Bowling Lanes Design

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Bowling Lanes Design

A bowling ball is a round ball made from urethane, plastic, reactive resin or a combination of these materials which is used in the sport of bowling. Ten-pin bowling balls generally have a set of three holes drilled in them, one each for the ring and middle finger, and one for the thumb; however, rules allow for up to five finger holes. A five-pin bowling ball has no finger holes and is smaller so that the bowler can hold the ball in the palm of his or her hand. Candlepin bowling balls also fit in the hand, but are lighter than five-pin balls.There are also 6-16 pound bowling balls. The max limit allowed in tournament games or league games is 16, but balls of up to 20 pounds are available.

Most bowling alleys provide free balls for patrons to use, called house balls, although avid bowlers may purchase their own. These are often customized, and can feature specially sized finger holes (in the case of ten-pin balls) or monograms. Because purchased balls are usually drilled to match the owner's fingers, most can throw a customized bowling ball that is one to two pounds heavier than the house ball they previously used.

Bowling balls come in many varieties of colors, and are often either a single flat color, a swirl-like design of multiple colors, or a single color with an iridescent look. It is even possible to obtain transparent bowling balls, painted in such a way as to make it appear as though an object is inside. Some objects have included skulls, footballs, and baseballs.

Inside the ball is a core which makes each ball do something different. These cores are dynamically imbalanced to cause the ball to try to stabilize as it is rolling down the lane. This makes the ball roll over a different point on the surface every time it revolves and "flares" or causes multiple oil rings.

Bowling ball cores are constructed with different densities as well. Some are center heavy (low rg) and some cores are made with the weight distributed more towards the cover of the ball (high rg). Low rg balls will spin more easily than the high rg balls.

Ten-pin balls

Specifications

Regulation ten-pin bowling balls must weigh no more than 16 pounds (7.2 kg) (governing bodies do not regulate how light a bowling ball may be) and have a maximum circumference of 27 inches (68.6 cm) directly in the equipment rules for tenpin bowling, which results in a maximum diameter of 8.59 inches (21.8 cm). The lightest ball generally available is the six pound weight, which is used mainly by children. Ball weights between 12 and 16 are common in adult league play. Since the physical dimensions of regulation balls remain the same, while the weight may differ, lighter balls are much less dense than heavier ones. Thus, balls under about 11 pounds will float when placed in water.

The behavior of a rolling ball on a surface is controlled by several factors, the most obvious being the bowler's delivery. In the delivery, the bowler can use or fight (intentionally or unintentionally) the force of gravity. After the ball is on the surface of the lane, friction, gyroscopic inertia, and gravity all become factors. These environmental influences can be segregated as either lane conditions or ball characteristics. Additionally, a bowling ball is not an absolutely uniform sphere—the gripping holes (and sometimes a balance hole) alone make that impossible.

Technology

Throughout the history of the USBC, bowling ball materials have evolved from wood, to rubber, to plastic, to urethane, to reactive urethane, to particle, and finally epoxy. Wood balls are now just museum pieces. Rubber balls are almost as hard to find; however, they may be found offered to casual bowlers at bowling centers, from their racks for those who don't own their own ball. Bowling balls have been constructed with a core made of one material, a spherical coverstock ("cover" or "shell") and a "pancake" weight block of denser material intended to compensate for the gripping holes.

One of the most contentious issues that has arisen is whether significant restrictions should be imposed on bowling ball technology. Other considerations have been noted with regards to the weight of the bowling pins, lane oiling techniques, and with the construction materials and techniques used to build bowling lanes.

Grips and finger holes

The way the finger holes are arranged on the ball surface changes the core dynamics; this will change how the bowling ball hooks down the lane.

There are three different types of bowling grips for bowling balls: conventional, semi-finger tip and finger tip; all other grips of any name (i.e., Sarge-Easter grip, etc.) are derivatives. In a conventional grip, the bowler's ring and middle fingers are placed into the ball up to the second joint, while in a finger tip grip the ring and middle finger holes are made to accept the bowler's fingers only up to the first joint. Beginner bowlers will start with the conventional grip, as it allows for the bowler the maximum grip on the bowling ball without feeling like he's going to drop the ball.

Semi-finger tip has the bowler placing his fingers between the first and second joints. This grip is of choice for bowlers who want a clean release of the fingers, but also want maximum control. It also generates less hook, as strokers preferred this type of grip. Brian Voss was one of several professionals who used the semi-finger tip grip.

A finger tip grip requires more strength, but allows the bowler to release the ball with more lift , and a cleaner release, giving him more control in how the ball rotates after it is released. Don Genalo, a former professional bowler, used the finger tip grip, but would also place his pointer and little fingers very close together with the other two, allowing his hand to stay behind the ball, while allowing his unusually long fingers to maximize the lift upon delivery.

For the players with extremely high rates of revolution ("rev rates") and skill level, a Sarge-Easter grip may be an option. This is when the middle finger is drilled to finger tip depth, while the ring is drilled to the conventional depth. It allows players with high revs to change their axis tilt and allow more forward roll as to keep the ball from over hooking.

USBC regulations also allow for up to five holes to be drilled on a bowling ball—with the idea that a bowler can use all five digits to grip the ball. Some bowlers use only the middle and ring fingers, while leaving out the thumb, such as in the case of Jason Belmonte who uses the two-handed method. To cut down the hook for spares, some bowlers eliminate the ring finger, and grip the ball with just the middle finger and thumb, causing the release to have less lift; professional bowlers Gary Dickinson and Walter Ray Williams, Jr. perfected this technique.

The history of the bowling ball

Bowling can be traced back to approximately 5200 B.C., when ancient Egyptians used stones for their balls. Pre-Columbian Indians also practiced bowling variants.

Composition

The first bowling balls used in the United States were made of wood, especially oak, and lignum vitae wood. In about 1906 the first hard rubber balls were produced, such as the Brunswick "Mineralite" ball, and these remained the standard until the 1960s and 70s. These decades saw the emergence of plastic (polyester) balls.

In the early 1970s, people began experimenting with the hardness of the plastic balls, notably PBA member Don McCune. McCune at the time worked for Chuck Hamilton who invented the "soaker"—a plastic (usually polyester) ball he softened "in the garage" with chemical solvents such as MEK, sometimes to the point that the balls might even end up lopsided. These and balls subsequently manufactured with the resulting softer cover came under ABC scrutiny because of the increased scoring, particularly by McCune, who with his "soaker" won six PBA tournaments in 1973 and PBA Player of the Year honors. A ball hardness rule of 72 was established, based on durometer readings, which barred some of the softer balls.

At some point in ball making and drilling, the ABC introduced ball balance regulations to prevent people from taking advantage. It was possible to drill the grip at a location relative to the weight block so that it would achieve some effect, such as to help the bowler make it roll earlier or hook more.

In 1981 Ebonite began manufacturing the very first polyurethane cover stock bowling balls and sold the rights to AMF. Ebonite produced AMF balls at that time. Ebonite did not believe that bowlers would pay the $80.00 price this new technology would demand. That ball became the AMF Angle and this one coverstock change allowed the ball to get a better grip on the polyurethane finishes used on natural wood lane surfaces, which changed the nature of the bowling game significantly. Then in,1989 Nu-Line Industries produced the X-Caliber a reactive resin cover.Part time professional, Steve Cooper was the owner and President of the Corporation.

Prior to about 1990, the ABC "static" ball balance regulations were adequate. The core was usually a uniform sphere centered inside the ball. Then competition among ball manu

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