Does a bowling ball have to be drilled???

[The Reggae]

We are looking to buy Shontay (7) and Khynan (4) a bowling ball for Christmas this year. Shontay currently bowls with a 7 pound house ball and uses her fingers. What suggested weight should we buy for Shontay to ensure her ball will not be too heavy. Bearing in mind by mid next year she will probably manage an 8 pound.

Khynan bowls with a 7 or 8 pound house ball but does not use his fingers so if we buy him an 8 pound ball do we have to have it drilled or can we buy it and let him use it undrilled until he is ready to have it drilled.

We have asked a very knowledgable person about Khynan's ball and she was stumped and said she'd look into it for us. Therefore we thought we'd put both questions to all of you for feedback.

There must be a few thousand years experience rolled into all the members on this site.

Thanks for your help
Brad and Rachel

 

[tonx]

yep... certainly does for sanctioned competition.

*hint*

 

[The Reggae]

Thanks Tonx,

What about if he only bowls bumper league

 

[BrenH]

If the bumper league is sanctioned, andTonx is right , then yes it would need to be drilled.
Check with whomever runs the league as to whether or not it is sanctioned.

 

[RobbieB]

A bowling ball does not have to be drilled to be legal to be used in sanctioned competition. However, the balance requirement for an undrilled ball is that there must be no more than one ounce difference between any two halves of the ball. So, if you can find an 8lb ball with a top weight of less than one ounce, you don't have to drill it.

Cheers, Robbie.

 

[wchester]

Holes are not required however the following USBC ruling must be followed:

In the absence of gripping holes the centre of the label will be considered to be the centre of the grip line.
The following tolerances are allowed in the balance of the ball:

1) For a ball weighing 10 pounds or more:
(a) Not more than three ounces difference between the top of ball (finger hole side)
and the bottom (solid side opposite finger holes).
(b) Not more than one ounce difference between the sides to the right and left of
the finger holes or between the sides in front and back of the finger holes.

2) For a ball weighing 8 pounds or more, but less than 10 pounds:
(a) Not more than two ounces difference between the top of the ball and the bottom.
(b) Not more than 3/4 ounce difference between the sides to the right and left or
between the front and back of the finger holes.

3) For a ball weighing less than 8 pounds:
(a) Not more than 3/4 ounce difference between the top of the ball and the bottom.
(b) Not more than 3/4 ounce difference between the sides to the right and left or
between the front and back of the finger holes.

 

[RobbieB]

Dammit, I go back to check the balance rule and Wayne beats me to it. Note that undrilled balls have different balance requirements though - max 1 oz for 10 lb & up, 3/4 oz for under 10 lb.

So, you need a ball with 3/4 oz top weight, or drill a small balance hole into the label.Probably better off with a balance hole anyway, so that the ball rolls straight.

 

[tonx]

Yup, I checked them as well.... There you go... learn something new everyday


3/4 is the limit

 

[RobbieB]

Anyway Wayne, we follow the TBA rulings, not USBC.

 

[wchester]

Anyway Wayne, we follow the TBA rulings, not USBC.

Is THAT what TBA does? I knew they had to do something.

 

[mongoliantreesloth]

How about those clear Lanehawk balls from a couple of years back. As they were totally clear they wouldn't have had a weight block and should therefore roll straight without needing a balance hole.

The blue one was quite nice.

Edit: I'm not referring to the balls with the whatnots in the middle. They had completely clear ones.

Second edit: http://www.bowlingindex.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?page=BI/PROD/BL-Clear/BL-LHClearB

 

[Thorpey]

Would be nice to get a ruling on this, i sent TBA an email regarding the weighing of a ball with no thumb hole over 2 weeks ago and have had no reply??.

Assumed the USBC rules would be followed by TBA as they are in the rule book.

 

[Mantis]

You may as well just get it drilled. He will use the finger holes eventually. The house ball he is using will have holes eh.

 

[CHRISSY]

Thorpey,
I never get the same answer about a ball with no thumb hole.
Good Luck

Chrissy

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[Easy Tiger]

Guys - TBA Rulebook. http://www.tenpin.org.au/Rules/TBA%20Rule%20Book.pdf
Look up Rule 603 -the answer is on Page 34.

1. 10 pounds or more:
(a) Not more than three (3) ounces difference between top half of the ball(finger hole side) and the bottom
half (side opposite the finger holes).
(b) Not more than one (1) ounce difference between the sides to the right and left of the finger holes or
between the sides in front and back of the finger holes.
(c) A ball drilled without a thumb hole may not have more than one (1) ounce difference between any two
halves of the ball.
(d) A ball drilled without any finger holes or indentations may not have more than one (1) ounce difference
between any two halves of the ball.
(e) A ball used without any hole or indentations may not have more than one (1) ounce difference between
any two halves of the ball.


2. Less than 10 pounds:
(a) Not more than one (1) ounce differences between the top half of the ball (finger hole side) and the bottom
half (side opposite the finger holes).
(b) Not more than 3/4 ounce difference between the sides to the right and left of the finger holes or between
the sides in front and back of the finger holes.
(c) A ball drilled without a thumb hole may not have more than 3/4 ounce difference between any two halves
of the ball.
(d) A ball drilled without any finger holes or indentations may not have more than 3/4 ounce difference
between any two halves of the ball.
(e) A ball used without any hole or indentations may not have more than 3/4 ounce difference between any
two halves of the ball.

 

[The Reggae]

You may as well just get it drilled. He will use the finger holes eventually. The house ball he is using will have holes eh.

Yeah that's what we were thinking but were concerned that it may be 2 years before he starts using the holes. So what span do we drill a) his span now or b) copy the span of one of the house balls.

Shontay was about 5 1/2 before she started using the holes, not because she didn't want to but just beacuse she didn't have the grip and strenght to use them. Khynan will be 4 at the end of this month so realistically we could have an 18 month to 2 year time frame before he'll use the holes also.

Thanks to everyone for your responses, it's been very interesting reading and some other people have learnt along the way also

 

[Thorpey]

Thanks Easy Tiger,

My actual question to TBA was how do you determine the center of the grip for a ball with no thumb hole so you can weigh it to make sure it is legal.

Would also be interested to know how you determine the center of grip with no holes drilled?

Cheers.