New PBA Ruling

[JaMau24]

I really thing that there is really,,,, no where else to go with the nanno, micro, ect ect..! Again look at a chart of what all the Storm balls will do, regardless of your style of bowling? How much more can be accomplished with ball surface.
I don’t see a new ball doing anymore for a Good Bowler that has what I mentioned above, that a ball that’s out there now can do.
Its marketing,,,, Virtual Gravity, Nanno! What????? What in the he$$ has virtual gravity nanno got to do with a bowling ball??
We have a guy in town first name Pat!,,, he has bowled 37 300 games…. And one I witnessed Last week.
He is 58 years old. I ask him how it did,,,, and he said he was up all night drinking and playing poker,,, in fact he said he was up till 4 am!! If a man 58 can do that, so many times,,,, I must conclude the equipment works just fine where we are now…
In conclusion, its not the magic new ball, its knowledge, and skill!!

I somewhat agree and disagree with you Mike. A good bowler will be able to make any of the newer balls work (balls that are around 10 years old), but that being said, I'd bet they do, in fact, do BETTER with the newer balls. No way do I agree that balls are done evolving and improving. I'd guess that 20 years ago, there was a guy, like you, saying that balls are done evolving and they can get no better. Virtual Gravity Nano is just a name. Nothing more, nothing less. So again, I agree that a lot of what makes a ball work good is the bowler throwing it, but that being said, it's incorrect to say that the ball doesn't factor into it, and incorrect to say balls can't improve anymore. (In my opinion.)

[Hampe]

Yea, but are the balls advantageous because of the new technology in them, or simply just because they are new? I would bet that a 5 year old pro performance ball that had never been used, can outhook/outperform a new ball like the Nano with a bunch of games on it. It's not like the balls that are coming out now completely blow the balls from last year out of the water. I don't think there is that big of a difference.

Of course I'm not saying that the balls don't get better at all, it's obvious that they do. It's just not that huge of a difference on a year to year basis.

[JaMau24]

Yea, but are the balls advantageous because of the new technology in them, or simply just because they are new? I would bet that a 5 year old pro performance ball that had never been used, can outhook/outperform a new ball like the Nano with a bunch of games on it. It's not like the balls that are coming out now completely blow the balls from last year out of the water. I don't think there is that big of a difference.

Of course I'm not saying that the balls don't get better at all, it's obvious that they do. It's just not that huge of a difference on a year to year basis.

I'm not saying you are going to see a big jump from year to year, I'm saying the balls from 10 years ago aren't nearly as good as the balls coming out now... and also saying that it is likely that in 10 years, the balls coming out then, will be better than the balls now.

I'd agree with you that a 5 year old ball that is brand new will out hook a new ball with a bunch of games on it... Not sure what exactly that proves. I'm sure a brand new never been used Nano would probably out hook whatever 5 year old never been used ball.

[Hampe]

I'd agree with you that a 5 year old ball that is brand new will out hook a new ball with a bunch of games on it... Not sure what exactly that proves.

The point is simply that a ball being brand new will have more of an effect on performance than it's release date.

I'm sure a brand new never been used Nano would probably out hook whatever 5 year old never been used ball.

So am I, but I doubt that a brand new Nano could noticably outpreform a brand new original VG. In 5 years you will notice a difference between balls.....in 1 year you probably won't (unless there is some kind of huge breakthrough). That's the whole point.....I don't think the Pros would have a huge advantage with new releases over regional players that are using balls from last year.

[billf]

Yes most of it is knowledge and skill, I agree. I also agree that most PBA pros could beat most league bowlers using a nerf golf ball. 99.9% of my opponents will always have an edge in experience over me being that I started so late in life. If my mental and physical game and knowledge is at least on par with that pro, why should he be given any kind of advantage with equipment? Let's be brutally honest about this. Most of the pros that do this are not the Norm Duke's, Rash's, etc. It's usually a bowler close to losing their exempt status. This is their attempt at making a living bowling. They will do whatever they can to keep making a living, that's human nature. Now, when Rhino Page and Jack Jurek won their respective regionals this past season, they had the latest and greatest of unreleased Storm equipment and the best coaches with them. I like both of the guys mentioned. Real sportmanship, integrity and have every reason to walk around with their heads held high. Definitely two men I would like to meet. However, as good as they are, why give them ANY advantage of the rest of the field?
Mike, you keep going back to the human part of bowling. At that level, how much of a difference is there in that aspect?

[J Anderson]

I don't think that there is any way of knowing if bowling balls have reached the limit of what they can do. History of full of innovators who, after creating something revolutionary, sat back and said 'who could want anything better than this?' Someone else would promptly come along, make an improvement and leave the original innovator in the dust. Look at Henry Ford. The Model T was revolutionary, transforming the automobile from an expensive toy, to a common, useful means of transportation. The only changes that Ford allowed were those necessary to maintain his price advantage. By the 1920s that was no longer enough, and Ford slipped to the #2 position is sales.

[MICHAEL]

I somewhat agree and disagree with you Mike. A good bowler will be able to make any of the newer balls work (balls that are around 10 years old), but that being said, I'd bet they do, in fact, do BETTER with the newer balls. No way do I agree that balls are done evolving and improving. I'd guess that 20 years ago, there was a guy, like you, saying that balls are done evolving and they can get no better. Virtual Gravity Nano is just a name. Nothing more, nothing less. So again, I agree that a lot of what makes a ball work good is the bowler throwing it, but that being said, it's incorrect to say that the ball doesn't factor into it, and incorrect to say balls can't improve anymore. (In my opinion.)

Dude,,, dude,,, I agree that 20 years ago,,, ( maybe,,) a guy or gal,Said that bowling balls have nowhere to go, and that they have reach a plateau! But that guy would have been Forest Gump!! Look at the golf ball, and even the baseball! They went through many changes but with the baseball they stopped to keep records fair, and not to have outfields over a mile deep! One of the reasons they don’t allow aluminum bats! You hit farther with one, and would not be fair to the old records, and I respect that!
Golf is much like bowling in that they keep coming up with new and improved balls, but are they really?
The bowling ball YOU chose is very important! ((But not as important as picking the right ball for YOU))!
AND,,,,, more importantly,,,, having it drilled by a person that KNOWS your style of bowling. Dude I have seen you bowl many times, (and might I say it’s an honor to do that), but let me make this clear! The day you bowled the 300 game, you were in the ZONE! You always have the talent to do it, and no MAGIC ball is going to come out in the future that is much different than what’s out there now!
Lets say they could make a ball that gives you a strike every time, with a self-adjusting gyro that has pocket finding technology, WOULD WE EVEN WANT IT? What we have now should be regulated by the PBA, (like the baseball), and only spins on what’s out there NOW should be allowed!
Maybe like the baseball, we have come a LONG ways from the balls of twenty years ago, but they have set a standard that is followed for good reasons! Bowling balls, and the SCIENCE behind them and the new more difficult oil patters, and machines that lay them down have JUMPED Quantum Leaps in regards to the balls, oil machines, and technology in general.
In conclusion: Yes 20 years ago someone (might) have said that where else can they go with this sport! The better question is, how far do you want to go, to take the skill out of the game! You can miss a shot on a house pattern now by 3321 boards, and balls can make it back to the pocket and strike! WAS THAT really a STRIKE! That being said, please tell me what you think a (NEW SECRET WEAPON of a ball COULD DO,,,,,,,, that’s balls are not doing today! Technology eventually reaches a point where no real improvement can be achieved, or should be achieved if you want to have a sport where some form of skill is needed. All a good, bowler needs is out there! HIT your MARK, Good ball delivery, knowledge and knowing HOW to adjust to oil conditions, and all of you will bow a great score!!
I firmly believe this to be true so help me god!!

[The German Shepherd]

After reading Mike's post above, I remembered back to the late 70's when I threw a Columbia Yellow Dot. I loved that ball. Then came the Yellow Dot "Bleeder." When I decided to get one, my girlfriend (another avid bowler) got upset with me as she felt that I was getting a ball that wuld give me an unfair advantage. She actually felt I was kinda cheating! I bowled in a house that used nothing but (what we now call) the US Open pattern. Imagine what she would have thought about what we regularly bowl on these days with a THS!

Jay

[JaMau24]

That's a good point, Mike. How much better of a ball do we need and still have fun bowling!? If they had a drastic improvement over the balls now, in 20 years, then no, I don't think bowling would be as fun. You make an excellent point.

The baseball is definitely done evolving, at least for our foreseeable future. They used to play with a lemon peel in the 1850's for goodness sakes!

[hoppy1605]

I disagree with the rule, I'm entering my 3rd season of bowling (36years old, so a little bit of a later start), and after I wanted to start getting "better" and throw a hook, I began to watch the pros on TV. And three years ago, Storm was dominating, so I went out and bought what Norm Duke was using (Anarchy), and loved it. I now have several balls, and after watching the pro's, will check out the web-site and see when the new ones are coming out. It's almost like Christmas for adults, I love the anticipation on trying out a new ball! Also, this year was pre-recorded for most of the events, so they all used the same gear, which was kind of boring!