How THS has ruined bowling, and why we should all quit and play Bocce ball instead !

[Tony]

Ok have at it !

[fordman1]

Should say how high tech balls ruined bowling. How different patterns ruined bowling. How Bolmor ruined bowling. How short people ruined bowling. They hardly have to bend over they are so close to the floor.

[Tony]

Should say how high tech balls ruined bowling. How different patterns ruined bowling. How Bolmor ruined bowling. How short people ruined bowling. They hardly have to bend over they are so close to the floor.

"Short people have no reason to live" Randy Newman

Maybe God invented bowling so they would have a reason ?

[bowl1820]

Here are two articles from Coach T of Tamerbowling which I think are pretty good and should be read.

What’s up with THS? Is it too easy?
http://tamerbowling.com/ths-easy/

Where is the Sport of Bowling Going?
http://tamerbowling.com/where-is-the...bowling-going/

excerpt:
"To look ahead, we just need to focus on what works in the modern game of bowling, not dream of days gone by. The game can have as much integrity as it ever did. We just need to set the bar higher. I’d like to feel like I’m still playing a great sport."

[fortheloveofbowling]

Well i won't be playing bocce ball but i will be bowling until i can't walk any longer. I do however think the USBC needs to make some changes in regards to house shot requirements. I know i know....... MODERN BOWLING get with the times right???? Not the case with me but many many others. I grew up playing the lanes on the gutter but as things have changed over the years i can play anywhere on the lanes fairly comfortably.

The problem with a lot of house shots is the outside 10 boards are so dry you can't really even start right of 12-13 because the ball burns up. Again, not a huge factor for me but what fits my eye the best does not exist many times on a house shot. The people it affects the most is our ever age increasing membership which have always played straighter angles and many times using that extra angle afforded to them by playing out to increase carry. I know i know........ MODERN BOWLING GET WITH THE TIMES. But these guys many times are recreational bowlers just looking to do their own thing and they are shut out on what is supposed to be a easy shot. I can't tell you how often i see guys making good shots time after time and flat ten over and over. The lane has 39 boards and only 19 are being utilized through the first half of the lane and that has got to change.

Most every time you hear a lot of positive feedback on the lane conditions at tournaments it is because their were multiple angles to play. Make good shots from wherever you are playing and you are rewarded. After the lanes start to transition then it is your job to adjust but don't shut people out. What the USBC needs to do change their minimums for units across the lane and get away from the ridiculous 10 or 12 to 1 ratios. By doing this they could keep a similar amount of oil 10 to 10 but the minimum oil outside of that would increase. By allowing the straighter players to start out further they will create that same wall anyway and the higher rev guys can still start left of them. You just can't expect the aging generation to constantly have to play 4th or 5th arrow by the end of the night when they just can not carry that deep on the lane.

Again, i am just thinking of a more even playing field where good shots are rewarded from wherever you are playing. House shots are supposed to be recreational with multiple angles in play. I don't think by making the maximum ratios say 7 to 1 or 8 to 1 and increasing the minimum volume outside of ten is going to make them much tougher but will allow more variety in lane play.

Please provide your thoughts and experiences from your local centers.

[1VegasBowler]

Well i won't be playing bocce ball but i will be bowling until i can't walk any longer. I do however think the USBC needs to make some changes in regards to house shot requirements. I know i know....... MODERN BOWLING get with the times right???? Not the case with me but many many others. I grew up playing the lanes on the gutter but as things have changed over the years i can play anywhere on the lanes fairly comfortably.

The problem with a lot of house shots is the outside 10 boards are so dry you can't really even start right of 12-13 because the ball burns up. Again, not a huge factor for me but what fits my eye the best does not exist many times on a house shot. The people it affects the most is our ever age increasing membership which have always played straighter angles and many times using that extra angle afforded to them by playing out to increase carry. I know i know........ MODERN BOWLING GET WITH THE TIMES. But these guys many times are recreational bowlers just looking to do their own thing and they are shut out on what is supposed to be a easy shot. I can't tell you how often i see guys making good shots time after time and flat ten over and over. The lane has 39 boards and only 19 are being utilized through the first half of the lane and that has got to change.

Most every time you hear a lot of positive feedback on the lane conditions at tournaments it is because their were multiple angles to play. Make good shots from wherever you are playing and you are rewarded. After the lanes start to transition then it is your job to adjust but don't shut people out. What the USBC needs to do change their minimums for units across the lane and get away from the ridiculous 10 or 12 to 1 ratios. By doing this they could keep a similar amount of oil 10 to 10 but the minimum oil outside of that would increase. By allowing the straighter players to start out further they will create that same wall anyway and the higher rev guys can still start left of them. You just can't expect the aging generation to constantly have to play 4th or 5th arrow by the end of the night when they just can not carry that deep on the lane.

Again, i am just thinking of a more even playing field where good shots are rewarded from wherever you are playing. House shots are supposed to be recreational with multiple angles in play. I don't think by making the maximum ratios say 7 to 1 or 8 to 1 and increasing the minimum volume outside of ten is going to make them much tougher but will allow more variety in lane play.

Please provide your thoughts and experiences from your local centers.

The only thing I would add to this, would be to make the THS from 42-45ft with the volumes you suggested.

[RobLV1]

I agree completely. I would also like to see less taper (Christmas Tree) that helps to guide the ball to the pocket. We need to start to reign in the factors in the THS that take away any necessity for accuracy. Unfortunately, and I know that I will be accused for getting on my soapbox, as long as the USBC and the BPAA are sharing a coffee machine, this will not happen. The proprietors are too afraid of losing customers, and the USBC really doesn't have the money to monitor and enforce tougher lane conditions. The real losers, as I have said before, are the Professional Bowlers, as recreational bowlers just don't know how good they really are.

[Tony]

I agree completely. I would also like to see less taper (Christmas Tree) that helps to guide the ball to the pocket. We need to start to reign in the factors in the THS that take away any necessity for accuracy. Unfortunately, and I know that I will be accused for getting on my soapbox, as long as the USBC and the BPAA are sharing a coffee machine, this will not happen. The proprietors are too afraid of losing customers, and the USBC really doesn't have the money to monitor and enforce tougher lane conditions. The real losers, as I have said before, are the Professional Bowlers, as recreational bowlers just don't know how good they really are.

The way I see it, the subject of the post is THS, so I can't see why anyone would complain about getting on your soapbox by talking about THS.

I can agree with the center operators comment, I bowl with the guy who maintains the lane machine, and I've been there when people are hammering the GM about the shot that night, then bowled with the lane man a couple days later when he says, they changed, had him change the shot because they were getting too many complaints.

It's their business at stake, they don't want to and can't afford to lose teams and leagues because they move due to lane conditions. The directive has to come from USBC as to what they will certify / allow in order to encourage all centers to follow the new guidelines, if the conditions at the center down the road there is less danger of teams leaving. Maybe If the changes are small and happen over a series of years they will cause less issue. They might also need a system to spot check , monitor the centers to ensure that they are following the guideline.

[J Anderson]

Ok have at it !

Well at least with bocce the only cost is buying the set and you don't have to pay per game and rent or buy special shoes. A bit hard to play at night or on rainy days but at least there's no sandbagging

Seriously, is it really a case of the THS ruining the sport of bowling, or is bowling just reflecting our society?

I don't know how many USBC members are in Fairfield county, and in keeping with the theme of this post am too lazy to look it up, but there are only about 25 willing to bowl year round in a sport league. There are usually another 25 willing to bowl it just for the summer, with maybe 75% returning from previous summers and 25% trying it once and saying never again. That leaves the majority of league bowlers content to bowl on house shots that make it relatively easy to get the ball to the pocket. I have friends who have tried it and quit aftera few weeks, or who have stuck it out for a season but said afterwards "that's not my kind of bowling." I even heard someone who I think is in our local hall of fame and was a very good all around athlete in his youth say, " why would I pay money to bowl bad" in reference to the sport league. Since the nineties we've look at buying new ball as the best and fastest way to raise our averages. We complain that something must be wrong if one lane plays differently than the other of the pair we're bowling on.

Cars and trucks with manual transmissions have become rarities since few people bother to learn how to drive them. I can only remember about three phone numbers since most of the ones I need to call are saved on my cell. While I'm sure that most of us on this forum either work at demanding jobs or have retired from such jobs, it sure seems that as a nation we're getting lazier.

[1VegasBowler]

The THS is a pattern that is supposed to keep the every day bowler around and have high scores.

While there would be a few complaints about the suggestions made to a new THS, the good house bowlers will adjust to it. I also think that those who are just there for fun and enjoying a night out, will also make adjustments as well and will eventually adjust to it.

The problem is. where Tony suggested, is coming up with a way to spot check and/or to monitor the bowling centers for compliance. who is going to do these spot checks?

While the local USBC's do lane inspections every year, it's time consuming. We have 16 bowling centers to do here in Southern Nevada, and it will take us 2 months to complete the list. These are all done on either a Saturday or Sunday at around 6am.

Heck, you can even go to our web site to see who and when we're doing the inspections http://www.sonvbowl.com/.

We also encourage anybody who wants to come out and watch, or even learn how it's done.

Anyhow, as I was saying, who is going to do the spot checks? In smaller areas it might not be all that difficult for the local USBC personnel to do it, but what about the larger areas?

Members of the BOD are all volunteers and to ask some of them to do these spot checks is physically impossible for them to do. And those of us that are able, sooner or later somebody is going to want to say something about gas reimbursement.

While the idea of a spot check isn't a bad idea, the practicality and reality says it's not going to happen anytime soon.

There's no simple solution to this. BUT, as we are all members of the USBC, we should be taking the time to go to our local Board meetings and make these suggestions. OR, even if we took the time to send an email to the USBC in Texas to express our thoughts.

While it's always good to express our opinions and feelings on this or any other forum, it's even better to express them to the powers to be.

Beyond that, we're not being part of the solutions, despite the fact there are some very good ideas that come up here.