Everyone wants to start the season off right. One way to do that is to look at your equipment and determine if your ball needs some “work done”. If you don’t do it any other time, at least doing it once a year is a good start.

First, give your bowling ball a resurface. As your ball rolls over the same area of the surface it creates a track and soaks up oil. I would suggest having your ball rejuvenated at your local shop and a good resurface job done to your ball. Rejuvenating the ball is where the pro shop operator puts the ball in a special machine meant to heat the oil out of the ball in a safe manner. Please don’t put your ball in the microwave! It will heat majority of the oil of your ball allowing your ball to hook a little more. You probably noticed when you first got the ball it hooked a lot and over time it “dies”. Well, that’s because you’ve created a track and it’s soaked up oil over time.

Resurfacing will give you ball a fresh start too. This should be done by a professional and done every 45 games or so. If you only bowl once a week with the same ball you can do it at the beginning of the season. If you bowl twice a week I would get it done at the beginning and middle of the season.
You will notice the reaction will be different than when it was “worn down”.

Second, look at your inserts (if you use them). You may notice that your inserts are worn out. You should change your grips every 45-60 games. If you haven’t done it in years then you’re well over due for a new set. It’s kind of like giving your car a tune-up. You do that so it can run better. That is the same case for your bowling ball. Smoothing out the surface and giving it a fresh start again will give you a better reaction than an oil soaked and run down inserts.

I had a friend that was a leisure bowler and never changed her grips. She hadn’t done it in years. She had this ball for 6+ years and never changed the grips from day one. I recommended it to her to give it a try (at most it’ll cost you $10) and it made a HUGE difference. The ball will come off your hand much better and with better leverage. In her case, she finally hit a 200 game and she hadn’t done that in a LONG time!

Take care of your bowling balls so they last longer and you can have better experiences while bowling.

Good luck on the lanes!

By Robin Orlikowski

9 Time Team Canada member and 3 Time Canadian Female Bowler of the Year

p.s. Please, let me know what you think of this article – leave your comments and questions below.