What is the importance of Pin Placement in Bowling Balls?

Answer 1

7 8 9 10

4 5 6

2 3

1

By a process of elimination; Pins 7, 8, 9 and 10 will not normally knock down any other pin, relying on either a direct hit from the ball, or other pins to hit them in order to be knocked-down.

For a right-handed pocket hit (pins 1 and 3), pin 1 will normally knockdown pin 3 and pin 3 will in turn knock down pin 6, which will in turn knockdown pin 10.

For a left-handed pocket hit (pins 1 and 2), pin 1 will normally knockdown pin 2 and pin 2 will in turn knock down pin 4, which will in turn knockdown pin 7.

The ball should take care of pin 5 and either pins 8 or 9 directly (again depending on whether left or right pocket was hit). Pin 5 may equally take out either pin 8 or 9, depending on angles of entry, ball speed and rotation, etc. Sometimes, pin 5 is taken out by pins 2 or 3 and sometimes, incredibly, it can be the only pin left standing.

Arguably, the head-pin (pin 1) is the most important, since hitting this will inevitably result in further pinfalls. However, it is clear that pins 2 and 3 are also of great and equal (to each other) importance.

Finally, the 5 pin is often referred to as the king-pin, since if the 5 pin falls, it is likely that everything else has gone too. However, this is more of an indication of a good ball delivery, rather than being the instrument of greatest destruction.

Therefore, subjectively, I would suggest that the head-pin, pin 1, is the most important pin in a Bowling game.

Answer 2

The pin is a locator for the top of the core inside a bowling ball. The ball core generally will want to rotate around this pin.

By understanding this rotation, the proshop ball driller will factor the pin location along with the bowlers positive axis point and the bowler's ball track to then place the pin in a measured position in relation to where the finger and thumb holes are drilled along with, if needed, a weight hole.

Also factoring into this is the designed ball reaction. Based on ball and bowler characteristics and the ball surface and intended lane reaction, the pin is placed in specific angles and distances from the center of the grip.