The chances of winning a bowling ball game mostly depend on the quality and condition of the ball rather than the skills only. If a player wants to hook all the pins accurately and to maintain a quality game-play, the condition of the ball matters the most.
While buying a bowling ball, the most common question that comes to mind is- “how long does a bowling ball last?” The simplest answer to this question is until a standard condition and quality of the ball are maintained with proper care.
The lifespan of a ball can be increased following some simple tricks and tips. So, maintenance of the ball must be kept in mind for a long-lasting lifespan and quality game.
There is no definite lifespan of a bowling ball because it depends on the determination of the owner and the way it is used. According to professionals, the maximum life expectancy for a ball is around 8-10 years if perfect maintenance of the ball is done after every session.
Proper care of the ball must be taken to use it for a long time without any sort of problems. If a player continuously uses the same ball for spinning without rubbing or cleaning dirt on the surface, the performance of the ball gradually decreases.
It is required to clean the oil and dirt ring of the ball after every 10-12 spins. In this way, the lifespan of the ball can be increased by more than 5 years. On the contrary, if the cleaning and polishing are not done from time to time, then the cover may get cracks and gradually lose the lane grip. This happens due to the blocking of pores on the ball surface.
This will result in around 2-3 years of lifespan and thus the ball cannot last long. So, it can be said that the durability of the bowling ball depends on the proper maintenance that is done after every game.
When Does the Bowling Ball Need Replacement?
After every game, the ball surface is covered with oil and dirt since the spinning lane is greased with lubricants. This oil ring gets settled on the cover which creates a blockage of pores. This results in the decay of the ball grip and gradually lowers the performance.
Besides, after some time various cracks appear on the body due to insufficient cleaning and polishing. These cracks cause the ball to get an uneven spin and the accuracy of the target towards the pin is minimized. The lane surface is also ruined due to the spin of cracked bowling balls.
With a flat and cracked ball surface, the game-play is disturbed badly. This may result in creating lots of unwanted situations like missing target, inappropriate lane carries, creating various spots in the lane eventually destroying the smoothness, and many more. Besides, the desired carry direction, speed, and gripping of the ball are also lost due to such cracks and grip-less surface.
This eventually states that the lifespan of the bowling ball is over. Another question arises- “Do bowling balls wear out”. The cracks of the ball increase from time to time which results in the wear out of the cover. This is the condition when the ball needs a replacement because it can be no longer used as the game-play is ruined.
Best Bowling Ball Tricks for Left-Hander
The left-handed bowling ball players get a huge advantage as the lane is arranged according to the right-handed game. Since the maximum numbers of players are right-handed, the lane is prepared for the right-handed game. For this reason, the bowling ball for left handers gets very easy as they can track the patterns and deliver the ball perfectly. Besides, the chances of gutter-foul decreases for a left-handed player as the opposite oil patterns resist the ball to lose its target.
The foul line can be measured easily by the left-handed players and they get naturally an extra force which helps them to gain more points by hooking maximum pins. The bowling balls for left and right-handed players are different since the finger holes of the ball are different from one another. Some of the best bowling balls for left-handed players are as follows:
Urethane Bowling Ball
The covering of the bowling ball is mainly made using a plastic coating to protect it from scratches, oil, and dirt ring while spinning. This plastic covering can protect the ball for a limited time and after that, the plastic protector starts to decay and the ball gradually loses the grip.
For this reason, to increase the lifetime of the ball and to protect the outer covering from any damages an extra layer is used for coating the ball surface. This covering is known as the Urethane cover. It works much better than the normal plastic cover and gives a perfect lane carry.
The urethane cover prevents the ball from getting oil rings while spinning thus keeps the quality intact.
The advanced and professional players use a urethane cover surface on their bowling ball to get the best and quality game-play. Besides, the cleaning of the ball surface also gets easier which will eventually result in increasing the durability of the ball.
Conclusion
All the players wish to get a perfect game-play with their favorite bowling ball. To assure a perfect game and to deliver flawless spin the maintenance of the ball is needed to be taken care of after every game. In this way, the ball will remain in perfect condition and the lifespan will also increase to a great extent.
The ball surface gets flat and gradually increases cracking spots if the ball is not cleaned and polished timely. This will result in ruining the ball cover and wastage of money since a new ball is needed. So, to increase the lifespan of a bowling ball, there is no alternative way rather than cleaning the ball daily to keep the quality of the surface intact.
