Why are new bowling balls made constantly and why do we buy them?

[Hammer]

When you think about it how different can you make a bowling ball? They all hook at a certain point after our release. You can change the surface and layout on all of them. It seems that all you would have to do is buy three or four balls for different oil patterns and stick with those. If you bowl on THS patterns all of the time you could probably get away with two balls. One ball to go longer and hook and one to hook sooner when you play deeper through the area with the most oil. If you want throw in a plastic ball for spares or when the THS pattern is really dry or you want to play over the boards between one and five.

Just watch the videos where you can see how a ball you are interested works on a usually THS pattern. Sure bowling balls wear out or crack for some reason so you need a new ball. But do you really need six to ten balls if you don't do tournaments or play on sport oil patterns? All balls are basically the same. Some hook sooner and some hook later. They all do the same thing which is hook. How different can you make that?

[CaptainXeroid]

After watching several ball reaction videos, I was beginning to think the same thing....especially when they show the same bowler throw 2 of the same bowling ball with different layouts. The other thought I had was that saying a ball is "clean through the front of the lane" is advertising fluff much like "mountain grown coffee" or "new and improved".

A few weeks ago I picked up my first 'high performance' ball, a Columbia 300 Vow, and after a few practice sessions I think that plus the White Dot I already have for spares will be plenty for league night.

[sprocket]

To answer your question:

Because we are sheep. That is why.

[Pauley]

Your title aswers the question, because we buy them!

[tccstudent]

The true reason is because is because we are doing what we can to stimulate the economy and we do this by buying new bowling balls

[Hampe]

Most typical league bowlers buy balls for the same reasons. Either they don't take particularly good care of the balls they have (seldom clean/wipe them) and they "die" after a season, or they have a sub-standard release and think that new Ball "X" will give them that hook they aren't getting with their current ball (and somehow they still have the same problem with the new ball). Then there's some people that just want to have something new and shiny in their bag. But really, most people buy new balls for the simple reason that they are relatively affordable. If bowling is your main hobby, investing 150 bucks for a cool new ball isn't exactly going to break the bank. And for a lot of people, plunking down 150 bucks for a new ball is viewed as easier than resurfacing/de-oiling/maintaining the equipment they already have.

[MICHAEL]

Most typical league bowlers buy balls for the same reasons. Either they don't take particularly good care of the balls they have (seldom clean/wipe them) and they "die" after a season, or they have a sub-standard release and think that new Ball "X" will give them that hook they aren't getting with their current ball (and somehow they still have the same problem with the new ball). Then there's some people that just want to have something new and shiny in their bag. But really, most people buy new balls for the simple reason that they are relatively affordable. If bowling is your main hobby, investing 150 bucks for a cool new ball isn't exactly going to break the bank. And for a lot of people, plunking down 150 bucks for a new ball is viewed as easier than resurfacing/de-oiling/maintaining the equipment they already have.

YOU nailed it!! Great reply, and right on! I hope I can convince my son to get a spinner!!! I SWEAR, best money a bowler can spend in regards to bowling! If used every night after league to clean your ball, it will make a huge difference in its longevity!

GREAT points Hampe!!!

[Mike White]

YOU nailed it!! Great reply, and right on! I hope I can convince my son to get a spinner!!! I SWEAR, best money a bowler can spend in regards to bowling! If used every night after league to clean your ball, it will make a huge difference in its longevity!

GREAT points Hampe!!!

Just remember the spinner works on the surface only.

Unless you can turbo charge it (think Tim Allen) so it flings the oil out of the ball.

[tccstudent]

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Unless you can turbo charge it (think Tim Allen) so it flings the oil out of the ball.

Now we are going to have major safety concerns

[swingset]

It's somewhat rhetorical, because some of us (like me) who are on a budget and not prone to throw my money on something unless it has a tangible benefit, don't buy new balls very often.

If you keep them clean, and a rejuvinate once and a while, there's no reason a modern bowling ball can't last several years...I'm throwing a couple reactives that are over 10 years old and they still move like new.

Frankly, nothing has been done in the last 5-7 years as far as technology...same blocks, same hook potentials, it's all just new colors. It's already to the point that the hook monsters from 5 years ago are still too much for 95% of the conditions I see, and I don't tend to throw the strongest balls anyway...I think most people throw too much ball on not-enough-lane.

I've been buying lightly used balls lately, and most of my arsenal is 2-3 year old balls I bought with low games on them. That's been a great way to build an arsenal, have a lot of options, and experiment without throwing $150 away every few months. I also win them occasionally, which is fine and dandy.