Don’t Leave Your Bowling Ball In The Car. Do This Instead!


While out shopping one day with a group of friends we decided at the last minute to go bowling. Since i’m the only one in the group that has their own ball I was excited, until i remembered my ball was at home. So I thought maybe from now on I should leave my bowling ball in the car.

Its NEVER a good idea to leave your bowling ball in the car due to normal driving conditions and varying temperatures. Temperatures in cars vary throughout the day and are impossible to monitor putting your bowling ball at risk of splitting or losing its oils.

Many people think it’s OK to leave your bowling ball in their car if it’ll only be for a short time. While this may be true in very rare cases, bowling balls, though tough on the outside and inside are very sensitive in various temperatures.

Can you leave your bowling ball in the car?

Well of course you CAN leave your bowling ball in your car. Should you? is the right question to ask. And the answer to THAT question is a big NO.

I live in the north east part of America. It gets really hot in the summer and freezing cold in the winter. That means that in the summer the temperature in my car can get up to 140+ degrees. In the winter it can get into negative temperatures.

At that temperature I risk my bowling ball cracking from the materials that make up a bowling ball expanding and contracting. Bowling balls are also coated in oils and if you leave your ball in your car and its exposed to extreme heat(anything that’s not room temperature) you risk loosing the oils. Which you’ll want to check for and wipe away thoroughly.

Just like bowling balls needing time to warm up before a game, so do bowlers. Now if you leave your bowling ball in your car and you have tape in the holes to help with your warm ups, the tape wont be very effective. It’ll actually be a huge mess. Or will slide right out if it’s cold.

Consequently in the cooler months like winter when it reaches freezing temperatures, again your bowling ball will expand and contract. When you take a cold ball to the lanes and its essentially frozen not only will it be uncomfortable when using, but it will also perform badly.

With the oils on the ball so cold and the lanes warm your bowling ball will most likely skid down the lanes and not hook like its designed. So while you can leave your bowling ball in the car it’s not advised. A good bowling ball is worth the time and effort to properly take care of, and that’s not by leaving it in your car like your stinky gym bag.

What do you do with your bowling ball?

The absolute best place for your bowling ball to be is in your home. And I mean IN your home, not the garage or unfinished basement. They should be kept in room temperature environments at all times to prevent the oils from bleeding out or freezing.

They can also be stored at your local bowling alley if they offer lockers. I would would personally store them at the bowling alley if you are there multiple times a week. It would save you a trip home every time to get your ball.

A benefit of keeping your bowling ball at home is that you can do your own maintenance of the ball at your leisure and ensure that in the event of extremely bad weather when power is lost it is still in good condition. Its also easier to show off your new ball to friends and show them the custom paint or your name etched in.

If your local bowling alley offers storage lockers and they are reasonably priced that might be a better fit for you. I’d ask the manager of the bowling alley if the place had a back up generator and a good security system to protect the investment you’ve made in your bowling ball and now their bowling alley.

The back up generator to ensure if power is lost in the area either in summer or winter to make sure the bowling ball stays at room temperature and the security system so you dont have to worry about showing up one day excited to bowl only to find out the place was robbed the night before and your bowling ball was either stolen or damaged.

Can a bowling ball go bad?

Yes. Eventually a bowling ball will go bad if it is used frequently. No one actually really know exactly HOW long a bowling ball will last since every user is unique as well as their environment. However, with proper care and regular visits to your local pro shop you can make your bowling ball last a VERY long time.

With new technologies bowling balls can last an average of 5 to 10 years, again, with proper maintenance and regular visits to your local pro shop. Storing your bowling balls at room temperature and away from extreme temperature changes will help extend the life of your ball.

It is important to learn and develop a proper coverstock maintenance routine. After purchasing your new bowling ball weather online or at your local pro shop it is important to stop by and ask the sales staff about how to care for your bowling ball.

There’s nothing that can be done about a bad core or core separation.

Since every bowling ball is made different they all have different needs when it comes to coverstock maintenance. The coverstock of you ball will have a certain surface texture and material composition that produce a range in surface friction. This will determine how you bowling ball performs on the lanes and partly weighs in on the hook of the ball.

Related questions

Are heavier bowling balls better?

A heavier bowling ball will have more power when thrown causing more of the pins to get knocked down. On the flip side, they could cause serious injury to the bowler if not used correctly.

A heavier bowling ball may be good to add to your arsenal of bowling balls and used only when necessary to avoid sore wrists and torn muscles in your arm and shoulder.

Why is three strikes called a turkey?

The term Turkey refers to when a bowler gets 3 strikes in a row and orginated back in the late 1800’s. Bowling was much harder back than because of the use of pin boys manually setting the pins by hand after each frame.

Bowling balls were also basically huge chunks of rubber with holes in them so they weren’t the easiest things to throw.

To boost business many business owner started to give away prizes to bowlers who could bowl multiple strikes in a row. The most common prize given was a turkey since they were cheap and during that time free food was welcomed by basically everyone.

Free turkeys are no longer given away as prizes for the feat of 3 strikes in a row but the term lived on and is still used to this day.

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