I know how it feels going bowling and you don't know what ball to use . I will give you these few tips to help you make a smart choice to beat your friends or your competitor. I separated these tips into basic instructions and more advanced for seasoned bowlers. Enjoy!

Step 1: Weight

Basic: It is important that you find the right weight bowling ball for you since this could put strain on your arm. There are a few good ways to find the right weight for you. The first way is to take your weight and divide it by ten. So for example, a 140 pound person could use a 14 pound bowling ball. That's the "proper" weight. It all depends on how strong you are and if you really care or not. The second way is a more simple way. Take a ball of a certain weight and hold it in just your dominant hand alone for ten seconds. If you can do it without too much struggle, then that's a good match. If it is too light or too heavy, you can adjust accordingly. Advanced: Use one of the above techniques to find a ball weight for you. There is a second part to the weight portion. Balls can be drilled to fit your hand position and axis rotation. Basically, it determines part of the reaction on the backend when the ball hooks. The ball can be drilled with a stronger hook or a more rolling finish. If you are buying a ball from your pro shop, make sure you ask about how you want your ball drilled with the core inside the ball. There are rules and regulations on how a ball is drilled with weight distribution on the fingertips. You can actually be disqualified at tournaments for having a ball that is drilled with a weird layout.

Step 2: Core and Cover Stock

Basic: This isn't as crucial for a "just for fun" bowler. Most likely, you are using a house ball that if you just throw straight, guess what, they all hook the same. The only advice I can give you is that a bright plastic ball that is at most bowling ally's will actually hook if you can rotate it enough (a LOT of spin). So unless you know how to really hook a bowling ball or you through it two handed really hard, you are bowling straight. Advanced: Let me just start off by saying that you should not buy the ball that "hooks the most" too many people get suckered into buying balls that just skid down the lane and then just flip to the pocket. If you by a ball like that, you are going to do fine on THS (Typical House Shot) but on a long pattern (43ft or more) you could find your ball skidding and never getting enough time to flip. So buy a ball to match your intentions. If you need a ball that has a lot of length and then quick hook on the backed, your looking at a ball like an Storm IQ Tour Pearl. If you want a ball the reacts sooner and then rolls into the pocket, get a Storm Sync. If you just want a cheap spare ball, go with a plastic ball like an Ebonite Maxim. So in your ball arsenal, I would have at least three balls. Here they are, I'll add links to show examples of each. 1: Solid Ball. These are the balls like the Sync or Lucid that reacts sooner and has a strong rolling action to the pocket. Good for heavy oil. These balls wear out fast though so just keep that in mind. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rBrfU4bHjaw&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DrBrfU4bHjaw 2: Pearlized/Polished Ball: These balls slide longer and have a stronger movement on the backed then a solid ball. They are good for house patterns or patterns that have more oil on the inside and are dryer on the outside. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kIYNI_fneXk&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DkIYNI_fneXk 3: Plastic: This is just a spare ball that doesn't hook under any circumstances. Good for throwing straight. If you choose the wrong cover stock here are are the consequences. A solid ball could roll out sooner. In other words, it will do a little hook and then roll straight. Then you get deflection and less pin action. On the other end, a Pearlized ball on an oily pattern will slide too far and not hook into the pocket at all. This also results in deflection and loss of pin action. In terms of the core, there are different kind you can have, but how it is drilled really affects how the ball reacts so just ask your pro shop. Cover stock makes the most difference.The cores are separated into three main groups; Pancake, Symmetrical, Asymmetrical. The pancake is just a small weight farther away from the center. It is in a lot of spare balls. Symmetrical cores are in your reactive resin balls. These balls play more like a solid ballet rolling sooner and rolling in the pocket. Asymmetrical cores have more of a skid and flip action.

Step 3: Price

Basic/Advanced: The price of a ball varies by what the ball does. A ball that doesn't hook as much like an entry level ball will cost less ($130). A ball made to perform will cost more ($200+). So don't see how much you can spend, just get what you need. So many people will spend all of this money on balls and then ignorantly complain that it doesn't work or it rolls out (reason for this instructable). So ask your pro shop what YOU need.