Hi all,

My oldest daughter will turn 13 next month and she has on her birthday list that she wants her own bowling ball.  I take her and my other daughter( bowling as often as possible.  They both enjoy it but she is tired of using the crappy house balls (I don't blame her!).  They both use the automatic bumpers and she has tried to get away from using them with varying results.  I think having a fitted grip and comfortable weight will help her get better.

One problem she has is being afraid she is going to drop the ball on the backswing so she tends to help it with her left hand until the ball gets into the backswing.  I think a well fitted ball will help in this area and that in turn will increase her accuracy.

She usually uses around a 8,9 or 10 pound ball but having a fitted ball might change the weight she can swing comfortably.

It's been a long time since I started out myself, and I'm not sure what kind of ball and drilling to get her started with.  I'm partial to and familiar with Brunswick equipment but not locked in on it exclusively.

My questions to all of you are as follows:

1.  What type of ball?  Plastic(Viz-a-ball or Target Zone) or a beginners line like the Groove or Power Groove (pancake or disk weighted).

2.  What kind of drilling?  Conventional with fingers and thumb inserted all the way or something between conventional and fingertip (can't see her starting out with fingertip?).  If something other than conventional, any type of grips?

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Steve

BTW, anyone else out there with a child starting out?  If so how did/are you handling it?

Edited on 7/3/2006 8:53 PM

To you guys that say to start with a fingertip entry to mid level resin ball...Why would you start a "beginner" with a ball like that?  Especially a child of the female gender.  You drill someone like that a resin ball with a fingertip drill, they will have no idea what to do with it.  They are going to need something drilled to fit their hand so they can not only have fun, but also learn the proper fundamentals so that when they do get that resin ball in their hand, they will already have some sort of idea what to do with it.  The main concern is to make the experience fun for his daughter.  I am willing to bet that anything more than a plastic ball conventional drill will lead to more frustration for her than anything.  Start low, build up.
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Steven Vance
Former Pro Shop Operator

If anyone out there is worried about the scores being too high, try duckpin!!