Changing Bowling Ball Surface Is The Easiest Way To Change Bowling Ball Motion By John Gaines

Bowling Ball Surface Is 70% Of The Balls Reaction

Having issues hitting the pocket with your bowling ball? One easy way to help change that is changing the surface texture of your ball.
The surface texture of the ball dictates about 70% of you total ball motion.

Manufactures spend thousands of dollars in research developing coverstocks for bowling balls. With that, each manufacturer decides which texture to put the surface of the ball at when they release the ball. It doesn’t mean at all that the ball surface can’t be altered or fine tuned for each individual bowler however.

Tweaking The Bowling Ball Cover Allows For Fine Tuning

Once you have done your research, talked with a pro shop professional, and you drill your ball, you feel it’s close, but it just needs a little something different. Easiest thing to do is to change the surface texture. And sometimes it doesn’t take very much. And in most cases you can simply do this yourself if you have the right tools and materials. You can usually find what the ball surface is out of the box from the manufacturer right on the box. And if you did not keep the box, no problem. Each manufacturer will have all of the specs, which includes the ball surface, on their respective websites. The lower the number grit pad, the more texture will be put on the ball. The higher the grit pad, the smoother the ball surface will be. Most manufactures ball surface specs will range from 500-4000 grit.

What If My Bowling Ball Does Not Hook Enough?

If your ball is not quite hooking enough, you will want to put more surface texture on the ball. Basically you need to create more tread like a snow tire. So let’s say your ball came out of the box at 2000 grit. If you need more hook, simply take the ball to 1000 grit. This will usually do the trick. If it’s still not enough, take it down to 500. Keeping some abralon pads in your bowling bag is always a great idea!

What If My Bowling Ball Hooks To Much?

If your ball is hooking just a little too much, simply do the opposite and make the surface smoother. Let’s say your ball came new out of the box at 1500. Smooth it up to 2000. If that’s not enough, try putting a little polish on the ball.

You would be surprised how much of a difference you can make your ball motion just by using those couple steps. And best of all, is they’re all changeable! If it doesn’t work quite the way you thought, it can easily be changed back to any surface.

About John

John Gaines from Orlando, Florida, is a distinguished bowler with four titles at the USBC Open Championships. He claimed Team All-Events titles in 1997 and 1998, as well as a Regular Singles title in 1998. In 2013, he played a pivotal role for Lodge Lanes Too of Orlando, leading them to the highest team score in the 110-year history of the Open Championships with a remarkable 3,538, securing the Regular Team title that year. Gaines boasts 10 additional top-10 finishes at the Open Championships. He triumphed at the 1997 USBC Team USA Trials and was a Team USA member from 1998 to 2000. In 1999, he earned a team gold medal at the Pan American Games and a silver medal in the team event at the World Tenpin Bowling Association World Men’s Championships. The United States Olympic Committee honored him as the Amateur Bowler of the Year in 1998.