Ball damage at the lanes

[SouthpawTRK]

Last night I was bowling at a local bowling center, when I noticed something different about my ball during my first game. It was around the 7th frame, when I was wiping off my ball and noticed a rough spot on the ball. Upon closer examination, there were several rough spots on my ball; some resembling a "smile"; but definitely below the surface of the ball. I brought it to the attention to the person at the front desk and they apologized and moved me to another lane. I bowled five more games after the damage to my ball and actually shot my highest score of 178

I stopped by the front counter after the game to ask the employee if the damage that my ball incurred was my responsibility or would they be able to responsible for the damage. The person at the front counter said that they would have the ball resurfaced and there would be no charge to me. The person mentioned that they were having the same problem the night before during league play and the league members had their balls resurfaced. Since I'm really new to bowling, I was not sure if that was quite necessary and waited a few minutes to talk to the person that ran the pro shop. He inspected the ball and said that they were war wounds to the ball and should not affect it's performance. He mentioned that since the damage was no deeper than the factory graphic engravings that it would have no affect. To his credit, some of the damage was not as deep as the engravings, while others were deeper. He said that he would resurface the ball when I was ready to at no charge, but made mention that he would have to take off a lot for the marks not to be there.

Another employee looked at the ball after the person from the pro shop walked away and said that they have no way of which lane may be causing damage during a league game. However, he did not realize that I was told by the other employee that the particular lane that I was assigned to had done the same damage the night before. He blamed the lack of communication and that he did not know that particular lane was causing damage to bowling balls. At this point I was really frustrated and wished them a good night and left to go home.

So am I being a little too protective/crazy about the damage to my ball (it's the first ball I've ever owned)? Since I'm so new to bowling, should I just live with the "battle scars", since they are eventually going to happen to a ball (and most likely won't affect the playability of the ball). To me, the bowling center was a bit negligent since they knew of the problematic lane and did not repair it until 24 hours later. I also felt a bit frustrated because it felt like I was getting brushed off by the folks at the center. I don't even feel like going back to this bowling center moving forward; luckily there a few other centers around within a reasonable distance.

Thanks in advance for listening to my little rant.

[AZBowla]

My new Marauder has all sorts of scuffs and battle scars on it already. It happens. It's my main go-to ball anyway so I expect that. As long as the nicks and scuffs don't affect it's performance, I'm not going to worry about it.

[scottymoney]

Just check the track line and see if the marks line in the track at all. If they do not, it is nothing to worry about. I asked the same thing to my pro shop guy about getting some marks removed and he said to live with it as it is an old ball and the marks were not in the track.

[Zothen]

All my balls have scuffs,scratches,etc all over the ball. I would'nt worry to much as it won't affect the way a ball rolls. Now if you had a chip,deep gouge,etc on your track line,then I would be concerned and ask the center to take care of it.

The scuffs and minor scratches are caused by the ball going in gutter or as it makes its way to and through the ball return.

Zothen

[bjeffe1234]

I have gotten scratches on a ball within an hour of getting it drilled, at the same house. I don't think that it is not normal for a ball to be damaged. Yes, there are hard surfaces that the ball comes into contact with but if everything is in place as it should be then you should only have problems when a foreign object falls into the gutter or lift or return. At that point I think that it is the responsibility of the center to find and remove the problem. In most cases it is sheer laziness on their parts. Bowlers pay hundreds of dollars for their equipment and value their investment. If the bowler came in and used something to damage the lanes or approach then the center would be all over them about repair. Accidents happen but I really feel disrespected by some of these center managers.

[UBowling]

I have worked in a pro shop for a few years and he is correct, normal wear and tear happen and those "battle scars" happen all of the time. Without seeing a pic of the ball I wouldn't know for sure if these marks are that type of mark, but it sounds like it would be, especially if the damage can be fixed with a resurface. Usually if it is something that would make a difference it is too deep to be resurfaced out. It would have to be repaired with plug or replaced.

My advice would be to take them up on the free resurface.

[kmf]

Take the free resurface. Don't feel like they were blowing you off. If they were you wouldn't be getting the resurface for free. As for the amount of knowledge from the third guy, well, it seems he might just sweat stupid he is so full of it. If I throw a ball down lane 5 and it comes back damaged it sure as heck wasn't the fault of lane 12. I'm not a rocket scientist and have been accused many times of being a blonde but even I get this.

[SouthpawTRK]

Thanks guys for all the feedback in regards to my original post! I'm going to chalk up the experience I had last night at the bowling center as part of what can happen during the act of bowling and that having damage to a ball is a fact of life. I'm not sure how to determine what my track line is to determine if the damage is within my ball's track line or not. I'm going bowling at a different center tomorrow; I'll talk to the pro at the shop tomorrow about it. Thanks again guys!

[Ball99999]

Just check the track line and see if the marks line in the track at all. If they do not, it is nothing to worry about. I asked the same thing to my pro shop guy about getting some marks removed and he said to live with it as it is an old ball and the marks were not in the track.

That ball in your avatar looks sick, do you like it?


Anyway, OP, can you post a pic of the damage? Maybe it can be sanded out?

[scottymoney]

That ball in your avatar looks sick, do you like it?


Anyway, OP, can you post a pic of the damage? Maybe it can be sanded out?

Ball,
I actually just got it delivered yesterday. To see the real ball I posted the pics in the contest winners section (top of contest page). It is really nice looking and I will have it drilled probably on Friday.