The best way to improve any skill is to practice it. Spending time in a practice session with your bowling balls and some abrasive pads is a great investment for better understanding your equipment and improving your lane play skills:

  • Pick a ball and make note of its starting surface before you begin. Sand the entire surface with a 500 grit pad. Throw a few shots to note how much hook you see and where the ball starts to hook.
  • Repeat this process for each pad and each bowling ball to see how they respond to the different surfaces.
  • Any surface adjustment you make can be undone and changed back to the starting surface. Note that a pro shop or ball spinner will likely be required to return a ball to a shiny polished finish.