowling Ball Arsenal

If you have been to bowling league lately, you have probably noticed that it is next to impossible to walk around the bowling alley without tripping on the countless bowling bags lying around. This is because many bowlers these days are carrying around multiple bowling balls that all react differently. This is commonly called their arsenal, and with this article I will give you tips on how you can build the proper bowling ball arsenal.

The first ball I consider a must is a plastic spare ball. With this ball, the lane conditions will not dictate how you throw at spares. You will be able to throw at spares the same way no matter the pattern, thus increasing your spare percentage and increasing your average. Now of course there will still be spares with "sleepers" in there you may want to throw a hook ball at, but for the most part the plastic spare ball is very important.

Now that you have a spare ball, we move on to the hook ball. This is where this task gets tricky. Many people I know have a ball for light oil, a ball for medium oil, and a ball for long oil. Well this is a decent starting point, but not the best method. This does not take into consideration the volume of oil, only the length. If you bowl in multiple houses for leagues or tournaments, you will know there are more than three oil patterns out there. For this reason I think you should have at least four hook bowling balls. The first should be for shorter patterns with a light volume of oil. This means a weak bowling ball with a very polished surface. The second should be for short to medium patterns with a higher volume of oil. I would use a stronger reacting bowling ball, but with a sanded finish around 1500-2000 with very little polish. The next ball should be for medium to long patterns, which is a very aggressive ball drilled to go long and have a very angular reaction at the backend. The last ball should be the same, but with a different layout to have earlier roll and more overall hook.

The final step in building your arsenal is to remember that your arsenal will always need minor adjustments. Keeping your bowling balls clean and experimenting with your surfaces will give you a much better idea of your ball reaction, and what will work best for you to carry more strikes. To find out more on altering the surface of your bowling ball, I have added a link to an article below on how to do it. Good luck!

Share 50000 Dollars With the New Bounty Hunter From 900 Global

There are many bowling ball companies out there making some awesome bowling balls these days. The problem is picking the bowling ball that is right for you. For most of us mere mortals out there that cannot repeat shots like the pros, just about any high performance bowling ball will do. Few, however, will offer to pay you money if you succeed using their equipment. That is until 900 Global came along. With their new bowling ball called the Bounty Hunter (which Walter Ray Williams used to win his 46th title), if you bowl a 300 you split a pot of 50,000 dollars. Sounds pretty good doesn't it? At the moment this article was published, there have been roughly 84 300s thrown, which means those 84 people will each get around 594 dollars. Now if you ask me, that just puts the icing on the cake after rolling a perfect game! To check out this bowling ball and have your chance of sharing in the pot, follow the link at the top of this page.

How to Get Bowling Balls For Free

If you have arrived at this page, you are probably like me and would love to get free bowling balls. However, I hope you did not think it would be easy. There are a couple of ways to get free bowling balls and one is to be sponsored. Well this article is not how to get sponsored and win PBA tournaments and get free stuff, but this is an article on how you can spend some of your free time making money on the internet. Then you can use that money to buy the newest bowling balls and keep your bowling arsenal fresh.

First off, where I make a majority of my money online is at a website called Ehow. You can view my profile and read my articles here. Basically, you write articles on how to do stuff, and they place different types of advertisements on your article. When an ad is clicked, it generates income for Ehow, which they share with you. I am not making a ton of money with this site, but it is enough to buy a new bowling ball every two to three months.

The second way to make money online is to create yourself a blog. With a blog, you can place advertisements and affiliate links on your page and you do not share the income with anyone but yourself. The problem with this is that it is much harder to get traffic to your blog as compared to a site like Ehow. Check this page out for a free website that provides you with an easy way to place affiliate links on your blog or webpage.



If you can spend some of your free time working on the internet, as opposed to sitting on the couch watching tv, you could very well be earning income. The greatest part is that once the money is coming in, it does not stop. It will keep coming in every month, especially if you keep fresh posts on your page. I wish everyone out there luck, but remember, this is not easy. It has taken me a year to get to where I am at. But if you stick with it, you will be buying yourself new bowling balls whenever you want!

How to Properly Clean Your High Performance Bowling Ball

After throwing a few games with your bowling ball, you may notice it starts to react inconsistently, or maybe does not hook as much as the day you purchased your new bowling ball. The reason is that in order to maintain the most performance out of your high performance bowling ball, you must take care of it.

The first step in maintaining a high performance bowling ball is to know what type of bowling ball you have. Most high performance bowling balls today have an aggressive coverstock. It could be a hard plastic ball, a reactive resin ball, or a pearl coverstock. Each of these different types of coverstocks (outer core of the ball) have different characteristics that you will need to consider when cleaning your bowling ball. To maintain the highest performance of your bowling ball, you should clean the ball after every 6 - 9 games you have bowled with it (much less for a plastic spare ball).

When a bowling ball is thrown down the lane, the coverstock of the bowling ball actually absorb oil from the lane. Typically, a reactive resin coverstock will absorb oil faster than a pearl coverstock, and a plastic absorbs little or no oil as it is thrown down the lane. You can see this after throwing the ball by looking at the oil track that is left on your bowling ball. For the purpose of this article, I am going to focus on high performance bowling balls with pearl or reactive resin coverstocks. This oil is absorbed into the coverstock of the ball, which can actually affect the hook potential of the ball and could cause an inconsistent reaction. Properly cleaning your bowling ball will extend the life and help the ball maintain its highest performance potential.

To properly clean a bowling ball you will need either an oil-free terrycloth towel, or a 100% plush cotton towel. You will also need a good bowling ball cleaner. To clean the ball, you simply spray the ball with the cleaner and wipe in small circles, pressing down firmly, until the cleaner has dried. Repeat until you have cleaned the entire surface of the bowling ball.

After cleaning the ball, this will bring the ball much closer to the original state of the ball and possibly restore hook to the ball that you feel you have lost. Also, you can try different polishes and factory finishes which can alter the surface of the bowling ball, possibly giving you the better reaction you are looking for.

In closing, taking care of your bowling ball is as similar to taking care of your car. Your car has a maintenance schedule which the manufacturer recommends ensuring your vehicle lasts and runs at its optimal capabilities. This is no different in the sport of bowling. If you take care of your bowling balls, you will find they will last longer, and maintain that pin-destroying capability that it had the day you purchased it.

Why Do I Need So Many Bowling Balls In My Arsenal?

Probably the most common question I have been asked when talking about my bowling ball arsenal is why I need so many different bowling balls. The easiest way to answer this question is by firing a question back. Why do you need so many golf clubs? Why do you need different gears in your car? I could make quite an extensive list of questions that I consider relative, but for now let’s discuss the golf clubs. Obviously, you need different golf clubs to hit different distances and trajectories to give yourself the best opportunity to achieve a good score. With the gears in your car, you need multiple gears so you can safely drive at high speeds without your engine over-revving, and you save gasoline. For the same reason, I need multiple bowling balls. For one thing, when I am throwing at a spare, I do not want my bowling ball to hook, so I have a plastic bowling ball. Also, depending on what lane condition I am bowling on, I may need a bowling ball made for a high oil volume, a low oil volume, a long pattern, or a short pattern. Therefore, I have multiple bowling balls to tackle all these different “conditions”. The next time someone asks you why you have so many bowling balls, you have two options. The first would be to explain to them how the lane conditions can change. The second would be to give them a smart a** response and ask them why they need different golf clubs!

How to Choose the Right Bowling Ball

Bowling is a sport that has been around for thousands of years. It comes as no surprise that the equipment has changed. Even today, companies are making bowling balls that hook more, go longer down the lane, strike more, heck, they might one day throw themselves. Until that day, however, how do you choose the right bowling ball for yourself? Well here is your answer.

To open up, the first type of bowling ball is a plastic ball. This is a ball without a specific core, and the coverstock is plastic. I use a plastic ball for spares as they do not hook no matter the oil pattern you are bowling on, so you do not have to make adjustments to make spares. These type bowling balls are also great for beginners who do not know how to hook and their goal is to consistently hit the head pin.

Now, for more advanced bowlers, there are high performance bowling balls. These are balls that have a weight block, or core, that is shaped to cause the ball to hook. Furthermore, they have a more aggressive coverstock, like a pearl or reactive resin. These balls are designed to go far down the lane, and then hook into the head pin. This hook creates entry angle into the pocket and yields a higher percentage of strikes.

The problem with choosing a ball is knowing your characteristics, what pattern you typically bowl on, and what type of line do you want to play. Are you a full roller and stand use the whole lane throwing a big hook? Do you throw straight with a light hook? Are you somewhere in between? Fast? Slow? All these make a difference when making your choice. The best advice I can give you is to look online and find a ball that is designed for your type of game, and make sure you get it professionally drilled to suit your game.

If you have trouble picking a ball after doing your online research, visit a pro shop. You can explain your style shot, or the pro shop owner may know your game, and he can help you make a selection. Remember, although 99% of bowling is the skill of the bowler, having the right equipment in your hands can really help. Last time I checked, Tiger Woods does not use a wooden driver. If you are interest in what I consider the best bowling balls out there, check out Hammer's Official Website

How to Alter the Surface of Your Bowling Ball and Why

Bowling balls are much more complicated these days than in the past when made of just plastic. Today’s reactive resin bowling balls require much more maintenance to maintain the overall hook potential. Other than keeping them clean, you can actually alter the surface of the bowling ball to achieve different results. Read on to learn more about altering the surface of your high performance bowling ball.

Altering the surface of your bowling ball is very easy, but knowing what grit to use can be difficult. Using a ball spinner is the easiest way to change the surface of your bowling ball, but you can use your hands and wipe vigorously all over the entire surface of the ball whatever grit you decide to use. To change the surface, you should first look and see what the factory finish your bowling ball comes with out of the box. Most come with a 2000 grit sanded, then polished factory finish. This combination should get you length and backend as the 2000 grit will smooth the surface of the bowling ball and the polish helps it get down the lane. This finish could, however, get you a strong backend as the bowling ball is retaining all its potential energy until it reaches the dry boards down the lane. This is a good starting point if you are trying to figure out what works best for you.

Another way to change the surface of your bowling ball is to use a lesser grit abralon pad, like a 500 or 1000 grit. This style will give a somewhat less smooth surface allowing the ball to read the lane earlier. This will cause the ball to hook a little earlier, and instead of snapping in the backend, have more of a smooth, arcing transition over the entire length of the lane. This style would be great if you are bowling on a long oil pattern that would require you to get your ball into its roll earlier.

The final advice I can give on altering the surface of your bowling ball is to talk to your local PBA professional or Pro Shop operator. They have extensive knowledge on ball layouts and surfaces and they can tell you what can work best on the shot you most consistently bowl on. Do not be afraid to try new polishes, different grit sandpapers, etc. Once you figure out what is best for you, the high average will follow!

Remember, DO NOT alter the surface of your bowling ball during USBC or PBA competition. This is against the rules. To clean and resurface your bowling ball, check out this bowling ball spinner:

Ball Spinner 1/2 Horse Power - $ 279.99
From: bowlingball.com, Inc.

Who makes the Best Bowling Balls? I think Hammer

Over the years I have thrown quite a few different bowling balls. If you have reached this page then you have probably asked yourself the following question: Who makes the best bowling balls? The answer to this question is simple, there is no right answer. Sure, if you come across a PBA sponsored bowler, he will tell you what he throws is the best. That may not mean that they are the right bowling balls for you. Everyone out there throws the bowling ball a little differently. Depending on your speed, revolutions, and the area of the lane you like to play, you may find you have the best luck with a bowling ball that I would never throw in a tournament. In any event, since you got here I might as well give you my opinion. I have had the most luck with Hammer bowling balls. They have great length, and incredible backend! They hit the pocket hard and I rarely have trouble carrying. That does not mean they are perfect and always strike, but I have had the best carry when I have a Hammer bowling ball in my hand. I have two sanctioned 300 games, and both were thrown with Hammer bowling balls.