Bowling ball Bowling ball A bowling ball is a piece of sporting equipment used to hit bowling pins in the sport of bowling. Balls used in ten-pin bowling are typically hard spheres with three holes drilled in them, one each for the ring and middle fingers, and one for the thumb. Regulating bodies such as the USBC maintain requirements for the properties of bowling balls, including size, hardness, and number of holes, as well as maintaining a list of bowling balls approved for competitive play. Other bowling balls, such as those used in five-pin bowling, candlepin bowling, and duckpin bowling are smaller,
Ten-pin bowling to knock down all ten bowling pins. Optimal ball speed, which is defined as the time it takes for the ball to travel from one foot past the foul line to the head pin, is 2.3 seconds (this number can shift to 2.2 or 2.4 depending on the dryness or slickness of the lane). A ball that is rolled too fast will not give the pins enough time to “mix” with other pins, or in other words, to knock each other down in a domino effect motion. Conversely, a ball rolled too slowly will deflect too much and will not