A New Low for House Bowlers

[RobLV1]

Today I bowled in a small local tournament on the PBA Bear Pattern. Let me tell you that the pattern is aptly named: it's a BEAR! The format of the tournament is that you bowl four games, moving one pair to the right after each game, and throw out your lowest score for a three game total. The last game today, the two bowlers to the left of us moved to the pair that we had just bowled. I had an eight board difference between the two lanes with the left lane hooking a lot more. I threw my best game on that pair. After each of the bowlers to our left threw one shot on the left lane they actually went up to the tournament directors to complain that the oil machine obviously broke down on the left hand lane, so they should be able to move to a different pair. If it wasn't so pathetic, and such a commentary on modern bowling, it would have been about the funniest thing I ever saw.

[Aslan]

For some reason I thought this story would have to do with urine.

[Amyers]

The utter stupidity of most bowlers in this age absolutely amazes me. You would think that people entering a tournament on PBA conditions would know better. Bowling has devolved into a bunch of whiney babies.

[mc_runner]

Yikes. Hope they didn't win, haha. I'm also imagining what was going through the tournament directors' heads when they heard that

[John Anderson]

Yikes. Hope they didn't win, haha. I'm also imagining what was going through the tournament directors' heads when they heard that

I'm going to guess that they didn't. People who complain usually are not the winners.

[RobLV1]

They definitely didn't win, though one of them thought he was good enough to win; as long as all of the lanes are exactly the same! LOL

[Mike White]

The utter stupidity of most bowlers in this age absolutely amazes me. You would think that people entering a tournament on PBA conditions would know better. Bowling has devolved into a bunch of whiney babies.

The game has devolved into a joke, and it will stay that way until hell freezes over and the whiners have their high tech balls taken away.

If you get rid of the high tech balls, the amount of oil on the lane can be reduced significantly.

The low tech ball doesn't remove anywhere near as much oil, so the pattern stays much longer.

That makes coming in the next afternoon to practice reasonable because the pattern isn't toast.

The problem is, the whiners don't want to have to work to get honor scores, so they ruin the game for everyone else.

The bowling ball manufactures have it sweet since they can sell high tech balls at premium prices, while making the ball last for a season or two.

To me, skilled bowling is with a low friction ball, on a fairly flat, and short oil pattern.

Whiners have made that condition nonexistent.

[Aslan]

That makes coming in the next afternoon to practice reasonable because the pattern isn't toast.
One of my biggest pet peeves is that it's virtually impossible to practice for league play on conditions similar to what you'll experience during actual league play.

I live next door to a bowling alley that is a fairly dry house with older lanes. Even freshly oiled...the condition is at best medium-oil/length. Yet I go into practice (it's open 24 hours) and any time...the lanes are so toasted...the by the time I get to the 3rd game...I'm standing at 30 and targeting 21 and by the end of the 6-8 practice games I'm using my weakest ball...a $57 Brunswick Slingshot....the weakest resin ball Brunswick made circa 2-3 years ago.

Then I show up on league night...being one of the FEW league bowlers that actually practices...and I'm leaving 2-4-5s, 1-2-8s, 1-2-4-7s, etc...


The bowling ball manufactures have it sweet since they can sell high tech balls at premium prices, while making the ball last for a season or two.
Also a pet peeve. I have a 35 year old Columbia300 Blue Knight in the trunk of my car...it's a little beat up...but in useable shape. My Storm Frantic...split in half sitting on my bowling ball rack after 1.5 years. Bowling balls used to last for decades and be handed down...now bowlers bowl 100 games and throw them in the trash.


To me, skilled bowling is with a low friction ball, on a fairly flat, and short oil pattern.

Whiners have made that condition nonexistent.

1) In fairness...that's also because you refuse to change your release, approach, etc... to adapt to drier conditions.
2) Whiners ALSO complain when there is TOO MUCH oil. I know I used to. So a bowling center can't really win and please everyone. If lanes are too dry, the bowlers throwing aggressive equipment with high revs or very low speed...they can't stay right of the headpin (for rightys). But if the lanes are too oily or too long or too flat...the straighter, rev challenged bowlers or bowlers with less aggressive equipment are stuck throwing straight at the headpin and their game suffers. Both instances...bowlers whine...because that's what we do.

I bowl with an old man on Wednesdays...I LOVE this guy because he's the only person I know that is as interested in bowling as I am...maybe not counting RobM. Well, this guy has a ball speed of 7-11mph...usually closer to 7.5mph. He uses the MOST aggressive balls he can get his hands on. I've tried to help him by telling him that since his ball speed can't safely be increased (not a good idea to mess with speeds for older guys with potential injury issues)...he needs to make some lateral adjustments and if that doesn't work...by lower hooking equipment. But...as is VERY COMMON among our older folks...he absolutely will NOT listen. He listened to me ONE time regarding a lateral move....and it worked...and he struck...but he was almost ashamed that he had to listen to me and went back to doing it his way. Frustrating.

And what does he complain about (constantly)?? The lanes. They aren't oily enough. And maybe they aren't. It's an easy house with a very manageable THS. But good bowlers adapt. Bad bowlers just complain and drink more. Either way, the house always wins!!

[HowDoIHookAgain]

I think some of the most bearable and least complaining bowlers are the ones who do nothing but open bowling, and don't take the sport seriously. For the most part, they don't know about oil patterns or revs or cores or anything like that. Essentially, they just throw the ball at the pins and hope for a strike (or at least 5-7 pins). It's almost kind of funny to watch them bowl in the house I bowl at. Horrible conditions, yet I see the open bowlers having a good time and not caring, for the most part, about the bowling technicalities.

Now when you look at the very few good bowlers that bowl there, they can get very upset about the erratic lane conditions. And as a kid wanting to get better at the sport, this can get very frustrating for me, from time to time. It really doesn't seem to add up. The less experienced bowlers (in some case, "bowlers") have a better time than the more experienced ones. But the main cause of this, to be honest, is that one group simply wants to have a great time regardless of score or anything of the sort, and the other wants to have a good time while racking up strike after strike. While there are some exceptions to this, this is what I seem to see (and experience) most of the time.

[Mike White]

1) In fairness...that's also because you refuse to change your release, approach, etc... to adapt to drier conditions.


What are you basing this opinion on?

That one day on wood lanes so beat up they were long overdue to be replaced?

Is your memory that short?

On those conditions I moved from playing inside, to playing outside.

But starting the ball outside, had a lot less friction, not because of oil outside, but because there were so many patched boards in the middle that hadn't been sanded flat.

[mc_runner]

I think some of the most bearable and least complaining bowlers are the ones who do nothing but open bowling, and don't take the sport seriously. For the most part, they don't know about oil patterns or revs or cores or anything like that. Essentially, they just throw the ball at the pins and hope for a strike (or at least 5-7 pins). It's almost kind of funny to watch them bowl in the house I bowl at. Horrible conditions, yet I see the open bowlers having a good time and not caring, for the most part, about the bowling technicalities.

Now when you look at the very few good bowlers that bowl there, they can get very upset about the erratic lane conditions. And as a kid wanting to get better at the sport, this can get very frustrating for me, from time to time. It really doesn't seem to add up. The less experienced bowlers (in some case, "bowlers") have a better time than the more experienced ones. But the main cause of this, to be honest, is that one group simply wants to have a great time regardless of score or anything of the sort, and the other wants to have a good time while racking up strike after strike. While there are some exceptions to this, this is what I seem to see (and experience) most of the time.

In open bowling I really like bowling on unknown conditions... whether it be a leftover tournament pattern, a family of 6 throwing 6lb balls with bumpers, or a beat to you know what house pattern from who knows when... it's a challenge to adapt. While still practicing release, these different conditions are great experience. In league it's a little bit different, because it "counts". And even if it's a perfectly walled up THS people will still complain. If it's a hard shot, and I'm not doing well, I just try to make the best of it and still enjoy myself.

[Bradski9]

In open bowling I really like bowling on unknown conditions... whether it be a leftover tournament pattern, a family of 6 throwing 6lb balls with bumpers, or a beat to you know what house pattern from who knows when... it's a challenge to adapt. While still practicing release, these different conditions are great experience. In league it's a little bit different, because it "counts". And even if it's a perfectly walled up THS people will still complain. If it's a hard shot, and I'm not doing well, I just try to make the best of it and still enjoy myself.

Yep I love adapting to whatever is left on the lane, I do a lot of open bowling so I am usually bowling on lanes with tons of carry down oil on the backend

[TVan]

My favorite complaint about THS from league bowlers is the guy that throws a weak spinner up the puddle and leaves flat 10's all night. He thinks the house is responsible for 10 pins. I have bowled in plenty of different leagues and houses and each one is the "house that leaves more 10 pins than any other house" or the "welcome to (insert center name)" after a guy leaves a 10. I just laugh as he continues to leave flat 10's and make no adjustment for it at all.

[Tony]

I bowl with an old man on Wednesdays...I LOVE this guy because he's the only person I know that is as interested in bowling as I am...maybe not counting RobM. Well, this guy has a ball speed of 7-11mph...usually closer to 7.5mph. He uses the MOST aggressive balls he can get his hands on. I've tried to help him by telling him that since his ball speed can't safely be increased (not a good idea to mess with speeds for older guys with potential injury issues)...he needs to make some lateral adjustments and if that doesn't work...by lower hooking equipment. But...as is VERY COMMON among our older folks...he absolutely will NOT listen. He listened to me ONE time regarding a lateral move....and it worked...and he struck...but he was almost ashamed that he had to listen to me and went back to doing it his way. Frustrating.

And what does he complain about (constantly)?? The lanes. They aren't oily enough. And maybe they aren't. It's an easy house with a very manageable THS. But good bowlers adapt. Bad bowlers just complain and drink more. Either way, the house always wins!!

Keep in mind that some people just need something to complain about. With the advice it's very common for people of any age to get stubborn when they start to feel like some "young kid" is telling them how to do something they have been doing for years. Just consider how you might react if some 20 year old kid starts telling you the balls you are using are wrong, you stand in the wrong place, and you don't throw hard enough ......

[Aslan]

Keep in mind that some people just need something to complain about. With the advice it's very common for people of any age to get stubborn when they start to feel like some "young kid" is telling them how to do something they have been doing for years. Just consider how you might react if some 20 year old kid starts telling you the balls you are using are wrong, you stand in the wrong place, and you don't throw hard enough ......

I wouldn't constantly complain to the 20-year old that I can't play the lanes because they are hooking too much.