Is it okay to put the fingers into the shot with current bowling balls?

[Mike White]

Aslan, you are absolutely right... it all depends on your goals. When someone throws an honor score using a plastic or urethane bowling ball, I will be the first to contratulate him (or her).

I wonder who the him or her Rob is referring to.

I know that for a league bowler, that 300 game is going to be a memory that will last a lifetime.

"I know" is a bit of an overstatement. Had you included the word probably, then it would be acceptable, but to claim knowledge where you have none… Thats not smart.

I have a boat load of 279 games… had that been my highest score ever, I doubt I would have remembered each one.
As it is, I only remember few specific ones due to the unique situation they occurred.
My first 700 included a 279 game, shot with an old Manhattan Rubber ball.
At another bowling alley (now a Toys-R-Us) I shot 279 with a solid 8 pin.
One week before my first 300 I shot a 279. Only a solid 8 away from 300.
When I moved to Florida and joined a scratch league, my first game was 279, 10 pin in the 5th frame.

I also know that the bowler will never be able to compete in a tournament on a sport shot, because he can't adjust, but that's O.K., because he'll probably never even want to bowl on a sport shot.

More knowledge from thin air.
The conditions in the 80's were a lot harder than today's THS.
Had a house put out a shot equivalent to a THS, the ABC would have rejected all honor scores bowled on it.
Since I haven't had the opportunity to bowl on a "sport shot" I can't say how hard those are compared to the past.
There is one supposed to be starting in June near me. I'll make an extra effort to bowl in it.

As for tournament bowling:
I also bowled in the ABC nationals during the 80's.
In the early 80's, I bowled in the local ABT tournaments about a dozen times, taking 5th place, and 1st place once each.
I stopped bowling in the ABT because I was rerated to 195/0 handicap.
Turns out the tournament director saw more talent in me, than I saw myself at the time.

Back in the 80's I pretty much used one ball for multiple seasons.
In the later 80's, and early 90's I averaged 200+ in scratch, and handicap leagues in multiple houses.
I think that would qualify as an ability to adjust.

Keep in mind that we, the bowlers, didn't invent the modern game, the bowling centers and the ball manufacturers did.

Actually "we" the bowlers had a significant hand in inventing the modern game.
By flocking to the centers with higher scores, the centers had an incentive to make the conditions easier.
When the ABC rejected scores on too easy of conditions, the BPAA threatened to self sanction their leagues if the ABC continued to reject scores.
Since league bowling is the ABC's only source of income, the ABC relented.

As far as ball manufactures are concerned, I think they were looking in their financial interests.
In the 80's, if you grouped bowlers by average range, the largest group would be the 150-160 type of bowler.
Most of the 150-160 bowlers I saw back then had a hard time getting the 5 pin down, leaving plenty of 2-4-5-8 buckets.
It seems consistent that the reactive resin ball was designed to help this group get the ball to roll better, without any improvement in their physical game.

The down side is that for many people who are scoring high in a league setting now, their physical game looks worse than the 160 bowler in the past.

Try to outbowl a bad ball reaction as much as you want, you won't: guaranteed!

Maybe the problem is with the modern ball in that it can only be effective if thrown in a limited number of ways.

From experience, I know what happens if you over-rev a modern ball..
It's a bit of a shock to see the ball on 8 board at 39 feet (end of pattern), and in the left gutter by 50 feet.

[Aslan]

Mikey...you're MISSING THE POINT...that both Mudpuppy and Rob agree with me and think I'm right.

All other debates are inconsequential.

[Mudpuppy]

Mikey...you're MISSING THE POINT...that both Mudpuppy and Rob agree with me and think I'm right.

All other debates are inconsequential.

Whoah there asian. Don't go ordering I am right PBA ring or anything just yet. I said good post and you make some good points. I didn't blindly agree with you. It was a closed course with a professional driver don't try this at home.

[Mike White]

Mikey...you're MISSING THE POINT...that both Mudpuppy and Rob agree with me and think I'm right.

All other debates are inconsequential.

Any post that starts out with "Aslan, you're absolutely right" I've got to argue with

[Mudpuppy]

Any post that starts out with "Aslan, you're absolutely right" I've got to argue with

Isn't that the BowlingBoards.com motto or mantra?