Back to basics series - could we do it?

I like the idea of WTBA patterns, they bring back some skill into the game but with one exception - left handers. They still have an advantage, not their doing, it's just because of the less traffic but the idea of set patterns is a good start to bringing the bowling back to being a true sport.
John you have an evil mind and way too much spare time on your hands - say hi to your Dad and mother for me.
 
Hey Terry,
Left handers have an advantage because when we started we had to hit a target. That's why we are so good. This will start something!!!!!
Cheers Lovey
 
I like the idea of WTBA patterns, they bring back some skill into the game but with one exception - left handers. They still have an advantage, not their doing, it's just because of the less traffic but the idea of set patterns is a good start to bringing the bowling back to being a true sport.
John you have an evil mind and way too much spare time on your hands - say hi to your Dad and mother for me.

Mate, people will die to begin with on a half easy pattern with plastic balls let alone lumping them with a tough pattern and no recovery from the bowling ball. And I am sure for this even left handers wont have an advantage, especially when the oil ratio is 1:1 with 25 units on the left only hahaha
 
To AMAGILL, Sunday was a tough pattern. But to be honest I blew 180 pins easy just through silly spares. I think what the pattern showed is our reliance on strikes for good averages. I still remember the amount of times it was preached to me as junior, all 8 spares is a 180 average. That would have been a top five finish on the weekend.

Do you think the "silly spares" come from frustration of not being able to strike so easily?

I know at times, in leagues, etc, I can be hitting the pocket consistantly, but sometimes, without carry, leaving corner & back row pins, of course I want to spare them all, but after you've left so many in a row, from good pocket shots, I do tend to get frustrated, and sometimes become lax with my spare focus....
 
Do you think the "silly spares" come from frustration of not being able to strike so easily?

I know at times, in leagues, etc, I can be hitting the pocket consistantly, but sometimes, without carry, leaving corner & back row pins, of course I want to spare them all, but after you've left so many in a row, from good pocket shots, I do tend to get frustrated, and sometimes become lax with my spare focus....

Totally agree with that... i know when i miss a single pin, lets say a 4 pin, when i sit back down and think about it i cant always remember concentrating on what i needed to do. In other words i lose focus, sometimes brought on by solid single pins and other times because i can get 'lazy minded'. It is something i have been trying to work on when i get up on the approach.
 
Why isn't the oil pattern done like the Plastic Ball Championship in previous years...

The first year was the Cheetah pattern, the 2nd year the Shark pattern.... However, with only half the amount of oil used.

This year was the first time they had a dedicated pattern for the championship... 34 feet, sport compliant.

Surely with the amount of good machines used these days, ie: Kegels or A22's, it would be easy to set up.
 
Hey Guys,

I agree a dedicated pattern would be good. Though I think the patterns of today are really designed to work with or against the new resin balls. Maybe for a Pancake / Polyester / Plastic ( sorry being diplomatically correct there) a hybrid pattern would be best used. Or get the mechanic to walk part way done the lane and spray it on like in the old days.

Looking at the WTBA patterns the short Sydney would work for Pancake / Polyester / Plastic.

On Roy’s point with the spares, for me I dropped a couple through simple poor set setup. Like chopping a single pin in a six/ten. Yet I spared the five/seven. The spares I missed really were more missing the target and the pattern being unforgiving of a miss more than anything else. It was certainly a very long 9 games when you only hit one or two strikes per game. On a house shot you will through at least five in a game. That means five less chances to miss the second shot.

Frustration about not striking does not bother me, especially when you look around and nobody else is stringing them together. But missing a single pin gets me down. You have the width of the pin plus the ball on each side of the pin. That makes it a pretty reasonable target at 60 feet to hit!
 
Depending on the chemical structure polyester can be a thermoplastic or thermoset, however the most common polyesters are thermoplastics.[1]

Might want to have a read of this Jim, written by John Jowdy recently

It's time to correct misconceptions about the nature of the equipment we roll down the lanes

How often have you heard bowlers, professionals and amateurs alike, refer to their equipment as "plastic" or "resin"? Better yet, how many times did you hear the word "plastic ball" in the recent ESPN telecast of the PBA Mark Roth Plastic Ball Championship.

In point of fact, these are misrepresented and distorted words used to describe bowling balls. The use of the words to describe bowling balls is mistakenly applied not only by uninformed bowlers but also by ball reps on the PBA tour, manufacturers sales reps, pro shop operators who place orders for these balls, and WORST of all, by TV analysts who are supposedly " in the know".

Manufacturers classify bowling balls as polyester or urethane. Somewhere, somehow, outside the manufacturing industry, "resin" and "plastic" surfaced as the proper lingo.

Interestingly, the usage of "plastic" is not only misused by bowlers, but is never corrected by those who should know better, including me.

The term "plastic" has been bandied about by professional bowlers, pro shop operators, bowling writers, sales representatives, and ball reps on the professional tours. It is improperly employed by analysts on television shows who unabashedly refer to a bowler shooting at a 10-pin with a plastic ball.

The word plastic, rather than polyester, has crept into a number of manufacturers' vernaculars. This is, perhaps, due to the continuous and prolonged use of the word "plastic" among bowling participants.

Before proceeding any further, let's examine the origin and source of this misinformation. Webster's New World Dictionary defines resin as " a synthetic, usually resinous substance, which, when subjected to heat and pressure, can be cast, pressed, extruded, or molded into various shapes." Again, referring to Mr. Webster, synthetic is defined as "compounds produced by chemical reaction in a laboratory as opposed to those of natural origin".

Furthermore, dictionaries define the plastic as "any of various nonmetallic compounds, synthetically produced, which can be molded or hardened for commercial use."

Suffice to say, the term "plastic" renders ALL bowling balls as synthetic products. Consequently, "plastic" not only covers polyester balls, but also includes urethane.

EVERY ball manufactured and marketed in the past 50 or 60 years has been formulated from a synthetic substance, including many of the so-called rubber balls dating back to the 40's and 50's.

As a matter of fact, during World War II, when the demand for pure rubber products exceeded the natural output, rubber balls, as well as automobile tires, were created with plastic materials. Hence, the word "synthetic" is the most appropriate characterization of any and all bowling balls today.

We can say that while all bowling balls are synthetic, some are polyester resin and some are urethane resin.

During the late 50's, Brunswick and Columbia produced the original synthetic balls in various colors. They were familiarly referred to as "plastic" balls and, although plastic covered a multitude of man-made materials, the synthetic substance used by Brunswick and Columbia at that time was, and continues to be polyester resin.

In the late 70's, AMF revolutionized the bowling ball market with the introduction of the Angle, a ball produced from urethane, one of he most intricate and sophisticated resins on the market. Urethane, a rapid curing resin, is an extremely rigid material, yet possesses unbelievable traction on the lanes. The angle dominated the pro tour; that is, until all other manufactures jumped on the urethane bandwagon.

In the late 80's, Steve Cooper, a former professional bowler from Southern California, produced the Excalibur, a urethane ball concocted with various additives that created an even greater "tacky" feel that helped the ball to increase its grabbing effect on the lanes.

The incredible hooking action and explosiveness of Cooper's missile sent manufacturers scurrying throughout the country, seeking advice from chemical manufacturers for similar resulting materials.

Cooper's ball, displaying extraordinary movement and entry to the pocket, earned the nickname of "cheater ball" from professional bowlers. The combined various materials in these type balls have been categorized as "reactive" resins, thus providing bowlers with more sophisticate weapons.

As the years went by, urethane balls have been customized with glass particles and various other adhesive concoctions. Such foreign substances, heretofore banned by USBC, (formerly ABC/WIBC) regulations, have somehow managed to skirt the rules and infiltrate the manufacture of urethane balls. The new ingredients serve to put more "teeth" into the balls as they make contact with the lanes.

At any rate, the terms "resin" and plastic" balls have been technically misleading. Consequently, after so many years of erroneous expression, it seems reasonable to set the record straight by defining a ball as polyester or urethane.

The proliferation of sophisticated weapons has been bewildering, not only for competent professional bowlers, ball reps, and drillers, but more importantly, for amateurs who attempt to emulate PBA players.

While new materials in ball surfaces and sophisticated core placements continue to aid higher-average players, beginners and recreational bowlers can be better served with less potent equipment. This is particularly advantageous for female bowlers who are afforded the opportunity to choose from a large assortment of brilliant colors and weights manufactured from polyester resins.

Most astute pro shop operators prefer to cultivate long-term relationships with their clientele by recommending bowling balls best suited for beginners and less proficient bowlers. Unfortunately, a few uncaring drillers attempt to sell this segment of the bowling population pricier, unmanageable equipment in order to net a few extra bucks.

Fortunately, the greatest majority of IBPSIA (International Bowling Pro Shop Instructors Association) operators take great pride in their craft and, rather than seek higher profits, they make the customer's satisfaction uppermost in the long run.

Consequently, as suggested in my two books, Bowling Execution, and Bowling Execution, Second Edition, I advise bowlers, serious or recreational, to seek out pro shops displaying the IBPSIA logo. IBPSIA is an organization dedicated to its profession and skillfully trained to meet bowler's needs.

Perhaps the only thing most agree on is the employment of a polyester bowling ball (referred to as plastic) when addressing 10-pins or 7- pins. While I am in accord with this philosophy, I further recommend polyester balls for any and ALL single pin conversions.

I further encourage delivering straight shots at all two-pin spares other than 2-8's, 3-9's or spares that presents "sleepers". These are two-pin spares where one pin is directly behind another. These spares can be more easily converted with a slight hook into the front pin.

Despite the advantages of modern supercharged balls, bowlers noted for their high-revving shots have abandoned urethane in favor of polyester balls when lanes dry out and present uncontrollable conditions. However, this is more the exception than the rule.

When should less proficient bowlers consider urethane equipment? These are two requisites that bowlers must abide by:

1. They must be able to approach the foul line in proper balance.
2. They must develop a swing that enables them to deliver the ball freely with proper direction.

These are the initial steps for bowlers to advance their skills. If they cam master these two factors, they will be prepared to progress to the more sophisticated tools of the trade.

Additionally, they and all participants in our great game, should be able to distinguish the two most underused words in bowling vernacular, POLYESTER and URETHANE from the misused words, plastic and resin.
 
Oh for goodness sake George! So what? Your original post said, in effect, that if you referred to a 'plastic' bowling ball, that was wrong, because they weren't plastic - they were polyester.
Stick to bowling.

A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs. Monomers of plastic are either natural or synthetic organic compounds.
 
G'Day,

So then as we all agree to disagree on what is what on the ball side of things. Should it be defined as a Pancake weight block ball, traditional 3 piece which would include entry level Reactive balls like the Columbia Scout.

But keep the pattern dry in favour of the none Reactive cover stocks?
 
G'Day,

So then as we all agree to disagree on what is what on the ball side of things. Should it be defined as a Pancake weight block ball, traditional 3 piece which would include entry level Reactive balls like the Columbia Scout.

But keep the pattern dry in favour of the none Reactive cover stocks?

Regarding Georgios massive cut n paste post, I think even though the industry equates to what is currently a plastic ball is by technical definition incorrect, most people within the industry know what someone says if they are using a plastic ball.

I think any ball defined by a manufacturer, currently certified by WTBA standards as a plastic ball and is a recent ball from within the last decade should suffice for this tournament.

I think most bowlers around the traps know what a "plastic" is and isnt, so that would mean no urethane, no hybrid urethane, no rubber, no light reactive resin, we would be talking white dots, house balls, storm plastic, roto grip globes, hammer spare balls, blue dots etc etc.

And in regards to pattern, obviously the scoring will be higher with a dryer pattern, but you can put as much oil on it as you want as far as I am concerned. ;)
 
I know I'm not up with the current 'house ball' type, so I'm asking if there are still pancake weight balls available new?

If there are, then shouldn't that be the one and only criteria? That way, people with an old one or people who would need to acquire a new one would be close enough to equal. Yes / No?

Also, under those conditions people needing to acquire a new ball ( for whatever reason ), that is because they don't already have one, or want to upgrade, will be faced with mimimum outlay.
 
Hey Michael,

I have just taken a quick browse of the WTBA web site of a approved balls. 77 pages, nearly as long as George's post!

Seriously though, if we let common sense rule on this, we all know what we mean by a pancake weight block plastic ball due to the way they are sold in the pro-shops and various online site under the tag plastic or spare ball.

Pretty sure we could get a quick list together that we could debate over.

To me the first few that come to mind are:

Columbia White Dot
Columbia Blue Dot
Track Spare Ball
Ebonite Maxim
Brunswick TZone

Any others we can quickly add or remove?
 
Hey Michael,

I have just taken a quick browse of the WTBA web site of a approved balls. 77 pages, nearly as long as George's post!

Seriously though, if we let common sense rule on this, we all know what we mean by a pancake weight block plastic ball due to the way they are sold in the pro-shops and various online site under the tag plastic or spare ball.

Pretty sure we could get a quick list together that we could debate over.

To me the first few that come to mind are:

Columbia White Dot
Columbia Blue Dot
Track Spare Ball
Ebonite Maxim
Brunswick TZone

Any others we can quickly add or remove?

I think you can pretty much go to each ball manufacturers website and check out their "plastic" ball range, or most sites also have old ball lists, so isnt hard to check each sites range, not all plastic balls have pancake weightblocks etc either.
 
Hi Michael,

Yeah I agree, I think the key should be the manufacturers classification of Plastic ( right or wrong ) but definately must be a pancake weight block.

Even plastic with a heavy weight block would have a clear advantage over the old pancake weight block.
 
I know I'm not up with the current 'house ball' type, so I'm asking if there are still pancake weight balls available new?

If there are, then shouldn't that be the one and only criteria? That way, people with an old one or people who would need to acquire a new one would be close enough to equal. Yes / No?

Also, under those conditions people needing to acquire a new ball ( for whatever reason ), that is because they don't already have one, or want to upgrade, will be faced with mimimum outlay.

Don't know what happened to this post, must not have come up, since no one has offered me any info re my questions.
 
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