page_title: Bowling
section_title: Ball
hierarchical_section_title: Bowling / Equipment / Ball
caption_attribution_description: English: Bowling ball cores (weight blocks) in the International Bowling Museum Cropped version of the following image: International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame April 2019 30 (Science of Bowling)
context_page_description: Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins or another target. The term bowling usually refers to ten-pin bowling, though in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries bowling could also refer to lawn bowls.
  In pin bowling, the goal is to knock over pins on a long playing surface known as a lane. A strike is achieved when all the pins are knocked down on the first roll, and a spare is achieved if all the pins are knocked over on a second roll.
  Lanes have a wood or synthetic surface onto which protective lubricating oil is applied in different specified oil patterns that vary ball path trajectories and characteristics. Common types of pin bowling include ten-pin, candlepin, duckpin, nine-pin, five-pin and kegel. The historical game skittles is the forerunner of modern pin bowling.
  In target bowling, the aim is usually to get the ball as close to a mark as possible. The surface in target bowling may be grass, gravel, or synthetic. Lawn bowls, bocce, carpet bowls, pétanque, and boules may have both indoor and outdoor varieties.
  Bowling is played by 100 million people in more than 90 countries, and is the subject of video games.
context_section_description: Bowling balls vary, depending on the type of bowling game. Ten-pin balls are large, up to 27 inches (69 cm) in circumference and approximately 8.59 inches (21.8 cm) in diameter, and typically have three holes. The balls come in various weights from 6 to 16 lb (2.7 to 7.3 kg), with the size and spacing of the finger holes often smaller on lighter balls to accommodate smaller hands. Different kinds of balls are available for different styles of bowling. There are balls for hook shots and balls for bowling straight. The bowling balls meant for hook shots have different core shapes and different chemical covers. There are a few types of chemical covers that allow a bowling ball to hook more. One of these types of covers is a resin cover. This resin cover is designed to move and absorb the oil on the lane to create a path for the bowler where there is less oil, increasing the amount of hook of the bowling ball. Balls for other games vary, e.g., candlepin balls which fit in the palm of the hand need no holes. Unlike most sports, the ball can be different weights based upon the player.
caption: Bowling balls with cores exposed, as displayed in the International Bowling Museum.
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