Bowling Ball Feel

bowlingball.com, Originally Posted: 10/6/2014; Updated: 8/26/2022

Your pro shop professional faces the challenge of trying to make each of your bowling balls feel as close to identical as possible after drilling and doing the finish work.
So much of bowling well comes from having good bowling ball feel.
Getting each of your bowling balls to feel identical when you grip them prior to making your approach is virtually impossible. It is, however, possible to get each ball to feel very, very close to the same.
You must rely on your pro shop professional to accomplish a few important tasks to gain a similar feel from ball to ball. There are some factors which also cause variations in feel which are attributed to non-pro shop work.
Here are several keys in gaining similar feel on your bowling ball equipment:
1. Identical span distances - (distance between the leading edge of your thumb hole and leading edges of your finger holes).
2. Identical finger pitch angles - The pitch angles in each hole should be almost identical so your hands feel the insides of the gripping holes in each ball in the same way.
3. Hole sizes - The size of each drill bit used to bore holes into each bowling ball must be the same size so the holes take the same type of shapes and dimensions.
4. Use of inserts or slugs - if you prefer using finger or thumb inserts, make certain you use the same size and type in each ball. If you are one who likes to bevel or contour the insert slightly from the manufactured size, then care must be taken to be as consistent as possible with each insert to gain a close feel from ball to ball.
5. Surface texture - believe it or not, the surface texture of each ball is generally different and will have a slightly different feel in your bowling hand. Do not expect a precisely identical feel if one ball has a shiny, polished coverstock and another a roughly textured matte finish.
6. Adjustable wrist devices - if you use an adjustable wrist device to support your wrist from hinging uncontrollably, do not expect the the same feel when changing bowling balls if you change the amount of hinge.
7. Contouring or beveling the holes - if you bevel each hole with a carving tool or use an electric sanding device after drilling holes into your bowling balls, do not expect a precise amount of ball coverstock material to be removed in the shape and sizes as you might expect. There will be a variation in feel with each ball.
8. Circumference of each bowling ball - bowling balls vary slightly in circumference and some bowlers are keen in sensing the differences. Although this is not normally a large amount of difference, the molds used when pouring the coverstock of each ball from manufacturer to manufacturer will definitely vary.

Some bowlers are not as “picky” or “fussy” about how precise each ball feels in their bowling hands. If you are one who likes as close to identical feel in each of your bowling balls, observe these above mentioned items and work with your pro shop personnel to get as near to the same feel as you can.
If you change pitch angles, as example, to influence your hand action when you release your ball, the bowling balls with different pitches will obviously not give you identical feel.
Having bowling balls which fit properly and feel good in your hand is an important element in bowling well.
Develop a good working relationship with your pro shop professionals if you wish to have comfortable and good fitting bowling balls. Communication with your pro shop pro is vital to making certain your drillings are close to the same from ball to ball.