How long should I expect my ball(s) to last?

[Aslan]

I've always used the 400-game target. But I also de-oil my bowling balls every 9-25 games or so.

As for actual experience...

- My Frantic (Storm) lasted about 450 games before it started to "die"...where I couldn't really get it back to OOB performance even with re-surfacing/de-oiling...and it cracked less than 6 months later.

- My Rhythm (Hammer) started to die at about 350 games.

- My Slingshot (Brunswick) was still going strong after 175 games.

I replace arsenals all at once. I treat them like car insurance...I may say I want to get 700 games on this arsenal...but that's knowing that I won't always be throwing every ball at once. By the time I hit 700 games...I may have 300 games on one ball, and 175 on each of the other 3 (adds up to over 700 because you sometimes use more than one ball over the course of a game).

I've heard numbers as low as 10 games...to as high as 1000 games. Unfortunately, ball manufacturers fail to release that data...for obvious reasons. Does frequent de-oiling extend the life? Maybe. Maybe not. It might kill it faster. Hard to say. But I generally aim for about 9 months. I aim to bowl 1000 games/year...I figure 700-1200 games on an arsenal is about all I can ask of it.

[Mike White]

I hate to say this, but you can expect a modern ball to maintain the same level of reaction for about 100 games (based on my own experience and observations), as long as it is properly maintained: cleaned after each use, refreshed after every ten games, and resurfaced after every 35 games. Many believe that the number is much smaller. I've heard from reliable sources, for instance, that when Brian Voss was actively bowling on the tour, he would use a ball for one seven-game block and then give it away. Small scratches on the surface can be expected as pin setters are mechanical devices with metal parts, and can be easily removed during resurfacing, and often during refreshing. They don't harm the ball reaction in the least.

Lets assume 100 games is correct.

That means a $200 balls + cleaning fluids, plus 3 resurfaces at approximately $20 each means you paid about $3+ per game to use that ball.

I'll stick with my $60 ball, that still has OOB finish, and only towel cleaning that rolled 240 games last season, and still works like a champ.

That works out to about $0.25 per game and diminishing.

As for Brian Voss, your reliable sources aren't quite as reliable as you think.

When he was on tour, there were three 6 game blocks, a cut, then three 8 game blocks of match play.

Voss effectively left the tour in 2007, and the 7 game blocks didn't begin until 2009.

The more important part is A) Voss didn't pay for those balls, and B) by giving them away, he wouldn't need to arrange transportation of them to the next tour stop.

[RobLV1]

Lets assume 100 games is correct.

That means a $200 balls + cleaning fluids, plus 3 resurfaces at approximately $20 each means you paid about $3+ per game to use that ball.

I'll stick with my $60 ball, that still has OOB finish, and only towel cleaning that rolled 240 games last season, and still works like a champ.

That works out to about $0.25 per game and diminishing.

As for Brian Voss, your reliable sources aren't quite as reliable as you think.

When he was on tour, there were three 6 game blocks, a cut, then three 8 game blocks of match play.

Voss effectively left the tour in 2007, and the 7 game blocks didn't begin until 2009.

The more important part is A) Voss didn't pay for those balls, and B) by giving them away, he wouldn't need to arrange transportation of them to the next tour stop.

More like $160 + Isopropyl Alcohol + spinner purchased 5+ years ago that has paid for itself at least three times over = $0.26 per game. I realize that's a whopping $.01 per game more than you're paying, but I do get the added benefit of using balls that aren't plastic or urethane. As for Brian Voss, whether it was seven games, six games, or eight games, the point was that he thought that a fresh ball was enough of an advantage to change after each set. The fact that he wasn't paying for them doesn't change the fact that his impression of the importance of a new ball gives those of us who do pay for them the perspective of a hall of famer. No one in their right mind whould buy a new ball to use after under ten games, but then, no one in their right mind would think that a ball with three or four hundered games on it would yield the same reaction as when it was new. That's not to say that noone would, or should use a ball with that many games on it, only that it should be done with a clear perspective of what is being sacrificed.

[Mike White]

More like $160 + Isopropyl Alcohol + spinner purchased 5+ years ago that has paid for itself at least three times over = $0.26 per game. I realize that's a whopping $.01 per game more than you're paying, but I do get the added benefit of using balls that aren't plastic or urethane. As for Brian Voss, whether it was seven games, six games, or eight games, the point was that he thought that a fresh ball was enough of an advantage to change after each set. The fact that he wasn't paying for them doesn't change the fact that his impression of the importance of a new ball gives those of us who do pay for them the perspective of a hall of famer. No one in their right mind whould buy a new ball to use after under ten games, but then, no one in their right mind would think that a ball with three or four hundered games on it would yield the same reaction as when it was new. That's not to say that noone would, or should use a ball with that many games on it, only that it should be done with a clear perspective of what is being sacrificed.

You've said in the past you were a school teacher.

Lets just hope the subject you taught wasn't math, otherwise you need to refund to your students most of your salary.

First lets address the ball spinner, and estimate it's cost per use.

Estimated outlay, $200.

If you've used it 10 times, you didn't have to pay a pro-shop $20 per use, so at that point it's a break even deal.

Now you say it's paid for itself 3 times over.

That would imply about 40 uses.

So for that $200 outlay, you've got 40 uses, at $5 per use.

Lets assume the alcohol is free (it's Vegas after all).

$160 for the ball, and $5 per use of the spinner (3 times) is a total of $175.

$175 for 100 games is still $1.75 per game.

I have no idea what kind of made up math you must have used to get $0.26.

Aslan, maybe you can explain it, since made up math is in your wheel house.

As for Voss, rather than needing a NEW ball, more likely he needed a DIFFERENT ball for each squad due to oil pattern wear.

And since those balls most likely won't be right for those same squads at the next tournament, giving them away makes the fans happy.

Some of the less successful pros are known to bring the balls home, and sell them to the locals.

[dougb]

I don't know. I wipe down my balls, clean them after every outing, de-oil in them in a homemade ball oven (made from a Nesco dehydrator) and resurface them regularly. I only use Brunswick. Haven't seen any issues with balls losing their performance. I also had some older stuff from other brands that seemingly wanted to last forever (Faball and AMF).

[bubba809]

I don't know. I wipe down my balls, clean them after every outing, de-oil in them in a homemade ball oven (made from a Nesco dehydrator) and resurface them regularly. I only use Brunswick. Haven't seen any issues with balls losing their performance. I also had some older stuff from other brands that seemingly wanted to last forever (Faball and AMF).

Exactly (or roughly) how many games are on these balls?

[HowDoIHookAgain]

Thanks for all the responses. Based off of what everyone has said, I guess I can expect my Cyclone to last at least another year or two, three at the most, and my MX10 the rest of high school (going to be Sophomore), maybe a little longer, maybe not as long as that. Seems like it all depends on the proper management and upkeep of my balls.

[Amyers]

I don't know. I wipe down my balls, clean them after every outing, de-oil in them in a homemade ball oven (made from a Nesco dehydrator) and resurface them regularly. I only use Brunswick. Haven't seen any issues with balls losing their performance. I also had some older stuff from other brands that seemingly wanted to last forever (Faball and AMF).

The loss of performance happens slowly at least from what I've seen. It's easy to miss I wasn't aware of home much my asylum had lost until I bought a new ball that should have been less aggressive and it wasn't. Truth is with most of these cover stocks we are loosing performance every time we take them out of the bag it just happens in slow enough increments that we don't notice it. Then it gets noticeable and we resurface and get back 80% and think it's 100%. Rinse and repeat, eventually you've got half of what it was originally.

[NewToBowling]

How long should I expect my ball(s) to last?

Up until you get married...ZING!!!

[dougb]

Exactly (or roughly) how many games are on these balls?

Some of them several years. I just sold my stuff off but I had a Brunswick Melee that also doubled as my spare ball and that ball just never quit or diminished despite constant use.

In addition to what I mentioned, I've had great success with Neo Tac Renew It to refresh my equipment and give it that zing on the pin deck. I also don't see a lot of oil. More dirt, unfortunately. Maybe that helps.

I think there is some truth to what Amyers said and maybe I just don't notice the gradual loss. Since I just bought new stuff I'll try and watch closely.