Hogsharley

I subscribe to many bowling forums and I've noticed that some people have an 7-8 ball arsenal. They never use more than 3 or 4 balls anyway so why bring so many? I myself have never seen anyone bring more than 6 balls to a league or tourney but just how many balls is enough?

If you bowl in the same league every week, you really only need 2 or 3 balls to bring. The lanes usually play the same week to week. You'll bring a ball that works well on that pattern and a ball that fits better when the lanes dry up and of course, a spare ball.

A tourney player may not know what to expect from an unknown house or a tourney type shot so he will need more balls. He will test the shot is practice and adjust from there.

A player who bowls on PBA sport shot conditions will need a large arsensal. The shots are much more demanding and you may need to drill a ball specific for each and every pattern. It can get very expensive. If a PBA sport shot player knows that the pattern is a certain one, he should only bring the balls that work on that pattern, not all of his balls.

As for myself, I take 4 balls to league and 5 balls to tourneys. In league I may only use 1 ball and my spare all night. I very rarely get to use my last ball and when I do, I'm usually having a very bad night. In tourneys I bring an addl ball just to handle heavy oil.

My buddy takes one ball to the alley. He'll make hand, speed and feet adjustments during the night as needed. But when the lanes dry up, he's in trouble.