A game in which participants try to gain points by rolling a bowling ball on a flat surface to hit target is known as Bowling. A Bowling ball is a ball made of urethane, plastic, reactive resin or mixture of all these and used in the game of bowling. Ten pin bowling balls normally have a drilled set of three holes, one each for the ring, thumb and middle finger. However, five finger holes are also admissible as per the rules. A five pin bowling ball has no finger holes and is smaller so as to be held in the palm of the player. Candlepin bowling balls also fit in the hand, but are lighter than five-pin balls.

Earlier house balls were used while playing bowling. But the recent trend in this arena is the use of custom bowling balls. Custom bowling balls refers to designing bowling balls as per one's requirement. In other words, the balls are customized to suit the customer's requirement. There are several advantages of using custom bowling balls over regular bowling balls:

• The finger holes on a custom made bowling ball are specific to the user's fingers only and nobody else. The house balls do provide correct weight but not the perfect grip as every hand is unique. A custom made bowling ball provides the user a comfortable controllable grip on the ball.
• The custom bowling ball is quite well maintained as compared to a house ball which is used by several players and is not taken care of.
• The weight of the house balls will vary but a custom made bowling ball has a weight suitable to the user's requirements.
•  In case the user suffers from a trouble like having a hook shot, the middle of the custom made bowling ball can be made to compensate for it. These balls provide solutions to several problems.

The professionals keep more than one custom bowling balls which serves their purpose in special bowling occasions.

In order to choose custom bowling balls, following things should be kept in mind:

• Proper weight must be chosen. Bowling balls vary from 6 pounds- 16 pounds.
• Finger holes need to be perfect, i.e. the finger holes must be designed particularly for one's finger and his bowling style.
• The custom bowling ball chosen must be of the right color and style for the particular person as it reflects his or her personality and affects the level of fun gained.
• It should also be considered that the core of the bowling ball causes the ball to do what the user expects it to do (hook more, better breakpoint reaction, etc.)
• The material of the bowling balls should be well thought of

The custom bowling balls can be available at the local bowling alleys or a pro shop. They can also be bought online. The user can choose from several special materials and can also customize the colors and designs. A custom bowling ball can be made of plastic, urethane, reactive resin or a mixture of these. While deciding about the designs and colors of a custom made bowling ball, anything ranging from a clear ball to placing cartoon characters or family photos in the middle can be thought of.  To keep two different bowling balls - one for oily lanes and one for dry lanes- is a suggested practice