Buyers Guide

You are here: Store Home » Buyers Guide

Buyers Guide to Bowling Equipment

At this time of year, we get a lot of questions about what to buy for Christmas, so hopefully we'll answer a lot of questions here.

Returns Policy

Our returns policy is extended over Christmas, so don't worry about that. It reverts to the normal policy after 14 January 2010 so please inform us before then if you wish to return an item bought pre-Christmas 2009.

Bowling Balls

We do stock a range of pre-drilled balls, however most of our balls are undrilled. This is because hands and fingers can vary in shape + size. They are best drilled by a pro-shop in your locality, and we can advise of these after you have bought a ball.

What's the best ball?
This is the million dollar question but we'll do our best to help here...

Beginners
If you're buying for a child under 12, or someone who goes bowling now and then, a polyester ball is best. Polyester bowling balls have a standard "Coverstock" (the outer shell of the ball), which allows the ball to travel straight. They range between £40-£100 and the difference is in the quality of material used and design. Some of the more expensive balls have clear outer shells with a design contained underneath. We do stock some pre-drilled polyester balls, however many of our balls will require drilling by a pro-shop, of which there are many throughout the UK.

League Bowlers
Most league bowlers will use a "reactive bowling ball", this is a ball that will curve or "hook" towards the end of the bowling lane. These balls require accurate drilling. Lower end reactive balls start around £70. For people who've just started to or want to hook their ball, we recommend a less expensive ball, as higher end balls react (hook/turn/curve!) a lot more and can be frustrating for beginners to use.

For bowlers who've been hooking their ball for a longer period, high end reactive balls are the way to go. Fun, frustrating and requiring a lot of TLC, these balls will help a bowler to push their average into the higher echelons!

Bowling Shoes

Again, the type of shoe we recommend is determined by the bowlers experience.

Most of our shoes are suitable for either left or right handed bowlers and range £25-£40. This sort of price range is ideal for the "first pair" of shoes for a bowler. 

For the more experienced, or league bowler, we have a range of more expensive shoes, namely Dexter SST's, or ABS.

Be careful when selecting a shoe that is just for LEFT or RIGHT handed bowlers. They have rubber soles on one of the soles which acts as a "Push off" and "brake", which makes them only suitable for a left or right hander. A right handed bowling shoe will have the rubber sole on the right foot, as the right handed bowlers final slide towards the lane will be on their left foot.

Bowling Bags

We have a range of bags that can hold 1 - 6 balls!

Certain bags we stock don't have pockets or sections for shoes, so be wary of that when purchasing, and also make sure that you know the person's shoe size when purchasing, as some of our bags can only hold shoes up to a certain size.

Payment

We accept Bank transfers, cheques, credit or debit card & paypal. We can not take payment over the phone due to the security risks it presents to you as a cardholder. If you wish to visit us and pay cash, that is also acceptable.

If you have any further questions, comments, or feedback, please contact us using our contact form, or phone +44 (0) 7921 66 22 34