It’s fun picking out a bowling ball. If I am picking a house bowling ball, I usually look for a 14 pound ball. I try to get in at least 3 games so I want a ball that will get me through a few dozen swings comfortably. You will want to do the same.
How do you pick a house bowling ball? Take 1/10th of your weight to a maximum of 16 pounds as a guide. Fit your middle, ring finger, and thumb comfortably into the holes, not too tight on the thumb. Hold the ball with two hands extended in front. Slowly lower your non-bowling hand and hold the ball with the bowling hand for 5 seconds. If you can do it easily, that’s your ball.
It’s not a final decision to settle on a house bowling ball. You can switch balls at any time to try something different.
Picking a House Bowling Ball: Close Up and Personal
You are at the bowling alley, you’ve got you lane, you’re wearing your bowling shoes, and now you’re looking at the bowling balls on the rack. At my alley the bowling balls are separated by weight so it’s easier to find a suitable ball. Consider your weight and first look for a ball about 1/10th of it. If you weigh 120 pounds then check out the 12 pound balls. The largest is 16 pounds.
Now try the finger holes. Use your middle finger, ring finger, and thumb. These are house bowling balls used by many people, left-handed and right-handed, so the fit is not expected to be perfect. The fingers should go in and out of the holes easily and the thumb should not be too tight. I had a ball with the thumb hole too tight and after four games I started to get a blister. Not fun.
The next thing is your hand span. For a fitted ball you have a nice wide hand span but with a house ball, it should be a little tighter, but not too close together. With your thumb in the hole and your fingers flat on the ball, the finger holes should be close to the 2nd knuckle from your fingertips.
Now you want to test the weight. Swing the ball while gripping and see if it feels manageable. Better yet, with the ball in the rack, put your fingers in the holes. Lift up the ball with both hands. Rotate your bowling hand palm up. Put your other hand underneath your bowling hand and fully extend your arms forward. Lower your non-bowling hand and balance the bowling ball for 5 seconds. If you can do it comfortably, then that’s your ball. If not, find a lighter ball.
Finally, you can consider style. If you are lucky enough to have balls of more than one color or style that fit your hand then you can choose your favorite. You do not always have a choice. You came here to bowl didn’t you? Function over form. You didn’t? Okay, pick the ball that matches your top. Just don’t injure yourself bowling.
Now if this is not your first time bowling then you may already know what works for you. In my earlier days after a few trips to the bowling alley I knew which balls to seek out and I found them. Also, this is a good time to pick a second ball as well. You can use both balls on the lane, experimenting with the feel and with success in knocking down pins.
Picking a Second Bowling Ball
Now that you have a bowling ball, I suggest that you try it out. Get up on the approach and practice. First, pretend you have a ball in your hand and go through the motions. Try sliding on you sliding foot in the middle, on the left, and on the right. Great! Now grab your ball and pretend to bowl taking only one step and swinging it. How does it feel?
Now you are ready to bowl for real. Bowl a couple of frames. Does the ball feel okay? Is it too heavy or too light? Does it stick to your thumb or fall out too quickly? Whether you’re knocking down pins is story for later. If all is okay or even great then keep going with your present ball. If something is annoyingly off, then it’s time to go back to the rack and pick another ball that alleviates your concerns: lighter, looser fit, whatever.
As described above, picking another bowling ball is based on the feel and the results you get. Another reason to pick another ball is because you are adventurous or experimental. Maybe you can handle that heavier ball and knock down more pins. Then again, you can throw that lighter ball faster and get more speed and hopefully more pin action. Bowling has actually become much more nuanced with urethane balls, reactive resin balls, symmetric balls, and asymmetric balls. House balls are a first step.
Picking a Strike Ball and Picking a Spare Ball
I have done this myself with house bowling balls. Most, not all, professionals do it so you can try it with house bowling balls. Pick a strike bowling ball to give you the best chance at hitting the pocket, creating a lot of pin action, and knocking down all the pins for a strike. Pick a spare bowling ball to accurately position your ball to knock down one or two close pins or to have the best chance at pinpointing your ball to knock down a specific arrangement of bowling pins.
With the strike ball you want to hit the pocket accurately, even better, at a good angle, with a good amount of force transmitted through the pins knocking them all down. STRIKE! Heavier may be better but too heavy and you will lose accuracy and speed. I have done this myself noticing that my 15 lb ball had more force than my 14 lb ball with some loss in accuracy. When you’re on your 5th game you may be tiring and want to go back to a ball you can control better.
With a spare ball, foremost in your mind should be accuracy. Now if you have 7 or more pins still standing for your spare ball, treat it like a strike ball. Ideally you only have one or two close pins to knock down. Use your spare ball and accurately clean your plate. (Credit goes to the Portland, Maine fans for this chant.) The ball is not going to do all the work, you need practice and technique. This is a subject for another time.
Track the Actions of the Bowling Balls You Picked
Now you’ve picked your balls and you’ve used them. Maybe you are just in it for the fun or social benefits and gutter balls are welcomed. Fine, by all means have fun. However, if you want to have fun AND if you want to continue improving your bowling experience AND you have a growth mind set (What? Look it up.), then you need to pay attention and track the actions of your bowling balls.
Observe what happens with each ball. Does it go where you want it to go: over the right boards, lane dots, target arrows, and rangefinders? How does it hit the pocket and pins? Does it knock down the pins? Are you more accurate or more effective with your other ball? The professionals are acutely aware of the actions of their bowling balls and ready to switch balls or switch techniques when the situation calls for it. You too, can cultivate the habits of observation and adaptation. Maybe I’ll see you on TV or YouTube.
Related Questions
What Bowling Ball Weight Should I Use?
With a house bowling ball, take your weight and divide by 10. Hold that ball at arm’s length with your bowling hand (and other hand underneath for safety) for 5 seconds. If you can do it comfortably then that is a good weight to start.
What’s the Best Bowling Ball for Beginners?
Ask: Do I want to stay with a relatively straight bowling style, as with house bowling balls, and possibly improve it? or Do I want to develop a more advanced hook shape to my bowling? For straight bowling go with plastic (aka polyester). For hooking, the cautious go with urethane. The committed go with reactive resin professionally fitted and drilled.
What’s the Difference in Bowling Balls?
Three types of bowling balls are in common use today: plastic, urethane, and reactive resin. Plastic balls roll the straightest, urethane balls provide more friction and hook better, and reactive resin balls absorb lane oil for even more friction while hooking the most. The nuances among the reactive resin balls are vast including changeable surfaces and symmetric & asymmetric cores.