There is a lot more to a thumb slug than what Erin is saying. The main reason to use them is that when a thumb slug is not used with a reactive ball, a horrible reaction takes place usually some place in your second or third game. The reaction is caused by heat of your body and the material used to make the ball. When this occurs, the ball will not come off of the thumb and it gets worse with every shot. It is because of this reaction that ball manufacturers recommend the installation of a thumb slug with every reactive ball. Have you ever seen someone try and throw a ball and the ball goes up instead of down the lane or somewhere that it should not? A properly fitting thumb slug will give you a great release every time. Thumb slugs are made of urethane plastic, not reactive material!

This is true, but depending on the fit of the thumb some bowlers dont experience it at all. This happens to me frequently, but I have been using baby powder to counter it for years. It acts as a lubricant of sorts for my thumb.

As to urethane or vinyl; they both cost about the same and a better more consistant release is achieved with urethane than with vinyl so it would be "penny wise and pound foolish" not to go with the best which is urethane. Another reason is that urethane slugs are hareder and do not show any signs of deterioration or wearing out; but the softer vinyl does not last as long for the typical bowler.

well my perspective is a little biased because i work at a bowling alley so i get drilling free only having to pay for grips and inserts if i want them so for me to drill a ball costs me a big whooping $12 dollars so as far as balls go...i normally order them off the internet, get them used from a friend, or get them off ebay(buyer beware tho. I have bought one ball from a Pro Shop and i only bought it because i was in Las Vegas and they had a clear plastic spare ball with muhammad ali's glove in it and it was signed. the best thing to do is do your research on the ball before you buy it if a friend has a ball he wants to sell you go on the internet to place like [Banned-URL].com and see what others think of the ball this is how i got a smokin inferno for $60 bucks and didnt even need to get it drilled because we have the exact same everything

IMHO, you can't beat going to a reputable Pro Shop. I've purchased from both online and from a Pro Shop and found that you can't beat having a professional there in person to help you. They are able to watch how you roll and are able to suggest the correct drill pattern for your style. If you do have problems with the fit, they are able to fine tune it. So, unless you know how to fine tune your fitment, I would suggest going to a Pro Shop.

Seems to me there's benefits to both. The key with the local pro-shop is, as wingnut said, a *reputable* local pro-shop. The first pro-shop I went to for my first reactive ball the pro-shop operator was bored with me from the moment I walked in, couldn't be bothered to have a conversation about what ball would be good. He pointed out a couple (which were totally wrong for the normal house conditions at the lanes), didn't ask how I wanted it drilled (I didn't know the difference between fingertip and conventional, but if asked I could have looked into it and saved myself the $50 I spent to have it re-drilled to fingertip 3 months later). When it was drilled he didn't watch me bowl with it to see if it fit right, just had me put my hand in once then said come back if there was a problem.

There are online shops that allow you to specify pin placement and top weight, and they are still cheaper than the local shops. Granted you're still out of luck if you pick the wrong one, so if you have a good shop I'd say most avg bowlers would do better to pay the extra for the insurance that they'll take care of any problems with a replacement if need be. And not all online shops sell factory seconds.

I think the important point is, whoever is buying the ball (whether its you online or your local pro-shop operator) *has* to know what they're doing because there are a lot of factors and as someone else pointed out, even a little deviation makes a difference.

The problem with buying a ball online is that you can't see what you are getting until it gets to you. Then, you still have to pay for drilling. I have spoken with a few guys who own pro-shops and they raised the rates for drilling equipment to help compete with the online shops. A $225 ball will cost you around $150 online. Most places charge (at least by me) at least $60. Basically I save $15 (if I didn't get charged shipping) and I don't know what the pin is or the top weight until it is delivered.

I have done both and I think its worth it in the long run to pay alittle extra and go to the Pro Shop. At most you might save $60 to $70 bucks, but after you figure in the little extra's you get like cleanings, polishing, etc. your saving won't be much if any and isn't your game worth it!

I thought that my local pro-shop would be the place to go when my girlfriend and I decided to take the plunge and buy new gear.

I called them up and discussed what we wanted/needed on the phone and arranged to collect everything and have the balls drilled. We turned up as arranged to find that only my gf's shoes were in. The guy in the shop says that he could do us a better deal than we had discussed on the phone. As he's the Pro Shop guy, and knows more than us, we got with the flow.

We ended up buying bags off the 'net as they couldn't supply (remember I'd arranged all this days before) and I got a different pair of shoes to the ones I ordered. This is all OK.

It wasn't until I was transferring my ball from it's box to my new bag, that I noticed X-BLEM stamped across the label. After reading a bit on the 'net I know what this means......

Before finding that, I called up to get the price on a spare ball and was quoted waayyy abo ve any advertised price. 'Well go and buy it on the net then' was the reply.

Needless to say I won't be buying from them again. Unfortunately, this is a case of a Pro Shop which is the only driller within 90 miles (I kid you not)!! However, my parents live in London, so I'll be buying my spare ball and having it drilled when I'm next 'down south'. Any suggestions for shops in/around North London ??

Thats horrible 7string. I've bought my shoes and totes online. All my balls have been from my pro-shop, and after 3, I trust him with anything. He doesnt gimme any hassle to fix things, and does them with gladness. I also bowl with him and a few others sometimes, and that helps when I purchase new equipment, b/c he knows what type of ball I need drilled up.

I will probably buy the balls from the Pro Shop and the bags, gloves, etc online. Moneywise the deal we get from the Pro Shop here on balls is better than the total you'd spend online. However the accessories are much cheaper online.