Bowling Ball Drilling Tips

The average competitive bowler understands that when he owns his own bowling ball, he needs to have finger holes drilled in the ball before bowling a frame. However, many bowlers do not realize the various tips and techniques for drilling a ball properly.

  1. Handling

    • Most bowling balls have a visible mark on their outer surface that shows where a ball's center of gravity, or CG, is. Bowling balls will also exhibit the top of the ball's weight block with a small dot. These two factors are what drilling professionals manipulate to drill your ball properly. Proper handling of your ball before drilling consists of you taking note of where these two marks are on your bowling ball.

    Straight and True

    • If you are a bowler who likes to throw the ball further down the lane without concerning yourself with hooking the ball into the pins, then you will want to request that your pro shop manager drill your ball with a label drilling process. With this type of drilling, your finger holes would be positioned to place the ball's center of gravity directly in the center of your grip, and the ball's pin placement is almost just to the right of your ring finger's hole. The end result of this type of drilling is a ball that caters to the straight and true type of bowler, someone who likes to aim for the headpin with little or no hook in the ball's planned path.

    Medium Hook

    • If you are looking to throw the ball down the lane with a relatively small angle of attack, commonly referred to as hook, then you should consider drilling your bowling ball with length/forward roll pattern. This technique will place the ball's pin just above your ring finger's hole, and the ball's center of gravity will be positioned on the outside of your hand so that if you were to throw the ball down the lane, you would ideally have the center of gravity rolling on the side of the ball facing the inner part of the lane.

      Along with this tip, you should also consider adding what is called a "balance hole" in your drill pattern. A balance hole helps to manipulate the ball's center of gravity and weight block and is usually placed somewhere on a ball in a way that does not interfere with your finger and thumb holes. A balance hole here would greatly increase the back-end reaction of your bowling ball but will not cause your ball to be too overpowering for your mid-range hook taste. Your pro shop owner or manager can help you decide where to place the balance hole.

    Maximum Hook

    • Manipulating a bowling ball to hook to its full potential is something that only experienced bowlers should attempt, as controlling a bowling ball like this is much more difficult than any other. Bowlers looking for a way to get that flashy, exciting reaction out of their bowling ball should drill what is called a maximum hook/back-end pattern. Balance holes are most commonly used with this ball drilling technique. Make sure the ball's pin is placed to the right of your ring finger's hole and that your ball's center of gravity is outside your grip so that it is almost facing the inner part of the lane when the ball is rolled.