Buddies Proshop Drilling

[AlexNC]

Got an early Christmas present...

http://i.imgur.com/xSLn4KY.jpg

I haven't used an online service before, but had seen some great reviews with Buddies. I sent my best fitting ball for them to copy. Everything is right on and cleaner then my local shop. Very impressed!

[fokai73]

buddies proshop always delivered 100% for me. Every ball drilled over the years were spot on. Unlike many local PSO's I've been through, many had made a mistake. I don't have anymore tolerance for mistakes. They make one mistake on pitches and/or span, I'm done, I move on. No excuse of a local PSO to make one mistake on me. That's just me. If buddies who is 3000 miles away can drill my stuff without one mistake for almost 10 years, why can't local PSO's do the same?

Most recently I had a ball drilled by a top local PSO, this PSO drills for the local pros and has excellent service. But the ball that was drilled recently, one of my fingers has a longer 1/8 span. (This is actually the second mistake, the other time it was a minor thing with my thumb which I fixed.) I'm pretty much done with this local PSO's who is a nice guy with great service. Again, if buddies can drill my stuff perfectly by just reading my spec sheets for a long time now - even going through changes in my grip/pitches, why can't local PSO do the same? They are trained professionals and have drilled thousands of balls over the years.

Anyway, if you guys have a chance to use Buddies PRO for drilling services, don't hesitate, DO IT!

Nice looking ball you got there

[JasonNJ]

I've used both Buddies and BowllingBall.com to drill and both are excellent. Span and pitches have always been spot on.

[fokai73]

I've used both Buddies and BowllingBall.com to drill and both are excellent. Span and pitches have always been spot on.

does you ball from BB have scribe lines like balls from buddies?

[NewToBowling]

Probably a silly question but do these online drill shops use a more automated setup or is it just like at a local pro shop where it's mostly manual labor.

[bowl1820]

Just a FYI:
This comes up every now and then on other sites where they mention the scribe lines on balls from buddies and some other online drillers.

They say if you don't want scribe lines on the ball, Just make a note of it in the drilling instructions when you place the order and they won't do it.

[fokai73]

Just a FYI:
This comes up every now and then on other sites where they mention the scribe lines on balls from buddies and some other online drillers.

They say if you don't want scribe lines on the ball, Just make a note of it in the drilling instructions when you place the order and they won't do it.


I don't mind the scribe lines, but I know a few bowlers who do.

I don't mind having dings and small divots on my ball, but I do mind having a ball returned from the pit and it comes with black belt marks. which takes some elbow grease to remove.

[AlexNC]

I know they likely have a larger staff than your typical local PSO, but aside from the distance and me not actually being in the shop it wasn't terribly different. Good communication about what I wanted/needed given what type of bowler I am and what has worked well for me in the past. The turnaround was also pretty quick - the whole process including shipping my ball to them was 10 days (and this is holiday season.)

As far as scribe lines, I kinda like them for whatever reason - the precision it affords perhaps.

[JasonNJ]

does you ball from BB have scribe lines like balls from buddies?

No, only Buddies does that.

[JasonNJ]

I know they likely have a larger staff than your typical local PSO, but aside from the distance and me not actually being in the shop it wasn't terribly different. Good communication about what I wanted/needed given what type of bowler I am and what has worked well for me in the past. The turnaround was also pretty quick - the whole process including shipping my ball to them was 10 days (and this is holiday season.)

As far as scribe lines, I kinda like them for whatever reason - the precision it affords perhaps.


I've been to Buddies Pro Shop in CT and it's a regular pro shop with 3 guys so I think it's all manual labor.

[mc_runner]

Yep, they are a regular pro shop. Next time I'm down along the shoreline I may stop in to try them out.

[J Anderson]

Probably a silly question but do these online drill shops use a more automated setup or is it just like at a local pro shop where it's mostly manual labor.

While much of Buddies Pro shop's business is online, they are still a place where, if you happen to be in Fairfield CT, you can walk into Nutmeg Bowl and deal with them directly. Since bowling balls are fitted for individuals automation would not be cost effective. Maybe if you were drilling large numbers of house balls where all the pitches are the same, and you're only giving a limited number of options for spans and hole diameters you could do it. You would probably need 90% of the market to get any payback on the cost of that kind of specialized equipment.

[got_a_300]

I was just wondering wouldn't the scribe lines come
out after you had a surface refinish or two?

[bowl1820]

I was just wondering wouldn't the scribe lines come
out after you had a surface refinish or two?

Yes, after a few sanding's the lines would be gone (at least mostly depending on how much you sand and the grits used).

But It would all depend on just how heavy handed the PSO was and how deep he got the scribe lines.