It seems to me that PSO's are trying to take out their frustrations on everyone but themselves. Perhaps we should look closer to home?
When the buying public believes they're not getting their money's worth, they start looking around for better deals...
The point to this story is this: There is no such thing as an "automatic" hooking ball...
Hi Steve,
In the interests of space, I've truncated your post and hopefully not taken it out of context. Please correct me if you think I have.
The coaching/instruction angle a good point. A little tangential, but worth including. As John Jowdy says, "Practice doesn't make perfect, only permanent. Good practice makes perfect." By which he means seeking out a knowledgeable (maybe even qualified) instructor and applying what they say in the way that works for you. Like I say to my customers; "Can you meet me half way and touch the holes on the realease?" Followed by an on the carpet coaching session. A good pro shop with coaching services can do wonders with your physical & mental game as well as the sphere in your hand. This is yet anther reason why the knowledgeable pro shop is worth supporting. On-line ball shops can't do this. And every customer leaves my shop with more than just holes in a ball. Passing on knowledge is the key to keeping people in the sport, which is good business.
Ball drilling
at a very basic level, isn't that difficult. But like most things, it gets advanced and that's when it gets trickier. Ask Mo Pinel. It's much like I feel confident to rotate my tyres, but I'm not about to change my tie rod bushings. I know enough to know what I don't know. That's when I call in a specialist who knows his stuff. Getting a bowling ball to really fit, to fit like a pro would have it, takes time, expertise, some customer education and sometimes even an iteration or two. When a somebody buys a good ball, then gets a shoddy drill job done on it, they are usually none the wiser (as evidenced by many comments on this forum), but I find myself saddened on their behalf.
They've been ripped off and they don't even know it. Bad fit = bad value.
Some people want the job done right. Some don't care. (It's their hand they're gambling with and I still see guys bleeding who insist that their gear fits just great, thanks.) But please don't devalue the efforts of the quality pro shop operator by putting them in the same bucket as a 10 minute per ball drill hack. It's disrespectful to these people (including myself) who really know their trade and have spent years honing their knowledge and skills. A close analogy would be that it's like saying a University Degree is only a piece of paper.
Almost all of my early customers were people who were dissatisfied with their previous fit. That speaks volumes in itself. I've cleared up people's pain, callouses, ~½" underspans, ~½" overspans, undersized grips, grossly large thumb holes (that no doubt got them out of the last pro shop quicker) and even avoided hand surgery for one lady. There's a lot of badly fitting balls and overworked arms & digits out there. It makes me wonder how many people the sport has lost over the years as a result. I've seen some dreadful "fits" and appalling work finish out there. Stuff you'd never put your name to. And I've seen the light come on in people's eyes when they first try their new grip all fitted. It's a really good feeling to have made somebody so happy with something a great fit, especially when they've been suffering up until now.
In a previous post, a comparison was made to the electrical goods market. To compare a pro shop to an electrical store is tangential at best. It's like saying that a good pro shop technician has the same skill level of the kid who takes your credit card and hands you the box at Harvey Norman. There's a lot more to it than that once you get past "by the numbers" drilling.
This whole misguided debate seems to be a prime example of "You don't know what you don't know until you now know that you didn't know it." People who have never experienced a
really good fit, the kind that takes an experienced operator the best part of an hour from start to finish, simply may have no idea of what I am talking about.
And today's balls BTW, by way of covers that have enough friction to damage lanes over time and cores that flare to flip people's inadequately rotated release track off the thumb hole do provide a substantial amount of automatic hook. They require only the most modest of user input to prime the pump. A pancake ball with the same release won't get off the thumb for them and will move substantially less. Nobody throws the ball dead straight. It's almost impossible to do without sliding it the entire length of the lane.
Like all good people in our society, I do my best to do the right thing by people. And doing the right thing takes time, dedication, development, equipment, education, knowledge, manual skills, an understanding of physical principles, excellent communication skills, an attitude of care and responsibility and a commitment to excellence. That all adds up. Just like a Mercedes isn't a Daewoo, a quality job isn't just three holes in a ball.
When people ignore the aspect of quality work, in order to save a few bucks, then imply that anyone who doesn't do what they do is getting ripped off, they cheapen themselves and in turn, our entire sport. They clearly demonstrate that they feel no reciprocity on their behalf is required to society as a whole. Psychologists have a term for them. They call them "cheaters". It's a type of pathology common in psychopathic behaviour. And our society is showing more and more of it. It's disgusting when they give this primate behaviour the euphemism "human nature", it's just misleading. Humans are capable of much more complex conceptual thinking than "cheap price" and many do and a lot of my customer base is made up of such enlightened individuals. It's just that some aren't capable, some are too lazy or far worse, don't care about the consequences to others. Dog does not eat Dog. Cannibalism is a primate behaviour.
We can go about making the world a better place. Or we can go about trying to (ch)eat each other. I'll choose to be, and try to be the former man. Sometimes it's harder, but it's worth it to be true to myself.
My quality of work is a reflection of my values.
My values are an integral part of me.
My integrity is not on special and never below cost.
Others can choose their own path.
