I am what we call a “rev-challenged” or low-rev bowler – mainly because I haven’t worked out the timing of the little yo-yo snap at the bottom of my swing, but partly because I don’t think all of that is necessary. The key isn’t revving the $#!+ out of the ball, it’s getting it to the pocket consistently, and it would be great if we could get there without requiring a surgery at some point down the road.
I’ve got one strong hook ball and one weak ball in my arsenal, a reactive covered, asymmetrical cored ball for heavy oil and my Hammer Scorpion, for medium to heavy oil. I’ve been partial to Hammer bowling balls for a lot of years and when I went into the pro shop looking for a new ball, Hammer was what I asked for and the Scorpion was what was recommended.
I ordered it based solely on the pro’s recommendation and did my research later. It seemed to be the right fit for me.
My first time rolling the ball was on a burnt lane and I was way right (I’m left handed) and thought I might have bought too much ball. I found out the next league night on fresh oil that I had been mistaken. In the hands of a low-rev bowler, this ball is meant for the edges and toward the center 12 or 13 boards of a house oil pattern. If a low-rev bowler goes further toward the center, it won’t come back. It’ll get bogged down and slide too far in the heavy mid-lane oil. This will be a little different for righthanders as they will experience more traffic than we lefties.
What I mean by “weak” and “strong”.
The Scorpion is what they call a “weak ball” even though it hooks like a freaking… well, scorpion’s tail. Weak and strong refer to how soon the ball will hook in oil. Don’t think of this side-to-side, think of the lane length-wise. The Hammer Scorpion, with it’s slightly polished finish, slides in heavy oil, especially for a rev-challenged bowler. My asymmetrical reactive ball grips a lot harder in the oil – it starts to hook and roll much sooner because of the coverstock and the finish of the ball. With more surface, the Scorpion would hook sooner and that’s not necessarily a good thing for a low-rev bowler. The Quantum Evo (above) definitely has its place in my bag but the Hammer Scorpion is my go-to ball. Because it slides down the lane in the oil, it saves its energy for getting back to the pocket in the roll phase after the skid and hook phases. The Hammer has that “whip/snap” hook at the end where the Quantum Evo is more of a smooth hook because it digs in a lot earlier. In fact, after I’ve burned the oil up with the Scorpion and start hooking through the headpin, that’s when I switch to the stronger Quantum Evo (usually 1-1/2 to 2 games in).
So, to wrap this post up, if you’re a rev-challenged bowler like me, the Scorpion by Hammer is a great ball to get to the pocket. I love mine.
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