Bowling Ball Speeds (Overview: All You Need To Know)

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Bowling Ball Speeds

What are the bowling ball speeds?

The United States Bowling Congress (USBC) has performed a study to determine what is the ideal bowling speed when playing the game.

According to USBC’s study on the motion of bowling balls, an ideal bowling ball speed is measured at about 16 to 17 miles per hour when the ball enters into contact with the pins.

Upon delivery, the bowling ball speed is measured at approximately 20 to 21 miles per hour.

Overall, from the moment the ball is released from the bowler’s hand onto the land until the ball impacts the pins, the average bowling ball speed is approximately 18 miles per hour.

There are some factors that can affect your bowling ball’s overall speed, such as:

• The amount of oil applied onto the lanes
• Your bowling ball’s coverstock
• The hooking of the bowling ball 

Bowling Ball Travel Time

According to a USBC study, a bowling ball will take approximately 2.5 seconds to travel from the bowler’s hand and contract the pins.

There is a standard deviation of about 0.15 seconds.

The faster a ball travels, the total elapsed time will be short and the bowling ball speed will be higher.

Average Bowling Speed 

Let’s look at average bowling ball speeds to get a sense as to how fast a bowling ball travels down the lane.

Professional Bowler

A professional bowler playing an effective game tends to deliver the ball at speeds varying between 17 to 19 miles per hour.

The ball will release a Pro Bowler’s hands at about 20 to 22 miles per hour and will impact the pins at 17 to 19 miles per hour.

The professional bowling ball speed is optimal in the range of 17 to 19 miles per hour.

Faster speeds or slower speeds will negatively impact the performance of the bowler and may result in less than optimal pin carry.

Average Bowler

The average speed of a bowling ball for the average player is approximately 16 to 17 miles per hour.

For the average person playing competitively, the ideal bowling ball speed should be about 20 to 21 miles per hour when the ball is released onto the land and 16 to 17 miles per hour when the ball hits the pins.

Fastest Bowling Ball Speed 

What is the fastest bowling ball speed in miles per hour?

The maximum bowling ball speed is achieved at the moment of release.

Once the ball is released and rolls down the lane, gradually, its speed will decline due to the friction caused on the bowling lane.

From the moment it is released until it hits the pins, on average, the bowling ball will lose about 3 miles per hour in speed.

Here are some factors that can affect your ball speed:

• Friction on the bowling alley
• Drag caused by the amount of oil applied onto the lane
• Type of ball used

The fastest bowling ball has been measured at 25 miles per hour but it does not represent an optimal speed to play a solid game of bowling.

Pro bowler ball speed tends to hover around 17 to 19 miles per hour when the ball comes into contact with the pins.

This means that the Pro bowler’s ball speed was approximately 20 or 22 miles when it was released.

Bowling Ball Speed Chart

A bowling ball speed chart is a chart or table allowing you to measure your bowling speed when the ball impacts the pins.

The bowing average chart provides you useful information so you can better determine your speed control and your bowling ball’s average velocity.

Armed with this information, you’ll be able to adjust your delivery and technique to ensure you optimize your game.

Here is a bowling ball speed chart allowing you to determine your bowling ball speed based on the time elapsed from delivery to impact with the pins:

• 3.0 seconds = 13.9 MPH
• 2.9 seconds = 14.4 MPH
• 2.8 seconds = 14.9 MPH
• 2.7 seconds = 15.4 MPH
• 2.6 seconds = 16.0 MPH
• 2.5 seconds = 16.7 MPH
• 2.4 seconds = 17.4 MPH
• 2.3 seconds = 18.1 MPH
• 2.2 seconds = 19.0 MPH
• 2.1 seconds = 19.9 MPH
• 2.0 seconds = 20.8 MPH

If you are bowling competitively or if you want to improve your bowling technique, you should evaluate your bowling ball speed to see where you stand on this chart.

You can easily do this with a stopwatch.

You will not get scientific readings but you’ll get a very good idea as to where you stand.

A good average speed of a bowling ball places you about the middle of the chart around 2.3 seconds to 2.5 seconds of elapsed time measurement.

If your average falls in the outer edges of the chart, you may want to adjust your delivery technique and tweak your bowling ball speed to optimize your game.

Bowling Ball Speed Record

The fastest bowling ball speed (MPH) is recorded at 100.2 miles per hour (161.3 kilometers per hour).

The fastest bowling ball record is held by Shoaib Akhtar from Pakistan when he took the fastest recorded shot in 2002.

With this record, Shoaib became the first bowler to break the 100 mph barrier.

Takeaways

What is the best bowling ball speed?

What is the average speed of a bowling ball?

Let’s look at a summary of our findings.

Average Bowling Speed

Terms Related Bowling Ball Speed

Questions Related to Bowling Speeds