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

[Tony]

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.

There is a club about 5 miles from my house with indoor lighted courts.

[Amyers]

I have no idea what a Bocce even is and I'll continue to bowl until I cant anymore. I would like to see some semblance of shot making brought back to the game and after an adjustment period players would adjust as long as everyone did it. Enforcement is problematic at best proprietors aren't going to tape the lanes or things like that but even a very light limited checks occasionally would suffice as long as the penalties were even moderately still would do the job. The removal of the Christmas tree, more oil on the outside, and 4 to 5 :1 ratios would do the job. It doesn't have to be draconian just not preset for success.

[Tony]

I have no idea what a Bocce even is and I'll continue to bowl until I cant anymore. I would like to see some semblance of shot making brought back to the game and after an adjustment period players would adjust as long as everyone did it. Enforcement is problematic at best proprietors aren't going to tape the lanes or things like that but even a very light limited checks occasionally would suffice as long as the penalties were even moderately still would do the job. The removal of the Christmas tree, more oil on the outside, and 4 to 5 :1 ratios would do the job. It doesn't have to be draconian just not preset for success.

Bocce is a ball rolling sport that dates way back, they estimate it's number three in participants worldwide, behind soccer and golf, around me it's mostly played in private clubs.
http://www.playaboule.com/How_to_play_bocce.aspx

[J Anderson]

Around here bocce is mostly played in backyards and parks. The company that my dad worked for used to have lunchtime horseshoe and bocce leagues complete with permanant, well at least until that part of the property was sold to the city of Norwalk, bocce courts and horseshoe pits.

[fordman1]

Two things to remember.
Every thing is driven by dollars. The BPAA wants the shot easier so their centers are full.
USBC can't do much without centers to bowl in.

Every house should have to run tapes on its high end leagues. Not so much on Senior, church or even mixed leagues. They could be turned in to the local assn.

We had to turn in tapes on our summer PBA league every week. They changed the shot every week and it was too hard to keep up. We had a few Senior PBA guys bowl and couldn't break 200.

[LOUVIT]

Bowl with what you are given...Anyone see the pro's shoot on the 55' oil pattern when even Belmo threw a straight ball....Oil patterns do not matter to me you bowl on what you are given, Yes I am now good but used to be and even I know that. All you people have 8 balls find one that works. Even though I am a lower average bowler with 2 balls I can adjust ......and?

[Timmyb]

Bowl with what you are given...Anyone see the pro's shoot on the 55' oil pattern when even Belmo threw a straight ball....Oil patterns do not matter to me you bowl on what you are given, Yes I am now good but used to be and even I know that. All you people have 8 balls find one that works. Even though I am a lower average bowler with 2 balls I can adjust ......and?

I have 4. Only two go with me to bowling, and one is a spare ball. Now what?

[Tony]

Bowl with what you are given...Anyone see the pro's shoot on the 55' oil pattern when even Belmo threw a straight ball....Oil patterns do not matter to me you bowl on what you are given, Yes I am now good but used to be and even I know that. All you people have 8 balls find one that works. Even though I am a lower average bowler with 2 balls I can adjust ......and?

To start with I am not bowling with the balls I've been given, let's get that out of the way first thing !

There are a few other things to keep in mind, how many different houses with different lane conditions do you bowl at ?
Many of the guys I know bowl at 4 or more different centers who all layout a different house shot. It would be much harder to perform well at all of them with only two balls.

Not to mention guys on travel or sport shot leagues, I know several guys who are on a travel league, imagine the variation in conditions they encounter.

I also recall the olden days when almost everyone had one ball, no spare ball or anything, when they try to do that today, are they successful, not usually, even the 70 yo guys I bowl with have learned to accept that, and most of them are carrying 2 to 4 balls.

Another question is if a guy wants to lug around 10 balls, who cares, he's not making you pay for them or haul them around. I admit I have more balls than I "NEED" but so what, I'm not taking food off the table to pay for them and I like to try different balls, lines and I bowl at multiple centers, where the shot is very different, some balls just stay in the locker at that center for when I'm there.

[Tony]

Two things to remember.
Every thing is driven by dollars. The BPAA wants the shot easier so their centers are full.
USBC can't do much without centers to bowl in.

Every house should have to run tapes on its high end leagues. Not so much on Senior, church or even mixed leagues. They could be turned in to the local assn.

We had to turn in tapes on our summer PBA league every week. They changed the shot every week and it was too hard to keep up. We had a few Senior PBA guys bowl and couldn't break 200.

One trend that I've noticed is the centers are registering more leagues as mixed, one league I bowl in that has been around over 50 years and was always a mens league. Earlier this year one guy asked if his girlfriend could sub for a teammate going to be laid up with surgery, to his surprise the league was registered as mixed and with a coaches vote we allowed her to bowl since it wasn't in the league rules.
Makes me wonder if there is a lower registration cost or something that encouraged them to register it as mixed....?

[fordman1]

One trend that I've noticed is the centers are registering more leagues as mixed, one league I bowl in that has been around over 50 years and was always a mens league. Earlier this year one guy asked if his girlfriend could sub for a teammate going to be laid up with surgery, to his surprise the league was registered as mixed and with a coaches vote we allowed her to bowl since it wasn't in the league rules.
Makes me wonder if there is a lower registration cost or something that encouraged them to register it as mixed....?

It has happened for two reasons. Less and less womens leagues and the men don't want to keep losing teams. They are mostly still a mans league but have a few women bowling. Some really good women can't find anywhere to bowl because they are just too good.
Cost is the same unless it is a local assn. charging more.