The German Shepherd
01-23-2014, 06:21 PM
I believe that bowling is the best game there is. It can be done by people of all ages and levels of expertise; its fun, challenging, aggravating and exhilarating at the same time. This is why I think it is good for those who love the game to defend it, and this is my motivation for this RANT.
Please understand that all of the following is my OPINION and that I just took a Percoset for some excruciating pain I am presently enduring...
I believe that it is HIGH TIME (no pun intended) that ball manufacturers address the problem of pre-mature bowling ball death due to oil soaking/saturation. Now I know some of you may say that, "I have used the same ball for X years and never had it die on me." I am glad that you have had that experience, and I share that experience as well. But when there are numerous reports of a particular ball dying prematurely and it becomes a pattern, then there is just no denying that there is an issue.
Some years ago, the Hammer Black Widow was a sensation. It's "out of the box" performance level was astounding. Then we began to hear the voices of people who began to complain about the ball quitting on them after 40 - 50 games (once again, let me say that YMMV if you had one, but...). If this had occurred in a random and rare fashion, then it could have been atributed to poor ball care and maintenance, but it became a trend and many people stopped throwing them. More recently, I have had two balls die on me. One was a Storm Vivid and lately it was a Storm Sync. Neither was ever abused, neglected, left out in the cold or heat or even spoken to harshly, yet both died at right around 60 games. I cleaned them religiously, and my level of care for them, and all of the balls in my kennel (Get it? German Shepherd - kennel? Haha) was, and continues to be, absolutely fastidious.
This problem MUST be addressed by the bowling ball manufacturers! And to make matters worse, it's the higher end/higher priced balls that tend to soak up/absorb more oil and therefore die most prematurely! Let me repeat, the ball manufacturers MUST address this problem. If people are going to spend $200.00 plus for a bowling ball, then wouldn't it be fair to be allowed to think that you could expect good service from that ball for a looooong time??
BTW, the Vivid and Sync were both professionally serviced. That means they were both heated, de-oiled, and resurfaced and it did NOT ONE bit of good. So, not only were the balls uber-expensive, but they were cleaned with expesive cleaners and, in the end, put through very expensive processes designed to restore their performance, and it did no good.
With all of the technology and brilliant minds currently working in our industry (people like Hank Boomershine, Mo Pinel, et al), don't you think it would be possible for them to make a ball that performs and keeps it's performance? Yes, I understand that proper cleaning, upkeep and maintenance is incumbent on the consumer - but when all reasonable efforts are made to care for one's beloved products and they STILL fail, then that issue rests firmly on the shoulders of the manufacturers.
There. I've said my piece. Please let the cat in when you leave...
Jay
Please understand that all of the following is my OPINION and that I just took a Percoset for some excruciating pain I am presently enduring...
I believe that it is HIGH TIME (no pun intended) that ball manufacturers address the problem of pre-mature bowling ball death due to oil soaking/saturation. Now I know some of you may say that, "I have used the same ball for X years and never had it die on me." I am glad that you have had that experience, and I share that experience as well. But when there are numerous reports of a particular ball dying prematurely and it becomes a pattern, then there is just no denying that there is an issue.
Some years ago, the Hammer Black Widow was a sensation. It's "out of the box" performance level was astounding. Then we began to hear the voices of people who began to complain about the ball quitting on them after 40 - 50 games (once again, let me say that YMMV if you had one, but...). If this had occurred in a random and rare fashion, then it could have been atributed to poor ball care and maintenance, but it became a trend and many people stopped throwing them. More recently, I have had two balls die on me. One was a Storm Vivid and lately it was a Storm Sync. Neither was ever abused, neglected, left out in the cold or heat or even spoken to harshly, yet both died at right around 60 games. I cleaned them religiously, and my level of care for them, and all of the balls in my kennel (Get it? German Shepherd - kennel? Haha) was, and continues to be, absolutely fastidious.
This problem MUST be addressed by the bowling ball manufacturers! And to make matters worse, it's the higher end/higher priced balls that tend to soak up/absorb more oil and therefore die most prematurely! Let me repeat, the ball manufacturers MUST address this problem. If people are going to spend $200.00 plus for a bowling ball, then wouldn't it be fair to be allowed to think that you could expect good service from that ball for a looooong time??
BTW, the Vivid and Sync were both professionally serviced. That means they were both heated, de-oiled, and resurfaced and it did NOT ONE bit of good. So, not only were the balls uber-expensive, but they were cleaned with expesive cleaners and, in the end, put through very expensive processes designed to restore their performance, and it did no good.
With all of the technology and brilliant minds currently working in our industry (people like Hank Boomershine, Mo Pinel, et al), don't you think it would be possible for them to make a ball that performs and keeps it's performance? Yes, I understand that proper cleaning, upkeep and maintenance is incumbent on the consumer - but when all reasonable efforts are made to care for one's beloved products and they STILL fail, then that issue rests firmly on the shoulders of the manufacturers.
There. I've said my piece. Please let the cat in when you leave...
Jay