The Effect of Plugging Your Balance Hole on a Symmetrical Ball 

Mo , I thank you for explaining the laws of ball motion with your videos. In my opinion, bowling has been subjected to unjustified criticism due to so much false information being circulated through our sport. As they say knowledge is not power because information constantly changes. People are power and the bowling world needs more people like you. Keep the videos coming.

Thank you for your useful knowledge !

Thanks mo,wish i had you to drill my stuff and explain what im gonna see as motion

MO keep up the good work

Anytime I need to go to sleep . I put this guys videos on

This is why it is so important that yout pro shop guy really knows their stuff now. In the old days if you drilled a ball and you did not like the motion then pop another hole. But the position the fingers and thumb hole are put in the ball dictate the motion. I have one that a friend had. He hated it the way it was drilled so I plugged all the holes and had it re drilled and my thumb is almost 2 inches from where his was. I rolled a 710 my first time using it. That is pretty good for me. I actually made the ball 40% weaker is what my proshop guy was going for because i wanted it to fit a spot in my arsenal. Now they saying starting in 2023 PBA bowlers can npt have a plug in a ball. I hope it never carries over to the USBC.

Mo, to meet new drilling rules for 2 finger bowlers I have to plug my thumb hole on my favorite ball. They no longer make it, so I can't replace it. What effect will a plugged thumb have on ball motion?

Sad no one wants to watch the hour long video that this clip came from. Thanks Mo for all the information and work you and Radical put into this game!

Can you do a video demonstrating a no thumb layout that’s in compliant?

I had my elnino 2000 plugged January and resurfaced. It hooks alittle more than before.

what about doing this to an ASYM ball? Say my old Ebonite Challenge? (i believe its a minor ASYM ball) I have a brand new Ebonite Polaris. LOVE it, but wondering if I were to get the balance hole plugged, would the ball be good enuff to use for 2nd or 3rd game when the Polaris drys my spot out?

How does plugging a ball change an Asymmetrical?

understand what you said: what would be the effect if you put a less dense plugging material (closed cell foam) at the bottom of the hole let say 3/4 full then finished with regular plug material. I could still be able to move my PSA out of the thumb? just an old Drag racer asking

So, by drilling the balance hole, then immediately filling, would it make you in compliance with the new rules, but give you ever so slightly more hook potential?

Mo, Thanks for a great video. But I have a question. If the thumb hole starts out at 12 o'clock and ends up at 9 o'clock the means the ball rotates 90 degrees and therefore would flare 1/4 of the circumference 27/4 or 6.75 inches. But when you added the balance hole the center of rotation was only about half way to the thumb hole so the ball only rotated about 1/8 of the circumference. or about 3.375 inches. I know I am wrong but it seems like the non balance hole version should be stronger. What am I missing?

Truthfully wont make a damn bit of difference if we can or cannot use the hole I have symetrics (which I always drill straight up) that move harder and faster than some of my asymmetrics. Point being the driller will now not be faced with necessarily how to drill the ball but WHAT ball it is he will drill it's not a good or bad thing. Just indifferent basically now your just label drilling the symetrics considering the. Mass bias will always be in the thumb area

I have a question for you. Now we not aloud side weight hole. My pro shop drill me a new more cash bowling ball with the same layout I always had now without the weight hole. My bowling ball rolling over the thumb hole. Same proshop same layout. I need help 😭. Got a second ball drill out same thing.

So, bottom line is about 3 board less hook after plugging the balance hole? That’s not good news, but it’s not really catastrophic either, it just means like your tester we should be prepared to move 3-2 left. I also know you’re working on new core shapes to mitigate this! Be Radical!

What about balls with asymmetric cores? can you expect the same result? Does the ball need to plugged and redrilled or just plugged like the symmetric core balls? This video was incredibly helpful by the way! I just got back into bowling after about 10 years, so I'm just now finding out about this rule.

I’ve become very interested in this drilling of the bowling ball, the terminology is what I have to learn more about. Can anyone point me to some videos that teach and explain more on the drilling of the bowling ball.

I always found over the past 20 years that balls with balance holes for me were much smoother in reaction and I could control them much better. Now this stupid rule change has come in I was getting so much over/under that I had to throw my gear in the dumpster, including a ball I threw six 300s with. To me it was a cynical move by USBC to cater to the ball companies.

I've got a bunch of holes to get filled. USBC should have to pay for them since THEY changed the rules.

Why does he sound like his angry at me?

In the old days balls barely hooked. You had to stand on the right and angle it in to the pocket hoping to get modest hook to finish the job. Today's balls and lanes have incredible amounts of hook, so the problem is reversed - your equipment can hook too much to get a good pocket angle and be controllable. I throw symmetrical balls (mostly the Storm Marvel Pearl) because I like a smooth arc rather than a strong finish. I never liked the idea of having an extra hole in my ball and making it lighter, so I wouldn't let my pro drill a balance hole. I have never found I didn't have enough hook or needed to hook earlier. If fact, I have gone back to the Marvel Pearl because Storm's newer offerings often hook too much for me, even though I throw it hard. This video makes be believe I was correct for never having a balance hole because it creates more hook when the ball already has enough. Plus, it makes me unconcerned about compliance with this mysterious rule change.

Mo' better.