The TRUTH about URETHANE | Is Your Bowling Ball Truly Urethane? | Which is Best For You?
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- Опубліковано 18 січ 2025
- Today we dive into the topic of Urethane. Which urethane ball is best for you and we talk about urethane and its properties.
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Great video man!
A very well made video.
One caveat that I think needed be mentioned, but wasn’t: the Purple Hammer is a pearl urethane, compared to the solids that are the Pitch Black & Purple Tank. It truly does make a difference, even with the Brunswick version.
Edit: Thank you *very much* for this educational video. This should help a lot of people in creating their arsenal, instead of the expected “I have to have it because everyone else is using it” reaction.
Thank you for this video. As an old school bowler who used to throw burgundy Hammers and Stingray/Cs, I was wondering how people were getting so much reaction out of these new "urethane" balls on modern oil and patterns. Back in the day when the new oils and patterns came out, lower rev rate bowlers like me had to transition to particle coverstocks to get a midlane read. I come back to bowling and everyone is raving about urethane balls and it had me truly baffled.
great to see urethane making a comeback, it is an essential tool in the bag, my first Urethane was back in the 80s with a Columbia UDot, what a game changer then the first black hammer
Love these videos from a mechanical engineering prospective. From one ME to another, I love the experiments to answer specific questions about bowling balls. Keep it up the work Ron
I am not a chemist or a guy who pours bowling balls for a living, I am however an engineer who sporadically bowled on tour in the late 80's and into the 90's, and chose a career over trying to bowl for a living. (Not that I was everr THAT good.) Urethane absolutely lane shined back then. Blue hammers and the black rhino's were the worst. My Red Hammer from 1988 still lane shines to this day, as I throw it at spares every week.
Plasticizer's used in bowling balls likely creates "channels" that allow for oil absorption.. Including in urethane. And lets not forget about additives and chemical differences in oil. Additives DO dissipate with exposure time to air. If you want to characterize the urethane ball today based on a 1988 Red Hammer, it's apples and oranges. If you put a black hammer in play with a hardness of 83, it would never hook in todays game. Look at the difference in 76 of the Black Hammer as opposed to the alleged 72 of the purple. It's the same core.. The difference is cover and the purple is 2 zones stronger.. (And it's a pearl urethane.)..
I think your mischaracterizing urethane based on todays manufacturing and coverstock tech. It's different. Plasticizer allows for the balls to be softer, and hook more.
I personally think the issue is, what happens to the plasticizer AFTER manufacturing? ... Remember Ebonite back in 2010 said it leeched out of the ball due to compression in the track area?
I would like to see you throw the same amount of shots on a fresh lane 1 with reactive. Then bowl a game with reactive on both lanes 1 and 3 and see how much different they react. That would be extremely interesting.
My experience with a purple hammer, and in discussing it with other bowlers, is that it acts like a very weak solid. It has much more shape to it compared to a Pitch Black, and has better recovery to the pocket. A lot of that is the RG difference (2.65 vs 2.57). The higher RG on the hammer gives it more continuation on a hook where the Pitch Black tends to roll sooner.
That said, I can get a higher rev rate with a Pitch Black without forcing it. The hammer is definitely a beautiful ball, but it wasn't working well for me. I was having to work really hard to get my hand around the ball to keep it hooking, so it didn't really have a solid spot in my arsenal.
Wonderful video. I recently purchase a Purple Hammer and I love, love, love that ball. However I am a lower rev bowler like you. My buddy is a lower rev bowler as well. He purchased the Purple Tank. I was wondering why my Hammer seems so good early in the set then sometimes falls off while his Purple Tank is not as good early but awesome latter on. Might have to order me a Tank to back up my Hammer.
Another thing we all need to remember about modern urethanes is this: WEIGHT BLOCKS. Irrespective of the coverstock material, some weight blocks are more aggressive, while others aren’t so much. Case in point: I have both a 1985 AMF Black angle with a traditional, generic ‘pancake’ weight block, and a 2010 Roto Grip Grenade with Storm/Roto Grip’s patented ‘Photon’ weight black. Throwing each, I can tell you that the Grenade is MUCH more aggressive than the Black Angle because of that Photon core - and mind you, this is playing the same 17 to 5 line! When using the Grenade, it’s not uncommon for me to make two or even three 2:1 moves to the left during a series. Meanwhile, I can pretty much play that 17 to 5 line with the Black Angle all the live-long day…
To say urethane shouldn't be used in league play on THS is not entirely true. I am in leagues in 2 seperate houses and average 200, incuding a 300 game, 756 series, using my Purple Pearl Hammer exclusively on every shot from first on fresh to last on burn every league night. I start right and migrate left in floor dictates. I always carry 2 PPH urethanes. Period.
I say use whatever works.. I'm a lower rev guy a la Norm Duke so urethane doesn't really work for me on any pattern but I don't understand why people get upset at someone using urethane on house.
I use a Brunswick attitude control Pearl urethane on a typical house shot and I play down and in the second arrow for all three games. And I throw it for my spare ball as well. I'm not a high rev player but it works great for me.
Would’ve liked to see the Fast Pitch mixed in there too! Great video though!
is the urethane balls better today then the urethane balls of the 80's like the black u-dot or the angle or the ebonite thunderbolt would they work in today's game since anthony simosen uses a old roto grip grenade when uses urethane . my favorite urethane ball i used in the 80's was black and blue hammer or the ultra angle
The urethane balls today will have a different coverstock formula that will allow better hook on today's heavier oil conditions and synthetic lanes. In addition to that, they have way more sophisticated cores that will provide a much more dynamic response - especially to different drill patterns. Older urethane balls are typically high RG and have little to no flare potential (Faball Hammer was one of the few exceptions back in the day).
Yeah every ball of today is light and day better than the old stuff. Although everything is like that through evolution
Ron, thank you so much for giving us this video. When I first started bowling leagues urethane was king, so I have a huge soft spot for urethane. Matter of fact I love throwing my ole Columbia 300 Vector Two (anyone remember that ball?) I just play it from 10 to 2 and watch it walk back to the ole 1, 2. Thanks again Ron for educating us with that noggin' of knowledge you have!
Yeah that exact ball is sitting in my front yard as a lawn ornament
Just found this video and wow! So informational. Everything you said in this video was much needed! I did some quick google searching and noticed the purple tank by Motiv is now discontinued unfortunately. Which urethane ball would be most similar to it? I think I’m a low rev player myself and play the lanes very similar to how you play it.
Great video. Watch till the end. I find my local house puts down extremely inconsistent lane conditions. Therefore, i love urethane so i can find/ make a consistent path to mark. I think urethane rewards bowlers who are deliberate and consistent in their approach.
I have an original black hammer urathane. It’s a nice ball. Although all my strike balls are storm. I do have to say for urathane I bowl hammer. They just fit me better than the storm urathane balls do
I would love to see a Scorpion Low Flare thrown in the mix....just as a reference point
This is a nice way to see everything
I bowled my best with the sumo back in the day. Miss it
I had one and loved it!
Is there a way to find out if plasticizer is in a given ball? I ask, because for the balls Ron used in the video, they all are catalog balls: balls available for everyone can order and use. But what about distributor/OEM/overseas balls? I ask because my current urethane piece is an overseas release (Black Widow Purple Pearl Urethane), so while I can say that the only thing that is different is the core, that it is the same cover as the catalog Purple Pearl Urethane, I wonder about the plasticizer.
The big takeaway I get from this video isn't about surface, but about durability and longevity of the ball. If the ball doesn't have any plasticizer in it, then that BWPPU should theoretically last as long as my Fab Blue Hammer does, which is still kicking at 33 years, where a number of my reactive balls have already cracked.
Great job!
I love my Purple Tank! I call it my Purple Pissoff, because the right handers throwing resins will pound the pocket and carry for about one-half to one game. Then the weak tens start to crop up. A game later they’ll go off the rails and start leaving buckets, washouts and 2-8-10 types of splits. I have my Pissoff sanded with 400-grit wet-or-dry sandpaper directly from my local Home Depot, and I never wipe it down until bowling is completed. I don’t leave as many ringing ten pins as you might think, because I get more deflection and that tends to push the six pin to the sidewall and snap out the ten. And the best thing of all is that I rarely have to move my feet more than a couple of boards all night long.
lmao you're a savage 🤭 could only imagine the looks you get when your opponent realizes what you're doing 😂
@@YUNO-_-DIE Yeah, a few of them are smart enough to catch on.
@@lumberlikwidator8863 I'd probably just death stare at you and then start throwing straights with my left hand 🤣
@@YUNO-_-DIE Well, I’ve never bowled using the Marquis of Queensbury Rules, but I’m willing to give it a shot. Actually, there’s nothing to worry about for now because I’m using a 13# reactive Motiv Top Thrill and a one-step approach because of back and hip injuries. My Purple Pissoff is heavier and I can’t use it right now. I don’t think I could find an undrilled one in 13, so I can’t really mess up the shot these days. But I’m still dangerous, like a wounded animal, because I shot a 234 last night on a pair that had been bowled on before by another league (8 strikes, 1 open frame, ball speed about 9.5 to 10 mph downlane.)
I know what you mean about how tempers can flare up during league play. I’ve only got in one fight in a bowling alley, during junior league when I was about sixteen. I still have a lump on my head, just above the hairline, from getting my head slammed into the corner of the scoring table. My Monday league is pretty tame, but on Fridays we have to wear swimming goggles to keep the beer out of our eyes.
@@lumberlikwidator8863 yeah some people are just sore winners/losers sucks people let there temper go.
Ibeen wanting to try a motiv honestly I was looking at a few motiv 13's what are your thoughts on yours? Are you a one hander or two hander? I personally throw 2 hander been trying to find a ball with an actual core below 14's cause I have an injury aswell. I personally have high rev decent speed but I'm looking for something with nice backend motion that doesn't over carry in the fronts. Was thinking about the purple hammer but I've never really tested many balls nor urethanes. My strike balls just a rihno pearl but it just has high rev a decent ish hook but no power through the pins always leaving me with a flat 10 or 7 if I go brooklyn.
Nice job on your scores by the way that's awesome you're able to do well as an wounded animal xD More like a sore tiger in my opinion ahaha
Good knowledge....teaching tool
I would be intereted to see a comparison between true urethane ( purple hammer... ) and microcell ( desert tank ) or hybrid urethane ( pitch purple ).
Based on the track on the lane, you could have his rev rate, if you weren't throwing out on the lane versus him putting it down on the lane.. 1' diff shows all
Great Video! What would you recommend for cleaning a Purple Hammer? Also, what not to use.
Life After Death is what you need.
@@Ctdbowling Thanks for that, I already use a few of your products but would like to know if there are any that should not be used together.
@@dragonstone9270 you should not mix any chemicals / cleaners unless explicitly told to do so.
Great video Ron. Why is the Purple Hammer more difficult to polish than the Hammer urethane balls from the 80's and early 90's? The original Black Hammer could be polished to a mirror polish with ease. The Purple Hammer is almost as difficult to polish as the original Blue Hammer.
It's softer, that plays a roll for sure. We have a video that shows how to polish it in less than 15 mins coming next week.
I always assumed the based chemical of the coverstock determines if it is urethane or resin. Could you elaborate on what base chemistry is on bowling ball overstocks in a video sometime.
I use the purple tank and my rev rate is low. Works well for me when I need it.
I know this video is old..... I would like to see Ron Jr. @Ctdbowling come up the back of the Purple rather than around the side of it which is the preferred release with urethane and I believe his carry percentage with the Purple would increase even though his rev rate and entry angle are lower. Just my take. I have noticed my carry percentage went up after going to an up the back release.
mr.R.H.jr,i created a order last night,products, more pads,and the solution for the pads "TCP" and a oil pad for my ball while bowling. your products are bar to none if Im sayig it right. the Best..let me know what you think about the UC3, being a lefty this ball ball will see a lot of action.the hammer has always been my chioc of urthane, besides the pitch,fast pitch..thank you
What type of layouts did you use?
I found my dad's JPF Black Axe in the garage the other day. Supposedly the first (or one of) the first asymmetric balls. I threw it a few times and it hooked but I think it needs some surface to dig it better
Best urethane is fab blue hammer
nice video
Thank you for watching
Where's the recent Purple Hammer? (Made in Mexico)
Had a purple hammer and didn't love it. I'm a high rev rate player ~475-525rpm and the 2.65 RG on the hammer made it difficult for me to control axis rotation. That said, on certain days I could use it fairly well as a strike ball, but the high RG made it feel heavier than it was.
I switched to a Pitch Black for short sport patterns and as a spare when I'm throwing at 10 pins and the lower RG made it much easier to handle. Haven't gotten the right line to use it as a strike ball on a house pattern, but for me, I didn't buy one with that purpose in mind.
A guy on my one of my league teams ended up buying the hammer from me and he does quite well with it, but with 3 very different reactive balls in my arsenal, no need to rely on urethane for most strike shots. The Pitch Black is absolutely amazing for throwing hard and fast when you need predictability.
Drilling patterns are also fairly important, and with the high RG balls, even more so in my experience.
Ron is very smart with bowling balls and how and when
to use them but he was very wrong about the purple hammer...it reacts the way it does because its a pearl
NOT because its a weaker ball...it just goes longer and if you bring it down to 500 grit because all balls shown were brought down also to the same you made that pearl look weak compared to the others which were not pearlized...
change the grit on that purple pearl the way it should be and that is one STRONG ball...messing with it by taking it to 500
Is the only reason it was made to look weak!!
I'm a 172 average and have a lower rav rate somewhere between 200-250. I bought a hot cell a couple years ago cuz I didnt have a urethane ball and they were just coming back to being popular again. Bought it mainly for spare shooting but now use it when my solids are too strong or pearl is too weak as well.....or to push oil around so I can use those.
I'm at a similar rev rate as you (360ish) and left handed. I disagree about the Hammer not creating the entry angle. Mine is drilled 5x40 and makes my pocket huge. If I miss in, as you did, with anything, chances are I'll leave that flat 7. The Hammer gives me a better chance on the two house patterns I bowl on to carry it. I have not thrown the Tank, but the Hammer makes my pocket huge by comparison to my reactives on the two patterns. I'm dumbfounded by its ability to carry.
what are your thoughts of the new purple hammers having hardnesses of 60? or just below 68 in general.
it can't be 60 or 68 . . . USBC states it must be 73 or higher or you can't use it.
@@the_bait_shop well the early addition had that hardness but they don’t check balls at tournaments for that, apparently it’s been fixed and the newer ones are legal but they still allow the early ones that should be illegal.. maybe I’m wrong but I’ve heard that from reliable people
Not a pro but I found if you play behind a urethane and play close to the dry you will get a better reaction and also control your speed
Yeah they have the most movement when they are on that 5 and out line on house.
Thank you Mr. Hickland.
Many amateur bowlers today are under the impression you are “ruining the shot” by using a urethane (or polyester) ball, but that just isn’t true. One or two people using urethane is more than counteracted by eight or nine people burning up the track with reactive.
One question I do have is this: What do you think about the Motiv brand “microcell polymer” balls?
Ruining the shot is relative i suppose. Urethane does beat up the fronts and "stretches out the pattern" by carrying it down the lane at a higher rate than reactive. For lower rev players it can make it tough for them to get the ball through the front and get the recovery they want to gain proper entry angle. As a higher rev player i tend to prefer what it does to the lanes, it creates friction to the right, and tames the backends (creates shim) so i can throw aggressive reactive stuff and open up the lane. On the fresh its usually all about controlling the ball front to back for me. Certain hard patterns urethane can make it fun for no one. lol look what happens to the lanes with the PBA guys sometimes.... Azcona is known for blowing up the lane. haha this can be seen as an offensive tactic, but anyway to pretend it doesnt have an huge effect on the lane patterns sometimes good and sometimes bad, is pretty naive.
I'd like to see this done again on a shorter/flatter pattern (when urethane should be used)
Great video as always! I am not a High Rev Rate Bowler but absolutely love my Purple Hammer. I do not find myself using it on Fresh on a House Pattern as I typically start with my Phaze 2. I know this sounds crazy but because of my rev rate I like to stay right and often will use my urethane by the 3rd game when the lane is starting to burn out and I can flatten my hand and throw throw the High Hard one. Anyone else find that they use urethane in this unconventional way and have success? It works for me but understand its not for everyone.
No pitch purp?
I feel that all but the straightest players should carry at least one urethane ball. If you watch any of the videos online of the lowest scoring PBA telecasts or single games of all time you will see lots of backend snap, washouts and crazy splits. No one could ever convince me that a urethane ball on the exact same lane conditions wouldn't have given those pro's a good chance at grinding out 180-190+ instead of 140's & 150's. Much like in golf, it's not the club (ball), it's knowing when and how to use it.
Does the tackyness of the ball matter?
Going back to the Natural series, we've had "urethane" balls that feel tacky like a reactive.
Natural Pearl, Supernatural, Fever Pitch, U-motion, Boo-yah Pro (those last two I've used clearly have reactive mixed in).
Covert Tank as well, although that's microcell polymer.
But the Pitch Black, Fast Pitch, and Purple Hammer assumed are all pure urethane because their covers are so slippery, (as someone who uses one hand, no thumb, I found those balls to slippery to hold onto).
Haven't used Purple Tank, so don't know about that. But I really liked the Covert Tank and was surprised when Motiv when back to what they way is urethane.
Hoping that they bring out a new microcell polymer ball soon. I think it's way better than urethane or "urethane"
Boo-yah Pro is a pretty good ball but my After Dark Pearl rolls more like urethane (specifically with a crapload of surface) than it does. Weird.
So I am a little confused by one portion of the video. As someone who has thrown all 3 of these balls, I wasn't a fan of the hammer but like the other two and I am a higher Rev rate player. My confusion though is the hardness. If the hammer is softer than both the tank and the pitch black, how is that considered more urethane by hardness definition than the tank and pitch black? The hardness numbers were 75-76 on the pitch black and tank and the original black hammer was in the 80s, so what does that mean for the 72-73 from the hammer? Sorry if this is jumbled just looking for clarification is all.
Hardness isn't tied to urethane or not it's tied to hook. A black hammer or Sumo is about 5 boards straighter because they are harder.
Urethane doesn't have plasticizer. That's why pitch black and purple tank are not urethane balls.
@@Ctdbowling I appreciate the response. So in regards to hook, to further expand on the hardness question, how would you say Hammer/Brunswick, managed a chemical mixture that is both soft and non-porous? I'm not a chemical engineer but that sounds strange to me thinking about it.
@@anthonyevans3064 Purple Hammer is soft and non porous. That is correct
@@Ctdbowling What was the C300 The Classic? Got pretty angular when I polished it 🤔
Glow bowling? Where’s the disco lights?
I have low revs and high speed 15 to 16 mph and I use a Fab blue hammer/ a Fab blue pearl / a widow urethane/ a black hammer from 2016- 2017/ and a magenta urethane and the magenta a lot of people say it works for me. But I am a 21 year old guy who left handed and loves his old school urethane
Are the lights on? Vid seems very dark
no. they have them off so they can use the shot tracker.
i have motiv purple tank it worth it and it polished i dont like sand😀
I'm a right handed bowler who throws a back up ball my left foot starts around board 30(left) and my release is around the 2nd arrow from the left which would be better for me? My rev rate isn't high
So where does 900 Global purple honey badger urethane lands, is it true urethane or non?
I was super excited to watch this.............until I saw the lighting
R N S
I'm sad, the purple ball will turn to spare over the years even though you bought it as your hook ball
No it won't
Nope
Any ball you use for years is going to turn into a spare ball.. I have a Roto Grip Halo that used to hook out of this world 4 or 5 years ago, now its a spare ball 🤷🏿♂️
What conditions should you be using Urethane on?
That is mentioned in the video
@@Ctdbowling Thank You. I saw it at the end.
I think the two that absorbed oil still didn't absorb the oil in any rate that someone would notice. They both still push oil downlane and need wiped between shots.
Why the hell would you do a ball video in the dark?
I agree, how stupid to show a video with lights off.
The purple tank is pure urethane, and the purple hammer is a pearl urethane.
We literally showed you that the Purple Tank isn't pure urethane.
That's not how that works. The Purple Hammer is pearl and the Purple Tank is solid, yes. That doesn't have any relation to this tho.
@@soren4904 Ok, do you have any data that would prove what was shown to be false? That's why we presented data and showed oil absorption. Urethane balls don't absorb oil...ever. If you don't believe me USBC has a video showing the exact same thing. We showed you the data. That way there isn't a question about what we are saying, and don't get to hung up on pearl vs solid. I have a lot of videos on that topic too. It's ok to not know what you are talking about. That is why we make these videos, to inform people. It's better to look for some data and bring it to the table. So this can be an actual conversation instead of a assumption or opinion.
@@Ctdbowling no I'm with you here, talking to this other dude
DOOD. Stopped watching when you said you sanded them all to FIVE HUNDRED. You lost me right there.
I keep my urethane balls at 2000, and maybe one at 1000. Anything lower is for only very specific conditions.
500-grit for a random ball test??? That's just madness.
I've never seen a pro use urethane with anything other than 500 surface. The whole point of using tech from the 80s is to get it to read early and control the backend. But im sure you're wiser than the guy who's entire life has been bowling and all the pros who do the same with urethane surface
Guessing you probably throw it on your league house shot too?
@@craigyost1240 I'm guessing you didn't read what I wrote. You might want to try that before you comment.
Also, this video isn't for professional bowlers. They already know what to do.
@@Jason_P you dont have to be a pro to throw urethane with 500
If you think anything lower is only for very specific conditions then you don't really understand the point of Urethane and are pretty close-minded. Maybe 1000-2000 works in your particular area and environment that you bowl in but 500-grit is most definitely the standard of Urethane balls and the shape you should expect from them. Anything higher like 1000-2000 and you're fitting them to fit more of the conditions you face rather than the conditions they're typically for.