Simply click on the “Bowling Shoes” button at the top of our home page, then click on “Price Range” to select shoe options which are affordable, available and offered as super deals. Click on the image of any shoe you wish to bring onto your screen and review description details, product availability, and the price information. You will find deals on bowling shoes in several affordable price point ranges and will not be disappointed in the options you have to choose from when you are ready to make your purchase.

Merely click on the highlighted name of any of the example bowling shoes models listed below under the various Price Ranges to view Description Details and the current Price:

$10. – $20. Price Range

Dexter Men's Ricky White Size 15 Only is currently selling for $24.99
Brunswick Men's Vasu Bowling Shoe Size 7 & 9.5 ONLY is currently selling for $22.99

$20. – $50. Price Range

Dexter Men's Ricky II Black is currently selling for $32.99
Pyramid Youth Skull Green/Black is currently selling for $39.99
3G Bowling Women's Kicks White/Blue is currently selling for $27.99
Dexter Men's Jason III is currently selling for $37.99

$50. – $75. Price Range

Linds Women's Rocket Right Handed is currently selling for $60.99
Etonic Men's Basic Glo Skull II is currently selling for $52.99
Etonic Women's Sport Retro Neon II Pink is currently selling for $55.99
Dexter Men's SST 1 Black is currently selling for $74.99

$75. – $100. Price Range

3G Bowling Sport Deluxe Black Men's Right Handed is currently selling for $99.99
Etonic Men's ESS Interchangeable Black Right Handed is currently selling for $99.99
Brunswick Women's Brunspro is currently selling for $79.99

Over $100. Price Range

Dexter Men's SST 8 Black/Red is currently selling for $127.99
Etonic Men's E-Tour Master Black is currently selling for $159.99
Dexter Womens SST 8 LE Wide Width is currently selling for $146.99
Pyramid Path Ball/Bag/Shoe Combo is currently selling for $109.99
T Zone Ball Bag and Shoe Package is currently selling for $104.99

Please remember that every item here at bowlingball.com comes with free shipping, free insurance, and no hidden handling charges delivered right to your doorstep. Ordering is easy by merely by following our simple online instructions Thanks for visiting bowlingball.com.

Let’s examine some important facts about the lane and alignment:

1. The arrows are located about 15 feet past the foul line toward the pins and are in a triangular configuration. Typically, the arrow nearest the edge of the lane is referred to as the “first arrow” and is located on the 5 board of the lane surface, about 5 inches from the edge of the lane. Continuing to the bowler’s left, the next arrow is the “second arrow” which is located on the 10 board and so on across the lane. The arrows are symmetrically placed on the lane. Using a reverse reference system is recommended for left handed bowlers.

2. The circular guides embedded or stamped onto the approach just behind the foul line align with the 7 boards of the arrows down the lane. The largest guide on the approach floor is located on the 20 board (the center board of the lane) and aligns with the center of the 7 targeting arrows. Each guide at the foul line, both to the right and to the left of the center guide, is positioned 5 boards apart from the adjacent guides in the same manner as are the arrows.

3. If you trace back from the foul line, you will find another set of guides on the approach 12 feet behind the foul line and yet another set of guides 3 feet further back from the 12 foot guides. Usually, there are 5 guides at the 12 foot position on the approach and those guides align on the same boards as the center 5 guides at the foul line and down the lane with the center 5 arrows.

4. The approach guides are used primarily for alignment to the targeting arrows. It is typically recommended by certified professional bowling coaches that a bowler will align his strike ball delivery to the pocket in such a way to roll the bowling ball over the second arrow with an appropriate angle from the release point just beyond the foul line as to allow the ball to continue down the lane to the pocket.

5. Since bowlers strive to develop a slight hook ball delivery, then the ball should contact the lane just beyond the foul line on about the 12 or 13 board, roll over the 2nd arrow (the 10 board), and then the ball will change directions about two-thirds of the way down the lane at the break point and head toward the pocket located at the 17.5 board on the pin deck.

6. If you are a right handed bowler, then your sliding bowling shoe is the left bowling shoe. The slide bowling shoe should enter the sliding area of the approach very near the foul line (ending perhaps 2-4 inches behind the line) and the toe of your sliding shoe faces the pins.

7. The instep of your sliding shoe (right handed bowlers) is located about two boards right of the exact center of your slide shoe. If you allow about 1 inch of space between the inner side of the bowling ball as it passes by your sliding shoe, then the instep of your sliding shoe will cover the 18 board on the approach at the foul line and your toe will point to the 20 board or the center guide.

8. An example of an initial alignment positioning on the approach goes as follows:

a. stand on 18 board – (with the instep of your sliding shoe covering the 18 board)

b. walk a straight line to the foul line and slide on the 18 board – if you walk either right or left 2 boards from your initial starting position on the 18 board, then adjust your starting position the same 2 boards to compensate

c. release the ball where the center of the ball contacts the lane on the 13 board – (the diameter of the ball plus a small bit of room so the ball does not contact your ankle or shoe passing quickly into the release zone).

d. target the 2nd arrow (10 board) 15 feet down the lane.

This example alignment procedure shows that the 18 board and 2nd arrow are good places for initial alignment. You may have to use a board located to the right or to the left of the 2nd arrow if your ball hooks too little or too much and make the correct corresponding adjustment with your feet positioning in order to contact the pocket. Other variables are your type of release, the speed you roll your bowling ball, the oiling pattern used on the lane, and the bowling ball you select will determine how your ball reacts and where it contacts the pins.

Finding your bowling target takes some understanding of the lane geometry and use of the bowling guides and arrows. bowlingball.com recommends you consult a certified coach or a bowling professional for more information on alignment.

While you are visiting our site today, please check out the vast menu of bowling consumer products we offer at great prices, with no shipping charges, with free insurance, with no hidden handling charges, and with delivery right to your doorstep! Ordering is an easy process by following simple online instructions. Thanks for visiting bowlingball.com.

It is highly recommended that every new bowler get his or her own bowling ball as soon as possible. Having your own bowling ball professionally fitted and drilled for your hand is a big step to developing accuracy and an effective delivery while limiting the potential for hand or wrist injuries which can result from using poorly fitting house bowling balls drilled only for the general public.

Owning your bowling shoes is not only a money saver in the long run compared to using rental bowling shoes time and again, but will award you comfort, durability, sliding stability and come in great colors and styles. Of course, you will need a bowling bag to transport your equipment to and from the bowling center so choose from many models available right now at our site which vary from roller bags to tote bags, depending on your individual needs. Accessory items such as bowling towels, bowling tape, and bowling ball cleaners and polishes are staples in any experienced bowler’s bag so start your career on the lanes the right way by adding a few necessary accessory items to your new equipment arsenal.

Finding bowling equipment for beginners begins by simply clicking on any of the product buttons at the top of our home page, then click on “manufacturers” to select the given brand items you wish to review. Next, click on the image of any item where you wish to view description details, reviews about the item, product availability, and importantly, the price information. You will find a wide array of bowling equipment to help you get started in the game.

Merely click on the highlighted name of each recommended ball, bag, shoes, and accessories under the category headings below to view current price information. Here are a few samples of equipment options to help you get started the right way:

Entry Level Bowling Balls

Pyramid Path Blue/Black/White currently selling for $49.99

Brunswick Slingshot Black/Pink currently selling for $64.99

Hammer Taboo Spare currently selling for $85.99

Storm Tropical Breeze Kona Blue/Silver currently selling for $82.99

Bowling Bags

Pyramid Path Single Deluxe Tote Black/Silver currently selling for $29.99

bowlingball.com Monster Jam - Grave Digger Single currently selling for $24.99

KR Strikeforce Cartoon Network Single Roller Backpack currently selling for $37.00

Brunswick Flash Single Roller Black/Navy currently selling for $59.99

Bowling Shoes

Pyramid Men's Ram Black currently selling for $39.99

Pyramid Women's Rise Black/Hot Pink currently selling for $39.99

Dexter Women's Raquel III White/Pink currently selling for $32.99

Brunswick Men's Torch currently selling for $34.99

Bowling Accessories

bowlingball.com Shoe Protectors currently selling for $13.99

bowlingball.com Microfiber See Saw currently selling for $9.99

bowlingball.com Stitched Microfiber Towel currently selling for $9.99

Brunswick Bowling Tape 100 Piece Roll currently selling for $15.99

Being equipped with quality bowling balls, bag, shoes, and accessories makes growing into the game easy and fun. Take some time and search our site for the literally hundreds of items available to you for purchase, all of which includes free shipping, free insurance, and no hidden handling charges. It is easy to understand why bowlingball.com have become the No. 1 “e-tailer” of choice in bowling equipment by consumers of America. Ordering is easy by merely by following our simple online instructions Thanks for visiting.

One key factor causing lane oil conditions to change is oil breakdown. Dealing with and adjusting to bowling lane oil breakdown is made easier if you understand when breakdown occurs and why. In an ideal world, lane conditions would not change and you would never have to adjust your initial alignment once you are able to hit the pocket consistently. Examining what occurs during each session on the lanes regarding the changes to the oil pattern as bowling balls are delivered repeatedly will help you learn about the oil breakdown tendencies which cause the lanes to change.

The use of high technology bowling ball coverstocks is one important key to oil breakdown. Every time a bowling ball is delivered, the lane condition changes. Regardless of the oil pattern is put down at your local bowling center, your bowling ball picks up and retains oil in the pores of the coverstock and literally removes the oil applied to the lane surface. Some of the oil is carried down to the back end of the lane some is retained in the coverstock of your bowling ball.

In the case of a highly textured, solid coverstock bowling ball, say textured to perhaps a 500 grit finish, the pores in the ball surface will capture and retain oil as the ball rolls through the heaviest concentrated area of lane oil. Once this ball passes the final distance of oil application, the oil retained in the coverstock can never be replaced on the portion of lane surface where it has been removed.

A bowling ball with a low surface porosity such as a stiff, pearl coverstock finished to perhaps 2000 grit or greater will retain less oil in the pores of the ball than does the solid and porous coverstock bowling ball when passing through the same heavy oil areas of a given lane. The pearl coverstock will remove less oil from the lane surface but, nevertheless, will change the volume of oil remaining on the front end of the lane.

As oil moves down the lane and as oil is retained in the coverstock of your bowling ball, less volume of oil remains on given boards of the lane surface than when the lanes were first conditioned. As oil moves on the surface of the lane, the oil repeatedly separates open and then closes until such a time when the breakdown in lubricity occurs and the oil no longer is able to close thereby leaving a high friction portion of the lane surface exposed.

The cross lane ratio and down lane ratio of oil application on the lane surface, therefore, also changes. Oil breakdown in given areas on the lane surface will be evident when your bowling ball passes through the given area and because of an increase in surface friction with a lesser amount of oil, your ball will begin to hook sooner than when you began your session on the lanes. An angle adjustment toward a higher concentration of oil is usually the first type of adjustment required to restore ball skid.

The three factors most affecting ball motion changes resulting from oil breakdown are the reduction in the volume of oil on the lane oil pattern, the number of deliveries made on a given lane in a given period of time across a given angle of delivery, and the coverstock porosity and surface traction generated by bowling balls. Other types of lane adjustments such as ball speed changes, changing bowling balls, and changing release techniques varying the rev-rate or axis tilt of a given delivery are ways to continue to hit the pocket depending on the severity of the oil breakdown.

The greater number of deliveries on a given freshly oil lane causes oil breakdown to occur more rapidly than fewer ball deliveries. In the cases of league play, oil breakdown occurs in perhaps less than one full game of team bowling. By the end of the league session, the breakdown will be extremely noticeable and by that time, skilled bowlers will have adjusted alignment one or more times or perhaps changed bowling balls to adjust for the altered volume of oil on the front end of the lane and the increased surface friction resulting from the oil breakdown.

Often times on short or mid oil pattern distance applications, the oil carrydown will concentrate in an area which actually helps the higher skilled players by achieving “carrydown hold area” on the back end of the lane to help guide the ball ball toward the pocket. When oil carrydown occurs, it is assured that oil breakdown has also occurred and an adjustment from your initial alignment will likely be required.

It is difficult to improve your performance playing the lanes after oil breakdown has occurred if you do not practice on this condition to test all of the available variables in real time. Remember, adjustments vary from player to player based on ball speed, rev-rate, axis tilt, the bowling ball coverstock, the drilling layout pattern in use, and the accuracy of a given player. Depending on the oil pattern, angle adjustments systems will vary. Practice on lane conditions both where the oil breakdown is in transition and after the transition is complete to help you make reliable adjustments during competition.

While you are visiting today, please spend time searching our extensive menu of products at bowlingball.com. If you wish to make a purchase, simply follow our easy online order instructions. Thank you for visiting bowlingball.com.

Simply click on the “Bowling Balls” button at the top of our home page, then click on “manufacturers” to select the given brand you wish to review, and then on the the Performance category to bring onto your screen available models. Next, click on the image of any item you wish to view description details, reviews about these balls, and product availability, and importantly, the price information. You will find inexpensive bowling balls in every Performance range.

Merely click on the highlighted name of each ball under our various Performance categories below to view current price information:

Pro Performance

Hammer Taboo Electric Blue/Silver currently selling for $164.95

Storm Virtual Gravity NANO Pearl currently selling for $159.95

DV8 Hell Raiser Revenge currently selling for $139.95

High Performance

Motiv Primal Impulse currently selling for $147.88

Brunswick Loaded Revolver currently selling for $79.99

Hammer Brick currently selling for $149.99

Advanced Performance

Roto Grip Shooting Star currently selling for $89.99

Storm Frantic currently selling for $109.99

Storm Crossroad currently selling for $119.95

Performance

DV8 Misfit Orange/Blue currently selling for $79.95

Hammer Midnight Vibe currently selling for $87.99

Ebonite Cyclone Purple/Orange/Yellow currently selling for $82.99

Entry Performance

Brunswick Slingshot Black/Pink currently selling for $64.99

Storm Tropical Breeze Kona Blue/Silver currently selling for $82.99

Hammer Taboo Spare currently selling for $85.99

While you are visiting bowlingball.com today, please take a few moments to view the excellent Ball Reaction Videos we provide where you can see the latest in inexpensive bowling balls rolling down our private test facility lanes. bowlingball.com has created our own hook rating scale. Because each manufacturer uses a different method for indicating a ball’s hook potential, we developed a way for the consumer to compare bowling balls across all manufacturers. The result: The Perfect Scale®. Our goal is simply to make it easier for our customers to compare products and feel confident in their purchases.

It is easy to understand why we have become the No. 1 “e-tailer” of choice for inexpensive bowling balls by consumers of America. Ordering is easy by merely by following our simple online instructions Thanks for visiting.

We have posted many articles in the “BowlVersity” section of bowlingball.com which address getting lined up to the pocket as well as articles discussing lane adjustments for changing lane conditions. We urge you check out a few of these articles to expand your thinking about playing the lanes and making effective adjustments. Improper alignment will cause your bowling ball to read the lane and react at unpredictable times and thereby reduce your ability to hit the pocket consistently. We cannot stress the importance of good alignment and adjustment techniques enough.

By knowing, however, how to develop a consistent bowling hook, you can make clear adjustments because of reliable bowling ball deliveries. The process begins by understanding a few important release techniques to improve the quality of your shot-making.

Here are a few easy keys to get you on your way:

1. Maintain consistent gripping pressure with your bowling fingers throughout your arm swing cycle. The majority of gripping pressure should be with the pads of your bowling fingers with very little pressure on the pad of your thumb.

2. Release the ball between the shoe laces of your sliding shoe and the toe of the shoe. The momentum developed from the swinging of the bowling ball will carry the ball onto the lane surface beyond the foul line.

3. To produce a modest and controllable hook, less finger rotation at the moment of release is required than if you wish to produce a larger hooking action as the ball travels down the lane. Less hook is easy to control. A strong hook requires more discipline because of a faster and larger rotation by the fingers during the release of the ball.

4. Place your hand holding the ball not flatly underneath the ball and not completely on the side of the ball as if you were going to shake hands with someone, but rather in between the two positions. If you were to allow your hand to maintain this position through the entire swing cycle and into the release area, you will rotate the axis of the ball perhaps only 15-20 degrees and the result will be a controllable hook on the back end of the lane.

5. Avoid “over-turning” your hand and bowling elbow while releasing the ball as to have your hand pass over the top of the ball and your palm of your bowling hand face the floor. That type of release will certainly cause inconsistencies and result in poor direction toward your target as well as an ineffective roll.

6. For a sharper hook motion, place your hand under the ball with the palm of your hand facing toward the ceiling. This type of hand position is commonly known as “behind the ball” positioning. As your hand reaches the critical release zone with your hand maintaining the “behind the ball” positioning on the forward swing, you must rotate your fingers quickly and decisively from left to right (for right handed bowlers – opposite for left handed bowlers) or about two or three hours on a visualized clock dial from “behind the ball” to the side of the ball near to the three o’ clock or four o’ clock positions. This quick and decisive rotation of the bowling ball by your bowling fingers will tilt the rotating axis of your ball causing it to hook more sharply than the previous example of maintaining your hand between the “behind the ball” position and the “handshake” position.

7. In tips 5 & 6, be careful not to rotate your entire arm but rather only your fingers and wrist action.

8. Use a wrist device when practicing (if you do not already use one) which allows for a setting to be adjusted to create a quick and consistent thumb release and a crisp axis-tilt rotation motion. Tilting the wrist upward while you are releasing the ball will fly your thumb out of the ball well before the fingers so the fingers can rotate the ball decisively and create additional revolutions on the ball and/or increase the amount of tilt in the rotating axis of the ball, both of which will undoubtedly work toward maximizing your release hook potential.

bowlingball.com always recommends you consult with a certified coach so you can sharpen your skills and learn how to develop a consistent bowling hook. We hope these tips help?

bowlingball.com has become the No. 1 e-tailer of choice for bowling equipment by the consumer of America. Once you have found any item you wish to order, please be reminded that every item at our site comes with free shipping, free insurance, and no hidden charges. To place your order, simply follow our easy online instructions. Thanks for visiting.

Simply click on the “Bowling Balls” button at the top of our home page, then click on “Coverstock” and then on the the “Reactive Resin” to bring onto your screen available models. Next, click on the image of any item you wish to view description details, reviews about these balls, and product availability, and importantly, the price information. You will find inexpensive pearl reactive bowling balls in several performance ranges.

Merely click on any of the pearl reactive ball options from our category listings below to view description details and current price information:

Pro Performance

Storm Virtual Gravity NANO Pearl currently selling for $159.95

Brunswick Nexus f(P) Pearl currently selling for $152.95

Lane #1 Pearl Panther currently selling for $164.99

High Performance

DV8 Hell Raiser currently selling for $139.95

Storm Marvel Pearl currently selling for $140.95

Lane #1 Boom-R'ANG currently selling for $134.99

Advanced Performance

Track 607A Special Edition currently selling for $124.95

DV8 Too Reckless currently selling for $114.99

Storm 2 Fast currently selling for $109.99

Performance

Hammer Midnight Vibe currently selling for $87.99

DV8 Misfit Magenta/Yellow currently selling for $79.95

Morich Frenzy currently selling for $82.99

Entry Performance

Brunswick Slingshot Black/Pink currently selling for $64.99

Columbia 300 Scout Reactive Red/Gold currently selling for $69.99

Roto Grip Outlaw currently selling for $74.99

While you are visiting bowlingball.com today, please take a few moments to view the excellent Ball Reaction Videos we provide where you can see the latest in inexpensive pearl reactive bowling balls rolling down our private test facility lanes. bowlingball.com has created our own hook rating scale. Because each manufacturer uses a different method for indicating a ball’s hook potential, we developed a way for the consumer to compare bowling balls across all manufacturers. The result: The Perfect Scale®. Our goal is simply to make it easier for our customers to compare products and feel confident in their purchases.

It is easy to understand why we have become the No. 1 “e-tailer” of choice for bowling equipment by consumers of America. Ordering is easy by merely by following our simple online instructions Thanks for visiting.

A good grip enables you to properly release the ball. Here are a few tips provided courtesy of bowlingball.com in gripping a fingertip bowling ball followed by a few tips to help you get used to controlling a fingertip grip:

1. the fingers should be inserted into the bowling ball before the thumb. Care should be taken to fit your fingers into the holes of the ball in the same manner each time you are getting ready to bowl.

2. in a fingertip grip, your fingers should be inserted down to the first knuckle joint and the weight of the ball will be supported by the pads of your fingers from the tip of your fingers to the first joint.

3. the thumb must be inserted into the thumb hole of the ball down to the second knuckle joint as to allow the ball surface to rest on the palm of your hand and to the full extension of your thumb.

4. when your hand is placed properly into the holes of the bowling ball, there needs to be more gripping pressure on the finger pads of your hand than on your thumb pad.

5. Spread your index finger away from the gripping fingers will cover more surface of the bowling ball while keeping your “pinky” (little) finger positioned against your ring finger of your bowling hand. Spreading the index finger will stabilize your grip on the bowling ball.

To develop into an accomplished player, you must learn to release the ball effectively. Your thumb must be released before the fingers so the fingers may impart the rotational action which causes the bowling ball to travel down the lane with an effective rolling and hooking motion. Gripping too tightly, particularly with the thumb, will slow the action of your hand at the moment of release. It helps to learn to grip the ball properly from the onset.

Here are a few tips to make a good release of the ball using your new fingertip grip:

1. position your hand directly behind the bowling ball through the entire back swing and forward swing motion so the palm of your hand faces the pins as your hand enters the release zone.

2. rotate your bowling fingers only very slightly just after your thumb exits the bowling ball, perhaps from about the six o’clock position on a clock dial to four o’clock position (right handed bowlers – opposite for left handed bowlers). This rotation action produces sufficient bowling ball axis tilt and imparts an effective forward rolling action onto the bowling ball yielding a moderate hook motion from the break point down the lane to the pocket. It does not really require much finger rotation to impart good rev-rate and enough axis tilt to help your ball transition properly in the mid-lane and again at the breakpoint to the pins. Many “stroker” players and “up-the-boards” players do not rotate the ball a great deal and develop into extremely accurate bowlers.

3. avoid over-rotating your fingers in an attempt to make the ball hook a great deal. This type of overturning motion causes the elbow to rotate around and outside the bowling ball and results in a poor delivery. Overturning the ball is a common mistake to all bowlers, pro bowlers included. You can reduce this overturn motion by training your hand and bowling elbow, through practice, to remain in position behind the ball until the hand reaches the release zone, your thumb exits the ball, and your fingers rotate the ball. Your swing should continue upward toward a full-finish follow through position.

4. your thumb must exit the ball slightly before the fingers at the “moment of release” as you are entering the sliding step of your approach. Leading the release with your ring finger on your bowling hand in an upward motion is another useful technique used by good players to avoid rotating the ball early.

5. when first practicing with a fingertip grip and trying to adjust to the new feel, wear a wrist support device. The device will help prop your hand and avoid the wrist tilting back during the release of the ball. Tilting the wrist back slows the thumb from exiting the ball in relation to your fingers. The wrist support device will prop up your wrist to regulate the moment your thumb leaves the ball so your ratio of effective releases increases.

bowlingball.com recommends you consult your pro shop professional or a certified bowling instructor to monitor you bowling deliveries until you develop a good bowling ball release technique and get accustomed to using the fingertip grip.

While you are visiting our site today, please check out the vast menu of bowling consumer products we offer at great prices, with no shipping charges, with free insurance, with no hidden handling charges, and with delivery right to your doorstep!

bowlingball.com has become the No. 1 “e-tailer” of choice for bowling equipment by the consumers of America. Ordering is an easy process by following simple online instructions. Thanks for visiting.

Virtual Gravity NANO

Without further delay, the Storm balls that were ranked and their respective categories are:

Ball of the Year

1. Storm Virtual Gravity NANO
2. Storm Marvel Pearl
3. Storm Virtual Gravity NANO Pearl
4. Brunswick Nexus f(P+F) Solid
5. Ebonite Mission $250K

Pearl Reactive

1. Storm Marvel Pearl
2. Storm Virtual Gravity NANO Pearl
3. Ebonite Mission $250K
4. Roto Grip Critical Theory
5. Columbia 300 Eruption

Solid Reactive

1. Storm Virtual Gravity NANO
2. Brunswick Nexus f(P+F) Solid
3. Storm Victory Road Solid
4. Ebonite Cyclone Black/Gold/Silver
5. Motiv Raptor P7

Hybrid Reactive

1. Storm Frantic
2. Roto Grip Infinite Theory
3. Morich DestroyR
4. Ebonite Game Changer
5. Roto Grip Rising Star

Urethane

1. Storm Natural Pearl

“We are truly honored to be recognized by our peers with these great awards,” commented Hank Boomershine, Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

For more information on all Storm bowling balls CLICK HERE!

Dealing with the challenges of lane oil carrydown is made easier if you understand oil carrydown properties. Ideally, lane conditions would never change and you would never have to adjust your initial alignment once you are able to hit the pocket consistently. We all know that is not ever going to happen, so we must examine what occurs during each session on the lanes.

With the use of high technology bowling ball coverstocks, we must take into consideration that every time a bowling ball is delivered, the lane condition changes. On any oil pattern, the length of oil carry-down extends beyond the final distance the oil pattern is applied to the lane surface. Every time a ball is thrown, it picks up oil and carries it down to the drier part of the lane.

If, for example, an oil pattern distance is oiled to perhaps 32 feet distance and buffed to 40 feet before the dry, high friction portion of the back end of the lane comes into play, the oil carry-down may stretch an additional 5-7 feet to a total of about 45 – 47 feet distance from the foul line. A close examination of the lane surface will reveal streaks or stripes of oil. These oil streaks or stripes are developed from the ball passing through the heaviest concentrations of oil on the front end and in the mid-lane which literally streaks the oil onto the dry portion of the back end of the lane as the ball travels on its path to the pins.

Carry-down streaks of oil are not always consistent in width nor the same length of streaks. In the case of a highly textured, solid coverstock bowling ball, say textured to perhaps a 500 grit finish, the pores in the ball surface will capture and retain oil as the ball rolls through the heaviest concentrated area of lane oil. Once this ball passes the final distance of oil application, the oil retained in the coverstock will leave the widest possible streak on the lane because of the amount of oil retained in the ball surface due to porosity of the ball and because of the “wide footprint” a solid, pliable coverstock material develops while in contact with the lane surface.

A bowling ball with a low surface porosity such as a stiff, pearl coverstock finished to perhaps 2000 grit or greater will retain less oil in the pores of the ball than does the solid and porous coverstock bowling ball when passing through the same heavy oil areas of a given lane as well as generating less surface friction. The pearl coverstock will develop a “narrow footprint” when traveling down the lane surface and the corresponding stripe of carrydown oil will be narrow with slightly less volume of oil than the stripe produced by a porous coverstock ball.

It can be said that the factors most affecting ball motion changes resulting from oil carry-down are the volume of oil application on the front portion of the lane surface, the distance of the lane oil pattern, the number of deliveries made on a given lane in a given period of time, and the coverstock generated by bowling balls delivered on the given lane.

There are several adjustments which can be effectively used when oil carrydown occurs. Adjusting your ball speed slightly, changing bowling balls, changing release techniques varying the rev-rate or axis tilt of a given delivery, and changes of delivery angles are the most common adjustments, particularly when you are competing in an event requiring moving from a pair of lanes to another pair.

When a variety of coverstock bowling balls are delivered on the same lane from a variety of delivery angles, the carrydown streaks of oil, if inspected after the given competition is completed, will show streaks of oil in more locations and at varying distances of streaking on the back end of the given lanes than will lanes you alone are practicing on with the same oil pattern.

In fact, often times on short or mid oil pattern distance applications, the carry-down will concentrate in an area which actually helps players hold a line to the pocket. A high number of ball deliveries in the same portion of the lane will achieve “carry-down hold area” on the back end to help hold the bowling ball in the pocket. This effect is lessened somewhat on long distance oil patterns but still remains a factor for players recognizing such oil carrydown tendencies.

It is difficult to improve your performance playing the lanes after oil carry-down occurs if you do not practice on a carry-down condition and test all of the available variables in real time. Remember, adjustments vary from player to player based on ball speed, rev-rate, axis tilt, the bowling ball coverstock, the layout pattern in use, and the accuracy of a given player. Depending on the oil pattern, angle adjustments systems will vary. Practice on lane conditions with the oil carry-down in transition and after the transition is complete will help you make good adjustments during competition, adjustments you can trust. We hope this helps.

While you are visiting today, please spend time searching our extensive menu of products at bowlingball.com. If you wish to make a purchase, simply follow our easy online order instructions. Thank you for visiting bowlingball.com.