Different Kinds of Bowling Ball Drills

Bowling dates back -- at least in a crude form -- to the ancient Egyptians. It has evolved into a popular recreational and professional sport. To the untrained eye, all bowling balls might look the same, but they each consist of different drill patterns, providing various pitches and degrees for the hand and weight shifts for the ball.

  1. Terms

    • The main aspects of drilling include the center of gravity, locator pins, positive axis point (PAP) and mass bias. Nearly all patterns are based on ball weight and the distance between the locator pins and positive axis point, which all help to influence the mass bias. The various influences will create different ball behaviors.

    AMF Pattern One

    • AMF Bowling Centers makes up the largest company in the world of its kind. It provides four general types of drills in their bowling balls. The first type involves a pin placement focusing on providing a "medium backend" rolling pattern. This long-set pin placement is most suitable for players with high-revolution rates.

    AMF Pattern Two

    • The second pattern provides a slightly shorter distance between the pin and PAP within the ball. This pattern's roll is usually most ideal on lanes with lots of oil. For bowlers, this drill pattern provides a heavy roll, designed for the center of the lane. Unlike the first drilling pattern, this one works best for lower-revolution rolls.

    AMF Pattern Three

    • The third pattern is one of the lesser-used drill patterns in bowling balls. The drill pattern layout is similar to that of pattern two, but shifts the mass even further with a shorter placement of the pin compared with the PAP. This pattern causes extreme reactions within the ball, suited for players with low revolutions. The reaction is usually a hook, which works ideally on oily lanes.

    AMF Pattern Four

    • Opposite to drill pattern three is AMF's drill pattern four. This pattern is designed for dry environments and players that bowl with high revolutions, usually involving lots of side roll as well. The pattern makes the roll heavy, allowing players to control the fast-moving ball in a dry environment.