by Shen-Li Lee

Created on: August 29, 2009   Last Updated: September 17, 2009

For beginners and most casual bowlers, the house balls offered by bowling alleys are usually more than adequate. Unless you are serious about bowling, it isn't worth the extra expense of purchasing your own ball. However, even if you are a casual bowler, there are certain bowling ball features that you should consider when picking a bowling for your personal use. These features include the size of the finger holes, the spacing between the finger holes and the weight of the bowling ball. Professional or serious bowlers, on the other hand, will want to purchase a customised ball that can be completely personalised to their individual requirements and style of bowling.

How do you pick a ten pin bowling ball?

1. Weight

Bowling regulations state that a bowling ball must be no more than 16 pounds and 8.5 inches in diameter. Although there are no regulations on how light a ball can be, the lightest balls available are the 6 pound balls which are generally used by children and senior bowlers who have problems with their backs or wrists.

The general recommendation is to pick a ball that is about 10% of your body weight. For example, if you weigh 100 pounds then you should be using a 10 pound bowling ball. Some people, especially professional bowlers, tend to pick the heaviest ball they can comfortably bowl with as a heavier ball can offer an added advantage. That said bowling with a ball that is too heavy can increase the risk of injury. Additionally, your skill level and bowling style will also determine the weight of the bowling ball that is best suited to your individual requirements.

Ideally, start with a bowling ball that is 10% of your body weight and experiment with heavier and lighter balls to see which one suits your style of bowling best.

2. Finger Holes

There are three factors to consider when examining the finger holes: the size of the holes, the distance between the holes and the number of holes. If you are picking a ball from the house selection, then you only have the first two options to consider.

Most bowling balls have three holes however ten pin bowling rules allow for up to five holes to be drilled into a customised ball. Although the ball's trajectory depends on a variety of factors such as the delivery, use of gravity and the friction from the lane, the number of holes, the position of the holes and the size of the holes will also have some bearing on the dynamics of the ball and how it rolls after delivery. This is because they affect the balance

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