The positive axis point, or PAP, is the one point on the ball that is equidistant from every point of the ball’s track. Put another way, look at the ring of oil around the ball. There’s one spot on the entire ball that is exactly the same distance from every piece of that oil ring.

To better understand what the positive axis point is and how to find it, watch the video Understanding You as a Bowler | Bowling Ball P.A.P.:

It is important to understand that the positive axis point is unique to the bowler’s release. Therefore, the location of the positive axis point will vary from bowler to bowler depending on the release. Many ball drillers will find the positive axis point before drilling the ball so they can match the layout to the bowler’s positive access point.

Other factors that come into play for determining the ball layout are the amount of rotation imparted on the ball and the bowler’s ball speed.

Now that you have an understanding of the positive axis point (PAP), we need to learn how it affects ball motion as it goes down the lane. The following video shows three different drilling layouts in relation to the positive axis point (PAP):