Give Your Game a Holiday Gift - gift suggestions for bowlers

Bowling Digest, Dec, 2000 by Parker Bohn, Iii

Whether you've been bad or good this year, 'tis the season to improve your chances on the lanes by assessing and fulfilling all your equipment needs

THIS IS A VERY FUN TIME OF YEAR. Not only is Christmas only a few weeks away, but you or a bowling friend or family member have been into league play for at least a month or two. I hope that things are going great, but you or your friend may be trying to figure out a way to step up your game one more notch and take that next step forward. With that thought in mind, what better way to move forward than with a Christmas gift?

In your league, you may have noticed that you're rolling the ball fairly consistently, but for some reason that pesky corner pin just won't fall down. You've talked to the pro shop manager, and he's recommended that you try a new ball. When you think about it, you realize that you bought a new ball only two or three years ago, and when you walk through the pro shop checking out replacements you see that your ball or one like it is no longer on the shelf. That's because 75 to 100 new bowling balls have come out since you last purchased one. With all these innovations in equipment, taking the recommendation of the pro shop owner probably isn't a bad idea.

Even though the ball you're currently throwing looks like it's in relatively good shape, it's possible that it's burned up where it meets the lane, "tracked out" or chewed up because of excessive use, or oil-soaked because you haven't cleaned it properly--or not at all. Any of these could be a reason why you're not carrying as well as you should be.

A ball gets burned up mainly on synthetic lanes. Even though the friction with those lanes doesn't leave a visible mark on your bowling ball, it slowly grinds away the shine on the ball and eventually smooths out the surface. This smoothing effect makes your ball straighten out on the back end, just when you're expecting it to hook and make a strong charge into the pocket.

On the other hand, a ball usually gets tracked out if you bowl at a center that has wooden lanes. Tracking out also occurs at the place where the ball contacts the lane, but instead of getting duller the surface of the ball accumulates a series of little nicks. One or two of these nicks in your track area don't hurt your performance, but as they accumulate you'll see them all the way around the ball. When a ball is tracked out, the friction of the surface is increased, and your ball actually begins to hook earlier than it should, again straightening out on the back end. Hooking early with no back end isn't usually a great reaction--you're working harder to knock down fewer pins.

When I say "little nicks" I'm not talking about scratches or chips outside of your track area. Those chips or scratches can be found even on a brand-new ball, and they don't affect the ball's performance or accuracy. I'm talking about wear and tear--just faint pockmarks--within the track area.

When a ball is oil-soaked, you've neglected to wipe the ball off at all or wiped it with a towel that looks like it's been rolled in the mud itself. All that does is wipe more oil and grime into the surface of the ball. Furthermore, there are new types of oil coming out every week, it seems, which adds to the problem. Your ball absorbs this oil--some balls are more porous than others, but it happens with them all--and over the course of time it eventually begins to lose hook and straighten out at the back end.

For the older bowler who wants to improve, it may be time to get rid of the hard rubber ball you've got in your bag. The bowling equipment available today is light-years ahead of that old ball. Talk to your local pro shop and purchase a ball that you can easily control but that still gives you more impact and carrying potential than you've ever had before.

Another easy remedy for a senior player is going down in weight. That ball is going to seem heavier every year, and that in turn will slow your ball speed down. Slowing the ball down is good if it gives you more control, but it's not the answer for most seniors.

Bowlers who are around the age of 50 or 60 (and you don't have to tell your local pro your age!) probably should consider dropping down a pound or two in weight. You may have noticed in league play that by the middle of the third game your arm is starting to get tried and your ball speed gets sluggish. Dropping down that pound or two could get you back on the right track--and more importantly, put the fun back into your game.

Junior bowlers may have the opposite problem. Boys and girls grow every day. and your bowling ball can become too light before you realize it. That's why the biggest problem with young bowlers is that they start to fling the ball down the lane.

A good rule of thumb with boys and girls between the ages of eight and 12 is to use a ball that is a pound for every year of age, unless they're exceptionally large or small. Kids grow at different rates, obviously, but this rule of thumb holds true for the most part. The important thing is that Johnny or Susie doesn't bowl for three or four years with the same ball you bought them when they were seven or eight years old.