Taking part in the sport of bowling requires you to use certain bowling shoes. If you don’t have your own pair, you’ll need to rent them from the bowling alley you are using.
However, if you’re a frequent bowler, this can get expensive, and it may be worth purchasing your own bowling shoes.
This article is going to discuss why these shoes are needed, and why you should consider getting yourself a pair.
Why Do You Need To Wear Specific Bowling Shoes?
If you’ve been to a bowling alley before, then you’re familiar with the specific appearance of bowling shoes. They’re made of leather and rubber and have a relatively slick sole. When you wear them, you’ll notice they’re slippery, enabling you to slide easily.
There are several reasons why bowlers must wear these specific shoes, and we’re going to cover a few of these.
They Affect Your Movement
As mentioned above, these shoes are made of leather and rubber, and the soles are very slick, allowing you to slip easily.
This is done in order to help your movement and performance when bowling. The slipping nature of these shoes allows you to slide on the lanes in a smooth motion. This is needed in order to throw your ball in the best way possible.
If you were to wear your normal shoes, these stick to the lane and floor where you bowl, causing you to stop suddenly, which won’t allow you the appropriate sliding motion needed when bowling.
They also ensure the safety of bowlers, preventing injuries, as these shoes allow for smoother movement after the ball is thrown. Again, if you were wearing normal shoes, you could stay stuck in the lane, causing you to injure yourself.
Aside from their sleek soles, these shoes have a rubber heel, and they are what stop you from sliding all over the place, making sure you don’t follow your ball all the way to the pins!
These Shoes Protect The Lanes
Ensuring that all bowlers wear these specific shoes, also protects the bowling lanes. Have you ever noticed how clean and shiny bowling lanes are? That’s because they’re normally made of polished wood. This is what gives them their sleek, shiny appearance.
If all bowlers were allowed to wear their regular shoes that they’d been walking around in on the dirty streets, these lanes would become dirty from all the debris, dirt, and outside substances.
The lanes would also lose their sleek and shiny appearance, which would affect the performance of bowlers, as they wouldn’t be able to slide around when playing the game.
Why You Should Purchase Your Own Bowling Shoes
If you bowl frequently, you may consider getting your own bowling shoes. Perhaps the thought of wearing shoes that have been previously worn by someone else puts you off, or maybe you like the idea of customizing your own ones.
Whatever the cause, there are several reasons why purchasing your own bowling shoes is a good idea.
Renting Bowling Shoes Can Get Expensive
Those who only go bowling once in a while, may not notice the price of renting these shoes.
However, those who are frequent bowlers will definitely notice the cost of renting these shoes adding up, and it may prevent you from going bowling more often.
Those who thoroughly enjoy the sport and want to participate in it regularly will definitely benefit from wearing their own bowling shoes.
Doing this means you’ll spend a chunk of money in one go, and then never have to worry about it again, as you’ll be able to take your shoes with you.
Focus On Your Technique, Rather Than Your Gear
Each pair of bowling shoes is different, as is every bowling ball. If you need to wear different bowling shoes each time you go to a new bowling alley, you’ll be spending a portion of the time navigating the shoes and focusing on how they feel and fit.
This, in turn, leaves less time to perfect your technique if you’re trying to improve. When you have your own pair of shoes that you can take anywhere, you’ll already know the feel of them, and you’ll be completely comfortable. This leaves more time to work on your game.
Your Shoes Can Be Optimized For Your Needs
Although bowling shoes provided by bowling alleys are sanitized between each use, they can still become worn over time.
If you purchase your own shoes, you can choose exactly what it is you are looking for. This means you’ll be able to choose the perfect fit, the best quality, and the utmost comfort when it comes to these shoes.
As you’ll be the only one wearing them, they’ll also last you a lot longer and stay in good condition, as the only wear and tear is being caused by you!
Performance Bowling Shoes
For serious bowlers, you’ll definitely want your own performance bowling shoes. These are bowling shoes with different types of soles for each foot, depending on what hand you bowl with.
For example, the softer sole that slides around easier will be on the foot that is opposite your bowling hand, and the other shoe will have more traction on the sole in order to slow down and have more stability when it comes to releasing the bowling ball.
Therefore, bowlers at this level should definitely consider purchasing their own bowling shoes.
Final thoughts
When it comes to purchasing your own bowling shoes, saving money is only one of the many advantages.
You will also be able to optimize your pair to your own standards, meaning you’ll be able to determine the perfect fit and style that suits your needs.
Having your own shoes also means you’ll be completely comfortable wherever you go bowling, enabling you to focus entirely on your technique.
This article has covered the reasons why bowling shoes are needed, and the many benefits of purchasing your own ones.
I wanted to create my website to inspire others to pick up their bowling balls and get to their local lanes. There’s nothing quite like enjoying a friendly game of bowling with your friends and family, so what are you waiting for?
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