I won a bowling ball raffle and needed to find a pro shop to have it drilled. Unfortunately there are not many Bowling Pro Shops in NYC. I found Dino's on Yelp and it was rated quite high.
Dino was very friendly and professional. Having never drilled a ball for me before he took the necessary steps to properly measure my hand not just for span but for the finger pitches as well. As well he observed my bowling style and measured my positive axis point from throwing a ball I already had. He could have easily just measured everything on an existing ball of mine and duplicated those specs on my new one, but he took the extra time to do it thoroughly.
After his own measurements and asking me about how I felt about the fit of my existing ball, he explained that he felt my span and finger pitches needed to change. The thoroughness of his examination of the mechanics of my hand gave me confidence that his assessment was correct, and I agreed with him to make the changes.
Also I asked him about an interchangeable thumb product. He didn't try to sell one to me before I asked him about it. After I did he explained he had two different brands of interchangeable thumb systems. Gave me the pros and cons of each. The price difference between the two was negligible, and I made my choice based on his information. I never felt pressured to choose one over the other.
He then told me to wait about 30 minutes and the ball would be ready. And it was. And the way this ball fit compared to ones I already had was night and day. It felt more natural in my hand, was easier to hold without squeezing tightly, and came off my hand much cleaner than my other balls had. The actual changes were not very drastic, maybe an 1/8" more span and a degree or two of pitch away in the fingers. But it made all the difference.
I was so happy with it, I left my older ball with him to plug and adjust to the new fitting specs he came up with. But again he didn't pressure me to do it. I came back a couple of days later and picked it up, and if I had a blindfold on, I wouldn't be able to tell you which ball I was holding. All told between measuring the new ball, plugging the old ball, drilling both, installing finger grips in both, the interchangeable thumb system in both, and drilling and final fitting of the removeable part of the thumb was $125. I felt that was an extremely fair price for the work done.
The shop itself is on the smaller side. But he did have product in stock from multiple manufacturers. The bowling alley also has dedicated parking. read more