YOUR thoughts on the Ease of Bowling 300 Games

[MICHAEL]

Perfection Made Easy; Bowling a 300 Game Just Isn't the Feat It Used to Be
By DAN BARRY

I have mentioned this in previous threads, JUST HOW EASY do you want it to be today with the oil and balls!!! Should they do way with house patterns, and each week have a different sports pattern to put the sport back into bowling?? Your thoughts,,, very interesting article, sorta puts my 300 in its place.. LOL

Published: April 21, 2000
It was the holy grail of bowling, once.
The quest led men and women to lace up footwear that would not be out of place at a circus and hurl heavy black balls 60 feet down an alley. They would do it again and again, hoping against the odds to someday knock down all 10 pins for a strike 12 consecutive times. That would mean a score of 300, the highest one could achieve: perfection.

Thirty years ago, throwing a 300 made you a bowling celebrity, the Paul Anka of your local alley. The American Bowling Congress in Greendale, Wis., would solemnly present you with a gold ring to signal your ascension into an elite club. The bowling alley would memorialize your feat with a plaque or a glass-encased shrine. And from that day forward, it was a safe bet you would never buy your own coffee ever again.
These days, you had better bring some change if you think a 300 game gets you a cup of joe, because you have lots of company.





Thanks largely to NASA-like advances in bowling-ball technology and the more liberal application of lubricants upon lane surfaces -- by bowling center proprietors seeking to enliven a game of fickle popularity -- the number of perfect games has exploded. Teenagers in youth leagues are throwing them. Retired people in senior leagues are throwing them. There is a bowling alley mechanic in Nassau County who has thrown perfect games with his right hand and his left.
The experience of Mike Serigano, the general manager of the AMF Babylon Lanes, provides perspective. When he began working at the center in 1987, four perfect games had been bowled in its 30-year existence. Since September alone, he said, the alley has had 93 perfect games. Perfect-game bowlers are so common now that the center displays their names for a few days, then takes them down with the same pomp a supermarket devotes to removing a sale sign for overripe fruit.

''In fact, we're backed up,'' said Mr. Serigano, who has a perfect game of his own. He said the names hanging over the lanes right now celebrate perfect games bowled in February.

The numbers are not peculiar to a bowling alley on Sunrise Highway. The American Bowling Congress, the governing body of the sport, reports that in the 1968-69 season, it recorded 905 perfect games in league and tournament matches; in the 1998-99 season, it recorded 34,470.
That figure represents about a 3,700 percent increase in 30 years.

And it does not include the 1,708 perfect games recorded last year by the Women's International Bowling Congress and the Young American Bowling Alliance. The increase also comes at a time when the number of people who bowl regularly enough to register as members with these organizations has declined drastically, to about 3.5 million from 9 million in the last 20 years.

Granted, bowling a 300 game remains a feat to brag about, considering the millions of games played every year. Still, the trend vexes the game's leading experts, from Len Nicholson of Vacaville, Calif., who has dedicated his career to the study of bowling lane surfaces, to Bill Wasserberger of Muskegon, Mich., whose job title for the Brunswick company is: director of research and development, high-performance bowling balls.

They are in full agreement with Norm Ginsberg Jr., who at 25 is considered one of the top amateur bowlers on Long Island.
''Today, it's not that big an accomplishment,'' Mr. Ginsberg said as he hammered away at a thumb mold for a ball at Norm's Bowlers Pro Shop in Levittown. ''It looks silly, because there are so many. It just mocks the game.''

Mr. Ginsberg has some standing in the matter; he has bowled 41 perfect games. So far.
The perfect-game epidemic has prompted years of discussion above the din of clattering balls and tenpins. Blame and a bit of sheepishness seem to frame the debate among industry monitors, bowling equipment manufacturers and bowling alley proprietors.

True, many people say, the bowler's technique has changed over the years, creating more ball revolution and, therefore, more action when the ball hits the pins.
Then there are the scientific advances in the design of the ball itself. Technicians have studied the bowling ball the way Hamlet studied Yorick's skull.
Thirty years ago, most bowling balls were hard rubber or plastic. Today, the companies that manufacture balls guard their formulations as though protecting state secrets. Bill Supper (''just like the meal!''), the president of Storm Bowling Products in Brigham City, Utah, said that companies use ground-up glass beads, ground-up ceramic or ground-up rubber, all in pursuit of a ''proprietary concoction'' that will create a sublime marriage of traction and friction.

Mr. Wasserberger said that he and Ray Edwards, his research partner at Brunswick, had focused in recent years on the interaction between bowling balls and the oil on the lanes. Now, he said, bowlers can choose balls that respond best to the specific lane conditions of their preferred bowling centers. He talked with gusto about ''proactive urethane,'' the ''maximum coefficient of traction'' and something called a ''flared ball track.''
He acknowledged that he and Mr. Edwards are a rare breed: men addicted to physics and bowling. His senior project in college was related to the ''static balance in bowling balls,'' he said. He has also bowled four perfect games.

For all his life's dedication to the mysteries of the bowling ball, Mr. Wasserberger said he was convinced that the precipitous rise in perfect games -- and in overall averages -- was primarily due to changes in the oiling of lanes. And he belongs to a growing chorus.
About a decade ago, the American Bowling Congress relaxed its lane-dressing regulations to accommodate bowling center proprietors who complained that they did not have the time, money or equipment to meet the governing organization's exacting standards. The centers quickly learned that they could create high-score conditions by applying more oil down the middle of the lanes, which essentially guides balls to the pocket -- between the one and two pins for left-handers and between the one and three pins for right-handers.

''It's very similar to funneling,'' said Mr. Nicholson, the pre-eminent ''oil man.''
The trend has not affected the Professional Bowlers Tour, which requires more demanding conditions. And it seems rooted in a basic philosophy of human nature: people who bowl well are more likely to return. But many purists say the changes have alienated the best amateur bowlers, who find the game too easy.
The American Bowling Congress, of course, has noticed the difference. In the old days, proprietors would have to rope off the lane upon which a perfect game was thrown until a representative of the congress arrived to confirm that indeed such a miracle had occurred. Then would come the gold ring.
Now the rings are made of something called Siladium, which bowlers describe as something like steel. And verification is done through a form whose most serious requirement is: ''Use dark ink.''

But the congress is addressing the issue with plans to create a ''sport level'' of competition with less-forgiving lane conditions. Roger Dalkin, the organization's executive director, said the plan would allow more accomplished players to focus on the skill of ball placement, while retaining the more generous conditions for ''the 50 million who bowl and have a good time.''

And a good time is being had in Babylon.

Mr. Serigano recently took down the old board that long ago had been hung near the alley's entrance to honor the very elite: those who had bowled games of 300 and 299. He had his reasons: there was no more room on the board for all the names; 299 games had become passe; and some prankster had been moving the letters around to spell out crude jokes.

Still, the dusty board provided a telling chronology of the 300-game revolution. Pointing to a name toward the top left-hand corner of the board, Mr. Serigano said that the lanes began to be oiled differently at about the time that that particular perfect game was bowled.
''And from here on down,'' he said with a sweep of his hand, ''they started whacking them.''

He walked down the alley -- past the snack bar, past the sign that says ''Please, this bench is reserved for changing of shoes only'' -- and stopped for a while to watch some members of the Tri-Rite Auto bowling team warm up.
''This guy just shot a 258,'' he said, motioning to a smiling man whose score was being projected on an overhead screen. ''He's just practicing and he's throwing a 258.''
Later that night, down on Lane 38, there were more smiles when a bowler threw yet another perfect game. It was his second.

[ghetto24]

i still think that shooting a 300 isn't easy by any means. yes, there are a lot more than what used to be but not everyone can shoot one. i sometimes think that its made easier to shoot one so that you "league only" bowlers keep coming back. but that's just it. they will only bowl league. they wont shoot a sport shot. our house offers a sport league and ive thought about getting into it just to help better myself.

its kind of like mens softball. modern technology is allowing guys to buy bats that allow them to hit farther than the old school metal ones. it makes them feel good about themselves and want to continue playing. i think if you made leagues a sport shot only there would be far less teams bowling. you kind of have to look at it as a business stand point, too. just like life, now-a-days, anything that is hard to do will be given up on just because that is what our society has become. LAZY! i think your TRUE bowlers would stick around, but you would lose far more of you rec bowlers.

[MICHAEL]

Maybe to put the sport back into bowling we should not be given the choice. Its almost like in golf, if they were to have the greens all slope to the hole lol..... The day I had my 300 game, a young man next to me that I have bowled many times, a good bowler, but not real consistent, like myself included,,,, bowled for the first time a 800 series, and two other guys bowled high 290's.

Could it be that the lanes, when I bowled my 300 were setup for high scores!? Bowlers that won't bowl a lane because its not oiled for high scores week after week, are missing the point IMHO. Hey,,, I am a broken down Old Iron Worker and I did it, and have been close on other occasions... Is it to easy,,,, should it be,,,,?

[e-tank]

Imo i think fun leagues should be cuz that what people are seeking....fun. Yes many people now days want the easy route, the high scores, but i think the fact that most people want to stay in ths makes the sport leagues that much harder reason being that its the people that wanna better themselves that join sport leagues. Ive never bowled on sport shot before but i couldnt imagine myself drinking and having a good time when im too focused on watching the changing oil conditions or making sure i can find my strike line

[MICHAEL]

I think there are 3 types of bowlers,,, the Rec bowlers, (house balls, straight ball plastic alley balls), The Ego bowlers, that WOULD quite if the lanes did not give them 200 plus averages, and the Sports bowlers, who really want a challenge, and scores be damned! lol

It would make a 300 game, or 200 average have meaning if lanes were different each week. How many of you would like different pattern each week. Remember it would have no effect on the Rec bowlers, but would on the high ego bowlers. Have we reach a point in bowling where in order to keep people bowling we need balls, and oil that guide the ball into the pocket like it did for me last sunday!! LOL.....

I have no Ego,,, I have been married to long for that!! LOL Its time for the Dude and me to do a little Sports Bowling.... ( I did have, and have the sheet of me bowling a 274 on the Turnpike oil pattern last summer) But it took two games to figure it out.

[Big Nick]

Since I've never thrown one, I don't see them as being easy. You still have to throw 12 strikes in a row which means playing the changing lane conditions. And it's complicated even more if it's in a league where there may be as many as 10 or 12 bowlers on a pair. That being said, I was talking with an old-timer at one of the local lanes and he was showing me a lighter he got in the 70's for throwing a 780 series. He said that during that time, there might have only been three 700s thrown in any particular league over an entire season. If I've never had the (dis)pleasure of bowling on those conditions, can I ever really know the difference?

[MICHAEL]

Imo i think fun leagues should be cuz that what people are seeking....fun. Yes many people now days want the easy route, the high scores, but i think the fact that most people want to stay in ths makes the sport leagues that much harder reason being that its the people that wanna better themselves that join sport leagues. Ive never bowled on sport shot before but i couldnt imagine myself drinking and having a good time when im too focused on watching the changing oil conditions or making sure i can find my strike line

I agree with you 100 percent,,, I am just saying the scores you get bowling SPORTS patterns will cause you to DRINK, and the more you drink the less important it is what the score is!! LOL Its so easy now that even I have been close VERY close on dozens of occasions...

I guess that's why there are for real bowlers, the sports pattern leagues. That 274 I did on the turnpike,,,, well ,,, I almost hold it in higher esteem then the 300 I had on easy conditions. Bowling should be FUN, but who is to say that averages being over 200 is what constitutes FUN.... Its like the example I said about golf! Do you want all the holes short, like a par 5 400 yards! easy greens ect.... I just thought the article had some good points!

[Greenday]

Are the lanes today too easy? Yes and no.

Yes, they are too easy in the fact that my league has multiple guys shooting 300s and 299s every single week. I mean, I go from bowling on a sports pattern to a THS and I had to laugh about how much easier it seemed. Sure, I wasn't bowling 300s, but I've been seriously bowling for less than a year. I remember when bowling 200+ in a game was impressive. Now it doesn't seem like any big deal. When I bowl my low 200s, I'm not satisfied with myself because I feel like I wasn't challenged much.

No, in that the THS is perfect for beginners and more casual bowlers. It's a stable pattern that gives people a chance to do well. You still have to make adjustments. You still have to make spares.

Ponder this: Since becoming more serious about bowling, I've bowled a new high game a few times. First I hit 260, then I hit 265, then I hit 267. A couple months ago, I was bowling on the Scorpion pattern and bowled a 245. That 245 felt immensely better than the 267. The 245 on the Scorpion required me to be precise with my shots and consistent. With the 267, I just got up, rolled the ball, and let it read the lane into the pocket.

[e-tank]

I think there are 3 types of bowlers,,, the Rec bowlers, (house balls, straight ball plastic alley balls), The Ego bowlers, that WOULD quite if the lanes did not give them 200 plus averages, and the Sports bowlers, who really want a challenge, and scores be damned! lol
It would make a 300 game, or 200 average have meaning if lanes were different each week. How many of you would like different pattern each week. Remember it would have no effect on the Rec bowlers, but would on the high ego bowlers. Have we reach a point in bowling where in order to keep people bowling we need balls, and oil that guide the ball into the pocket like it did for me last sunday!! LOL..... I have no Ego,,, I have been married to long for that!! LOL Its time for the Dude and me to do a little Sports Bowling.... ( I did have, and have the sheet of me bowling a 274 on the Turnpike oil pattern last summer) But it took two games to figure it out.

theres is def a ton of ego bowlers in my league that rage hard when theyre not pumping out the strikes. Not gonna lie some times ill use this to my advantage and do a little more celebrating that i normally would just to rustle their jimmies a bit. Anyways im pretty sure im the only one that pays attention to lane conditions and adjust accordingly whether is a movement change or a ball change. I wanted to join a pba league for summer but none of my friends are game for that. I guess ill just have to network a bit more at the alley and see if any of them are tryna join with me.

[MICHAEL]

I hope to get The Dude/Jason to bowl a Sports league with me. We did a number of games last summer in a City not far from us. Only about a dozen people usually would show up for a different pattern each week, and prize money for the winner. e-tank if you didn't live so far away I would bowl on a Sports league with you. ( I lived in Modesto Ca for 6 years,,, moved back to Missouri 3 1/2 years ago, due to family needs!! San Diego is a beautiful city,,,, love it there!!

Again,,, a golf course being very challenging does not stop the duffers from playing, I don't think the doing away with easy house patterns would hurt bowling, just make high scores that MUCH MORE appreciated and held in Super HIGH Esteem!!

I think the lower numbers of bowlers has to do with MANY other things, it can't be because its hard to bowl 300..... I DID IT LOL.... I could list several but that's another thread.

[e-tank]

haha yea i got up to a 297 in feb which would be me bowling for about 4 months consistently. Not saying a 300 is easy but im still a noob and i almost got there

[hammerhead300]

Since I've never thrown one, I don't see them as being easy. You still have to throw 12 strikes in a row which means playing the changing lane conditions. And it's complicated even more if it's in a league where there may be as many as 10 or 12 bowlers on a pair. That being said, I was talking with an old-timer at one of the local lanes and he was showing me a lighter he got in the 70's for throwing a 780 series. He said that during that time, there might have only been three 700s thrown in any particular league over an entire season. If I've never had the (dis)pleasure of bowling on those conditions, can I ever really know the difference?

That's how I feel. I've never even seen anybody throw a 300. The house where I currently bowl has been open for 28 years, and it's never been done there.

I'm on the other side of the fence. It still amazes me to watch guys who bowl on a THS every night roll a high game. Most of the leagues where I bowl only produce four or five 200 games (if that) a night out of 60 bowlers.

[MICHAEL]

That's how I feel. I've never even seen anybody throw a 300. The house where I currently bowl has been open for 28 years, and it's never been done there.

I'm on the other side of the fence. It still amazes me to watch guys who bowl on a THS every night roll a high game. Most of the leagues where I bowl only produce four or five 200 games (if that) a night out of 60 bowlers.

I am on a league with some real GOOD bowlers, and I have seen on league only 4 A guy I can't remember his name at the moment, Chad, Larry, Jason, and now me ... Jason has more 300's them most people have teeth, and that's just this last year!! LOL (Not all sanctioned, but some were),,, And that's just this last year,,, I know he did the 800 a few weeks ago, and that, IMHA, is HUGE!!

[sprocket]

Monday night a guy on the team to the left of us bowled 300 and we spent way more time talking to him about the ball he was using and how it was laid out than talking about how skillful he was. During the 300 we were commenting on what a great reaction he was getting. He not only had area, but the ball hit like a truck. Oh, Storm Tour IQ pearl, long oil pattern, very high track, basic layout, pin above ring. I want one.

[billf]

Here's my take.

Our local center has three 300s this season with two of them by the same bowler. He also has the only 800 series this season. In the entire county association there are only eighteen bowlers averaging over 200. We have old wood lanes the transition super fast. I'm talking so fast that you have to adjust during warm ups!

So a few of us go to another house to practice on synthetic lanes with a fresh THS. Holy smokes that was SOOOOO easy. All I had to do was laydown at 20, aiming at the 10 pin, use as little hand as possible, throw as hard as I could with the Diva and STRIKE. If that is what most house's shots are like, then a 300 would be easy for most bowlers.

This isn't the only center we have gone too with an easy shot like that either. Part of me wants to bowl a league in one of these places just to rack of the perfect games. The other part realizes that these conditions are what makes me a better bowler and a big reason why I average 30 pins higher at tournaments away from my home center.

[Hammer]

I have to ask where is this ease part of bowling a 300 game? I have been bowling for 30 years on THS patterns and have never bowled a 300 game. I have bowled a 710 scratch series and a 276 game for a high but never a 300 game. I am sure that if you bowl a lot and have an arsenal of balls that maybe a 300 game would be easy. On league night go to every bowler there and ask if they ever bowled a 300 game and I bet there wouldn't be that many that did it. Posts like this that say it is so easy make it sound like 50% of league bowlers have a 300 game under their belt. There are a lot of league bowlers who feel that bowling a 300 game is an impossibility. So I would say that the number of league bowlers that have bowled a 300 game is not a high %. A lot of THS pattern league bowlers are too busy trying to get their first 200 scratch game. :cool:

[ghetto24]

ive bowled on both wooden and synthetic lanes. it really does make a difference

[ghetto24]

I have to ask where is this ease part of bowling a 300 game? I have been bowling for 30 years on THS patterns and have never bowled a 300 game. I have bowled a 710 scratch series and a 276 game for a high but never a 300 game. I am sure that if you bowl a lot and have an arsenal of balls that maybe a 300 game would be easy. On league night go to every bowler there and ask if they ever bowled a 300 game and I bet there wouldn't be that many that did it. Posts like this that say it is so easy make it sound like 50% of league bowlers have a 300 game under their belt. There are a lot of league bowlers who feel that bowling a 300 game is an impossibility. So I would say that the number of league bowlers that have bowled a 300 game is not a high %. A lot of THS pattern league bowlers are too busy trying to get their first 200 scratch game. :cool:

please tell me this comment wasn't serious

[swingset]

I keep saying every time this subject comes up, the scores in this game are irrelevant - except if you value the trinkets and trophies of honor scores and believe they represent something tangible and timeless.

You compete against other bowlers, and perfect games are good in that sense but unless everyone is bowling 300's and no one ever misses, then it's not an issue.

You still have to beat the rest of the league, the other tourney players, or the other pros. If 300 is easier to achieve, big whoop. The guy next to me will be getting better right along with me, throwing the same equipment on the same lanes.

This just reminds me of every sport where nostalgia pronounces the game was "better back when...". When, in truth, all games advance and equipment, skill and conditions tend to make most sports look easier as they go - but again, you still have be the fastest, strongest, hit the longest, leave the fewest strokes, knock down the most pins.

[got_a_300]

The answer to the question of THS's being to easy is as someone
else said yes and no.

Yes you might have an easy shot to get to the pocket but you still
have to knock down 10 pins on every throw and also avoid those
10 and 7 pins let alone those pesky solid 8 and 9 pins to get that
300 game.

So I guess my answer would have to be yes very easy to get to the
pocket but no on it being easy to get that 300 game.

Yes I have over 30+ 300 games under my belt probably closer to 40+
I guess all totaled but the biggest part of them were bowled on the old
wood lanes back when you would have to make some kind of adjustment
every time you got up to throw the ball just too bad they are not all sanctioned.

[DrOcktagon]

I don't think it's too easy to shoot 300's. The rise in the frequency of perfect games is mostly due to people and equipment getting better over the years; new ball surfaces, synthetic lanes, better shoes, more revolutions, more power, more speed, better technique, etc...

I'm a 200+ bowler that has literally been bowling all my life and I still don't have one. I have a couple 280's, a handful of 270's, and a bunch of 260's, 250's, and below. I still get excited whenever I see someone throw a 300. It hasn't lost any of its luster for me.

Having said that, I would love the opportunity to bowl on more challenging patterns and really test myself. I'm not sure if my local house offers any leagues with sport patterns.

[MICHAEL]

I don't think it's too easy to shoot 300's. The rise in the frequency of perfect games is mostly due to people and equipment getting better over the years; new ball surfaces, synthetic lanes, better shoes, more revolutions, more power, more speed, better technique, etc...

I'm a 200+ bowler that has literally been bowling all my life and I still don't have one. I have a couple 280's, a handful of 270's, and a bunch of 260's, 250's, and below. I still get excited whenever I see someone throw a 300. It hasn't lost any of its luster for me.

Having said that, I would love the opportunity to bowl on more challenging patterns and really test myself. I'm not sure if my local house offers any leagues with sport patterns.

You said: ( the rise in frequency of perfect games is mostly due to PEOPLE,,, AND EQUIPMENT GETTING BETTER OVER THE YEARS... lol.... I started bowling on league when I was 61, after retiring do to injuries, broken neck, then a few years later herniated disk lower back, RA, VERY little feeling in my feet, and constant pain! AND I have had many very close 300 games,,, not long ago 290, spare in the first, then 11 strikes.... BUT EVEN I was able after dozens of almost 300's, to do it last Sunday at the broken down age of 64! (The same guy that was told 6 years ago I would be in a wheel chair in a few years, if I didn't take medications to fight the RA. (which I don't)!
I will agree with you that the equipment is getting better, but can't say my body is a finely tuned machine like it used to be years ago. I think having walked Iron hundreds of feet up in the air, I did, and do have great balance, and focus! If I only had the physical body I once had, ,,, hummmmm O well

O by the way,,, I don't wear bowling shoes, due to semi numb feeling in feet, I wear a pair of sandals, no slide. LOL I have to give a lot a credit to Bowling Board com, Jason, James, and BP pro shop! they deserve a lot of credit for my 300 game!! EVEN if it is easier to bowl a 300 now days, It does not at all diminish form the WONDERFUL, MARVELOUS, AMAZING, ASTONISHING, ASTOUNDING, MIRACULOUS,PRODIGIOUS, SPECTACULAR feeling one gets with a 300!! Good luck to all you seeking that objective!

Dreams can come true, it can happen to you, if your young at heart...da....da... you know the words... and melody... LOL..... Good luck PBA Iceman!

How SWEET IT IS,,, can't wait for that ring to come home to daddy!!!! LOL

[J Anderson]

Like Hammer, I'm another guy who's been bowling over twenty years without a 300. Of course the first thirty years that I bowled it was strictly recreational; three games a week, no lessons, no coaching, conventional grip rubber ball.

Even though I have several games in the 270s and a 263 with the opposite hand, I don't consider myself as having come anywhere close to 300. Almost all my high games have a spare in the first half of the game.

Given the statistics in the original post, there is no doubt that it is "easier" to get a 300 now than it used to be. It is still not easy for most people to do.

[BoomGoesTheDynomite]

I find bowling 300's way too easy. I don't have many of them, but I remember when an entire center would stop to watch somebody attempt the 10th frame for a 300. Currently in my league we have a couple honor scores a week and while a pair or two may stop out of respect for the bowler most of the time I have no clue someone is bowling well until someone announces it. It's sad that many people want the shot to be really easy so everyone can bowl well, but then if the shot gets a little challenging people complain like it's the end of the world. You also get into the issue that in order for someone to get into bowling you want them to feel good about bowling. What better way than to make it easier for them to put up high scores?

[MICHAEL]

I find bowling 300's way too easy. I don't have many of them, but I remember when an entire center would stop to watch somebody attempt the 10th frame for a 300. Currently in my league we have a couple honor scores a week and while a pair or two may stop out of respect for the bowler most of the time I have no clue someone is bowling well until someone announces it. It's sad that many people want the shot to be really easy so everyone can bowl well, but then if the shot gets a little challenging people complain like it's the end of the world. You also get into the issue that in order for someone to get into bowling you want them to feel good about bowling. What better way than to make it easier for them to put up high scores?


That's my point. It should be one heck of a challenge. I know a good number of people around here with over a dozen,,,, How many people in baseball have over a 400 average in a season? Do people quit because it hard,,NO! Do they change golf courses to make them easier, No most are the same if not more difficult then when they were created. Oil machines that don't put down a good pattern are one thing, but good sports patterns should be the norm, not the exception.
Lets do away with house blocked patterns, and every week a different sports pattern,,, good for the bowler, and good for the sport!! I know lots of great house pattern bowlers, that cant bowl worth a darn on Sports, like the PBA'er!!

HOw many times have I heard,,, wow my average is better then that PRO's on any given Sunday!!! (( DIFFERENT level of bowling, on SPORTS patterns))) lol

[ghetto24]

that's my point. It should be one heck of a challenge. I know a good number of people around here with over a dozen,,,, how many people in baseball have over a 400 average in a season? Do people quit because it hard,,no! Do they change golf courses to make them easier, no most are the same if not more difficult then when they were created. Oil machines that don't put down a good pattern are one thing, but good sports patterns should be the norm, not the exception.
Lets do away with house blocked patterns, and every week a different sports pattern,,, good for the bowler, and good for the sport!! I know lots of great house pattern bowlers, that cant bowl worth a darn on sports, like the pba'er!!

how many times have i heard,,, wow my average is better then that pro's on any given sunday!!! (( different level of bowling, on sports patterns))) lol

this. Right. Here.

[panbanger]

It's way too easy to bowl a 300....for everyone but me! When somebody else gets one it's because the game has gotten soft. If (when?!?) I ever get one it will be because I am a world class athlete with nerves of steel!

Seriously though, it seems to vary house to house around here. In my alley, a 300 is pretty rare. Then I read in the regional bowling newspaper that the same houses each week seem to be racking up the 300s and 800s. So maybe they lay down easier house shots, or maybe my alley runs better drink specials...

[josheaton16]

I can't say its easy because I've never had one . . . but i understand in general how it is easier. The house i bowl at usually has five or so a year but another house in town had ten in one league that i bowled in. So it just depends on how easy of a pattern is laid down.

[Hammer]

It's funny how quite a few folks are saying how easy it is to bowl a 300 game on a THS pattern. Yet I have been bowling in my house for years and have heard a 300 game announced maybe two times. We must have lousy bowlers at our house or their oil patterns aren't easy. I have 30 years of bowling under my belt and have reached a high game of 276 which was strikes in every frame except the 8th
frame with a darn spare. It might have something to do with the fact that I don't practice anymore. So I can't expect much.

[DrOcktagon]

You said: ( the rise in frequency of perfect games is mostly due to PEOPLE,,, AND EQUIPMENT GETTING BETTER OVER THE YEARS... lol.... I started bowling on league when I was 61, after retiring do to injuries, broken neck, then a few years later herniated disk lower back, RA, VERY little feeling in my feet, and constant pain!

What I said obviously doesn't apply to every bowler, but there is no denying that, generally speaking, people throw the ball with much more technique(speed, revs, etc.) than ever before. And of course it is partly the equipment that helps make this possible, but it isn't the equipment alone.

Congrats on your 300, by the way. I really believe that I'll have my first very soon. I've bowled my whole life but about 12 years ago I stopped for some dumb reason(I'd have to hop in a time machine and ask the 21-year-old version of myself to find out why; I really hate that guy). I just started back up again a few months ago but I'm already more or less back to where I was, averaging 200+.

I can't wait to see how I do on some fresh oil; whenever I go to practice the lanes are pretty burned up and I'm usually lofting the left gutter. I don't think I've bowled on fresh literally the entire time I've been back bowling. In just a few weeks I'll be starting my first league in 12 years, so we'll soon see.

My goal is to eventually get a PBA card and bowl in some regionals, but I obviously have a lot of work to do before that happens.

And I absolutely agree that sport patterns should be the norm for competitive leagues. Fun leagues and open play should be on Easy Street, but serious leagues should have serious oil patterns. It has always bothered me when league bowlers talk about how badly the pros shoot on TV without realizing that they are essentially not even playing the same game.

[swingset]

That's my point. It should be one heck of a challenge. I know a good number of people around here with over a dozen,,,, How many people in baseball have over a 400 average in a season? Do people quit because it hard,,NO! Do they change golf courses to make them easier, No most are the same if not more difficult then when they were created. Oil machines that don't put down a good pattern are one thing, but good sports patterns should be the norm, not the exception.
Lets do away with house blocked patterns, and every week a different sports pattern,,, good for the bowler, and good for the sport!! I know lots of great house pattern bowlers, that cant bowl worth a darn on Sports, like the PBA'er!!

HOw many times have I heard,,, wow my average is better then that PRO's on any given Sunday!!! (( DIFFERENT level of bowling, on SPORTS patterns))) lol

The average bowler isn't interested in the game being harder. That's a fact. Many of us might not like it, but it's a fact.

Houses know it, the USBC knows it, most league bowlers (if they're not in ultra-competitive scratch leagues) know it too.

If you suddenly could snap your fingers and all shots are difficult sport shots do you honestly believe that it would increase the number of bowlers as opposed to decrease them?

If you think it's a benefit, then try to talk your local house into abandoning its THS and going to a harder sport shot for all leagues and tournaments. See how far that gets you....or worse, see how long the house lasts before league bowlers go elsewhere.

[MICHAEL]

To me its almost like hitting golf balls form the women's tee's!! When I watch a Pro, I know that there is NO WAY to compare our House average, or even spare shooting to that he is bowling on. When I go to a golf course that a pro plays on, ( I have no advantage). I guess I look at it a lot different then most. Making something easy takes away from a good score. I know, just speaking for myself, I would gladly bowl sports patterns, regardless of the scores, I know it would put me on a level playing field with what I see on TV! If my average was not 230,,, so be it! I bet I would be a much better bowler, and could stand tall and say,,, Yes,,, I bowled that turnpike,,,, and had a 274 on it last year! Good enough that day, at the moment in time, to compete with any PRO!! Can we really say, or FEEL GOOD about the easy oil we shoot on???? YES,,, AND I am KEEP THAT FRICKEN RING that will be HERE IN TWO WEEKS!!! LOL
I would like to find a sports league here in Kansas city this summer!! Anyone know of any?? I think it would make me a better Person, and bowler!! LOL

[swingset]

To me its almost like hitting golf balls form the women's tee's!! When I watch a Pro, I know that there is NO WAY to compare our House average, or even spare shooting to that he is bowling on. When I go to a golf course that a pro plays on, ( I have no advantage). I guess I look at it a lot different then most. Making something easy takes away from a good score. I know, just speaking for myself, I would gladly bowl sports patterns, regardless of the scores, I know it would put me on a level playing field with what I see on TV! If my average was not 230,,, so be it! I bet I would be a much better bowler, and could stand tall and say,,, Yes,,, I bowled that turnpike,,,, and had a 274 on it last year! Good enough that day, at the moment in time, to compete with any PRO!! Can we really say, or FEEL GOOD about the easy oil we shoot on???? YES,,, AND I am KEEP THAT FRICKEN RING that will be HERE IN TWO WEEKS!!! LOL
I would like to find a sports league here in Kansas city this summer!! Anyone know of any?? I think it would make me a better Person, and bowler!! LOL

Who are you competing with during your leagues, during tournaments, etc? The pros? Nope. It's other bowlers. The shot is irrelevant. The supposed ease is irrelevant. The scores relative to the pros are irrelevant.

If you're not dominating every league and tourney, why is that? Because your competition is on the same field - and it's level. How easy an individual shot plays really just doesn't matter - unless as you say you measure yourself by how the pros do. And, why would any of us do that? Seriously - in any given league does your weekly score become more important or less important because Sean Rash shot 249 last Sunday? I don't even give them a thought when I'm bowling.

Ok, let's pretend that every house has a PBA pattern and all of us play on the hardest imaginable patterns. Does that enhance leagues, or tournaments? Why would it? If you're averaging 215 on a THS, or 179 on the PBA pattern, it only matters with regards to the rest of the league or tournament.

We are playing each other, not the lane, and not the scoreboard, and not against the pros.

[aussiedave]

i still think that shooting a 300 isn't easy by any means. yes, there are a lot more than what used to be but not everyone can shoot one. i sometimes think that its made easier to shoot one so that you "league only" bowlers keep coming back. but that's just it. they will only bowl league. they wont shoot a sport shot. our house offers a sport league and ive thought about getting into it just to help better myself.

its kind of like mens softball. modern technology is allowing guys to buy bats that allow them to hit farther than the old school metal ones. it makes them feel good about themselves and want to continue playing. i think if you made leagues a sport shot only there would be far less teams bowling. you kind of have to look at it as a business stand point, too. just like life, now-a-days, anything that is hard to do will be given up on just because that is what our society has become. LAZY! i think your TRUE bowlers would stick around, but you would lose far more of you rec bowlers.
At our local alley, the THS varies little from week to week - this allows one to get used to THS, but not any other shot. It would be kinda nice to get some real variation occasionally and offer a bit of a challenge for the better bowlers.
ad.

[Greenday]

Ok, let's pretend that every house has a PBA pattern and all of us play on the hardest imaginable patterns. Does that enhance leagues, or tournaments? Why would it? If you're averaging 215 on a THS, or 179 on the PBA pattern, it only matters with regards to the rest of the league or tournament.

Ok, what about someone whose THS average and sports shot average are very close? It's the difference between someone who is just really good at abusing the easiness of the THS and being really good. If your sports shot average is drastically lower, then the THS is basically an extra handicap for the weaker bowler.

Look, there are people in my league that consistently bowl around their mark within a few boards in each direction and the ease of the shot allows their balls to hold or recover. This allows them to bowl around my average. If it was a sports shot, these people would be dropping 40+ pins a game. Meanwhile, I've for some unknown unexplainable reason, I've bowled exceptionally well every time I've ever been on a sports shot. Make it a scratch game and these people have a chance against me on the THS but I'd gladly put money down against any of the people I'm thinking of if we were on a sports shot.

[MICHAEL]

Ok, what about someone whose THS average and sports shot average are very close? It's the difference between someone who is just really good at abusing the easiness of the THS and being really good. If your sports shot average is drastically lower, then the THS is basically an extra handicap for the weaker bowler.

Look, there are people in my league that consistently bowl around their mark within a few boards in each direction and the ease of the shot allows their balls to hold or recover. This allows them to bowl around my average. If it was a sports shot, these people would be dropping 40+ pins a game. Meanwhile, I've for some unknown unexplainable reason, I've bowled exceptionally well every time I've ever been on a sports shot. Make it a scratch game and these people have a chance against me on the THS but I'd gladly put money down against any of the people I'm thinking of if we were on a sports shot.

Good point!! I know guys that can, on easy block house patterns throw strike after strike, but if they leave a 10, or even many times a 7 pin, they miss it 50 percent of the time. Some of them have 220 averages, but terrible when it comes to all other facets of bowling!! Are they good bowlers with 220 averages simple because on easy house oil they can whip out 7 or eight strikes in a role? I know Many many bowls that fit this category! Can't really bowl, but have that one easy house strike figured out!

I guess I am different,,, thinking that to be really good, you need to play like the College/Pro's in order to have a true barometer of just how good YOU REALLY ARE.
Like I have mentioned, isn't Golf that way????,,,,, isn't basketball that way, (do they lower the hoops for lay people),,, Baseball,,, with the exception of metal bats in college, which I think is wrong also!
My final words on this subject is this: Its not that its HARDER to bowl sports patterns, it just that many of use are to darn lazy to want to take up the challenge! I have my whole life lived for challenges,,,, I was told with all my injuries, as an Iron worker, plus RA, that I would be luck to walk at this point in my life,,, guess what ,,, on a house pattern I bowled a 300! LOL,,,,,
Sports pattern leagues are hard to find, but that's one area I want to look into, and will welcome the challenge!
I might be wrong, what do I know, I just started bowling a few years ago after retirement, but nothing that is worth having, ever comes easy!

[Greenday]

Like I have mentioned, isn't Golf that way????,,,,, isn't basketball that way, (do they lower the hoops for lay people),,, Baseball,,, with the exception of metal bats in college, which I think is wrong also!

That's another great way of putting it. It's like dunking on a lowered basketball hoop and claiming you are good at dunking. It's just not that impressive when you are being given a physical handicap along with a score handicap.

[MICHAEL]

We live in a society of QUICK, EASY everything! Quaker Oats use to take a full 5 minutes to cook,,, then they destroyed the nutritional value of the product, so that it only takes 1 minute now!! LoL Processed foods I could go ON,,, and ON!
I know millions of bowlers that can only throw a Strike ball..... If it doesn't' strike,,, they are up the proverbial creek.... LOST.... cant pick up the spares,,, esp the 10 and 7 pin!

It might take longer,,, Like the Quaker Oats, but much more rewarding having a 300 game,,, or NICE average on the REAL DEAL!! On a golf course for example, are all NINE HOLES the same!! Answer: NO...... do people quit golfing because some holes are tougher then others? answer: NO!

Then why don't bowlers toughen up, and demand more of a CHALLANGE!! I want it,,,,, you want it,,,, its GOOD FOR AMERICA!! Don't give bowlers a choice, they will always go for the ONE MINUTE Quaker Oats..... Let make it a RULE,,,,, RULE number what ever,,: Bowling Establishment will change on a weekly bases its oil patterns in order to make the experience of bowling much more realistic, and challenging,,, ONLY REAL MEN and WOMEN need to enter these DOORS!!

[MICHAEL]

Put that sign at the entrance to all bowling establishments,,,, and THEY WILL COME!!

[J Anderson]

Ok, what about someone whose THS average and sports shot average are very close? It's the difference between someone who is just really good at abusing the easiness of the THS and being really good. If your sports shot average is drastically lower, then the THS is basically an extra handicap for the weaker bowler.

Look, there are people in my league that consistently bowl around their mark within a few boards in each direction and the ease of the shot allows their balls to hold or recover. This allows them to bowl around my average. If it was a sports shot, these people would be dropping 40+ pins a game. Meanwhile, I've for some unknown unexplainable reason, I've bowled exceptionally well every time I've ever been on a sports shot. Make it a scratch game and these people have a chance against me on the THS but I'd gladly put money down against any of the people I'm thinking of if we were on a sports shot.

Its hard to tell with me since I bowl right handed in the sport league and left-handed on the house shot so that this season my sport and THS averages are almost the same. In fact, lately I've been in a slump lefty and on a roll in the sport league.

I'm not sure why, but I find it easier to stay focused in the sport league. In my other league it seems much harder to throw a solid game. It may be because I have the responsibility of being treasurer, the fact that its strictly a social league with only trophies on the line, or that can only throw three or four balls in a row without screwing up.

[GoodGravy]

I can only wish at some time in the future I can hit 300.....I'd be happy with consistant 200's....

[Brother_jd]

How many games were bowled back then compared to how many are bowled today?

[TCJ]

I think it's too easy these days to shoot a 300. It seems that every other week someone shoots one on my league. I've also had about ten games that were one strike shy of a 300 and I didn't even feel that I threw the ball that well most of those times. If I can get that close to one then you know it's too easy!

[MICHAEL]

hey,, I am almst 65,,, and I did one,,,, like you I have had dozen's and dozen's of ALMOST,,,, a number of 289/290's,,, many 278's One 298,,,, but remember now...... I just started bowling when I was 61,,,, so it hasen't been that long! I plan on getting another one this summer,,, just to show how easy it is!

I am a broken down old Iron Worker, broke my back once, neck a few years after that,,, very little feeling in my left foot, RA, High Blood pressure, losing my ability to see, smell and taste,,, about the only thing I am not losing is my good looks!! Every time I look in the mirror, I take a deep swallow, and say,,, Thank You Jesus!!

Yes I will prove it this summer with my 2nd 300 game.... maybe 825..... the technology is making it way to easy!

1. golf, would be like making the cup 1 ft across, or men hitting from the Red Tee's!!

2. baseball,,, would be like throwing the ball the size of a watermelon! or a bat that's flat and 12 inches across!!

3. Basketball,,, would be like lowering the basket to 8 feet, and the hoop about one foot wider...

They have made it so easy that even me,,, I can hardly walk,,, (can bowl a 300, and many, many close one's), like many of you out there.

It doesn't detract from the game, but I do wish it was a bit harder!

I bowled the last game of the seniors league the other day, UP SIDE DOWN, and between my legs, backwards!! THE WHOLE GAME,,, My goal was to get one Strike, and one spare, and break 100!I did!! LOL,,,, The other seniors think I am weird,,, and you know,,,, their not half wrong!!! (two strikes, and 3 spares... one in the 10 th,,, and I needed it got the 100,,,,, score was 104.....

I think with a little practice I could do 200 that way!! Most of the seniors were saying things like,,," I just wish I could get down and look between my legs!!" LOL....

[Bendial]

Hehe I can't really speak on the topic since I'm still barely able to throw strikes lol ... in a good game I'll have maybe 3-4 strikes.

[Bendial]

The more 300's the better in my opinion, who wants to play a game thats so hard you can never get the best score possible? That's like constantly studying for a test you're never going to get an A on, no thank you!

[MICHAEL]

The more 300's the better in my opinion, who wants to play a game thats so hard you can never get the best score possible? That's like constantly studying for a test you're never going to get an A on, no thank you!

But,,,,but ,,,, ,,, What fun would it be if everyone got A's on test?? If every baseball player hit a home run,,,,, If every golfer ,,,, pared all the holes.... If every basketball player could dunk the ball, (maybe not a good one ,,,lol,,, I think they all can)!

My point being if something is to achieve ,,, doesn't it diminish the glory??

The fact that I bowled one,,, at my age, makes me think I am really damn good,,,, or,,,,OR It's sorta easy!!?? If I bowl one this summer,,,, 12 weeks,,,, I will say,,,, Yes,,,,YES its way to easy,,,, ((((you know what they say about things happening in 3's!!!)))) Could number 2 sanctioned 300 happen this summer!?! We shall see!! ( I am almost 65!) LOL

The numbers are not peculiar to a bowling alley on Sunrise Highway. The American Bowling Congress, the governing body of the sport, reports that in the 1968-69 season, it recorded 905 perfect games in league and tournament matches; in the 1998-99 season, it recorded 34,470.
That figure represents about a 3,700 percent increase in 30 years. (( With Less people bowling now days))

[Hammer]

Let's face it, perfect 300 games are not done by everyone. If someone puts in a lot of practice and really gets into his game big time then getting a 300 game would probably be easy. But not everyone really gets into their game to get to a high standard. Some folks are just happy to be where they are and bowl the best they can for the fun of it in a house league. They just like the atmosphere of being with other folks that are there for the fun of it. I admit that I got into it pretty good at one time and bowled pretty good. Sometimes I would bowl all three games over 200 and would bowl a few scratch series over 600 a year. I even hit a scratch series of three games of 710. That was the best I could do at that time. I didn't even know as much about bowling balls like I do now. So on my league I was one of the better bowlers at that time. Now because of age or whatever I am not really into it like before. So as far as THS being easy I would say that it is easy for some folks. I am on a league where averages go from lows to a high of maybe 186. So evidently 300 games are not easy for our folks so THS patterns are good for them because they can't get a high scoring game even on the so called easy THS pattern. If a guy is putting in a lot of practice and has a ball arsenal then maybe that is why he has a high average on a THS pattern. You have to remember though that not everyone is serious about their game. Some are on league for the fun of it and not because they want to be so serious that they are trying for a 250 average and go on to a sport pattern. Folks on THS patterns for the most part are there for the fun of it. They maybe use a house ball and never practice so they need help from a THS pattern. I guess when you reach a point where getting 300 games are easy then you can look down on the folks below you and say they are bowling on easy patterns. It all depends on how far you want to go in bowling.

[billf]

The science hehind bowling today is also diffrent than in the 60s, 70s, 80s and even the 90s. There is so much more knowledge about covers, technique, etc. that comparing different eras isn't fair (just like in other sports). It use to be that there was only way to bowl to get a strike with little room for variation. Not anymore. Any style can now strike and the day of the "cookie cutter" bowler is over. At least for now.

[MICHAEL]

I looked at the figures, and noticed that a lOT MORE are being thrown. The early part of this tread gives the details, and there is no getting around that. They say bowling lanes are hurting, and that there are less bowlers now then back then,,, 70, 80, 90! AMF went bankrupt a while back, because of the low numbers, and yet look at how many 300 games are happening now compared to in the 80s and 90s when there were more bowlers.

I have many physical injuries, form a hard life working Iron! Broken back, neck,,, RA,,, on and on!! It hurt's bowling evey time I go out, but I don't give up, and play through the pain... I wish I had good health at my age 64, but I deal with what I got,,, and guess what 300 two weeks ago! lol

I had a good 702 series tonight with right knee sharp pain,,,, 214, 276, and a 212!! I am one tough old burnt out Iron worker, who LOVES TO BOWL!!! DAMN,, I LOVE THE SPORT,,,, wish I would have discovered it before I turned 61~~~ (:):p

I feel better each year since my start 3 1/2 years ago ... I think the life style and supplements I am taking WORK! EACH YEAR, since my start at the ripe age of 62, My strength, endurance, and pain have gotten MUCH better. I now take NO pain medication at all! I actually feel great! 300 times better then last year even!! lol