How long before replacing your bowling ball?

[Aslan]

Back in the ole days...bowlers I knew would buy a ball...and literally use it for 2-3 years before getting another one. I talked to a bowler recently and he said he gets a new ball every year (roughly).

So...how often (on average) do you guys/gals go with a ball before you decide to stop baking/resurfacing and get the next new bowling ball??

[Mike White]

Back in the ole days...bowlers I knew would buy a ball...and literally use it for 2-3 years before getting another one. I talked to a bowler recently and he said he gets a new ball every year (roughly).

So...how often (on average) do you guys/gals go with a ball before you decide to stop baking/resurfacing and get the next new bowling ball??

Back in the ole days you bought a ball, had your name engraved on it because everyone else had a ball just like it.
And used it for most of their "career". Back in the 70's AMF had a commercial showing a "hard" and "soft" ball, which would be the only two balls you would ever need.

There have been approximately 4000 types of balls since the year 2000.

Bowling balls are a lot softer, and lanes are a lot harder than they used to be.
More balls are retired due to damage than the ole days.

[Perrin]

I would say properly cared for any ball should last years.

I think people tend to buy balls for different conditions/looks vs to replace balls.

That brings up a good point though. how many times can you give a ball a full resurface before it bcomes illegal due to ball size I assume it would be alot but ha anyone ever measured how much of the ball is actually removed during a re-surface?

[classygranny]

I would say the measurement would be in number of games, not necessarily years. But, by personal experience, I can tell you that balls do die. Of course, I didn't take the proper care of mine at all times and may have suffered the consequences thereof. But my coach and proshop guy indicate that the average bowler bowling in one or two leagues using one of two balls would probably get two or three years out of the ball with the proper care and maintenance.

[vdubtx]

Until I bought my First Blood earlier this year, I hadn't bought a ball in the 5 years prior. Only reason I got the First Blood was to go to Nationals. I knew my current balls would not have a chance on the oil patterns in Reno.

[Aslan]

That brings up a good point though. how many times can you give a ball a full resurface before it bcomes illegal due to ball size I assume it would be alot but ha anyone ever measured how much of the ball is actually removed during a re-surface?

Yay!! I finally had a good point!

But yeah, I have thought the same thing. Seems like if you're in a few leagues a week...you resurface even every 80 games...then thats 5 times per year.

[MICHAEL]

I highly recommend getting your own spinner for around 200 bucks,,, price of a high end ball!! It will be the best money you can spend for keeping your balls in great condition!
I have use mine after every outing to clean oil off, and man does it do the job!!

[bowl1820]

how many times can you give a ball a full resurface before it becomes illegal due to ball size I assume it would be a lot but ha anyone ever measured how much of the ball is actually removed during a re-surface?

A true "resurfacing" of a ball is where you return a ball to a basically like new state, removing all the nicks, gouges, scratches etc.

Now how many times you could do that before the ball became illegal would depend on just how bad the ball was. It's said you could do it about 2-3 times.

Now just adjusting the surface of the bowling ball, that does not take off as much surface as a full resurfacing. And you can do it a lot, you'd get rid of the ball long before you got it too small.

[30 Clean]

... But my coach and proshop guy indicate that the average bowler bowling in one or two leagues using one of two balls would probably get two or three years out of the ball with the proper care and maintenance.

Really? 2-3 years? I got my Black Widow when it was released in '06 and it's still going strong. I think your pro shop guy just wants you to buy a new ball (balls?) every 2-3 years.

[Aslan]

Really? 2-3 years? I got my Black Widow when it was released in '06 and it's still going strong. I think your pro shop guy just wants you to buy a new ball (balls?) every 2-3 years.

No...normally I'd think thats the case...but this guy actually won't "let" me buy a new ball...and won't take my money for lessons. AND...he told me I don't need a spare ball. So if he's trying to trick me into buying more balls...he's very ineffective at it.

And based on the loss of reactivity in my ball after 80-100 games...either you gotta do some real resurfacing kinda often or you gotta get a new ball every 6 months- 2 years.

And...it's odd that so many signatures on bowlingboards have 5-10 balls in their arsenal if people are following the 5-10 year plan for ball replacement. UNLESS...these guys are just stockpiling balls they won on the website. I mean, if I win the Marauder this week (which I WILL)...I'm not going to send it back with a letter saying, "No thank you...my ball still has 3 years left on it."