New Balls / How many

[Jeeper_12]

How often do you buy a new ball? I went 18 years between balls and now I have 2 new ones within a month. Curious to hear about how often you purchase a new strike ball and/or spare ball. Plus how many do you Have? Do you keep them, sell them, trade them in, etc? And what's your collection looks like.

[Amyers]

Lol I have around 10 sitting around. Mostly due to changing weights. It all depends on how much bowling your going to do and what type of bowling.

If your bowling leagues once a week in the same house 1 or 2 will be all you ever need and they will last a while a couple of years at least if you maintain them.

If you bowl multiple leagues in different house you'll probably add 1 or 2 more. I bowl three leagues in three different houses 2 wood one synthetic surfaces

If you bowl tournaments and sport shots regularly it's not uncommon to drill a ball for that specific shot.

I don't know too many PBA bowlers but I have some friends that bowl on the WPBA tour they'll take 10-15 balls with them and may drill a couple while they are there.

How long a ball lasts is hard to say. Generally the hyper aggressive strong balls tend to not last as long. I've seen bowlers say a ball is dead after 50-60 games I've never had that happen personally and think that's usually more of head case lol. I have had some balls that even after resurfacing that I think have lost significant performance after a year. I tend to buy a couple each year anyway so I don't worry about it much it's kind of fun the ones I like stick around for a while the ones I don't I donate to the local high school team.

[JaxBowlingGuy]

I tend to go though about 8-10 during a season. As for the old balls, I'll usually give them to the youth program. My coach plugs and re drills them for the youth for free.

[vdubtx]

I typically buy 1 ball per year. Usually around my birthday(this month) which gets me a fresh ball to take to Nationals every year. Last year in March I got the Storm Timeless

This last season though, I have acquired 3 new balls. Storm Sure Lock back in October that paid for itself the week after I got it from tournament winnings. Hyper Cell Fused in January, I just couldn't resist after throwing it in a Storm DemoDay, and the Storm Drive in February. The Drive I didn't purchase and won it in a raffle, so technically I paid $10 for it. LOL

My current arsenal has 10 balls in it. I take 6 in to league each night. Other 4 stay in my trunk just in case. :cool:

[JasonNJ]

When I first got back into bowling, I was buying a new one every few months. Now, I think I buy 2 a season. I also donate all the bowling balls to either a youth group or other bowlers in my mixed league.

[chip82901]

Usually end up with 1 or 2 new ones a year to replace old ones. I started selling them to a girl here for $5 a ball, cracked or what not, as she turns around and paints them. In the last year and a half however, I've won 2 from here, 1 from a storm contest, and 1 from a tournament lol. But, I've also purchased 3 more this year alone lol. Why, who knows, but I gave one of the ones I won from here to my ol' man, the Phaze II I won on here will be retired soon, so it's a matter of filling the gaps.

[SAbowler]

1-2 a year for me.

[Blomer]

This season, I bought three: Code Red, Showoff, and Hyper Cell. But yesterday I bought. A Hustle HYB. So 4! Generally I get 2-3. Older balls, I give out to others who ave been using a ball forever or to someone interested in getting started in Bowling.

[JerseyJim]

I have 12 sitting around. 5 of which I'll use depending on the house that I'm bowling it. I did find an abandoned Thunder Road on the rack that I want to see if I could revive and use.

[Phonetek]

As it seems anywhere between 1-12 is the general consensus from the posts. I'm going for 3 for the new arsenal and 1 used for a spare ball. Bottom line seems to be whatever you can afford or how ever many you wanna lug around with you.

[Outerlimits]

3 this year.....but in my defense, my game has been getting stronger after my 20 year lay off, so I have experimented with some more aggressive balls. Same House, same leagues on Tues. Thurs. doesn't change a whole lot. Usually 2 different balls will cover all the conditions I experience.
On another note its great that your PSO works with the youth and plugs and re drills used balls. My PSO operator wont bother. He would rather sell them something new and of course at that age its the parent that is paying for it anyway.

[TCJ]

I don't purchase bowling balls often, but when I do, I add multiple ones. The I bought two and got a couple used when I first got into bowling, then I waited a number of years. I purchased two more when I tried left-handed. Then I waited again. Now recently I switched weights so I bought two more. I don't foresee getting any more new ones (unless someone gives one to me) in the near future.