Starting Aug. 1, any bowling ball with a balance hole or weight hole will not be permitted in USBC-certified competition and the governing body said it has no plans to extend the deadline.

USBC announced two years ago today on April 24, 2018, that balance holes would be illegal starting Aug. 1, 2020, a date that will remain in place.

Despite the shutdown of the bowling industry caused by the coronavirus pandemic, USBC clearly feels there has been enough notice given to allow adequate time for players to have made adjustments to their equipment.

So what, exactly, does this mean for bowlers? It means if you have a bowling ball with a balance hole (typically drilled on the side and not used for gripping the ball), you cannot use it until that hole is plugged.

If they haven’t already, players should take any balls with balance holes to their local pro shop (when they open again) and ask them to plug the hole to make the ball legal. It’s generally an easy process but the ball may need to stay at the shop overnight for the plug to dry.

It should be noted, this rule is only in affect for leagues and tournaments that are certified by USBC or those uncertified events which recognize USBC rules.

FloBowling Senior Editor Lucas Wiseman traveled to Storm a few months ago to see what the impact would be of plugging one of his favorite balls that had a weight hole.

You can watch the result of that test here:

So why is USBC even banning balance holes? In a news release announcing the ban, USBC said: “Balance holes, also known as weight holes, are meant to correct static imbalance in bowling balls, but more recently have been used to change the design intent of balls.”

To compensate for the loss of balance holes, USBC also changed the specification for static side, thumb or finger weight.

“By allowing bowling balls (for balls weighing more than 10 pounds) to have up to three ounces of static side, thumb and finger weight – which is up from one ounce – and up to three ounces of top weight, there no longer will be the need for a balance hole to correct static imbalance in the typical ball layout,” USBC said in the news release.

FloBowling talked with PBA players AJ Johnson and Sean Rash about the topic and they don’t expect the move will have an impact on the PBA Tour, which plans to implement the rule after the completion of the PBA Summer Tour on Sept. 1.

“I don’t foresee it being a big deal with us,” Johnson said. “The side of it I do see it playing a bigger part in is guys who bowl league at home and guys who bowl some amateur events here and there. A lot of guys use weight holes to help get the bowling balls to flare and to hook. I think it has more of an affect on them than it does us.”

Listen to Johnson’s full comments here:

Rash said he thinks the balance hole ban will affect two-handed bowlers more than it will one-handed bowlers.

“I don’t think it affects the traditional bowler as much as it will the two-handers,” Rash said. “Two-handers use weight holes or balance holes for getting the ball to pick up sooner. Their rev rate is higher, their ball changes direction a lot more than a traditional type player and I think that will change the philosophy on how they lay out their equipment.”

Listen to Rash’s full comments here: