Now...there are more than one rating system out there. Each ball manufacturer has their own system...which works fine if you only use one manufacturer's equipment. MANY bowlers do this and tend to be very "brand loyal"...especially those bowlers that are staffers and required to only throw certain manufacturer's equipment.
BUT...for the many, many bowlers that use multiple brands....numerous rating systems exist.
For those not familiar with PerfectScale....it is the system developed by the forum's parent site (bowlingball.com) and is described in detail HERE.
Before I go into my thoughts, here are some thoughts from the previous discussion thread:
BOWL1820: "Note: The PerfectScale Rating system can be misleading."
ASLAN: "I realize the PerfectScale rating is misleading...but I'm only using it as 1/5 of the evaluation. And as I said...it remarkably does a better job of predicting when a ball is going to hook than simply going my hybrid versus solid versus pearl....I think because it factors in the actual strength of the cover material...but I'm guessing at that."
JJKinGA: "Rather than the perfect scale to account for coverstock friction, I think you may want to look at BTM's length rating which is designed to provide spearation between the bowling balls and give an idea of the amount of friction. BJI has a similar rating but BTM has been very transparent about how it is measured and it should be pretty consistent. It tracks very well to how they rate the balls for a given amount of oil (longer is higher rated on dry, shorter rates better on heavy). I haven't found that the torque, back end or hook ratings are that useful to me. Perhaps because those properties are more drilling depedant."
I have NOT looked at the BTM or BJI rating systems. My BTM subscription has expired...and I didn't renew it...NOT because it wasn't valuable....I just never had enough time to stay current on the articles. Like my XTraFrame subscription...I loved watching the qualifying and match play...but it took hours and hours of time and I'd end up trying to watch events from 3-4 months ago...well behind the tour...and could never seem to catch up until the season was over.
I'd be interested in hearing more about those systems (and others) as part of this thread...if anyone cares to share (and has a current subscription(s)).
REMEMBER...I am going from topics I believe are LEAST important...to those that are MOST important...so I'd consider PerfectScale (or other overall rating systems) to be more reliable a factor than COVERSTOCK...but not as important as the other factors listed...and from previous comments on this topic...most others would echo that sentiment.
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