Lane conditions - we are not alone...........

[GeorgeF]

thanks to those guys on the PBA forum again........... (dont forget the reply below this post)


as many here know, the topic of scoring integrity on the grass roots or league level of bowling has been a much debated issue here. i for one think it has a DIRECT effect on the entire sport from the bottom all the way to the top (where the PBA resides). this issue is the #1 reason our sport is in dire condition now and shows little chance of growth or long term health...

almost all serious bowlers say lanes are too easy, scoring pace too high, honor scores not honorable, and ultimately the game is not fun or fulfilling. for a sport to be fulfilling and exciting there has to be a CHALLENGE and we need failure. because if you do not fail, succeeding does not bring much pleasure. we all have typed our stories about "the good ole days where 300's were legendary..." and how todays scores are a joke... the one thing i regularly see posted here is that bowling center owners and managers wall lanes to keep business and grow business to make money... this, is a HUGE MYTH...

if making lanes highs scoring brings in business, why has bowling been dying during the years of high scoring lanes? we all know the non bowling issues that have hurt the sport regarding economics, cultural changes, recreational options, i am here talking about the SPORT of bowling and what bowling has done to itself to damage itself. the point i am making is that walling up lanes seems good at first, and SEEMS to appeal to bowlers at first.. but slowly, they get bored, lose interest, lose their desire to compete.. and the sport slowly dies... this is a plain fact. and those left over are now conditioned to NEED the pocket handed to them, so fixing what we broke will be hard. we need ALL bowling centers to work together to change the sport. as if one center makes bowling legit, the bowlers who "think" walled lanes are better will run to the walled center as they have been "conditioned" to have their scores handed to them. they have lost the great feeling of actually ACHIEVING their own scores.

at the same time.. non bowlers start seeing how easy it is to shoot 300's by reading the local papers and by seeing all the NON honorable scores on the walls in bowling centers.. and this erodes at the respect and admiration our best pro's get... this too kills bowling...

it also creates an environment where it is nearly impossible for young bowlers to really learn the game. to become talented, versatile and truly have sportsmanship and good attitudes where they welcome the challenges bowling used to provide us. rather then spitting on a lane or kicking a ball return when their ball does not automatically go into the pocket like in a video game.

walled lanes has confused the american bowling public.. they are like drug users.. they THINK they want the drugs (walled lanes) because in the moment it makes them feel good.. but in time, it destroys them...sucks the passion out of them and by the end of the league season they are muttering to themselves "why do i do this, why do i put myself through this, this season is too long, 5 man team play is too slow... I am sick of these carry contests..." where years ago bowlers were sad at the end of a 5 man, long league season... because when 200 was a good score, bowling was fulfilling.

i know some of the regulars on this board will see my user name and post immature, abrasive, attacking posts here.. as chasing me around this board for some is like a hobby, since league bowling doesn't do it for them anymore...lol but maybe some fresh eyes can see this post and give logical, sane, mature replies that will be interesting to read...

enjoy


REPLY No.1

The solution is simple. Go buy a bowling center and prove the industry wrong. Put your money where your mouth is. Nobody is disputing your analysis of the problem....its the solution we disagree on.


REPLY NO.2


If people really wanted a challenging shot, then they would compete in Sport Bowling pattern leagues. Alas, we hold a Sport Bowling league and get a few people to bowl it. Then guess what? The bowling center does not want to have it anymore because there is not enough interest (read only 2 to 3 of the original 10 or 12 want to bowl it again)! So as a proshop guy and a bowler, bowlers are the same. They bitch about the pattern, but are to lazy and unconfidant about their bowling ability (or lack of it) to support Sport Bowling. I will try to get a Sport Pattern League going again, but I will probably fail.

______________________________________________________________


Looks like we are not alone, I'm not saying I have any answers to the current situation, no one in the world has actually found the correct formula

Makes for interesting reading though..........................

 

[wchester]

It's happening here in Australia too...
Has your 6 year old sister bowled 300 yet?...Sadly, it's not too far off.
The game is changing and I for one don't like where it's going.

C'mon proprietors....show us you have some balls and put a stop to the unrealistic scoring. Make the "sport" of bowling a challenge once again and watch your league bowlers return to the days when they'd come in early or stay on after league to "practice."

I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is..If any bowling centre owner would like to get out of the business, send me an email and we'll talk.

Wayne Chester

 

[MinusZero]

The other night i was talking to the my team mate about such things, how some centres are too easy and have unrealistic scoring. He happens to be the mechanic and also prepares the lanes, and he said much of it is down to the lanes not being legally oiled.

My centre is probably one of the few that has not seen a 300 game (290 twice) and the top average currently is about 190.

I see it as a good thing, making something too easy makes it uninteresting, and it makes is all the more exciting when someone gets on a run of strikes...rather than just being another one to do it.

I can however see the financial side of why lanes are too easy in some centres. In larger cities where there are many centres i guess they all compete against each other to have bigger scores than a centre down the road to attract more bowlers.

Sure i would love to roll high scores all the time, but not doing so i feel like i have achieved so much more when that nice game comes along.

I have bowled in two centres in brisbane and the first one i went to, the lanes were swimming in oil and i bowled over my average with no problem whatsoever. and this is at my first time ever in the centre. obviously the lanes were made for scoring.

i guess this does put me at an advantage somewhat when it comes to competition time, averaging high A grade in my local centre might mean i could blast the opposition away in A grade on easy lanes by bowling way over average because my average is considered high locally... but then maybe it wouldnt help

 

[Ozzzz]

Great find George !!!

I find it interesting that in reply 2 they say that the sport bowling leagues are not getting support. I am nearing the end of my 3rd sport league this summer (USA) and we have not seen any decline in interest. The 1st year we had about 30 members (singles league), the next year we had over 40, and this season we have 58 bowlers. Although it is just a short league over the summer (15 weeks) we havent seen many people drop out early after experiencing the tougher conditions, and let me tell you they were tough !!! One of the league members is the reigning Regional Player of the Year and he thought the conditions were way too tough in the 1st half of the season. The shot was changed after 7 weeks, not because it was too tough, because thats what we decided to do at the start of the season.

I for one love the challenge of the sport bowling, I enjoy this league more than the winter leagues with wall shots and 300's every week. I would enjoy bowling this sport condition all year round !

 

[Andrew S.]

Its all very well asking the proprietors to come to the party, shouldn't the same request be directed to the ball manufacturers?
Surely they are equally as responsible?

 

[Glenno]

I Do agree that some centres have easy scoring.2 of my three 300's that i have bowled have been on a wall or (block condition).I still think though that the good bowlers still shine thru on a easy condition.Could it be that because we have better equipment these days is the reason why scores are high? If you bowled with a old rubber ball would u still avg 220 on a block? I dont know the answers but maybe if they oil from gutter to gutter say to 40 foot maybe thats the solution.Its getting the centres to do it thats the hard part.

glen.

 

[Easy Tiger]

OK this is just my personal opinion and nothing more, but I think everyone should stop blaming ball companies for everything. Sure, the advances in equipment have certainly helped in bringing about higher scoring over the last decade or so. But they aren't to blame for all of it, and I think it is quite naive to do so. Yes today's scores are inflated for the most part, but there are many factors in the higher scoring. I am not going to go over this again as it has been said too many times already in the past month or so alone. Go back and read other posts by people on this very topic for those things.

You cannot blame ball companies for advancing equipment, it's what they do, that's where they make their money. Ball companies do their part for the sport by putting money back into tournaments and the like. If you want to blame ball companies for all of bowling's "problems", then don't buy their equipment. Bowl with a plastic or something. I'm sure that after getting flogged a few times you'll get sick of bowling with a plastic, but at least it's a learning curve.

This is not meant to offend anyone. But please, just realise that ball companies and the advanced equipment are here to stay. To fight that aspect is absolutely useless, so there's no point in complaining about it. Conditions are something we can manipulate (which was the whole point of this topic, not equipment), so lets just concentrate on that. At least it can resemble a discussion that is slightly constructive for the sport and the bowlers in the sport.

 

[Andrew S.]

Timmee we are not here to allocate blame.
George has raised the topic of high scoring and suggested that the proprietors change their attitude toward scoring.
My thought is that the proprietors are not alone in the promotion of high scoring.
Of course the ball companies will continue to develop more advanced equipment, as you state, thats what they do and thats where they make their money.
The onus is on the governing bodies to adopt stricter controls regarding not just oiling but also balls (and pins.)
Only by doing that will we see the scores start to come back a little.

 

[Glenno]

The only way i can see scores coming back a little is either they do what i stated in my last post,or triple oil the lanes very long or even a reverse block would do the trick,though im sure most people wouldnt want a reverse at centres?

 

[MinusZero]

It is of my opinion that these "easy" centres are too oily, so more oil wont make a difference. more oil makes it easier i think because there is less variation on where it will end up, shoot a couple of boards either side of your mark and you will still be in there.

Drier lanes would put the spotlight on actual bowlers, because you would need to be more accurate, if you were either side of the ideal spot, where it is at the end would be further off the mark. Im not saying i like dry lanes...far from it, but i do like a medium oil with a drier backend for real grab