How heavy is a bowling ball?
A ten-pin bowling ball can weigh up to 16 pounds (about 7.3 kilograms). Most adults use balls between 12 and 16 pounds, and lighter balls are available for children.
The rules allow bowling balls of any weight up to 16 pounds, with a maximum diameter of about 8.5 inches, or 21.8 centimeters. Bowling alleys usually offer house balls from about 6 to 16 pounds. A common guideline suggests choosing a ball that weighs about 10 percent of your body weight, up to the maximum.
Modern bowling balls are usually made of plastic, urethane or reactive resin around a weighted core. The shape of the core affects how the ball spins and curves, or hooks, down the lane. Serious bowlers often own several balls for different lane conditions and have holes drilled to fit their fingers.
Other kinds of bowling
Candlepin and duckpin bowling, popular in parts of the northeastern US and Canada, use much smaller balls without finger holes, weighing less than 4 pounds. Lawn bowls, played outdoors on grass, use balls weighted to curve as they roll.
Did You Know?
Early bowling balls were made of hardwood such as lignum vitae. Rubber balls appeared in the early 1900s.