Lefties have some unique advantages to work with and challenges to contend with in their search for the best bowling ball for left handers. Most bowling lanes are primed and patterned for usage by right-handed bowlers, thus leaving some interesting conditions for left handers approaching from the opposite side of the lane.
The best bowling ball for left handers will accentuate a bowler’s particular strengths and work with their weaknesses, while also being perfectly calibrated for a bowler who doesn’t use the traditionally dominant right hand for throws. With that being said, we’ve scoured through dozens of left-handed bowling ball options to narrow things down to a list of the 6 Best Bowling Balls For Left Handers In 2021
(Stay tuned to the end for some useful tips and tricks for left-handed bowlers and a primer on all things left-handed in the world of bowling!)
6 Best Bowling Balls for Left Handers
1) Track Precision Bowling Ball
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Left-handed bowlers can sometimes struggle with lane length due to slick untouched oil patterns, and that’s what makes the Track Precision such a huge get. This ball is built to read the middle of the lane like a book and go long and strong before launching into an extremely angular breakpoint motion. If you want a left-handed gem which will stay on the lane and slotted into the pocket, this is it.
Specs
Color: Blue, Orange, White
Core: Precision SD (Asymmetrical)
Coverstock: Prime Pearl (Reactive Pearl)
Finish: 500 / 1000 Abralon Polished w/ Powerhouse Factory Finish Polish
RG: 2.49
Differential: 0.054
Flare potential: Moderate to Significant
Recommended Lane Condition: Medium-Heavy
Pros
- The Track Precision is finely crafted to grip confidently in the deepest and most complex of oil conditions. The more oil it sees, the harder it works in a bowler’s favor.
- The backend reaction of this ball is sharp and easy to tweak with slight adjustments to one’s throwing style and release point. You can basically perform surgery with your entry angles.
- The hitting power of the Track Precision is reinforced by the ball’s low center of gravity. It lofts pins out of the way in beautiful, unique trajectories upon impact.
Cons
- While the coverstock is very durable and likely won’t burn out in dry oil conditions, you’re not going to get the length or back end angularity you’re used to on medium and heavy oil patterns.
- This ball requires a steady hand and someone who is used to reading a ball with flare potential and horizontal movement in spades. If you’re not accustomed to that, this ball will be a struggle for you.
2) Brunswick Rhino Bowling Ball
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The perfect bowling ball for left-handed bowling beginners and intermediate bowlers who favor a straighter shot, the Brunswick Rhino offers premium control in an entry-level performance package. If you have struggled controlling other balls and need to get your lines and approach nailed down, the Brunswick Rhino is a forgiving ball which will help you find your mark.
Specs
Color: Red, Black, Gold Pearl / Black, Blue, Silver Pearl / Purple, Pink, White Pearl / Green, Silver Pearl / Black Pearl
Core: Light Bulb (Symmetrical)
Coverstock: R-16 Reactive (Reactive Pearl)
Finish: 500 SiaAir / Royal Compound / Royal Shine
RG: 2.524
Differential: 0.030
Flare potential: Minimal
Recommended Lane Condition: Dry, Medium-Dry
Pros
- This ball gives you fantastic lane length in dry and medium-dry conditions for a very fair price tag. You get a lot of controllable fury for very little monetary investment.
- You don’t have to worry about the Brunswick Rhino hooking early or getting wonky in the middle of the lane. This ball tracks amazingly well and holds its line towards the pin pocket.
- Expert bowlers looking for a straight-line strike ball or spare ball in depleted oil conditions will have a friend in the Brunswick Rhino.
Cons
- The more oil this ball is faced with, the more it will get gummed up and start to slide off the lane towards the gutters. Keep this ball bagged in the slickest of stuff.
- There isn’t much hook potential or back-end sharpness to the Brunswick Rhino’s overall game. You’re not going to be able to get very creative with it.
3) Roto Grip Winner Bowling Ball
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Left handers who struggle to keep their balls on the lane in medium and medium-heavy oil conditions will love how easily the Roto Grip Winner finds its footing and keeps it steady on its way towards a very sharp and distinct breakpoint reaction. The Roto Grip Winner has no trouble staying on the lane and finding its groove before unleashing a fiery back end burst of impact violence.
Specs
Color: Red, Gold, Charcoal
Core: Altered Hotshot (Symmetrical)
Coverstock: VTC-P18 (Reactive Pearl)
Finish: 1500 Grit Polished
RG: 2.54
Differential: 0.054
Flare potential: Moderate to Significant
Recommended Lane Condition: Medium
Pros
- The pearlized VTC-P18 coverstock balances great reactivity with easy lane length. There aren’t many pearlized coverstock out there which can boast that.
- The Roto Grip Winner’s sharp jut and turn off the breakpoint leads to some fireworks and an increased amount of entry angles for a bowler to play with.
- This is one of the most durable performance bowling balls we’ve tested in quite some time. Left-handed bowlers aren’t going to find many other balls with a comparable play life.
Cons
- This ball just skids and slides without reason in dry and medium-dry oil conditions. Good luck trying to control this ball once oil patterns break down considerably.
- Higher-rev bowlers have complained about potential problems with this ball skidding past the breakpoint on shorter oil patterns.
4) Pyramid Path Rising Bowling Ball
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The Pyramid Path Rising almost feels like it was carefully crafted for a left-handed bowler who struggles to reach optimum speeds or generate revs on their own accord. The ball’s high-RG core revs up with very little oil needed, pushing this ball easily down the lane before jutting into a back-end reaction which belies the ball’s entry level performance ball status.
Specs
Color: Aqua, Silver Pearl / Black, Hot Pink Pearl / Black, Silver Pearl / Blue, Dark Blue Pearl / Enchanted Black, Teal, Silver Hybrid / Kelly Green Sparkle Pearl / Purple, Steel Blue Pearl / Red, White, Blue Pearl
Core: New Era 139 (Symmetrical)
Coverstock: Path Reactive (Reactive Pearl)
Finish: 1500 Grit Abralon / Factory Polish
RG: 2.54
Differential: 0.032
Flare potential: Moderate
Recommended Lane Condition: Medium-Dry
Pros
- The Pyramid Path Rising hits hard and keeps coming. It has unparalleled durability for an entry-level bowling ball and that will keep the impressive pin impacts coming for months and years to come.
- This ball revs up on its own accord late in the pattern to give slower bowlers and lower-rev bowlers an extra bit of burst to play with.
- If you’re looking for a great spare ball for depleted oil patterns, you’re in luck with the Pyramid Path Rising.
Cons
- This ball drowns in oil. The more oil this ball finds, the less it knows what to do with itself. Keep this ball in the bag when conditions are at their freshest.
- There isn’t a ton of hook potential and angularity to be had with this ball. You can hook it, but it won’t be to the degree of other balls on this list built for such fireworks displays.
5) Pyramid Antidote Bowling Ball
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If you’re a left-handed bowler who struggles to get lane length and a solid mid-lane length read on a traditional house shot pattern, take a good look at the Pyramid Antidote as your potential mid-performance strike ball of choice. The Pyramid Antidote dominates house shot patterns with easy traction and a powerful transition from your hook into a controlled roll.
Specs
Color: Yellow, Black, White
Core: New Era 139 (Symmetrical)
Coverstock: GPS Navigational Solid (Reactive Solid)
Finish: 2000 Grit Abralon / Factory Finish Polish
RG: 2.55
Differential: 0.054
Flare potential: Moderate
Recommended Lane Condition: Medium-Heavy
Pros
- This ball’s high-RG core works in its favor with the ball’s heavy roll and propensity for revving up something fierce on the back end.
- The Pyramid Antidote has been calibrated to give both lefties and righties a huge advantage on traditional house shot patterns. This ball is a league bowler’s dream.
- There aren’t very many balls who can read the middle of the lane so easily while also keeping energy stored efficaciously for some crazy back-end theatrics.
Cons
- This ball gets extremely unwieldy and almost impossible to nail down in extremely dry conditions or on depleted oil patterns.
- While this ball is primed for house shot patterns, it can sometimes get a little lost on complex oil patterns which have been creatively laid out for tournament play.
6) Brunswick Tzone Deep Space Bowling Ball
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While this is definitely not a strike ball for most intermediate and expert left-handed bowlers, this is a great-looking spare ball for anyone looking to take advantage of depleted oil patterns and dry oil conditions. It’s not a reactive bowling ball but it doesn’t need to be in such conditions. This ball simply hits its line and offers pinpoint control when you need a spare and oil patterns have broken down.
Specs
Color: Deep Space
Core: Symmetrical
Coverstock: Polyester (Plastic)
Finish: High Polish
RG: 2.715
Differential: 0.019
Flare potential: Minimal
Recommended Lane Condition: Dry
Pros
- If you need to hit a straight-line mark on a dry or depleted oil pattern, this ball gets the job done over and over again!
- The Brunswick Tzone Deep Space bowling ball’s polyester cover is amazingly durable and doesn’t require the same level of maintenance as porous reactive bowling balls require.
- The ball’s gorgeous deep space pattern is blacklight reactive! If you’re a bowler who loves going cosmic bowling on the weekends, you’re going to have a lot of fun with this ball.
Cons
- Oil is the sworn enemy of the Brunswick Tzone Deep Space bowling ball. There is zero reactivity to be had with this ball’s coverstock and it shows when this ball drowns itself in medium oil patterns on up.
- This is a spare ball at best for those lefties who aren’t beginners just figuring out the game. The hook potential is near zero and there’s not much room to get creative with it.
FAQs
Do left handed bowlers have an advantage?
Left-handed bowlers have a key advantage when it comes to the near preservation of oil on the opposite side of the lanes to a normal right-handed approach. Because the vast majority of bowlers are right-handed, the oil gets pushed around on the right side of the lane constantly and gets broken down much quicker.
Conversely, the oil on the left side of the lane is usually in pristine condition. That means left-handed bowlers get many more chances to maximize their reactive strike bowling balls and use the original oil pattern for needed firepower and hook sharpness.
In fact, the majority of leagues see a distinct gap between the scores of left-handed bowlers and right-handed bowlers of similar skill sets. There’s just less breakdown for left-handed bowlers to face which means more opportunities for turning oil into strike gold.
Who is the best left handed bowler?
There have been a handful of professional bowlers who have put together Hall of Fame careers or close to such while bowling with their left arm. The most notable lefty PBA Hall of Famer is likely Johnny Petraglia.
Immortalized in the PBA Hall of Fame back in 1982, Petraglia is the first and only PBA bowler to win three televised national tournaments in a row! Furthermore, he’s one of just six bowlers in PBA history to win all three majors over the course of their career.
What makes this even more impressive is that Petraglia did all this while also missing five potentially peak years of his professional career while serving in the United States Army.
Honorable mention goes to PBA Hall of Famer Earl Anthony who was the first PBA bowler to reach the million dollar earnings plateau.
How do you spin a left handed bowling ball?
To spin a bowling ball left handed, you’re basically going to follow all of the normal steps to spinning a bowling ball but with one key step reversed. Just like a right-handed bowler would, you’ll want to keep your hand behind the ball as you begin your forward swing on release.
However, a lefty will rotate their fingers from right to left (instead of left to right) from the 6 o’clock position to the 3 or 4 o’clock position on the side of the ball. If you do this quick enough and with enough confidence, your bowling ball’s axis will tilt considerably and you’ll get the spin you’re looking for.
Two things work in a left hander’s favor when it comes to spinning a bowling ball. Firstly, left-handed bowling balls are usually uniquely weighted in such a way which makes spinning them a bit easier to pull off. Secondly, using a reactive bowling ball on a relatively untouched side of a bowling lane means more oil for your ball to absorb and turn into hooking power.
Closing Thoughts
While there are a ton of similarities between what it takes for a left-handed bowler and a right-handed bowler to succeed, there’s some key nuances and adjustments left handers must make which are unique to them. With one of the six best bowling balls for left handers in your arsenal, you’ll be well on your way to mastering the southpaw throwing style and turning opens into spares and spares into strikes.
