Bowling ball

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention is a bowling ball having an annular band interposed between two spherical segments so as to define an outer peripheral surface of the ball.
The first and second spherical segments have respective outer peripheral surfaces formed of a first material having a hook potential, whereas the annular band has an outer peripheral surface formed of a second material having a hook potential different from the hook potential of the first material.
In one embodiment the hook potential of the second material is substantially lower than the hook potential of the first material so as to make the ball less sensitive to conditions on the wet portion of the lane.
One way, albeit imperfect, to approximate the hooking potential of a material is to measure its coefficient of friction.
A larger coefficient of friction generally leads to a higher hooking potential.
The band can take various forms and widths so long as it provides adequate width to accommodate the variation in the bowler's release and the number of ball tracks required to get the ball to the dry portion of the lane.
In one embodiment the band has parallel planar sides, giving it a uniform width, and a uniform thickness.
A method of improving the timeliness of hooking action and thereby pin count using the bowling ball of this invention is also disclosed.
The ball of this invention is less sensitive to lane conditioning breakdown and gives the bowler greater control over the timing of hooking action.