INDEX
Equipment
Equipment Q&A  [1-20]   [21-40]  [41-60]  [61-80]  [81-100]  [101-120]
  [121-140]  [141-160]  [161-180   [181-200]  [201-220]  [221-240]  [241-260  [261-280]  [281-300  [301-320]  [321-340]  [341-360  [361-380]  [381-400]  [321-440]





Walter July 29, 2007
Baton Rouge
LA

Walter Ray, I am Walter K Williams and I am trying to bowl like Walter Ray. I am a right handed bowler. I throw balls that hit the pocket but I don't throw a lot of strikes. I really have to concentrate on my hand position. Would an adjustable wrist support help keep my hand in the right position and increase the revs on my ball? I use a columbia flip side and a brunswick goliath.

Hi Walter,
I don't know if a wrist support would help your consistency in releasing the ball, but it might. I think most wrist devices are more the beginning bowlers who 'break' the wrist backwards. You want to keep your wrist straight or slightly cupped to get good rotation on the ball.



Matthew July 26, 2007
St. Davids
Bermuda

I just recently finished up the USBC Youth Open Championships and i had certain issues with getting the ball into the head pin starting in the 6th frame in my second frame onto the end. I use a Storm Eraser Blaze and I am thinking of getting a new ball that reacts and hooks into the head pin on heavy oil. I want to know if the Storm T Road Solid would be good for me. I am like cranker type of bowler I want a ball good for medium-heavy oil I bowl fast. I use between a 12-14lb ball and I am 14 years old. What would you recommend?

Hi Matthew,
It sounds like there was more oil at this tournament than you are used to. A new ball might help, but I can't speak for any Storm balls as I don't use them. I use MoRich balls which have been very good for me. You might want to ask a coach or somebody you respect as to what might be right for you.



Edward July 9, 2007
Frankfurt
Germany

Hi Walter Ray,
This question may be difficult for you to answer seeing that you're on the Dexter staff, but here goes anyway.
I've ordered myself my first-ever pair of Dexters, the SST6 LE. I did so after becoming disgusted with my "regular" shoes (no changeable soles and heels) not being able to cope with very slick approaches. Hopefully the SST6s will arrive in the next few days. I've reading about comparisons between SSTs and Tour Ultras from Dynarooz. All the responses I read seemed to favor the Tour Ultras primarily because of comfort, light weight and versatility of sole/heel combinations.

Nonetheless, I'm convinced I've ordered the right shoes and was hoping you could relay some of your experiences with the Dexters (and make me feel like I did indeed order the right shoes). As I live in Germany I don't have any opportunity to see you "live," but I certainly enjoy the PBA videos on YouTube in which you appear. Hope you have a very successful PBA season and any comments you can give on the shoes would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks and kind regards
Edward Sherman

Hi Edward,
I have been wearing Dexter shoes even before I was on staff with them. I have always thought that they were comfortable. I had a slight issue with the 7's which has since been rectified. I hope your new shoes help you bowl better.



Frank June 30, 2007
Sycamore
IL

Walter Ray, could you post some pics of the Mo-Rich balls you have used on tour? I would like to see what layouts you have used on your Mo Rich equipment.

Hi Frank,
I'll try. Thanks.



Christina June 27, 2007
North Chicago
IL

Hi Walter Ray,
I watch you every chance I get. I watched you with Norm Duke two of my fav players.
My question is about your bowling equipment. I was wondering what you do with your equipment you no longer use? Would you consider selling any of it to a league bowler who could use some different equipment?

Hi Christina,
I normally don't sell my old equipment. Sorry. Sometimes I will donate it fund raisers.



John June 22, 2007
Nashville
TN

Hi Walter Ray,
I have been a straight bowler for a long time with a conventional grip. I recently got a high performance ball, obviously fingertip grip. I had to drill the thumb a little bigger last night at the local pro-shop because my thumb gotten bigger and stuck in the thumb hole before releases which result in embarrassing missed pockets and gutter balls. Here is my questions: Do I need to redrill my spare ball from conventional to finger tip grip? If I am bowling back to back between conventional and finger tip grip, am I doing potential damage to my hands and fingers? The pro-shop guy told me to always use the same grip between the spare and strike balls because of different releases between the two. Please help. Many replies from posters reading this is also welcome.
Thanks,

Hi John,
You don't have to have the exact same grip from ball to ball, but I would recommend having a grip as similar as possible unless you are trying to do something different. Since a conventional grip will normally hook less, it might be worth while to try and use that for your spares. However, if you decide that it isn't working out going back and forth between the different grips, then get your spare ball drilled like your strike ball. I would recommend to anyone that they should get their thumb hole drilled a pinch large and use some sort of tape to get the thumb hole to fit properly as you can add or take tape out quite easily.



Glen June 19, 2007
Elkhart
IN

Hi Walter Ray,
I would like to have a shot at buying the Red MoRich 3 Ball Roller when you are though with it.
That is a very cool bag.
I have been using Mo's stuff for 5 or 6 years now with great success.

Hi Glen,
I don't sell my old stuff. Sometimes I do donate them for charities and fund raisers. My 3 bag roller is kind of trashed. The rollers don't roll very well and the zipper for the shoe compartment is destroyed.




Dion May 28, 2007
Rancho Cucamonga
CA

Is a fingertip grip or a conventional grip better for a spare ball, which will keep it straighter

Hi Dion,
Normally a conventional grip isn't going to hook as much as a fingertip grip, but since those grips are quite a bit different, I wouldn't recommend alternating from one to the other. But if you get used to it, that should work.



Josh May 17, 2007
Portland
OR

Look I know that your not a pro shop owner, but I also know that you have been around a lot of bowling balls in your life time. I was just wondering what would a 4000 grit polish ball would differ from 1500 grit or 2000 grit ball. Thank you for your time and effort.

Hi Josh,
I haven't fooled around with the exact differences that 1000, 2000, or 4000 finishes have on different bowling balls. Generally the finer the surface (higher finishes), the lower the coefficient of friction which will allow the ball to go down the lane better before hooking. So, if you are bowling on very oily lanes, then a ball with a lower number grit surface might be better and for lanes with less oil, a higher number grit surface might be better. But it also depends on the actual type of surface on the bowling ball. You have to figure out what works better for you.




Jamie April 15 2007
Kingston
NY

I would like to know what ball you were using for the roll to riches television event on April 15, 2007

Hi Jamie,
I used a MoRich Awesome Finish.



Jason April 20, 2007
Jamestown
OH

Hello Walter Ray! Congrats on a great 06-07 Tour season and your 42nd win!! How awesome that must have been for you!

I just got to meet you at the Motel 6 Roll to Riches event in Columbus, OH. I have to say that I think all the bowlers involved were class acts and the experience was one I will never forget! You signed an autograph for me and spoke with me briefly and I appreciate that!

My question for you is: I noticed that some of the other bowlers at the Roll to Riches were switching balls when moving from the right lane to the left, namely Norm Duke. I know that you both were bowling an up and in shot. Do you commonly only use on ball in an event and try to make adjustments as the lane conditions change or do you use one ball with different drillings or do you vary your equipment choices depending on the lane patterns in use? The reason I ask is I am bowling a PBA Experience league this spring and have a similar shot to yours, and was wondering if I should expand my ball arsenal or just try to make reads and adjustments? Thanks in advance!! Enjoy your off time from the PBA Tour, best of luck in the upcoming Season and with your horseshoe pitching, and I look forward to seeing you next season! If there is another event in Ohio that I am able to attend I will be there rooting you on!!

Hi Jason,
I am glad you had a good time at the Roll to Riches event. The left and right lanes there played quite a bit different. Sometimes I will use a different ball on the lanes when they are different, but I didn't think it would be that much of a problem hitting the pocket since it was bowled on a fairly easy lane pattern. Unfortunately I had trouble getting all 10 pins down with one shot. If you have 3 or 4 strike balls and a spare ball you should have enough equipment to deal with most lane conditions. Keep one sanded or ready to be sanded, a shiny one preferably reactive and something in between. Having more equipment than that can sometimes become confusing.



T. B April 7, 2007
Bluffton
OH

I am 19 and have been getting serious with bowling and am tring to get my hook down. I have gotten rubber inserts put into my ball and I dont use my thumb. since I dont use my thumb it is harder to throw a heavy ball. I current use a old 10lb ball i have had for a while and want to get a new one. what weight should I go to and do I need a special ball to throw a good hook?

Hi T.B.,
If you are ready to get serious about bowling then I would suggest using your thumb and using a heavier ball of at least 14 to 15 pounds. There are hundreds of bowling balls which will help you hook the ball if you have a proper release. You might want to get a lesson from a local professional



Joan March 28, 2007
Sayreville
NJ

This is a very unusaual question----i was wondering if you would be interested in selling me your 16 LB. Black Beauty Bowling Ball?????

Hi Joan,
I don't have a Black Beauty Bowling Ball. And I don't sell my old equipment anyway.



John March 23, 2007
San Francisco
CA

Hi!
I was wondering if you could help me distiguish between balls. I have been bowling competetively for nearly 7 years, and even until today, i still dont know when to use the different types of balls. I have a columbia uturn polished particle, columbia flipside wow (particle sanded, i think), hammer big blue, storm trauma, ebonite tornado, and an optyx snake as a spare ball.

I was wondering if you could help me figure out when to use the balls. I still am not confident when i step on the approach if i am using the right ball. If not, i wanted to know the difference between the balls? from a polished, to dull, to sanded, to particle sanded, and particle polished?
Thank you for your time.

Hi John,
I am not familiar with any of the bowling balls you mentioned. Typically a polished ball is going to delay its hook and would be for drier lanes while a sanded ball is going to hook a lot sooner and would be used for oily lanes. Reactive balls will tend to hook more on the back end.



Joshua March 19, 2007
Jackson
MI

Hi Walter Ray, I just wanted to say congrats on the new record. I have been a fan of yours since I was about 7 years old (I hope I dont make you feel old)I am now 22:) Anyway, I wanted to ask you when do you get the new bowling equipment from Morich. I see that a new ball the awsome finish is comming out soon. Do you use new balls every tourny or use older balls. I was just curious.

Hi Joshua,
Any player on a staff is encouraged to use the newer bowling balls. I will usually drill 2 to 3 of any new balls and get at least one or two of them that I really like. Once I get bowling balls that I like, I will usually use them a lot, so I tend to use old bowling balls at most tournaments.



Marcelo March 16, 2007
Quito
Ecuador

Hi Walter Ray,
I need to know which is the best bowling ball in this moment

Hi Marcelo,
It depends on who you ask. There are many good bowling balls out there right now. Sometimes it comes down to the person who is throwing the ball instead of the ball itself.



Tony March 10, 2007
Carlisle
PA

My son has a ball that has the counter weight hole drilled in it and there was a tournament dircector that said the ball was not leagal to use in tournament play.I bowled some years ago but had to give it because of a bad shoulder, but I bowled in tournaments with the counter weight hole drilled in it.Did this change or is it still alright. Thank you very much for your time. Your a great bowler and horsethrower, witch i still do.

Hi Tony,
The weight hole of a bowling ball is supposed to make sure that a ball will meet the USBC weight specifications. It may be possible that the ball has been altered enough over the years by plugging and redrilling that the ball is no longer legal. Take it to your local pro shop operator and they can figure out what the problem is and if there is anything they can do with this ball.



David March 8, 2007
Mt. Horeb
WI

Walter Ray,
First of all its cool that you communicate with the community, I'm sure many people appreciate all the help you provide.

So on average, how many games do you bowl with a certain ball before you get rid of it and replace it? Also, where do they sell the PBA's used balls?

Also do you find that in general you do better bowling over the 3rd or 4th arrow vs the 2nd arrow? I would guess it's all about oiling conditions and so on but I was just wondering.
Thanks,
David

Hi David,
I probably bowl more games with my bowling balls before getting rid of them compared to other pro bowlers. I would guess that I will use a ball that I like for about 100 to 200 games before I tend to not use it as much. I don't really keep track. I don't sell my used bowling balls. Some players sell them to local pro shops or even on line.

I tend to have my better scores playing right of the 2nd arrow, but if there isn't a shot out there, I need to play where there is a good shot for me to get to the pocket.



Kris February 28, 2007

Hi
I am using an 11lb bowling ball and i need to move up to a 14lb. with my 11lb bvp wizard wich is slightly polished i can not get any hook on heavy oil and i ant shur to get a super reactive bowling ball like the brunswick fury or get a ball which is like my wizard cus i dont know how a 14lb ball will react comperd to a 11lb so what type ball should i get

Hi Kris,
Going from 11 pounds to 14 is a pretty big jump. You might want to get a ball with a slightly different surface to see what difference it makes on the lanes. Unless it has been a couple of years and you have grown quite a bit, you might want to only go to 12 or 13 pounds. But talk to your pro shop operator. They should have a better idea of what will work for you. The different weight ball shouldn't affect the amount the ball will hook, except that you may throw a heavier ball slower which should allow it to hook more.



Caleb February 27, 2007
Ypsilanti
MI

I recently purchased your dvd, faults and fixes. You mentioned many times to get a plastic spare ball. Is your famous dennys ball plastic? And, what type of grip do you use for your spare ball? Is it fingertip, traditional, or some other type? Thank you so much.
Hi Caleb,
The company logo balls that the pros use on tour are plastic balls, but are not available to the general public due to licensing. I use the same type of grip on my spare ball as I do on my strike balls. Practicing a good spare release will help also.


Equipment Q&A  [1-20]   [21-40]  [41-60]  [61-80]  [81-100]
  [101-120]  [121-140]  [141-160]  [161-180  [181-200]  [201-220]  [221-240]  [241-260]  [261-280]  [281-300]  [301-320]  [321-340]  [341-360]  [361-380  [381-400