Tips on Buying & Using Your Own Bowling Shoes

Many bowlers that are serious about the game choose to buy their own shoes.  In order to get a good fit and ensure that the sole is not worn and slides effectively, many take very good care of their bowling shoes.

Bowling shoes have special soles on them that allow the player to gain traction with one and slide with the other.  The soles of a pair of bowling shoes are not the same-- each one is different.

There are many styles and types of bowling shoes on the market for men, women and kids, and they are becoming more widely available in traditional sport shops.

The kind you get depends on a combination of your skill factor and your personal preference.

If the bowler is right handed, the left shoe will have a sliding sole and the right will have a traction sole.  For a left-handed bowler, the right sole is the sliding sole and the left sole is the traction sole.

If you are a new bowler, look for so-called athletic bowling shoes.  These bowling shoes look more like traditional athletic shoes than other bowling shoes, but they have two sliding soles like the shoes you normally rent from a bowling alley.

If you are a more experienced bowler, go for the shoes the professionals wear.  Pro bowlers go for shoes know as performance bowling shoes.  This variety of shoe has one sliding sole and one non-slip sole, to give players more maneuverability.

If you spend a lot of time at the bowling alley, you will see bowlers checking their shoes.  Bowlers check their shoes in different ways and sometimes it is rather amusing to watch them.

Some will run toward the lane to ensure that they can slide.  The run toward the approach can be interesting if they are not able to slide; it can also be very dangerous.

It is a good idea to wear your shoes inside and break them in a bit.  This will enable you to get used to them.  After you are comfortable, you can do a practice slide, but it is recommended that you stay away from the lane, so that you do not go over the line until you are sure of the way in which your shoes will slide.

If you are not sliding in the way that you think you should be, you can scuff the soles of your shoes with a wire brush.  This will help with the traction and ability to slide.  You can either purchase a wire brush or simply ask to use one as many of the alleys have them at the counter.

If you want more slide, you can use the wire brush to brush the slide portion of your shoe from heel to toe.  If you want less slide, you can brush side to side across the sole.

Believe it or not, adjusting your shoe lace can also help in sliding.  If you are not sliding as much as you'd like, you can tighten the lace of your sliding foot.  If you want to cut down the slide, then just loosen it.

It is also beneficial to purchase shoe guards (also known as shoe covers).  Most places that sell bowling shoes will have them.  Shoe guards are sock-like booties, almost like what doctors wear that help protect the soles of your bowling shoes.

Many bowlers do not want to take off their shoes every time they need to walk away from the lane and the approach area (like walking to the snack bar or bathroom).  The problem with walking around without shoe guards is that you could catch something in the sole of your shoe or step in a substance that could hinder your slide.

The shoe guards are not expensive and they are much easier than taking off your shoes, or risking your slide in a highly competitive game.