UK Shops

Irishmaster

Hi Im thinking of buying a ball from tenpinshop.com. Does anyone know if they are reliable?

r3nu4l

Don't know about tenpinshop but I can tell you that petesproshop are very good. I bought my Brunswick great inferno there

The site isn't great but my ball was £70 less in petes sale than in anglianproshop at the time I bought it

gs300

I am not too sure about that, i have gotten gear from the US and has been delivered in a few days.

Try the fowlling link:

http://www.bowlersparadise.com/

Irishmaster

Cheers for the info guys! Will look into it some more. tenpinshop seems a bit cheaper than the rest but dont know how reliable they are. Im only looking for a 70-100 quid ball as i dont curl and use straight shots. Thinking of getting an undrilled ball. Does anyone know where i can get it drilled in Ireland? I heard stillorgan pro shop is the best one. If i order from the us dont i have to pay a massive import/customs tax or something? What type of ball should i get if i just throw straight balls. Average is about 150/160. Looking for a decent ball under the 100 mark. Cheers for any advice!

r3nu4l

For straight shots? My advice would be a simple polyester ball. They are cheap and reliable You could go for a fancier (polished) polyurethane ball but I don't really see the point.

I used to have an Ebonite Maxim (polyester) and that was brilliant for high-scoring with straight shots. A straight shooter is excellent for building consistency in your approach and throw so it's a good choice to make.

They can also be hooked but it's a little harder to do it. I learned to hook using the Maxim before moving onto a polyurethane Ebonite Turbo.

Stillorgan should see you right. Superdome used to be excellent for getting a ball drilled when Noel was there (over 15 years ago ), don't know what they're like now.

EDIT: I see that the Maxim in tenpinshop and Petesproshop are about £43-45 and £46+ in AnglianProshop. Not much difference really, check out the postage and packaging rates on each site.

Irishmaster

Thinking of ordering from petesproshop. Does anyone know if they are reliable and what are the delivery times to Ireland?

Irishmaster

Thinking of getting this one http://www.tenpinshop.com/products/30/287/ebonite_tornado_navy_green_silver_pearl/
Or the storm tropical one on petes!

r3nu4l

Irishmaster wrote: »

Thinking of ordering from petesproshop. Does anyone know if they are reliable and what are the delivery times to Ireland?

Well I live in England these days but have ordered from Pete's by post. The ball I ordered was exactly what I wanted and it arrived on time. They have been in operation for years and have an actual on-street shop too. That's not to say that nothing could go wrong but it's probably as good as you'll get.

I got my ball drilled by Stuart at AnglianProShop in Norwich and have been in the shop. As I say, they are a bit more expensive but it's up to you.

I'd have no problem ordering from Pete's if I was in Ireland. I can't say anything from tenpinshop only because I've never used them. At the end of the day, they are probably all okay.

gs300

I am not too sure about the tropical storm havent looked at it much i normally go for the Ebonite equipment.

if you decide on a ball that you want i will get a price from gary in palmerstown, he has done my gear for a few years now and havent had an issue yet.

well thw ball i find that goes straight is the Columbia White dot, and if you want it to give a bit of turn it will.
the next step would be Urethane Balls, i suspose it will all depend on how much, and how tech you want to get into the game.

Let me know what weight your looking for and the amount you want to spend and i will see if gary has anything that will do the trick.

Irishmaster

Thx gs300! I was thinking of getting the Storm Tropical Royal/Lime ball on Petes or the ebonite one on tenpinshop in the above link. If you could help me ask Gary that would be great. Thinking of getting an 11lbs one! Cheers. Let me know anyway!

r3nu4l

Irishmaster wrote: »

Thx gs300! I was thinking of getting the Storm Tropical Royal/Lime ball on Petes or the ebonite one on tenpinshop in the above link. If you could help me ask Gary that would be great. Thinking of getting an 11lbs one! Cheers. Let me know anyway!

11lbs seems very light? Bear in mind that a ball drilled for your hand is usually a much better fit and you can carry a little more weight than with a house ball. My advice would be to meet with someone like Gary in Palmerstown, have a chat with him. Ask him if you can throw a few balls so he can get an idea of what weight is best for you and then order the ball (from him or online). Then return to him to get it drilled.

The ebonite maxim can be hooked and is good to learn how to hook with but it's a very low flare ball so the hook will not look amazing and pin reaction will be lowered, don't know about the storm tropical.

Either way, I learned to hook with a polyester ball first before getting a urethane ball and it served me well.

gs300

I have to agree with r3nu4l on the weight front it's a different story when the ball is drillerd up for you.

you see there is alot to think about when getting i proformance bowling ball so i will have a chat with gary and a few others about a ball for you. I have Ebonite One and for me with the Pin location and the cg location the ball swings the lane so for a average bowler something a bit less would be good to get you rolling befor you make the jump to a reactive ball,

i would have a think about the weight the normal weight is from 14lb,
but like i said i will have a chat with a few of the lads and will get back to you ASAP

Irishmaster

I use the house balls in leisureplex and the 11lb ball suits me fine! Im not a big guy so a lighter weight is ok. Ive tried heavier weights and i find the 11 the best. I also find that the 11's i use in the plex have ok grips on them. Is it better to get a house ball drilling or one measured for my hand? I like balls that have extra finger room in them like the house balls so i dont know!

Irishmaster

If you could ask paul to order the storm one on petes that would be great! Does he have an email address so i can contact him? or a website?

r3nu4l

Irishmaster wrote: »

I use the house balls in leisureplex and the 11lb ball suits me fine! Im not a big guy so a lighter weight is ok. Ive tried heavier weights and i find the 11 the best. I also find that the 11's i use in the plex have ok grips on them. Is it better to get a house ball drilling or one measured for my hand? I like balls that have extra finger room in them like the house balls so i dont know!

Definitely get the ball drilled for your hand, seriously! That's what makes the difference. You will find that your first couple of games are ridiculous as you get used to the ball but after that you won't look back

You may be asked if you want finger tip inserts, these plugs mean that your fingers only go into the ball up to the first knuckle. Your thumb still goes all the way into the ball. This increases your hand span on the ball, making it easier to carry the heavier weight but also makes it much easier to hook the ball if you ever decide to learn how to do that

Irishmaster

r3nu4l wrote: »

Well I live in England these days but have ordered from Pete's by post. The ball I ordered was exactly what I wanted and it arrived on time. They have been in operation for years and have an actual on-street shop too. That's not to say that nothing could go wrong but it's probably as good as you'll get.

I got my ball drilled by Stuart at AnglianProShop in Norwich and have been in the shop. As I say, they are a bit more expensive but it's up to you.

I'd have no problem ordering from Pete's if I was in Ireland. I can't say anything from tenpinshop only because I've never used them. At the end of the day, they are probably all okay.

Wouldnt it just be good if Ireland even had 1 bowling shop that you could just walk in and buy your stuff! The UK has every type of shop you could want!

Irishmaster

Is it me or have i just spotted a business opportunity! LOL!

Irishmaster

Just an update! Ive got my set of bowling balls today! Thanks gs300 for your help! Got an ebonite maxim 10lbs for my sparing and a tropical storm 11lbs for strikes. Got my maxim drilled by Paul today at alsaa centre near airport! Very nice guy just to mention! Yay im a happy boy!

gs300

good old action pro shop 2k,

did you deal with del at all??

how much was the drilling??
if you don't mind me asking that is.

Irishmaster

No just Paul so far! Sound guy. Bought the Maxim off him today for 80 which included drilling, so i was happy about that. Then my Storm came later on today from Petes so have to go back tomorrow and get that drilled. My friend also got a ball drilled and was charged 20 which is reasonable. Was embarrassing as he thought i hooked my balls so he asked me to show him how i bowl just to see how he will drill the Storm then i told him that i dont hook so theres no point in watching me! LOL. Yes i know im a real noob but i still have a 150 average doing that. Not interested in learnin how to hook as my straight shots are ok.

Irishmaster

Oh id like to scratch that business opportunity! Sounded quite dumb!

gs300

Well i still would have thrown a few shots for him, €80 for the ball was not too bad, did he suggest to get grips and a slug in the ball??

yeh he is a nice chap, paul is a very highly skilled coach and has been an international coach so he knows what he is doing.

Irishmaster

Yeah 80 for the ball was fine which included drilling, so im happy. Yeah he suggested that but i said i was gonna stick with straight shots for now so finger tips wasnt an option. Cant wait to use the balls now for the next league. Threw a few shots with the new balls with my measurements and i can feel the difference already! Just have to get used to them now!