Our game is not in balance!

[wchester]

Rob,

I applaud your decision to provide a non smoking environment. I'll glad to hear that you chose to go down this path well before it was federally mandated by law.

I think you've missed my point though.

Over 90% of all centre's clientele wouldn't recognise the difference between an absurdly easy condition and a fairly demanding one which rewards good shotmaking skills and penalises bad shots.

Yes running a bowling centre IS A BUSINESS. Bowling is now, and has always been a SPORT, and as such, we need to keep a very defined line between those with finely honed skills and those without. The knowledge and physical capacity which enables them to score consistantly high (190 avg or higher) on virtually any lane condition, should be earned by putting in the hard work, NOT given to them by the ball manufacturers and lane condition.

My point is this, and maybe it doesn't really apply in your circumstance as you've told me that your centre doesn't give the bowlers an arrow or two of area. But it sure in hell applies to a sizable percentage of the bowling centres in Australia......If less than 10% of the bowlers are affected by stupidly easy lane conditions, why risk the future of your SPORT, which in turn is the future of your BUSINESS, on the false belief that without laying a easy shot, your bowlers will go elsewhere. Just how many of that 10% do you think will leave? And for god's sake, someone has to be the pioneer and start the ball rolling.
WHY NOT YOU?

 

[bowlrig]

Wayne,
My point is that this problem that you talk of is not confined to Australia, bowling all over the world is heading in the same direction. It is described in most bowling magazines and other forums.
The sport of bowling has forever been changed by the ball companies with the powers that be not doing anything about it.
I personally think that "the good old days" of bowling are long gone and as with many other sports to get it back to anything like it was will take a minor miracle.

Rob.

PS.... when was the last time you heard the winner of a major tournament in Australia or a PBA winner for that matter say "yeah I won the tournament but I was very dissappointed with the easy condition that was put down"

 

[Brenton_Davy]

PS.... when was the last time you heard the winner of a major tournament in Australia or a PBA winner for that matter say "yeah I won the tournament but I was very dissappointed with the easy condition that was put down

2004 after I had shot a 234 average at Rachuig, the head tech at Forest Hill came up to me and asked me what I thought of the condition.

My reply:

"Well, for a major tournament, I thought it was far too easy, not enough of a test of skill and accuracy"

He looked most confused.....................................

Don't know if anyone has done so since......................

 

[KGB]

I'd have to agree with you Rob. With all the fees and levies the centres of today are paying governing bodies such as TBA for example, it would be good to see some uniformity in the sporting side of our game, otherwise what do we get for our dollars spent? Who can remember the old "3 to 1" tournament pattern, or even earlier, the "3 unit rule". This was always substancially different in every centre you competed at as each centre had differing characteristics to the next. This one tends to hold the pattern well while this one tends too break down alot earlier. Our game, believe it or not, draws alot of the same characteristics as golf. In their sport, the over development of the ball was starting to create players that were constantly scoring better than their natural abillities, so, the course proprietors had to lengthen the fairways to cater for this factor and keep tournaments, however the balls just kept advancing. It was at this point that golf's governing bodies stepped in to enforce a ball regulation to try and control the equipment becoming better than the player and its venues. Yes, there will always be different interpretations given by differing individuals to this rule and that rule. But if we had a more controlled platform for the proprietors to work off and a policing of these by the governing bodies, then maybe competitive bowling in australia could hold its own with other sports of today.And yes, It would be good to see the competitor with the greatest ability rather than the greatest budget rise to the occassion. But as Rob has said previously, Our sport is not the sport it used to be. It has evolved into a much more technollogically driven animal. Lets just do what we can to keep our sport as a sport and remember why we all got into it in this first place.
This is just my opinion.
Remember, You are aloud to be a competitor and still enjoy what you are doing.
Stay Safe over the Chrissy Break Everyone.....
KGB

 

[Denver Sporting]

Lets just do what we can to keep our sport as a sport and remember why we all got into it in this first place.
This is just my opinion.
Remember, You are aloud to be a competitor and still enjoy what you are doing.

Karl,

Interesting post. I started in this game because i wanted to achieve the highest level I could, not just to "enjoy" myself. Each to their own i guess. I guess I am just a bit of a purist in that I prefer to see a premium on shotmaking, accuracy and skill, rather than mass revs, swing and hook. Note that there are some very accurate power players, but in many cases, power players score with far less accuracy than more "traditional" type players. I have no problem with centres putting down high scoring patterns for their league players. What we need is a 2 tiered awards system whereby honor scores on THS type shots are awarded a different level of award to those achieved on tougher patterns. This compromise would allow centres to continue to put out shots that are "business smart" if you like but also get tougher tournament patterns recognized when honor scores are shot on them. This of course requires stricter TBA policing of lane conditions etc, but it could be done.

 

[KGB]

To compete and better one's self is definately why most of us take our game to the next level. However if we did not enjoy the activity to begin with, then we never would've try to excel at it. We would just choose a different activity...

 

[jason_doust]

It was at this point that golf's governing bodies stepped in to enforce a ball regulation to try and control the equipment becoming better than the player and its venues.

Ex-actly! As I said in the early and mid 90's "If golf ball specs were as relaxed as bowling ball specs, you could hit them 4 miles." Now before every ball company sponsored player comes after me on this one, your companies would still move lots of product under tighter rules. They did before. Under tighter specs the balls wouldn't cause as much havoc to the oil pattern and the lane surface. We could all get back to executing shots and reading (as opposed to second guessing) the lanes and pins.

I would also like to echo KGB's wishes for a safe Christmas to everyone.
Cheers,
Jason

 

[jEssicA-l0uisE]

I started in this game because i wanted to achieve the highest level I could, not just to "enjoy" myself.

Brenton,
Bit off topic, but how did you get into bowling?

Just curious!

Rob

 

[bowlrig]

Sorry, above post submitted under duaghters signature.

Rob

 

[Easy Tiger]

Karl,
What we need is a 2 tiered awards system whereby honor scores on THS type shots are awarded a different level of award to those achieved on tougher patterns.

I agree, but then again, does that mean that Carl/George should lose the mantle they have for the most 300's by an Australian? Should their achievements be belittled by doing this?

I don't mind facing up to tougher conditions, I just get frustrated by not being able to enhance my shot making skills on them week in - week out, and only getting a chance to see where my game is at every time I go to a major tournament. When you're travelling to do so, it's expensive experience. "Pay your dues" - yes.. "be stupid with money to get that experience" - no.

 

[jason_doust]

Hey Tim,

Get into the Pearson Automotive Sports Series. A lower budget way to get some really good work in on your game and maybe pick up a few bucks. I'm so excited that Cow is having a go at a similar thing in my neck of the woods. 2½ hrs is not too long a drive IMHO.

Cheers,
Jason

 

[Easy Tiger]

Thanks Jason, yeah I have bowled it quite regularly over the last couple of years, my highest placing being 6th averaging 193.. at that point I'd only been bowling two handed for 3 months so that was quite satisfying..

The issue I have is that once again, the sports series is only every couple of months, so I have found that I bowl it, come out after it and smash league for a couple of weeks, then fall back into the same thing all over again.

To me it is just a shame that challenging conditions can't be served up on a more regular basis. I understand why centres don't want to do it (been there and covered that in this thread already) but I am hoping something like the Mt Gravatt league concept of bowling on TBA patterns every week will help keep my game in check. It comes back to what I said earlier, you can't expect huge numbers on tougher shots at national level if you don't back it up with training in the backyard at ground level.

 

[nev]

in the 70's they claimed the game was in the balance, in the 80's they claimed the game was in the balance, and so on. Now the debate again rages on if the game will survive and I say it is still in the balance, but the game will survive with the right people running the Game. when I bowled my 300 this was a rarity for this to be done. They way the game is heading, to much improvement on new balls and lane conditions could kill our game off. I hope not.

 

[AdrianS]

Was the game EVER in balance to start with? Different players were advantaged on Shellac,Laquer,Urethane and Synthetics. Different Guys came and went with Rubber, plastic, Urethane and resin balls. Its all been about compromise all these years. These days all the variables make it so hard.