<p>Son wants to bring at least two of his bowling balls cross country to college.</p>
<p>Please advise me!</p>
<p>Many thanks!!</p>
<p>Maybe your local bowling league would have better suggestions, but I just wanted to congratulate you on possibly the most original thread I’ve seen in a while! (Seriously, don’t pro bowlers have to travel with their balls? There must be field-specific advice there.)</p>
<p>Maybe in a bowling bag stuffed with styrofoam peanuts in a box also stuffed with styrofoam peanuts? And shipped either USPS or UPS?</p>
<p>Does his school have a bowling league, or are their lanes nearby.?</p>
<p>See if you can fit a suitably padded bowling bowl into one of the USPS Priority Flat Rate boxes. Same price regardless of weight.</p>
<p>“on possibly the most original thread I’ve seen in a while!”</p>
<p>Agreed! I don’t know how valuable his balls are (tee hee!), but this is one of those times I’d be looking into free shipping a new one with Amazon prime.</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Brunswick Nexxxus f (P+S) Bowling Ball: Sports & Outdoors](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Brunswick-Nexxxus-Bowling-Ball-13-Pounds/dp/B008FJKV0M/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1345679408&sr=1-1&keywords=bowling+ball+brunswick]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Brunswick-Nexxxus-Bowling-Ball-13-Pounds/dp/B008FJKV0M/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1345679408&sr=1-1&keywords=bowling+ball+brunswick)</p>
<p>Or carry on?
<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Brunswick-Gear-4-Ball-Roller-Royal/dp/B008FJXUFA/ref=sr_1_2?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1345679428&sr=1-2&keywords=bowling+ball+brunswick[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/Brunswick-Gear-4-Ball-Roller-Royal/dp/B008FJXUFA/ref=sr_1_2?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1345679428&sr=1-2&keywords=bowling+ball+brunswick</a></p>
<p>sbjdorlo - I’m just impressed your son owns more than two bowling balls!</p>
<p>I can’t remember if he’s flying to college or driving. (flying, I think) Do a search online for ‘travel with bowling balls’ and I guarantee you’ll find some sites with tips on doing that. </p>
<p>There are even special travel bags for bowling balls but you may be concerned about luggage weight restrictions and luggage fees. [Bowling</a> Bags](<a href=“Free Shipping Every Item Every Day on Bowling Balls, Bags, Shoes, Apparel, Accessories and Supplies”>Bowling Bags | Shop at bowlingball.com)</p>
<p>Tee-hee, glad I made top post of the day. :-)</p>
<p>So, bowlers are very picky about weight and drilling of finger holes, so he would want to bring his own. He was a serious bowler from 6th-10th grade and has recently picked it up again. He even has a modest bowling scholarship. Who knew, right? :-)</p>
<p>His school has an intramural bowling league, so we’re to understand (at least from the website, it appears that way)</p>
<p>Yes, woody, we’re flying from So. Cal. to Boston.</p>
<p>He was thinking he could bring three (!) balls in his three-ball bag, but I said to just bring two. He was thinking of bringing his rolling bowling ball bag as a piece of luggage but I don’t even know how much United charges for extra bags, and I think it needs to be under 50 pounds, correct? </p>
<p>He found a dirty old two-ball bag in our garage that he can clean up and bring. I wonder, though, if he should ship them UPS.</p>
<p>That’s a great idea to contact either the local bowling alley or the Bowling Congress.</p>
<p>Wouldn’t running shoes be a whole lot easier? :-)</p>
<p>Maybe UPS as well but definitely Fed Ex Ground can tell you on line how much shipping will cost if you type in the address on this end, the address on that end, the dimensions of the box, and they weight of the box. Smaller boxes are not too expensive via fed ex ground and arrive in 2 or 3 days and are easy to ship.</p>
<p>This thread reminds me of the year my DS took the friend of a friend to prom, a prom double date. The after prom party was at a bowling alley, and DS thought it would be fun; he’s a reasonably good bowler and likes to try to use his athletic abilities to impress girls. Well, it turned out that his date was the star of her women’s high school’s bowling team. 
We thought that was great. Our HS doesn’t have a bowling team.</p>
<p>How about contacting the bowling team coach at the college … they travel so they must deal with this issue.</p>
<p>If you’ve been playing for a while the ball makes a ton (pun intended) a difference. I took bowling in college and had a chance to use the college lanes balls and they were awful…</p>
<p>For two or three balls I’d carry them onboard as carry ons - I’ve carried heavier and unwieldier stuff on cross Atlantic flights (Elbonian mud pottery)…</p>
<p>If it’s heavy enough, take it to FedEx and ship it by ground. FedEx Ground is surprisingly affordable, fully insured, and guaranteed. </p>
<p>Otherwise, take it to the Post Office and try out the flat rate boxes. Keep in mind that Priority Mail is not automatically insured and is not guaranteed. When I moved to Seattle this summer, I shipped some stuff over using a flat-rate box. It took 3 months for the USPS to deliver even though the quoted time is 2 - 3 days. (By then it was already time for me to move out, so I scribbled “RTS” on the package and sent it back. The return trip was free and took 3 days … go figure!)</p>
<p>Also, if you have Prime and if this option is cost-effective, consider ordering a set for him on Amazon.</p>
<p>Is his school down hill? If so…</p>
<p>Yes, the title of this thread has a certain allure! :-)</p>
<p>I was at the post office yesterday and there was a young man ahead of me who showed up with two hockey sticks and said he wanted to ship them to Colorado (from Boston area.) He was quite possibly a college student, or, who knows, maybe he sold them on Ebay or something. Anyway, the very patient young postal clerk told him very gently that they needed to be packaged or wrapped somehow! I think the guy was hoping the post office would just handle the packaging for him and everything!</p>
<p>^ I sell on Amazon and the clerks have told me that they hate those people. Post Office provides tape for Priority/Express Mail but that’s about it. FedEx charges $5-7 per package for “professional packaging”</p>
<p>A coconut in its exterior, smooth shell can be sent without packaging. Tourists in Hawaii do it all the time. It’s like a 3D postcard.</p>
<p>^Do you happen to know if a banana can still be mailed that way? Believe it or not, this is a consuming question in our house this week…</p>
<p>[/hijack]</p>
<p>I would check with a national bowling association. They would know. How do bowling balls x-ray at airports? That’s where the issue is. Never traveled with bowling balls, but DS tried to carry weights on a plane once (because he was doing physical therapy) and he had an issue at security because of the x-ray machine (obviously, I had no idea he had packed them!).</p>
<p>The question that asks about the college being downhill absolutely takes the cake :)</p>
<p>I would bring them on board…store one at your feet and one in the overhead bin.</p>
<p>Bring it in your carry-on bag, or in the checked luggage-- which ever you prefer. It’s not like bowling balls are especially bulky or difficult to transport like bicycles or golf clubs</p>
<p>apparently your local bowling pro shop will have ball boxes… </p>
<p>by the way tou are# 5 on google search right now…very impressive</p>