What I Don't Understand about the USBC

[Mike White]

Or, change nothing about the sport besides the pins? Keep the same weight but lower the center of gravity and make them harder to knock over?

Changing the pins effects everyone, and not everyone is benefiting from modern balls, and walled up lanes.

Why punish the senior bowlers who just throw the ball slowly down the middle?

[ep1977]

The USBC has done a horrible job of protecting the integrity of the sport of bowling. Their lack of regulation of lane conditions has resulted in house shots where 200+ averages are the norm, and awards scores are rampant. What I don't understand is why this same organization insists on putting out a lane condition for their yearly National Open Championships where these same house bowlers struggle to average 160. The USBC is raising their dues next year out of a need, I'm sure, of keeping up with all of the awards that they give out, and yet they actively encourage bowlers not to return to the National Championships to because of the struggle to score. Does this make any sense to you?

This is like saying that the MLB isn't doing a good job because the national league has an insane amount of little league sized parks and an automatic out at the end of the line up.

If anyone wants harder conditions there are many options like tournaments and sport shot leagues!!!!

[Timmyb]

Personally I hope everyone that complains about the job the USBC does gets what they wish for. Then there will be new stuff to read on the boards.

At first everyone will say how great it is, then after a few position rounds and tournaments losses watch what happens.

You'll come on the boards and read where the same people are now complaining about how the USBC went overboard or how they did it wrong, etc. (and it won't just be the over-inflated egos fed by artificially high averages either)

Don't think it would happen?

Look at Motiv and the Jackal debacle, People have been complaining a long time about how the USBC doesn't enforce the rules. So they enforce one, what happened? Everyone said the USBC went overboard, they did it wrong, etc.

I hope your proposal go's good, just don't be surprised at how it unfolds.


The Dead Horse List:

• Bash the USBC horse
• Two Hand Bowler horse
• Sandbagger horse
• Handicap horse
• "CG" the static weight horse
• "Reactive Resin" the Cheater Ball horse

Bowl, this is as spot on as it gets. There will never be a way to make everyone happy. If you're at a house and scoring well, don't be disappointed when you go to a tournament and score badly. Bowling is about making adjustments, and not about everything being spoon-fed to you. I bowled on a fresh house shot two week ago, and went 584. Bowled the next Sunday on a burned up Saturday oiling, and shot 670. It's all about ADJUSTMENTS!

[fordman1]

Since the new rule went into effect saying only bowlers who haven't previously earned 300's or 800's get anything there are spending less than ever on awards. So what are the league bowlers getting for their dues? Now they want more money? Should your dues be paying for Team USA, or PBA events? Or bribe money for the Olympics?

[Timmyb]

Since the new rule went into effect saying only bowlers who haven't previously earned 300's or 800's get anything there are spending less than ever on awards. So what are the league bowlers getting for their dues? Now they want more money? Should your dues be paying for Team USA, or PBA events? Or bribe money for the Olympics?

I'm okay with the Olympic bribe money!

[Hot_pocket]

It seems you should be complaining more about the balls available, instead of the lanes. There is literally a ball for every lane condition and recently that experiment that was posted on here, shows that companies are literally making the same ball 2 different ways, by changing the cover stock only. But we couldn't allow a change to balls because it's necessary to show the sport can grow in all aspects. Idk if it's possible but I say explore the options of oil make up. They were able to produce the blue oil so why not try and change the chemical make-up that may make it slightly, harder for even a typical house shot?

[RobLV1]

It seems you should be complaining more about the balls available, instead of the lanes. There is literally a ball for every lane condition and recently that experiment that was posted on here, shows that companies are literally making the same ball 2 different ways, by changing the cover stock only. But we couldn't allow a change to balls because it's necessary to show the sport can grow in all aspects. Idk if it's possible but I say explore the options of oil make up. They were able to produce the blue oil so why not try and change the chemical make-up that may make it slightly, harder for even a typical house shot?

First off, I'm not complaining. I'm simply pointing out a specific inconsistency in the USBC philosophy regarding oil patterns for daily bowling and for their National Open Championships. I'm also pointing out, that in my opinion, they have failed to protect the integrity of the game. This includes bowling balls as well as lane conditions. I would like to see them start toughening up ball specs, but, frankly, the ball issue is much harder to address because the ball manufacturers have become the defacto financial supporters of the sport of bowling. Without manufacturers dollars, there would be no PBA Tour or major tournaments.

[bowl1820]

The National Open Championships should always have patterns that are harder than the daily house patterns.

Could they toughen the house shot? sure. But if they do they need to make nationals just that much harder.

The Nationals should be different, harder, something you didn't expect.

The thing about hard patterns is, they are only hard because you don't bowl on them all the time. If you bowl on a "Hard" pattern long enough, it will get easier.

The PBA told how they found that out when they first went to the animal patterns, the scores plunged. But after they bowled on them for a little while, the scores started climbing right back up.

They don't really need to make house shots harder, just require them rotate through all the different ones that exist now week after week.

There are plenty of good scoring THS patterns that play differently, have different volumes and lengths. By rotating through them, you could get bowlers use to not expecting the same shot when they go to the lanes, week after week and playing them the same way all the time.

That way they still have a easy pattern they could score on, but won't have quite that much preconception on how to play the lanes. Which would help them when they go to the Nationals or to any tournament with a "hard" pattern.

[Jaescrub]

The National Open Championships should always have patterns that are harder than the daily house patterns.

Could they toughen the house shot? sure. But if they do they need to make nationals just that much harder.

The Nationals should be different, harder, something you didn't expect.

The thing about hard patterns is, they are only hard because you don't bowl on them all the time. If you bowl on a "Hard" pattern long enough, it will get easier.

The PBA told how they found that out when they first went to the animal patterns, the scores plunged. But after they bowled on them for a little while, the scores started climbing right back up.

They don't really need to make house shots harder, just require them rotate through all the different ones that exist now week after week.

There are plenty of good scoring THS patterns that play differently, have different volumes and lengths. By rotating through them, you could get bowlers use to not expecting the same shot when they go to the lanes, week after week and playing them the same way all the time.

That way they still have a easy pattern they could score on, but won't have quite that much preconception on how to play the lanes. Which would help them when they go to the Nationals or to any tournament with a "hard" pattern.

This is the truth I have been saying this for a long time now. I would love if every week it was a different shot. I know it would help make myself a better bowler.

[ep1977]

Look at what golf does with the US Open. The coarse is always insanely difficult and people always complain but I think the US Open/ Nationals in golf and bowling should be the most difficult conditions the athletes will face in there lives.