The Well-Accessorized Bowler – Part 1

Like all sports, bowling has a variety of paraphernalia designed to aid performance. Some really help and others are more for attitude than actual physical benefit. Don’t treat those types lightly. They can be very valuable assets since you’ll perform better physically when you’re comfortable mentally. The list that follows is by no means every possible accessory you could have, but it’s a good start to making sure you have what you need. I’ll have even more next time in Part 2.

Your ditty bag

It’s helpful if you know where your tape is when you need it. If you don’t want to make people wait while you search for what you need, you tend to just hurry up and get out of their way. That means you’re not making the best possible shot. Oxygen mask! Take care of you first. Always.

Holding up play while searching for a pair of scissors or a piece of tape is pretty inefficient. You might stop looking or think you’ll just suffer through the rest of this game without that piece of tape and fix it later. That’s REALLY inefficient since it not only compromises your physical game, but your mental game as well.

I keep my stuff in a bag-like thing with elastic and a little pouch on the inside. In another life, it was a “portable secretary” with a stapler and other office supplies in it. It works great as a bowling accessories kit and fits perfectly in a ball bag.

Here are the things I believe you should keep quickly accessible:

Abrasive pads

Abrasive pads can be used for many different things. In fact, there are different types of pads. Abralon, SiaAir, and NEAT pads are all available for you to use to ...