Which Is The Best Bowling Ball For Me?

bowlingball.com, Originally Posted: 7/12/2015; Updated: 5/5/2022

If you ask which is the best bowling balls for me, then it is important first to understand that no single factor gives you a precise answer?

Each bowler, certainly including you, must know his or her game, his or her delivery style and then try to match a bowling ball with that style and with the lane conditions at the time of competition.

When you bowl your best, are you hooking the ball a great deal or are you delivering your ball on a fairly straight path up the boards of the lane with only a slight hook to the pocket?

In most cases, if you must select one type of bowling ball to give you a consistent ball reaction on most lane conditions, likely a symmetric ball with a shiny reactive coverstock typically provides.

Of course, an aggressive matte finish coverstock will react best if you are bowling on heavy oil conditions and likely a pearl reactive or mild reactive urethane ball will work best on dry or medium dry lanes.

A plastic ball can be your best ball option if you have trouble converting routine spares.

The point being that the coverstock is your first consideration in the ball selection process.

Next, match the coverstock with the type of core design to yield the overall ball motion you seek.

As example, a stable reacting and controllable ball is most often a result of using a symmetric core design with a medium amount traction on the lane surface. This type of ball combination tends to make an even and smooth arc motion.

Another example is an asymmetric core design coupled with a shiny covertock finished with a fine grit pad texture producing a defined, angular motion on the back end energy for the back end of the lane.

Although it is tempting to always select a sharp hooking ball, the lane conditions may not match well with a long skid distance and that sharp hook motion as can be the case with heavy oil patterns or on wet/dry patterns.

Remember, a symmetric ball with just enough skid distance to not hook early while still producing a controllable ball motion without quitting near the pocket is likely your best bet if you had to choose only one ball to use most of the time you bowl.

A controllable reacting ball is also a good ball to use when you first start a competitive session so you can “read the lanes” and get aligned quickly to the pocket.

It is also very important to remember that all major brands of bowling ball equipment in today’s market are of high quality so your real task is to find the best coverstock to match with the oil pattern, the type of core to give you an overall reaction matching to that pattern, and then you have many options in drilling layouts to further control your ball motion.

The best ball for you is the one which is going to be most versatile and can help you read the lane conditions while producing a controllable and dependable ball reaction most places where you bowl.



If you have a ball which does exactly this, then the next best choice is a ball which you go to when the lanes open up and the breakdown of initial oil on the given pattern occurs.

Once you must adjust from your initial alignment positioning on the approach, then changing bowling balls is soon to follow.

No one bowling ball works on every lane condition. If you expect to advance in the game and become competitive on league and tournament lane conditions, then develop your arsenal around the next best ball for your game.

Consult your pro shop professional and your bowling instructor to discuss specific brands and models of bowling balls when you are considering purchasing your next ball.

All leading manufacturers provide an array of bowling balls which can become your next best ball if you take time to consider which ball reaction is most needed and not provided by your present arsenal, you are one step closer to finding the best ball for your game.