How to Know What Drilling Type Is Needed for a Bowling Ball

One sign you're getting serious about bowling is that you've outgrown the rental balls at the local bowling center. Now, you're considering a custom-drilled ball. Buying your own bowling ball imposes a number of considerations. Weight and composition are important, as is coverstock -- the material covering the outside of the ball. All these affect how a bowling ball throws and hooks. Another important option is the drilling pattern for the finger holes and thumbhole. Personal preference, physical variations and style of play all influence the placement and depth of drilling holes.

Instructions

    • 1

      Remember that a suitable drilling pattern permits you to hold the bowling ball and control it without having to squeeze your fingers together to grip it. The ball should stay on your hand without extra effort, yet release smoothly and cleanly at the desired moment.

    • 2

      Select the hole span appropriate to your normal grip. The thumb is usually completely inserted into the thumbhole regardless of grip. However, finger hole span -- the distance between the holes -- and finger hole depth varies. In a conventional grip, normally used by beginners and intermediate players, the fingers are inserted up to the second joint. More advanced "fingertip" grips call for drilling more widely spaced holes with finger depth only to the first joint.

    • 3

      Select the angle of the drilled hole based on the amount of lift or "pitch" you want to put on the ball as it is released. Finger holes angled forward, away from the bowler, keep the fingers in the ball longer and provide greater lifting force as it is released. Holes angled back toward the bowler shift the weight of the ball toward the thumb and make for a faster release with less lift on the ball. Bowlers of smaller stature with shorter thumbs may benefit from forward angled holes to prevent releasing the ball too early in the swing or too erratically.