Are you wondering what the drilling process of a bowling ball is? It’s a simple process of making new finger holes in a bowling ball to enhance your grip and swing using a drill. When you buy a brand new ball, there will not be any pre-drilled holes in it. You need to drill holes in it according to your hand measurements.
And if you often bowl, you already know how large an impact drilled holes have on the game’s performance. And the customization of this drilling can only be possible in a pro shop or sporting goods store. So, now you’re probably thinking, how much does it cost to drill a bowling ball? Well, that’s what we here to discuss. Let’s find out the cost of drilling a bowling ball.
Bowling ball drilling overview
Before drilling, your hand measurements will be taken. This measurement will be taken using a device that measures the exact measurements of your thumb and finger holes, span length, and hole pitch. After taking these measurements, you will be asked a few questions about what kind of grip you want (standard or finger-tip), and if you want, try out various slugs and grips to see what suits your bowling stance.
Then, you can try out several bowling balls in the shops and share your feedback about the holes. This feedback will be very helpful to create the right-sized holes and make adjustments to your ball to become the perfect fit.
How Much Does It Cost To Drill A Bowling Ball
Usually, you will find two types of drilling services in your local pro shop: Basic drilling services and Custom drilling services. For those who are just casual or recreational bowlers, we recommend getting basic drilling services for them. On the other hand, we recommend getting custom drilling services for advanced and professional players.
Basic drilling cost
Do you know what standard drills cost for a bowling bowl? Basic drilling can cost between $30 to $50, which offers a conventional layout of the holes estimating from an average for the span and hole sizes.
You may not get the perfect fit as you are drilling based on average measurements in basic drilling. Therefore, there’s a probability that you have to do some modifications to the hole size to achieve a better fit.
Custom drilling cost
Now, how much will it cost if you go for custom drills? Custom drilling can cost you anywhere between $50 to $70. Spending this amount gets you the installation of finger inserts, thumb slugs, and switch grips.
Drilling cost for beginners
Now, we know the cost of drilling a bowling ball. The question naturally arises that if beginners should spend money on drilling. Most companies will not charge extra fees when buying your ball with the pre-drilled option.
As a beginner, if you buy entry-level balls, which are plastic bowling balls, you may not see the point of spending on drilling because the cost of drilling will be greater than the price of the ball. Most companies won’t demand extra fees when your balls come with a pre-drilled option.
However, if you prefer a better experience and a good grip, you should spend some extra bucks. If we give you a clear sense of what you are gonna get, the cost of purchasing and drilling a plastic ball is almost the same.
Drilling cost for advanced players
Advanced and professional players know the importance of having custom holes drilled on their bowling balls. A professional bowler wants to have a perfect fit to improve his control of the ball. So, what is the cost of drilling when it comes to the balls of advanced and professional players?
It depends on the quality of the bowling ball. It can be cheap as starting at least $20 and also expensive up to $70.
Additional charges
Some additional charges can arise with drilling costs. Many companies do not want to be responsible for cracking a bowling ball accidentally while drilling. For that reason, some companies charge a drilling protection service for a nominal fee of $5 or $10, which balances the costs of accidental damage during the drilling process.
It’s like a bowling ball insurance policy. Some companies also charge more by adding features like getting finger inserts or thumb slugs.
Tips to save money
If you want to spend money on drilling, we suggest not jumping into the first offer from a company. Search and see what every company is offering. Sometimes when you purchase a bowling ball from a company, they may include drilling in their price. If that is the case, you’ll get drilling free of charge.
This service from vendors can be as low as $20 and also cost up to $70. If you’re very careful about not damaging or cracking your expensive ball, you should choose a company with a lot of experience in drilling and does not care too much about the drilling cost. However, if you are a beginner with an entry-level ball, it’s okay to go for the cheaper option. So, stroll around the shops and find what suits your demands.
Conclusion:
Now, you can decide how much you should spend on drilling your bowling ball. From this article, you should have a pretty good picture of the possible prices and what price you should expect based on your needs. Also, we hope our tips to save money will be beneficial.