What Weight Bowling Ball Should I Use (All You Need To Know)

What Weight Bowling Ball Should I Use?

What is the right bowling ball weight for you?

What are the essential elements you should know!

Keep reading as we have gathered exactly the information that you need!

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What Weight Bowling Ball Should I Use

One decision that every bowler will need to make is to choose the weight of their ball.

The weight of the ball can have an impact on your game.

If you choose a ball that is too light, the ball may not allow you to knock over the pins as well as you want it to.

If the ball is too heavy, you may not be able to swing it well and even run the risk of injuring yourself.

Finding the right bowling ball weight is therefore quite important to help you with your accuracy, power, and avoid injuries.

There is no universal method in choosing the proper weight of your bowling ball.

The best weight is the heaviest weight you can throw comfortably for an entire game or multiple games.

If you struggle to lift the ball or get tired after several throws, that ball is too heavy for you.

Also, when the ball is too heaving, it’ll drop on the lane right away like a rock.

If the ball is too light and you feel like you are throwing a small ball around and about, then you need to find a heavier ball.

Another sign that the ball is too light is that it can hold a long time before it drops.

Weight of Bowling Balls

You may wonder, what is the weight of a bowling ball or what is the heaviest bowling ball?

Bowling balls range from 6 lbs to 16 lbs.

In other words, you cannot have a bowling ball lighter than six pounds, and you cannot have one heavier than sixteen pounds.

So the maximum bowling ball weight is 16 lbs or 7.27 kilograms.

The minimum bowling ball weight is 6 lbs or 2.72 kilograms.

Ten Percent Rule

How to choose a bowling ball weight based on the “ten percent” rule?

Based on this rule, a bowling ball should be about ten percent of your body weight, keeping in mind that a bowling ball should not exceed 16 pounds.

For example, if you weigh 140 pounds, your bowling ball should be 14 lbs.

The weight of a bowling ball should be such that it does not bother you or it’s not uncomfortable to play with.

Comfortable Weight

The truth of the matter is that you want to choose a bowling ball weight that you feel good about.

If you are able to throw a 16-pound bowling ball, then that’s what you should choose.

If you find that throwing 16 pounder balls is tiring or difficult after several throws, then you should downsize the weight of your ball. 

You should strive to use a weight that you can use to play a consistent game from the first frame all the way to the last.

If you can throw a heavier ball, it may work to your advantage as you can leverage the added weight of the ball to knock over the pins.

Again, this is the case to the extent the weight does not compromise your technique, get your arm tired halfway into the game, or even lead to injuries.

Try lifting the ball, swing it like a pendulum to see how well you can control the ball.

If you can manipulate the ball well, you are comfortable with the ball as you swing it, then that is a good weight.

Male Bowlers

How do you select the right bowling ball for male bowlers?

The average male bowler statistically will use bowling balls between 13 to 16 pounds.

However, this is not a precise average as bowlers will use different weights based on their physical condition, age, or pre-existing injuries.

It may be best for any male adult bowler to start with a 14 lb bowling ball to see how comfortable you are.

If the weight feels light, then you can go to 15 lbs or 16 lbs.

If you feel just right, you keep it there and eventually reassess.

Female Bowlers

What weight bowling balls should female bowlers use?

The average adult female bowler tends to use a bowling ball of approximately 12 pounds.

Female bowers can use bowling balls ranging from 10 pounds to 14 pounds depending on their body size, strength, and other physical conditions.

Young Bowlers

How to choose a bowling ball weight for children or young bowlers?

Young bowlers, children and teenagers should use balls between 6 to 14 lbs.

Bowling balls are not made below 6 lbs.

As a result, a young bowler starting out will have to start with the 6 lb bowling ball.

Again, the weight selection should not be scientific. 

At the end of the day, it’s important to feel comfortable with the ball during a game.

In some cases, some use the child’s age as the correlation for the bowling ball weight. 

For example, a 10-year-old child will use a 9 or 10 lb bowling ball.

Senior Bowlers

Senior bowlers tend to use lighter bowling ball weights ranging from 10 lbs and upward.

Senior bowlers will need to consider their physical shape and possible limitations when selecting the right weight.

The objective for seniors is to use the heaviest bowling ball allowing them to play a consistent game without getting fatigued or getting injured.

Professional Bowlers

What weight bowling ball do pros use?

Professionals generally use balls ranging between 13 to 15 pounds.

Keep in mind that the average weight of a pin is 2.8 lbs.

As a result, you have a better chance at knocking them over with a heavier ball than a lighter ball.

Fitted Balls

If you are looking to choose the weight of your ball, keep in mind that fitted balls tend to feel lighter than house balls.

A custom-fitted bowling ball can feel up to 2 lbs lighter than a house ball.

House balls have finger holes drilled based on average hand size and span.

This makes the ball feel heavier as you may need to use a stronger grip to hold the ball.

However, when the ball is nicely fitted to your hand, the ball can feel lighter as you may need to use less force on your grip to hold the ball.

Takeaways

Let’s look at a summary of our findings.

What Weight Bowling Ball Should I Use

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