What is reasonably expected from the bowling alley on a USBC certified league?

[Sourtower]

So I bowl in 3 bowling leagues, 2 at a Brunswick XL, and the other at an older bowling alley that used to be a Brunswick but was bought by another company. Anyways, my question is what is reasonably expected of lane conditions from a bowling alley in a USBC certified league? Out of the 3 leagues, only 1 is USBC certified, but I feel like the lane conditions are so inconsistent that its very frustrating. I'm almost 100% positive that for 22 out of the 28 weeks I've been in the league, that the lanes either haven't been freshly oiled, or that people have been bowling on those lanes up to an hour before league starts so the oil is all messed up by the time the league warm ups begin. Most, if not all of the bowling alleys I've been to in my area have a 'rule' where they do not allow any bowling up to an hour and a half before leagues start, and almost certainly after they've put on fresh oil before leagues begin. Is there a way I can file a complaint against the bowling alley through USBC or how should I go about dealing with this issue? Last night, by the 2nd game, all of the other bowlers on the pair I was bowling on had already transitioned to their medium-dry oil equipment. My friend had even started throwing his 'spare' ball for strikes in the 3rd game.

[Mike White]

So I bowl in 3 bowling leagues, 2 at a Brunswick XL, and the other at an older bowling alley that used to be a Brunswick but was bought by another company. Anyways, my question is what is reasonably expected of lane conditions from a bowling alley in a USBC certified league? Out of the 3 leagues, only 1 is USBC certified, but I feel like the lane conditions are so inconsistent that its very frustrating. I'm almost 100% positive that for 22 out of the 28 weeks I've been in the league, that the lanes either haven't been freshly oiled, or that people have been bowling on those lanes up to an hour before league starts so the oil is all messed up by the time the league warm ups begin. Most, if not all of the bowling alleys I've been to in my area have a 'rule' where they do not allow any bowling up to an hour and a half before leagues start, and almost certainly after they've put on fresh oil before leagues begin. Is there a way I can file a complaint against the bowling alley through USBC or how should I go about dealing with this issue? Last night, by the 2nd game, all of the other bowlers on the pair I was bowling on had already transitioned to their medium-dry oil equipment. My friend had even started throwing his 'spare' ball for strikes in the 3rd game.

The only real complaint is to take your money elsewhere.

USBC has pretty much given up on any lane condition rules.

[Amyers]

Have to agree with Mike. Talk with the league president and approach the owner as a group with your complaints. If they are willing to change great if not consider moving the league to another house. If it's just you that has an issue with it I would suggest moving to another house that puts out conditions more to your liking.

[Bradski9]

Our house doesn't let anyone bowl on the lanes once they are oiled for league. But we are also a smaller house and nobody really comes in to open bowl before league anyways.

[Sourtower]

Have to agree with Mike. Talk with the league president and approach the owner as a group with your complaints. If they are willing to change great if not consider moving the league to another house. If it's just you that has an issue with it I would suggest moving to another house that puts out conditions more to your liking.

At first I thought it was just my team and I, but talking with almost all of the league bowlers, most if not all agree that the lane conditions are the worst anybody has ever had to deal with. There's another league on Wednesdays that occupies 20 lanes, and I believe one of them had complained to management. They started oiling up the lanes for a month, but yesterday, it looks like things are back to normal.

[Sourtower]

The only real complaint is to take your money elsewhere.

USBC has pretty much given up on any lane condition rules.

That's unfortunate. Especially with the recent uptick in popularity that the bowling TV ratings has shown the past few months.

[Sourtower]

Our house doesn't let anyone bowl on the lanes once they are oiled for league. But we are also a smaller house and nobody really comes in to open bowl before league anyways.

All if not most of the other bowling alleys around me do this. It just baffles me that a potentially great bowling alley with 38 lanes and leagues that fill up more than 20 of those lanes can't even maintain their lanes for league bowlers. League bowlers give them a huge portion of their profit during the week with all the lineage fees, food, and drinks that are bought. Why not do the necessary things to keep them coming back? Anyways, I'm done with that Brunswick XL for now. I'm going to be in 2 summer leagues at 2 different bowling alleys.

[Mike White]

All if not most of the other bowling alleys around me do this. It just baffles me that a potentially great bowling alley with 38 lanes and leagues that fill up more than 20 of those lanes can't even maintain their lanes for league bowlers. League bowlers give them a huge portion of their profit during the week with all the lineage fees, food, and drinks that are bought. Why not do the necessary things to keep them coming back? Anyways, I'm done with that Brunswick XL for now. I'm going to be in 2 summer leagues at 2 different bowling alleys.

Remember, Brunswick bowling centers are owned by Bowlmor, who also bought up AMF.

So just because you moved, doesn't mean you've changed management.

Also, bowling centers make much more off food and drink than from lineage.

[Sourtower]

Remember, Brunswick bowling centers are owned by Bowlmor, who also bought up AMF.

So just because you moved, doesn't mean you've changed management.

Also, bowling centers make much more off food and drink than from lineage.

Yeah, the main one I'll be bowling in is owned independently. Atmosphere and bowling conditions are great. The whole feel of the place seems like they designed the center with respect to what a true bowler wants. The other is a Brunswick Zone. For whatever reason, I feel like the smaller Brunswick Zones are kept better than the Brunswick XL in my area. Very disappointing.

And yeah, the large amount of drinks and food consumed by league bowlers is driving their revenue. If they continue to not care about lane conditions like all the other centers do, I'm sure they're going to lose a lot of league bowlers. Especially since 2 of the centers near me just spent a bunch of money changing out their old wooden lanes with the new Brunswick synthetic lanes.

[zdawg]

. I'm almost 100% positive that for 22 out of the 28 weeks I've been in the league, that the lanes either haven't been freshly oiled, or that people have been bowling on those lanes up to an hour before league starts so the oil is all messed up by the time the league warm ups begin

My league is USBC certified, but people bowl on our lanes up to 15 minutes before warm up. The lanes are actually oiled while open bowling is still going on so you never know what kind of conditions you will get. I tend to get to the alley about an hour before we start because my office is right around the corner and it makes no sense for me to go home and drive all the way back, so at least I can usually gauge what lunatics were bowling on my pair for any given night.

[Sourtower]

My league is USBC certified, but people bowl on our lanes up to 15 minutes before warm up. The lanes are actually oiled while open bowling is still going on so you never know what kind of conditions you will get. I tend to get to the alley about an hour before we start because my office is right around the corner and it makes no sense for me to go home and drive all the way back, so at least I can usually gauge what lunatics were bowling on my pair for any given night.

I guess I should lower my expectations then. Kinda disappointing IMO. Either that or I'll be taking my business to other bowling alleys around the area.

[Mike White]

So I bowl in 3 bowling leagues, 2 at a Brunswick XL, and the other at an older bowling alley that used to be a Brunswick but was bought by another company. Anyways, my question is what is reasonably expected of lane conditions from a bowling alley in a USBC certified league? Out of the 3 leagues, only 1 is USBC certified, but I feel like the lane conditions are so inconsistent that its very frustrating. I'm almost 100% positive that for 22 out of the 28 weeks I've been in the league, that the lanes either haven't been freshly oiled, or that people have been bowling on those lanes up to an hour before league starts so the oil is all messed up by the time the league warm ups begin. Most, if not all of the bowling alleys I've been to in my area have a 'rule' where they do not allow any bowling up to an hour and a half before leagues start, and almost certainly after they've put on fresh oil before leagues begin. Is there a way I can file a complaint against the bowling alley through USBC or how should I go about dealing with this issue? Last night, by the 2nd game, all of the other bowlers on the pair I was bowling on had already transitioned to their medium-dry oil equipment. My friend had even started throwing his 'spare' ball for strikes in the 3rd game.


To some extent you have to blame the bowlers who took the easy way out of their problems.

Before reactive resin balls came about, many bowlers had a hard time getting the ball to roll thru the pins.

Leaving a 5 pin, or 2-4-5-8 was a common sight for people who didn't work at their game.

Ball companies came up with the miracle cure (resin) and now it's actually difficult to keep a ball from going into a roll.

The problem is, since the ball removes more oil from the lane than pre-resin, the bowling center is putting down about 3 times as much oil as before, and cleaning the lane every time the lane is oiled.

Pre-Resin the lane was only stripped of oil maybe twice a week, and new oil applied daily.

That means an increase in oil and cleaning product costs, just so you can throw strikes without having to come in and develop your skill during open bowling.

The modern ball is a lose lose situation for the bowling center.

And it's eroding the skill of the higher average league bowler.

[Aslan]

If enough people complain, they'll probably change things.

Last season my home center decided to flood the lanes in the morning and then just leave them all day. So you never knew what you were going to get. And most days you'd get an even worse condition than a sport shot…with oil smeared up past the breakpoint. Well, when only a handful of players averaged over 190 (out of 170 bowlers), enough of them complained that by the last game of the season (and now this season)…the pro shop guy said the owner agreed to shorten the pattern. Which sucks…because the best option would be a standard pattern that gets applied prior to leagues…but I guess it's slightly better than the other option.

[J Anderson]

USBC certification for a league, for the most part, only concerns the league rules and by-laws. For a bowling center, the USBC is mainly concerned with whether the lanes are within specs on being flat and level. There is no rule as far as I know that leagues must get a freshly oiled shot. The only exception is for sport leagues where the oil on the lane has to be checked before competition to make sure it is a sport compliant pattern.

[MFein]

Thankfully, our oil is never tampered with in our leagues and I'm enrolled in 4. Rules are obviously different in each one, but I have my pet peeves about each one. My worst pet peeves are people that stand up on the lane after a "great shot" and stare at the pins wondering what they did wrong. Meanwhile, their ball has no finish to it or has already completed the hook phase prior to hitting the pocket. They'll moan and groan and kick the return as I go up for a shot or someone else. That is annoying and has actually caused 5 total fights this year. To me, that's childish and this is something that should be removed from leagues instantly. We've lost 2 teams already because of bad behavior and childish antics.

[bowl1820]

USBC certification for a league, for the most part, only concerns the league rules and by-laws. For a bowling center, the USBC is mainly concerned with whether the lanes are within specs on being flat and level. There is no rule as far as I know that leagues must get a freshly oiled shot. The only exception is for sport leagues where the oil on the lane has to be checked before competition to make sure it is a sport compliant pattern.

Really there's no rule that the lanes have to be oiled in the first place, just that if they are oil there has to be at least 3 units where it is oiled.

[jab5325]

Thankfully, our oil is never tampered with in our leagues and I'm enrolled in 4. Rules are obviously different in each one, but I have my pet peeves about each one. My worst pet peeves are people that stand up on the lane after a "great shot" and stare at the pins wondering what they did wrong. Meanwhile, their ball has no finish to it or has already completed the hook phase prior to hitting the pocket. They'll moan and groan and kick the return as I go up for a shot or someone else. That is annoying and has actually caused 5 total fights this year. To me, that's childish and this is something that should be removed from leagues instantly. We've lost 2 teams already because of bad behavior and childish antics.

I've got a team in my league with a cowbell and a guy who makes out with his girlfriend/wife/whatever she is each week.

We bowled on the pair next to them last week, and finally, there was almost a fight because of their stupid cowbell. I took pleasure in watching their high average two-hander who goes 240-175-150 each night bowl in the low 400s.

[Sourtower]

I've got a team in my league with a cowbell and a guy who makes out with his girlfriend/wife/whatever she is each week.

We bowled on the pair next to them last week, and finally, there was almost a fight because of their stupid cowbell. I took pleasure in watching their high average two-hander who goes 240-175-150 each night bowl in the low 400s.

I probably would've taken a hammer to that cowbell a long time ago and told them 'Nothing Hits Like a Hammer' and walked away.

[Sourtower]

Really there's no rule that the lanes have to be oiled in the first place, just that if they are oil there has to be at least 3 units where it is oiled.

Thanks for the clarification.

[jab5325]

I probably would've taken a hammer to that cowbell a long time ago and told them 'Nothing Hits Like a Hammer' and walked away.

I'd love to do that.

There was almost a fight 2 weeks ago--they were doing it nonstop. A bowler a few lanes down came up and threatened to shove it somewhere painful, and one of the dullards didn't take too kindly to it.

Last week, they only rang the bell a handful of times--we'll see what happens this week.