Retiring a Bowling Ball

Identifiers

The first identifier that your ball may need to be retired is if you’re getting inconsistent hook when you’re making decent shots.

Another identifier that it may be time to retire a bowling ball is if you can’t carry and leave a lot of flat corner pin shots.

And finally, the last identifier is that the ball feels really greasy when you’re bowling with it.

What to Do

Before you just retire the ball, make sure you have done everything possible to determine that it’s time:

Regular cleanings
Oil extraction
Resurfacing
Replace inserts

If you get the ball resurfaced with an oil extractor (Detox) and you still do not notice a change in performance, you know it’s time.

Chances are the traction in that ball just isn’t creating any friction and the oil absorbed from repeated use on the lanes has filled up in the pores of the bowling ball.

Finally, get out there and bowl with it for a little while and see what happens.
Bowl on different conditions. Maybe you’re just not on the right lane condition for that ball. If you’ve tried everything in this video and it still isn’t working the right way, be like Elsa, let it go.

FYI

Companies re-release bowling balls with the previous version in mind all of the time.

Sometimes they even bring back that same exact ball. The great thing about today’s bowling technology is that if they do not re-release the bowling ball you are looking for, you can find another one that is really similar that will work for you. Just compare the specs between balls to get it as close as possible.

Bowling balls last a long time, especially if you take good care of them. You should get a few hundred games with each ball you have, but unfortunately, there comes a time in every bowler’s life when you just have to retire a ball.