How much of an issue is "Blocked Lanes"

[tonx]

Here is my personal opinion on the issue. When you first took up bowling, how much practise time did you put into your game? I see it every day that 130 average new bowlers bowl 3-4 times a week to seek better scores. When they get to 210-220 (only takes about 18months on some conditions) they stop practising.

If a bowler is able to average 210-220 without practising, then he/she won't practise. This cost the centre practise money in exchange for "attracting bowlers" to their centre in search for high scores.

The other hidden profits that they lose, are the social bowlers that otherwise would see the league bowler practising. Social bowlers have so many questions regarding bowling that they feel they HAVE to ask a bowler with a hooking delivery. Hell, I had a posse of about 20 party kids asking questions during C300 youth cup in Geelong while I was getting beaten in matchplay by Loader

If the shot requires a bowler to practise to make a 220, bowlers will be out there practising. All of a sudden the "instant gratification attitude" is replaced by attitudes like "Desire to improve" and "Executing the shot under pressure" It makes a high score that was bowled on a tough condition mean something.

I think blocked lanes are hurting both centres that don't have the ability to put down that big a wall to "keep" bowlers, and in the long term hurts blocked centres because they aren't able to sell bowling to the public through better bowlers that train.

What is the solution? If centres are afraid of losing bowlers by putting down tougher conditions, why don't bowlers in that centre ask for just 1 sport league. There is power in numbers, so don't just rely on 1 or 2 bowlers doing it. Approach your manager in your centre and ask them to help you improve your game by getting access to tougher conditions. They aren't really that much tougher, only they seem it early on because they are different.

What if this doesn't happen? I believe centres will keep closing, bowlers who don't think they need to practise will keep shooting "honour scores" furthur cheapening the term. Leagues will continue to reduce in numbers in all centres until it gets to the stage where there is no point bowling against your average less 10 every week.

It scares me to see centres where high games were really and truely earned now start putting out 290+ games every week, and I hope that bowlers in these centres care enough about the SPORT of bowling to approach their centre manager, and ask for 1 sports condition league. I will personally volunteer to help the centres set a sports league up with conditions and the like with their machines if I have to, as I believe that strongly that this is a crutial part in getting bowling marketted as a sport.

Do any of you agree with me? Is blocked lanes hurting bowling as a sport?

Perhaps you are all for blocked conditions? Is it helping somewhere where I have failed to mention?

How much of an issue is Blocked Lanes?

 

[Potter]

Centre lane conditions are a BIG problem for younger (under 18) bowlers. I believe we don't train our young bowlers to bowl well in tournies and away from home & this stops them from progressing in the sport.
When I approached the owner of the centres where I bowl ( same owner 3 centres) i was told it was bad for business to lay harder conditions...bowlers like to average high in leagues or they won't come back.
This is obviously great for business but VERY BAD for bowlers trying to improve & learn to be competitive within the sport. A sport series league would probably not be an option either because this would require special oiling for that 1 league & in this area it will be a definite NO. The lanes are oiled at a particular time each day (2-3pm) and that is IT! No special oil for leagues & league bowlers bowl after the bumper kids & junior leagues have bowled their leagues. What can we do?? Not much!! The centre owners have their priorities $$$$.

 

[akdefl]

I am going out on a limb here saing this cause i know the reaction that will happen... ok here goes.

IT'S NOT THE LANES, IT'S THE BALLS

There i said it. Sure the balls are here to stay, and that is sad i think.

Tonx, can you please explain this sentence a little better, i have read it a number of times and it just doesn't make sense
"If centres are afraid of losing bowlers by putting down tougher conditions, why don't bowlers in that centre ask for just 1 sport league"
If a bowler wants to leave a center because it is too tough on their ego, why would they ask for a sports league? They would go were the scores are because they can't be stuffed to become a better bowler, they just want to bowl their 3 games a week, hiss their target by up to 10 boards, and still feel hard done by when they leave a cold ten pin which to a lot of people was accutally a "good 9 count"

Face it, ego is what is killing the "sport"... no sorry recreation more than anything.

If people want a true test of how good they are, then forget all this sports pattern and pba pattern crap, ask for a good ol' fashion crown pattern. Remember the ABC lane specifactions. i think it was no more than 5 unit increase over 3 boards and a minimum of 3 units on the outside. They were very fair patterns, and it should (in theory anyway) take away the chance that someone could say it was a "crap" or "unfair" pattern.

Here's a question for one and all. How many people that walk into a centre to practice and have to bowl games, then take the time to practice spares?
I remember reading somewhere that what you should do in this case is use your first bowl in each frame to try and convert a 7 & 10 pin, and use the 2nd ball in each frame to practice shooting for the pocket. This was a fantastic drill because i maximized your spare shooting to make sure that you try and pick up and shoot for as many spares as possible, but also allowed you to still shoot a pocket shoot too.
Does anyone do this, or are they too embarrased to maybe shoot a 100 game in front of other social bowlers and have them think that they are better than you?

 

[tonx]

Tonx, can you please explain this sentence a little better, i have read it a number of times and it just doesn't make sense
"If centres are afraid of losing bowlers by putting down tougher conditions, why don't bowlers in that centre ask for just 1 sport league"

Sorry, I should clarify this.

I believe there are many bowlers that want to experience tougher conditions. Hearing quotes like "I miss having to work for scores" and "im sick of missing by 10 boards and still hitting pocket" There is definately an understanding amongst better bowlers on what they are bowling on.

Now if the centre put everything down tough, the majority of "house hacks" (for lack of a better word) would leave. If they want to continue to put down easy condition for the "house hacks" then do so, but also give the better bowlers that want tougher conditions, to have 1 night a week on sport.

 

[Andrew K]

that makes a great deal of sense i wish they'd do that here but i doubt we'd have enough people to make it worthwile

 

[Potter]

'Q' ask for a good ol' fashion crown pattern..............................................'10 board'

how many years ago waz this we are in the now? not the past?

 

[trev the lefty]

You Want Tough Conditions Then Bowl At Knox , There Oil Pattern Seems To Change From Week To Week. Now I`ve Had My Gripes At The Centre From Time To Time, I Would Like Them To Put a Fair Condition Down All The Time , But That Then Takes The Challange Out Of Bowling There.

 

[Stuart Little]

IT'S NOT THE LANES, IT'S THE BALLS

I strongly disagree. No matter how much a bowler spends on a ball, unless they have skill, they wont be able to bowl well on a 50 foot pattern. Any ball will work if the condition is the right length and open enough.

I say flat and long conditions, especially in queensland

 

[willey]

My honest opinion is the Game is TOO expensive for people to practise these days, so it does'nt matter what condition is put on the lanes.

For somebody to shoot 200 average these days it still requires a lot of practise, they can't just luck on a shot and immediately score, only with Coaching can they improve quickly.

willey

 

[happychicken]

Blocked lanes are "Big PRoblEm"

It is not helping the game at all.
You get people (even worst junior's learning to bowl on these conditions)Playing on a house pattern that is blocked and they work out how to bowl on that one condition ,Eg Chucking it at a dry patch and watching it come back and even if you miss your mark the lane conditions allow the ball to head towards the pocket.
Then these people get really used to there condition and start shooting 220+ ave's and get their confidence up so they think hay i might start bowling in some Tournaments, They get on an un blocked lane and they have no idea how to move there feet or to adjust there line to shoot a tight line or some thing along those lines.

Thats a big kick in the nuts for these guys because all confidence is lost and I cant see these guys wanting to bowl competitively any more.

Now dont get me wrong i am not saying every one that bowls on these blocked conditions are uneducated bowlers that dont know how to adjust.

Now here is an other problem that i have these people ave 200+ do we want them to have a false ave to keep them happy and bowl at the centers they can do this in?
Because i feel this is the wrong thing to do for the game because remember at the end of the day it is a game of accuracy and i think every one now days is forgetting about this. How can any one blame the balls or what ever else u wanna blame when if some one bowls bad or well it is the person that bowled the ball down that has done so. I think every one is forgetting the times "BK" BK means Before Kegels where every lane was different oil patterns because the oil was getting put down with a century 100 or some thing along them lines and could not put a very consistant pattern down and you would have to adjust.

I dont know what we can do to fix this blocked lanes problem so i will stop *****ing . I would just like to see a lot more credibility bought back to the game

 

[akdefl]

I think every one is forgetting the times "BK" BK means Before Kegels where every lane was different oil patterns because the oil was getting put down with a century 100 or some thing along them lines and could not put a very consistant pattern down and you would have to adjust.

I feel your way off the mark here. On of the reasons that The Davis brothers started the Kegel company was to create consistant lane patterns. Having every lane different is one of the biggest problems in the sport. Why did they do this, well because they suffered the same fate that all techs face, bowlers that crack the sads because they cannot bowl the same ball twice because the lanes were different. When there is a reason, the bowlers have hte right to be upset. Also, with the technology in balls nowadays, most of the non-sanction technology machine cannot put enough oil down to last even 8 games in a tournament before the next re-oil because the balls just soak up the oil. Hmmm getting back to a familier topics here, see if you can pick it.

Once again ego plays a big part. For your 190 average bowler who owns 4 reactives, they don't want to put them back in the bag and pull out a urethane or a plastic and bowl if they are forced to, they will leave and not come back.

Potter, just to let you know something, and i am pretty damm sure that the ABC brought in the crown oil specifactions in the late 60's because proprieters and lane techs realised the you could could more oil in the middle of the lane, and less on the outside and dictate the way that the lanes played, basically, what is done now, a top-hat pattern. So therefore, you tell me what is older?? The top-hat or the crown, who's living in the past now?????????????????

 

[Potter]

Potter, just to let you know something, and i am pretty damm sure that the ABC brought in the crown oil specifactions in the late 60's because proprieters and lane techs realised the you could could more oil in the middle of the lane, and less on the outside and dictate the way that the lanes played, basically, what is done now, a top-hat pattern. So therefore, you tell me what is older?? The top-hat or the crown, who's living in the past now?????????????????

u? late 60s umm 30/40 years ago? that is the point that we are trying to make the top hat or the crown are wrong/old laying harder patterns 4 the younger or up comming people would help the sport a lot more than laying these patterns/ditch

am i wrong??

 

[happychicken]

I feel your way off the mark here. On of the reasons that The Davis brothers started the Kegel company was to create consistant lane patterns. QUOTE]

Akdefl I think you have not read the Title of this Thread it is :

: How much of an issue is "Blocked Lanes" :

I am all for putting down a consistant pattern, That is why i have bough my centers a kegel Ion. But consistency does not mean blocking or Ditching the lanes and that is what this thread is about. To consistently lay a challenging
pattern sounds more fun to me.

 

[Phluff]

The blocked lane or "ditch" is here to stay I fear. To remove it and make the THS a challenge will cost the industry money. Note I'm refering to the bowling industry NOT the sport. Bowling is business, and the aim is to make money by bringing new bowlers into the centre and getting them to join leagues and spend. The best customer is the Social-turned-league bowler who will come in and buy a new reactive ball, one of those novelty plastic balls, practice games with all his mates so he can show how good he is and who will spend happily over the cafe/bar counter. This bowler enjoys the fact his ball almost guides itself into the pins. He doesn't know what a blocked lane is and doesn't care. All that matters is if he puts the ball between the first and third arrow, chances are it'll be a strike or a 9. Now, change the conditions so that he has a margin of 3 boards and has to think about each shot, and the balls will go in the shed along with the golf clubs and gym equiptment.

While blocked lanes are a part of the problem, the blocking of lanes came about because of the newer stronger balls. For it to work on a tough condition, the modern ball has to be set up properly. By blocking the lanes, you remove this requirement and open up the lane to all bowlers regardless of skill level and ball setup. I think this is great for all those bowlers who don't want to think about anything other than a good night with friends but it gets you into bad habbits that are hard to shake if you wish to be a tournament bowler.

As for the sport of bowling, the modern ball is here to stay, so the focus has to be left on oil patterns. I think the ditch is great for entry level leagues and open play, but it is killing tournament entries and will end up hurting the national team as less bowlers move up in the future.

Prehaps the national body needs to look at a way of introducing incentives for bowlers to bowl on more challenging conditions. I don't think a high game on THS conditions deserves the same reckognition level as a bowler who does it on an international level condition. To compare Bowling with another sport such as Golf (as so many people do!), shooting a 68 on the local council course hardly compares to doing it at St. Andrews or Royal Melbourne. Prehaps a grading system for leagues & tournaments is an idea.
Grade 3 - THS conditions. Award Patches
Grade 2 - National Level Conditions. Patterns must meet specific guidlines. Requires centres to submit to random lane pattern analysis. Award Patches & Once a year plaques.
Grade 1 - International Level Conditions. Patterns must meet international standards. Patterns must be verified via analysis. All awards & can recieve multiple plaques.

Bowlers then know to prepare themselves for tougher conditions when entering a grade 1 event and as a result may walk away thinking "that was tough, I need to practice for the next event" rather than thinking "that was f$@#ed!I'm a 220+ average bowler in league.. I'm never bowling here again!"

This way Bowling Centres aren't going to loose the novice league bowlers and open play bowlers because the shot is too hard. It may actually be good for business as bowlers might begin to practice again! It will certainly be good for Australian bowling stock as bowlers become more accustomed to conditions other countries have been using for a while.

 

[renta]

Objective veiw.......

1.A low percent of bowlers bowl tourneys....So who do the centres cater for!
You have to think where the bill money coming from !!!

2.Why would centers put down a condition that would get the league only bowlers scoring low & pulling their hair out! Only to leave because of these low scores.

3.Technology will move forward to any condition that is put down.
What then thicker oil !!! who knows we might one day be bowling on 20w40.

4.End of the day if its considered easy you still have to put the ball in the right area & carry.(so I found out this week end)

5.The almighty dollar will aways rule...That goes without saying.

 

[Easy Tiger]

All I want to see is some consistency between what is offered at National and also international events, and what is offered at home to improve your skills on.

There is no way to do this at your local centre on a weekly, let alone daily basis, at present. If you can't practice on it, you'll never improve to the standard required.

We don't all own bowling centres or have our own lanes to practice on. For those of us who rely on a local centre to put down what we want or need, it's much harder to compete.

 

[renta]

All I want to see is some consistency between what is offered at National and also international events, and what is offered at home to improve your skills on.
There is no way to do this at your local centre on a weekly, let alone daily basis, at present. If you can't practice on it, you'll never improve to the standard required.
We don't all own bowling centres or have our own lanes to practice on. For those of us who rely on a local centre to put down what we want or need, it's much harder to compete.

So whats the answer ?

We have a full league on thurs night. When the league AVG is around 180 all is fine. When the league AVG is 170 the complaints from your lwr avg bowlers is out of control ...Understand the lwr AVG bowlers are a huge chunk of the league & without them our league would not be as strong .....
The bowl its self has to cater for across the board....

Easytiger you may have to join a sports condition league or get one started.

 

[Stix]

What are you talking about Mick.......I have never recieved any complaints about lane condition :surrender:

 

[renta]

What are you talking about Mick.......I have never recieved any complaints about lane condition :surrender:

No you dont but the counter staff do Nick...

 

[lgt]

There are different levels of bowlers.
My kids bowled the junior league until they became disinterested as they needed a challenge. They joined an adult league and I had to bowl (embarrassing) to make up the team numbers. No adults wanted to bowl with them, originally.
The Centre they started in fell off supporting the juniors and conditioning the lanes for their leagues.

They now look around for leagues to suit their needs. The kids spend a minimum of $250.00 per week excluding events.
They bowl across four centres each week: 2 bowlers = 4 leagues, 4 training/practice sessions, 30 tournaments, training sessions for state teams etc. They bowl one league that has a different sport pattern each fortnight, one that has a tough condition and higher average bowlers, one in a house that looks after the lanes.

Yes the Centres are a business and need to provide their patrons with what they want. Ask about a league or time slot for practise that has a different/sport condition. Hopefully Centre management can recognise the need (not always great numbers) to bowl as a sport and improve.
Leanne.