Dual Angle Bowling Ball Layouts Explained With MDM Bowling Coaching

MDM Coaching Explains Dual Angle Layouts For Bowling Balls

After your pro shop operator (PSO) has watched you bowl, found your PAP (positive axis point), and you’ve chosen a bowling ball to drill, the next step is to drill your high-performance bowling ball. It’s not as easy as it sounds. There are many methods to drilling a bowling ball today but the most popular one is a layout system that Mo Pinel created called the “Dual Angle” System. Once learned, it is a very simple way of understanding of how to fine tune your bowling ball roll with specific layouts. The layout can change the ball’s roll but not its fundamental characteristics. This becomes important to understand when you start building an arsenal for yourself (3 or more bowling balls), as an avid league bowler in different places or different tournaments. If you have one ball at one center and you’re happy with that, drilling patterns won’t be as much of a factor. If you want multiple reactions from your equipment, you should take an interest in this process.

Breaking Down the Dual Angle Layout For Bowling Balls

In the pictures, you’ll see bolded out angles on two of my personal bowling balls. These angles describe what shape the ball will have on the lane. Without getting too technical, because this isn’t a Pro Shop Operator Tip, I’ll briefly review the three components to the dual angle system – the Drill angle, the Pin to Positive Axis Point (PAP) distance, and the Vertical Axis Line (VAL) angle.

Dual Angle Bowling Ball Drilling System – Drill Angle

The drill angle is where the weight block is going to be shifted left or right when you’re looking at the bowling ball from pin to CG to mass bias. The drill angle basically tells you how early you want the ball to start rolling. The smaller the drill angle, the more right (left for a lefty) the core will be shifted from your grip, which creates an earlier roll.

Dual Angle Bowling Ball Drilling System – Pin to Positive Axis Point (PAP)

This determines how much overall flare you want on the bowling ball. Flare is the oil rings when you roll the ball down the lane and see the track. When you drill a strong pin to PAP distance, the track flare is much wider, so the track marks are much further away from each other. 3 and 3/8 to 5 inches is considered a strong pin to PAP distance, depending on a person’s rev rate. You want to take in to account how much rev rate a person has because if a person has a high rev rate, they won’t need a very strong pin to PAP distance.

Dual Angle Bowling Ball Drilling System – Vetical Axis Line (VAL)

Vertical Axis Line, in my opinion this is probably the most important factor when laying out a bowling ball. The VAL angle basically moves the weight block up and down on the bowling ball in relation to your grip. If you have a smaller VAL angle, your pin will normally be above your fingers. 30-45 degrees is normally a pin up VAL angle. A bigger VAL angle of 65 – 90+ degrees is going to be pin down drilling. What this determines is how is the ball going to react at its break point. A smaller VAL angle makes the bowling ball transition from the hook phase to the roll phase faster or “snap” when it hits the break point. As you would think, a larger VAL angle is going to be a smoother transition when it hits the break point. The reason why this is very important is if you drill a bowling ball for lane conditions that are not ideal for the VAL angle to react right (as an example, if you drill a bowling ball for a specific pattern like heavy or long, drilling a large VAL angle on the bowling ball means that your ball won’t change direction quickly and you’ll have poor pin carry).

Of course, there are exceptions to the rule but the drilling patterns in a dual angle system are about FINE TUNING the bowling ball’s characteristics. If you drill a super strong asymm sanded bowling ball with a nature to roll smoothly, like a Storm Physix, to transition quicker, it will transition a little quicker but it still won’t be as dramatic as if you drilled a Storm Hy-Road X to transition quickly. Even if you drill them the same way, the second ball will change direction stronger down lane because of the characteristics of the ball. I highly recommend working with your Pro Shop Operator on your layouts and making sure he or she can watch you bowl. #protipfriday #mdmcoaching #iambowlersmart

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5 thoughts on “Dual Angle Bowling Ball Layouts Explained With MDM Bowling Coaching

  1. Paul Banks says:

    I’m very interested in learning ball layouts/drilling. Where can I get basic/beginner information to get me started.
    Should I consider a pro shop class?

  2. Sean LaValley says:

    The higher the VAL angle will be a pin up drilling and a lower VAL is a pin down drilling…. you have it the opposite way and as I sit here with my pro-sect, im taking a low VAL angle ball (20° pin down) and laying it out (to be plugged and redrilled) for a higher VAL angle (60° pin up) because this ball is too agressive off the end of the pattern and i need it too lay off.

    • Terry hoggard says:

      No………….The article has it correct not sure how you are getting the numbers you’re getting but lower VAL numbers (last angle) puts the pin closer to the VAL making the pin sit higher. If you have a 0° VAL angle the pin is really high and far right

  3. Sean LaValley says:

    I would say to start with some Mo Pinel videos as well as others on youtube and do some tinkering with your own equipment and talk with your PSO about any of the questions you have. The best way is to figure out/understand100% of your game…. you will find out that if you know your PAP and understand angles the game falls into place, little by little, for you

  4. Anthony Gomes says:

    My speed is avg 13-13.5 (had to reduce it drastically due to my lumbar pain issues), rev around 200, PAP is 5 & 7/8Up. My tracks are high…very close to the thumb hole and many times touch the thumb hole. I need very strong layouts. Need suggestion for the following if they would be fine or if any betterment needed then do suggest please:
    1) A very strong skid-flip layout. Thinking of a layout of 75-4-25. Will this be fine? I need this for an assymetric skid-flip pearl ball.
    2) A very strong continous layout. Thinking of 65-3.5-30. Will this be fine as I have a assymetric solid ball.
    Both the balls are medium to heavy

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