what ball weight & drilling
Bowlingball Weight
Shopping for proper weight
- Average adult male usually bowls with a: 14-16 lb. ball
- Average adult female usually bowls with a: 10-14 lb. ball
- Juniors: 1lb. of weight per year of child's age, i.e. 8 yrs old = 8-lb. ball
- Buy the heaviest ball that you can comfortably use while maintaining a proper speed. Heavier balls don't always knock down more pins. The impact of the bowling ball thrown would be speed times the mass. Ex: You would be better off with a 14 pound ball thrown 16 mph than a 16 pound ball thrown at 13 mph.
- Be cautious of exceptions in size and physical ability; If you are larger/heavier than average, go up in weight; If you are smaller or have limiting physical features, stay lower in ball weight
Shopping by composition
Polyester and plastic ball
- Recommended for beginners and entry-level players
- Rolls straight with almost no hook
- Great for spare shooting
- Ideal if you roll a straight ball and just want a ball that fits the same every time
Urethane balls (Performance: Low)
- Recommended for bowlers looking to improve their game
- Rolls with a smoother arching reaction
- Great for seniors or younger bowlers that want to hook the ball but don't have much ball speed
- Urethane will go through the pins much better than plastic, i.e., ball must hit the 1,3,5,9 in order to strike. Plastic will deflect more leaving the 5 pin more often.
- Can easily be sanded or polished depending on ball speed and lane conditions
Resin, Reactive, and Particle balls (Performance: Medium-High)
- Yield similar benefits as urethane balls, but offer a sharper hook with more carrying power
- Allows bowler to achieve a sharper entry angle
- Offer greatest strike potential of any bowling ball type
- 100% of professional bowlers use this type of bowling ball. Note: 94% use a plastic ball for shooting spares.
Drilling the finger holes
- Bowling balls need to be drilled unless otherwise specified
- Be sure to take your bowling ball to a qualified professional or use our Professional Custom Drilling Service when getting it drilled
- Professional drilling allows you to customize the placement and size of the finger holes
- We do offer a Professional Custom Drilling service as well as a basic drilling service for balls, but we still recommend going to a professional pro shop for that first, perfect fit.
Drilling Services
At Bowlingshop Europe we have a library of Drill Sheets for you to look through in order to find the perfect choice for your new ball.
There are two ways to access these layouts. First, you can click "Drill Sheets" under our main product toolbar at the top of our home page. Second, you can click the "Drill Sheets" tab on the product page of any bowling ball.
Professional Drilling Service
Bowlingshopeurope.eu is happy to offer professional drilling service on all bowling balls, a convenient service that can save you time and money! We have a full staff of professionals on site with over 15 years of ball drilling experience. We use a top of the line Vacu-Jig Milling System that enables our professional staff to drill all equipment with pin-point precision. Getting your new bowling ball professionally drilled just got easier!
Bowlingshopeurope.eu offers two types of drilling services to meet your bowling needs:
This service is recommended for advanced bowlers who currently own their own custom fit bowling ball. Custom drilling services can cost anywhere from €15 to €50 depending on what you want. Installation of finger inserts, thumb slugs, switch grips, and thumb molds are also available for custom drilled bowling balls. You can send us your spec sheet of your measurements. If you do not know your measurements, just send us one of your bowlingballs that fit you best, and we can copy the measurements to another ball, we have all the tools for it to do this so you will not feel a difference.
Standard Drilling Service
This service is recommended for the recreational bowler who would like to own their own bowling ball. This is a standard conventional layout using an average for the span and hole sizes. Standard drilling services cost €15.
Below is a table of the right handed (Reverse Ring/Middle for left handers) measurements used to drill your bowling ball. They are given for informational purposes only and are not guaranteed.
The fit of this service is not guaranteed and minor adjustments may have to be made to the hole sizes once the ball has been received. We will finish off all the holes and the ball will be ready to bowl with once it is received.
Drilled bowling balls may not be returned for any reason other than a manufacturer defect. Ball fit and reaction are not guaranteed by bowlingshopeurope.eu. Drilling charges cannot be reimbursed.
Please allow up to 7-14 days for the service before your order will be shipped.