Bowling Balls: The Story Of A Flooded Market by James Goulding III

Bowling Balls:  The Story Of A Flooded Market

by James Goulding III

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a safe and happy holiday season, I know I did.  This blog installment deals with the subject of bowling balls, and more specifically the amount of bowling balls produced by each bowling ball company.  We have all had that moment when we are looking forward to the purchase of a new bowling ball, and look into what might be the best fit for your game.  The problem is, this process can take on a life of its own due to the slew of bowling balls out there, with all different types of cover stocks, hook ratings, core combinations, etc.  It can be more of a hassle to find a new bowling ball, when it should be a fun and enjoyable process.  Why do bowling ball companies feel the need to push SO many bowling balls out in a short period of time?  I don’t know if I have a specific answer for that, as I am sure the ball companies have people with a better marketing background than I have (o.k. so I have NO marketing background, you get my point).  They must have a handle on what people want, or what they THINK they want, but it really seems like a lot of overkill on the market to me.  Without further a due, I am going to go into detail about EXACTLY what has been put out on the market.  My criteria for the following list is to list bowling balls that were put on the USBC approved bowling ball list for the period of one calendar year, which in this case is January 2009 – January 2010.  The list can be found here:  http://usbcongress.http.internapcdn.net/usbcongress/bowl/equipandspecs/pdfs/approved_balllist.pdf

So, here is the list, in descending order of the bowling ball company and the number of bowling balls they released in ( ) next to their name, from the time period of one year from January 2009 – January 2010:

 Profi Shop   (39)

AMF   (25)

Brunswick   (20)

Storm   (19)

Ebonite   (18)

US Act   (13)

Hammer   (13)

Roto-Grip   (12)

900 Global   (12)

Columbia   (11)

ABS   (10)

Track   (9)

Caffeine Sports   (6)

Bowlers Paradise/Elite   (5)

Lane #1   (5)

MoRich   (5)

AZO   (4)

Dyno-Thane   (3)

ARK International   (3)

Hard Ball   (3)

Lanemasters   (3)

CAL Bowling   (2)

Lloyd Price Brand   (2)

Lord Field   (2)

Motiv   (2)

Revolution   (2)

Seismic   (2)

Vision X   (2)

Visionary   (2)

DQA   (1)

High Sports   (1)

Kinetic   (1)

VIA   (1)

————————-

Total = 258 bowling balls from 33 Manufacturers

There were 258 bowling balls produced in the last 12 months from 33 different companies.  That is an average of 21 – 22 bowling balls per month!!!!!!  That just seems crazy to me.  Is there really a need to make THAT many new bowling balls every year?  The list includes ALL types of approved bowling balls.  Reactive resin, particle, urethane, polyester, everything.  Also, this list contains many companies that are either not U.S. based, or don’t sell their bowling balls in the U.S. at all.  So, for the sake of argument, let me create a new list, one that has the bowling balls you are most likely to see in your local pro shop window, shopping on the internet, or in a catalog at the bowling alley.  This list will contain equipment approved by the USBC and the PBA Tour for the calendar year of January 2009 – January 2010.  Here is the approved ball list, in descending order, with the company names followed by the number of balls they had approved in ( ) next to their name:

AMF   (25)

Brunswick   (20)

Storm   (19)

Ebonite   (18)

Hammer   (13)

Roto-Grip   (12)

900 Global   (12)

Columbia   (11)

Track   (9)

MoRich   (5)

Motiv   (2)

————————-

Total = 146 bowling balls from 11 Manufacturers

There was a total of 146 bowling balls produced in the last 12 months by 11 different companies approved by the USBC and PBA for use in competition.  This equates to about 12 bowling balls per month, or on average about 1 new release per month per company.  This is, in my opinion, still a staggering amount bowling balls to be on the market in a short period of time.  It seems that no matter what the economy does, bowling balls keep pouring out of these companies by the dozens, with no conceivable end in sight.  How is the average league bowler supposed to make up their mind and decide on the (1) ball they might get per season with so many choices?  They can ask their local pro shop for help, but not even the best of shops can know the ball reaction and characteristics of 146 different bowling balls, and how each one would either work or not work for a specific bowler.  How are tournament bowlers supposed to limit their bowling bag to a solid 5 or 6 ball arsenal with so many choices?  These are just a few of the problems with having SO many bowling balls out there at once.

Another problem is how and when bowling ball companies decide to slash prices on what they call “older equipment” (even if it is only 2 – 3 months old) to make way for new stuff coming down the pipeline.  Pro shops buy a certain amount of balls from their distributor at a set price, and need to sell the balls at a price slightly above what they paid so that they can make money and stay in business.  What happens many times, though, is that the ball companies will cut the price of certain balls they are dis-continuing, but the pro shop is stuck since they bought the balls at the higher price point.  So, the shop either loses a smaller amount money on the ball and sells it cheaper, or lets it sit on the shelf, take up room, and they lose A LOT more money on the ball.  Bowlers can buy the dis-continued ball from an internet retailer for the cut price, and pro shop basically gets screwed on the whole deal.  That is another issue I have with all these releases by bowling ball companies, they don’t think about how their need to release the next “big thing” on the market affects those who actually buy and sell their product.

I would like to see a system where the USBC limits the number of bowling balls they will approve from companies to 5 or 6 a year per company.  The companies can make more bowling balls, but the USBC would only approve 5 or 6 of those for competition.  If you did that, you could cut down on the amount of bowling balls out there by a significant amount.  For example, if you take the 11 companies above that are both USBC and PBA approved, and limit them to 6 balls a year maximum, then it would mean you would have 66 new releases every year instead of the 146 you had this past year.  That cuts down on number of balls by 80, or 55%!!!  That is a huge improvement, in my opinion, compared to the current “ball of the week club” mentality the bowling ball companies stuff down our throats now.  There would be less overlap (reaction-wise) between bowling balls, consumers would have an easier time making the proper choice of equipment for their game, and pro shops wouldn’t have to worry as much about bowling balls being dis-continued and losing money to online retailers who buy up the remainder of supplies from distributors.  This is a win-win situation for everyone.  I think that the bowling ball companies would still sell plenty of product to turn over a profit even with a limited number of the type of bowling balls being produced.  They could save money on the cost of creating a whole new mold design for each ball, and by limiting that to 6 balls per year, that would be a huge savings in research and development costs.

In closing, I would like to say that I enjoy buying bowling balls just as much as the next bowler, but I think there should be a limit to what is being thrown out there to the public to choose from.  I know I would still buy the same 4 or 5 balls per year even if there were only 66 balls to choose from, instead of the 146 there are out there from the last calendar year.  The market is flooded with so many balls that seemingly overlap left and right, so by limiting the number of possible bowling ball combinations companies can make, you help ensure a higher quality of product, and help restore competitive balance to the market.  The smaller companies like Motiv and MoRich can keep up better with the big boys like Brunswick and Ebonite, and I think that is a good thing overall for the sport of bowling.  Also, pro shops will have a much better knowledge base as it pertains to each new bowling ball release since they will have a smaller sample size to review, and they can have a better idea of where prices should be set for the bowling balls they DO purchase from distributors.  As always, the opinions expressed in the blog are my own, and in no way reflect the opinions of the Maine State USBC or any of its members.  Thank you for reading, and feel free to leave a comment or question on anything you read in the blog.

www.lausbca.org

www.msusbc-maine.org

Tough Lane Conditions and Sport Bowling(Update From Previous Blog Post) by James Goulding III

Tough Lane Conditions and Sport Bowling (Update From Previous Blog Post)

by James Goulding III

First off, this is a combination post updating  the previous blog I posted about the do’s and don’ts of houses putting out tought shots, and whether or not they should be sport sanctioned, and using this blog entry to better explain what to do if you find yourself in a no-win situation on the lanes (shot wise).  I also outlined (in my previous blog entry) the pitfalls of NOT sanctioning sport, and what can happen when the pattern does not get tweaked to play evenly from side to side.

That being said, I would like to apologize to anyone (from my local bowling center) who took offense to my stance in the previous blog entry.  It was not meant to personally attack any specific employee or person, I was merely throwing my thoughts out there on a topic I felt needed to be addressed.  The REASON I felt it needed addressing is that on league where I bowl on the tough pattern, we are losing bowlers.  This is fact.  I do not want to see this league (or any league for that matter) go down in size and lose bowlers, so I wanted to interject MY opinion not only to the bowling center, but online to any bowlers out there who may read the blog and can relate with a similar experience(s), so that maybe some solutions to GAIN bowlers can be had.  I also felt that this particular pattern wasn’t being laid out evenly (scoring wise) from left to right, so I thought I might be able to get opinions on how other centers or bowlers might think about it, and possibly grab some ideas I could bounce off my local center to get the shot to play more even from side to side.  This is not saying that whoever is laying out the current shot is incompetent or anything like that (actually I applaud the bowling center AND lane man for having the guts to put out something tough), I was just hoping to draw attention to the actual shot being put out, and maybe garner a possible tweaking to the shot to get it to play more evenly.  But, now that I have had a chance to step back and look at it, I want the house to leave the shot alone completely, and not tweak it at all.  I will get into that later in my blog entry, so stay tuned!  I think everyone at that particular bowling center does a fantastic job of catering to the bowlers, and it really does feel like family when you bowl there.  From the good food, the cleanliness of the center, to the superb upkeep of the machines and lanes, everyone does a great job of making the place run like a well oiled machine, so thank you from the bottom of my heart.  That is all, really, I did not mean to step on anyone’s toes with my previous blog entry, or upset people, and if I did, I apologize for that.

Now onto the guts of this blog entry.  Two season’s ago, we filled the house (with the tough pattern) and had to turn away bowlers because the league was full, and we were bowling (then) on a standard typical house shot, nothing too hard or sport sanctioned.  Last season we went to a tougher pattern (voted on by the league), which was still scorable and played very fair from side to side, and still filled the house.  But, when it came to the start of the league season this year, we lost two teams.  I can not say for sure if it was the tougher shot or the tougher economic times that did it, but we were two teams short nonetheless.  This season, the pattern is playing even tougher than last season (the house decided what they were putting out this season), and my fear is that we will lose more teams for next season.  I do not want to see that happen.  THAT is why I want the league to go sport sanctioned, to give the bowlers who throw on the current tough oil pattern the benefit(s) that come along with sport bowling, from the special awards and average scale adjuster, to being able to say that you bowl on a tough pattern that is also recognized by the USBC for being sport compliant.  It adds some legitimacy to a house putting out a tough shot, and shows they care enough about the bowlers to sanction it as sport complaint every week.  Take it from someone who has bowled on MANY sport and PBA patterns, this pattern on our current league plays (in my opinion) tougher than a standard sport shot.  But, it is not sport sanctioned, so for the once a week bowler who comes in, he (or she) sees their average 20-30 sticks lower, and they say “why do I want to do this?”, and many can not blame them for not wanting to bowl on it.  I, though, LOVE the challenge, but I am also a very competitive bowler who likes a lower scoring pace, so it brings back shot making and spare shooting to the game of bowling, and makes it less about a carrying contest.  I will bowl on whatever the house wants to put out and enjoy the challenge.  But, for bowlers who have been accustomed to higher scores and plenty of miss room on the lanes, going to a shot that plays tight and lower scoring can be a bitter pill to swallow.  You are going to always keep your *hardcore* bowling junkies around no matter what shot you put out, but there are FAR less of those type of bowlers than there are the ones who want to come in, throw their three games, pop off an honor score or two a season, average 200 and go home every week content with their effort.  The house shot bowlers out number the hardcore’s by a wide margin (probably 10:1 or higher), so I think that if at the very least a house says they will sport sanction a tougher shot, maybe they can win over some of those house shot bowlers by explaining the benefits that come with sport bowling.  Not only does it make you a better bowler (sport bowling), but it makes you better prepared for bowling in the nationals where the scoring pace is lower, the competition is better, and you will be able to compete better on a national stage, since you have seen a tougher shot all season long.  So, maybe by explaining all of those things, bowling centers can convince a regular league that bowls on a tough shot (like the one I am on) to go full sport sanctioning.  But, the benefits of doing so HAVE to be expalined in detail to all the bowlers to gauge how they feel about it if you have any shot of retaining them for the next bowling season.  I DO NOT want the league to go back to an easier pattern where 20 bowlers average 220+, but if we do not go sport sanctioning, maybe there is some sort of middle ground the house can reach that will keep the house bowlers around, but not alienate the hardcore bowlers (like myself) who enjoy the challenge of a tough shot.  I hope that helps clarify where I stand on tough shots going to sport sanctioning, which was THE key point in my previous blog entry.

Now it comes down to what I touched on earlier, and that is my previous blog post saying the shot does not play evenly from side to side.  I have looked at the graph of the current oil pattern, and gone into detail how I think the shot could be tweaked to make it play better for righties and lefties alike.  Anyway, I am posting now saying that I DO NOT want the house to touch the shot on the left side of the lane (or the right side of the lane) AT ALL.  The only way I would like to see it (the shot) modified would be if we had an impromptu meeting where the house says the shot needs to be tweaked to make the league sport compliant.  Since the league is not going to vote to swap to a sport sanctioning mid-season, I can not see that scenario playing out, which is why I am now saying to leave the shot alone.  The reason(s) I have come full circle on this are simple, really.  For starters, I want the satisfaction of being able to say I can hit whatever they want to throw out there, even if I feel like I am at a disadvantage night in and night out.  Since I ALSO feel that righties are at a disadvantage on many easier scoring patterns, I think that if I have to work harder than they do on this tougher pattern, it is only fair.  Secondly, I do not want any fellow bowlers calling into question my integrity and saying I am whining about the shot playing tough.  I would hope that my reputation, as well as my skill set, speak for itself, but in case anyone dares to question either, I am willing to keep bowling and competing on the pattern as it is laid out currently, and will take more satisfaction in bowling well in the process.  I am actually approaching the second half of the season with a great attitude (which every bowler should have), a new strategy, and hope that the shot does not change at all for the remainder of the season (unless we go full sport sanctioning and the shot needs to be tweaked to do so).  There is a certain level of satisfaction which comes from bowling well with you back against the wall.  I am sorry for keeping the blog entry so personal, but I feel that it needed to be done, and hopefully there are other bowlers who have had similar experience(s) and can draw on something I may have brought up in this blog entry.

In closing, I would like to think that things I have touched on in my personal experiences since I brought up this subject in my last blog entry can be applied for MANY bowlers out there.  I know there has to be some of you who feel like you would like to see your league go to sport sanctioning, and maybe something I said helps you to convince your local center and league to do so.  If it does, great!!!  I like to hear that bowlers are interested enough in the sport of bowling to change it for the better, and maybe with the dialogue this blog creates, we can achieve just that in the future.  Also, I hope that at my local center (where the shot is tough), everyone there knows that I love bowling there, the employees are great, and the bowling atmosphere is unmatched, so keep up the good work!  If anyone has any questions for me, please feel free to approach me either at the lanes, or leave a comment on the blog.  I WILL get back to you ASAP.  If anyone has suggestions for me , please feel free to leave those as well, I like both the positive AND negative feedback.  It is good to know that people care enough to not only post praise, but criticism of you as well.  As always, the opinions and comments in this blog entry are my own, and in no way reflect the opinions of the MSUSBC or any of its members.  Thank you for reading, and I look forward to seeing many of you on the lanes, and talk to many more of you on the blog.  Happy Holidays!!!!

www.lausbca.org

www.msusbc-maine.org

Sport Bowling Patterns: Sanction Your League; The Do’s and Don’ts of Tough Oil Patterns! by James Goulding III

Sport Bowling Patterns: Sancti0n Your League; The Do’s and Don’ts of Tough Oil Patterns!

by James Goulding III

Hello again!  I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday, and now that we gear up for more holiday tradition this month, I have a subject I would like to touch on, and that is sport bowling patterns, and how houses can use those to sharpen up league competition when done correctly.  We have all bowled on a regular “house shot”, where there is a heavy concentration of oil in the center of the lane, and it tapers down to a lighter concentration on the outside boards, usually between 39 – 42 ft. in length.  This allows a bowler to have “miss room” inside as the ball will hold pocket due to the heavy oil, and the ball will recover from the outside boards if the bowler misses there, since there is a lighter concentration of oil on those boards.  This leads to a higher scoring pace, more honor scores, and in my opinion, has been one of the factors that has led bowling down the road to fewer members (but I will save that argument for another day).  A sport pattern, in contrast, uses ratios such as 3:1 or 4:1, so that the maximum amount of difference in oil concentration from board to board can not be more than 3:1 or 4:1, or whatever ratio is being used.  Obviously, the lower the ratio (2:1) the tougher the oil pattern, since the oil will be laid across the lane pretty much “flat” so that there is about the same amount of oil inside on the 4th arrow as there is on the 1st arrow.  The higher the ratio (4:1) the more forgiving the pattern, since you can have a larger variance in the amount of oil applied to the lane from board to board, but you can still not exceed that (4:1) ratio at any time for the pattern to be “sport compliant”.  These patterns lower the scoring pace, force bowlers to become more accurate to score, and bring back spare shooting as a viable part of scoring in the game of bowling.  I feel these are the way to go for competitive leagues, and the only fair way to do it is to get the league sanctioned as sport compliant with the USBC.  No doing so, and making up oil patterns that have not been researched thoroughly and sanctioned as sport compliant by the USBC, is not the way to properly bring down the scoring pace, and I will get into that in my next section.

There are, however, examples out there of how houses try and bring down the scoring pace, but do it in a way that (I feel) does not help bowling but rather hinders it, and alienates bowlers in the process.  I bowl in a house that has said they were going to put out something very hard, which I was excited to get the chance to bowl on week in and week out.  I was looking at the lane graph thinking we would be bowling on one of the tough Kegel patterns, or maybe a PBA experience pattern, or even a sport shot, like a 4:1 or 3:1 ratio pattern.  What I saw, though, was some kind of made up oil blend “unique” to something the house had come up with to lower the scoring pace.  I still didn’t mind, because if the pattern played even from side to side, I didn’t see a problem with it.  This is where they got the first thing wrong, in my opinion.  You can not put out a pattern that is very short (37-38ft. in length), take away the outside boards, and lighten up the oil in the center of the lane, without doing the proper research on how to “build the pattern” to play consistently for righties AND lefties.  The pattern plays to somewhere near a 2:1 – 3:1 ratio.  Since the righties out number left-handed bowlers about 9:1, on a given night where you have (2) five person teams bowling against each other, you are going to have roughly 9 righties and 1 lefty.  On this particular pattern, the oil is distributed fairly even from side to side (actually there is a slightly higher concntration on the left side outside the ten board), which makes for a lopsided scoring pace as the night goes on.  All the traffic playing on the right side of the lane is able to pull some of that outside oil off, and allow the righties to create area by making dry boards for the balls to hook off of down lane.  On the left side, where there is only 1, maybe 2, on a given night, their side of the lane will NEVER open up due to the low amount of traffic moving the oil around.  What you can do to even out the scoring is to lighten up the oil on outside boards on the left side of the lane (which happens on the PBA tour, check out their patterns for reference) so that it compensates for the limited amount of bowlers who throw on that side of the lane during the night.  It seems common sense to me.  You can’t apply the same amount of oil to both sides of the lane where there are (9) people throwing on one side, and (1) throwing on the other side and expect them to score similarly, sorry that is never going to happen.

Lightening up the oil on the left side (a small amount, not making it “wide open”) should be done so that EVERY bowler, no matter what hand they throw with, has the same “look” on the lane, and you are not giving an unfair advantage to one side or the other.  You can tweak the shot until you get it right, but to this point in the season, the shot has not changed one bit, so the left side is pretty much shut out from shooting high numbers week in and week out, which is wrong  in my opinion.  I would say the same thing if it were the right side being shut out, it doesn’t matter, houses need to do their homework and make sure that if they are going to “make up” their own oil pattern, that they do it right or don’t do it at all.  There are plenty of sanctionable sport programs that can be downloaded into an oil machine that have been tested for years, so if those are out there, and a house is looking to lower the scoring pace, why not use a pattern that has been tested EXTENSIVELY and used by the USBC and PBA?  It makes no sense to me for a house to try and make up an oil pattern that you will probably never see outside of that house, ever.

Also, the fact that a house (like the one I mention) wants to put out a tough pattern is great, I love having to work hard and grind out a 200 game.  But, if you are going to do it, I say make sure you sanction the league as a sport league, and give the bowlers who throw on that tough pattern the benefits that a sport league gets.  One of those benefits is an average scale adjuster for tournaments.  This is a scale that adjusts up your average to what it would be if you were bowling on a typical house shot (THS) instead of a sport pattern.  If you do not sanction as a sport league, and put out a tough shot, *some* bowlers may see that a a chance to sandbag in my opinion.  A bowler can come in, bowl on that tough shot and average probably 20 – 30 pins lower than his (or her) normal average, but without the average slider, they can use that lower average for handicapping in tournaments and have a HUGE advantage per game over bowlers who are going in with a THS average.  You can not say they are sandbagging intentionally, but by knowing the league does not sanction sport, a person who WANTS to sandbag their average can legally do so on that type of league, which SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN!!! 

Bowling centers should not be in the business of  failing to make a league sanction as a sport league and make up their own version of a “tough shot”, which plays harder than a sport pattern.  Like I said earlier, do it right, or don’t so it at all.  Also, there are awards that are given out for sport bowling ONLY, so by sanctioning as a sport league it give bowlers something else to shoot for week in and week out.  The extra cost for a sport sanction is minimal (I believe in the $9 per year range), but by doing so you are telling your bowlers that you want to put out a tough shot, you care about their needs and wants as competitors to make the league a sport sanctioned league, and  that you are also promoting the growth of the sport through proper sanctioning.

In closing, I would like to say that any houses that are putting out so-called “tough shots” and are not sanctioning as a sport league, you are doing a dis-service not only to your bowlers, but to the entire game of bowling as a whole.  I am all for bowling on the toughest patterns out there, and have on many occasions like the Masters or U.S. Open, but a bowling center needs to get their leagues sport sanctioned, and put out patterns that play fair to everyone, not just righties OR lefties, but even for both.  Everyone should have an equal chance to score well, and be able to compete and beat someone with their skill alone.  A bowler should not be beaten by the fact that they have no chance on a certain lane condition, because the other side of the lane plays easier.   That is wrong, and should never happen in this technological age of bowling.  There are so many ways to make things fair and even, I see no excuse not to, to be honest.  The opinions expressed in this blog are my own, and in no way reflect those of the MSUSBC, or its members.  Thank you for reading, and feel free to comment on anything I have written, open communication and dialog are the keys to success!!  Good luck and good bowling on a sport pattern in your area!

If the PBA folds, does it really matter? by James Goulding III

If the PBA folds, does it really matter?
by James Goulding III

 

This has been a subject that I had hoped to never write about, and that is the VERY real possibility that we are seeing the last days of the Professional Bowler’s Association (PBA) as we know it.  With the recent confirmation that the tour stop in Medford was cancelled due to lack of sponsorship dollars and the hard economy, it brings once again to the forefront the possibility that the PBA may not last another season.  I wonder, though, how many bowlers out there even care if the PBA exists?  How many recreational bowlers have even HEARD of the PBA, nevermind catch a show on Sunday afternoon.  Either way, I feel the if the PBA folds, it would be very bad for the long-term future of bowling as a competitive sport.

For one, there are far-reaching ramifications for the economy if there is no PBA.  From bowling ball sales that would suffer because the players wouldn’t be visible to promote them on TV every week, to bowling shoes and accessories, there are MANY companies that make those products who stand to lose business from the lack of product recognition that the PBA tour provides every week.  Also, the network stands to lose viewers who tune in to the PBA each and every Sunday, as well as losing the money that the PBA pays for the airtime.  There would be many professional players looking for jobs, which adds to the unemployment numbers, and hurts the economy.  Also, think about all the people on staff for the ball companies, coaches, ball rep’s, ball drillers, etc. that would be out of work if the PBA closed it’s doors.  Like I said, there are very many factors outside of the fact that we  (as bowlers) like to see the best players in the world compete week in and week out.

There are a few hurdles that hurt the PBA and it’s prize funds.  One of them is the fact that the PBA pays for its airtime.  Many other sports get paid by the network(s) to have their games broadcast at certain times.  The PBA pays ESPN, CBS, whomever, to air the telecast every week.  Plus, the rate that the PBA gets money for commercial time from sponsors, is lower than any other professional sports organization.  It’s even lower than what hockey gets, and for a sport like bowling that is THE highest participation sport in the U.S., that is just unacceptable.  The PBA has been branded as an organization that just doesn’t sell, for whatever that reason is, I don’t know, it just is.  There needs to be a complete re-evaluation of what and how the PBA is marketed, who it gets marketed to, and how to more efficiently use the dollars that the PBA gets to turn it into a viable product for the consumer to view.

I also feel that the time slot the PBA gets shoved into hurts the product, and BADLY.  The NFL is the most watched sporting event week in and week out, hands down.  To have the PBA on at a time where most of america would rather watch the NFL at 1 or 2 PM on a Sunday afternoon is committing Nielsen ratings suicide.  I feel that the PBA (since it pays for its airtime anyway) should try and get the tour either back in its original Saturday afternoon spot (which would compete with college football), or, try and get into a weeknight spot, like a Monday or Tuesday night.  I think that Tuesday would be the perfect spot, especially if the PBA could get into a 7 PM slot, before the prime time shows begin.  They could avoid the NFL altogether, plus maybe pull in some new viewers who may tune into their favorite shows early and catch the telecast.  Those are just a few ideas, but at this point I feel that anything is worth a try.

Lastly, the PBA (if it survives) needs to find a way to creat revenue and get the prize funds respectable for the best players in the world.  There are tournaments now that pay the same for 1st place as they did 20 years ago, and that is just unacceptable.  If the PBA could find a way to get prized funds to the point where 1st place pays consistently 50,000 (+), many more people may be interested in checking out the telecast, and there would be more buzz around each tournament stop.  It could also bring in more money to the TQR by creating an environment that would  make more sense for those players to drop some cash to compete for a chance to make a bigger pay-day.  This is where the USBC could step in, which I think would be a good idea.  For years, the USBC has been cutting down on awards without decreasing costs.  I would like to see the USBC commit $1 from every member that certifies, and put that money into the PBA prize fund directly.  That could add millions to the prize fund, and make the PBA a marketable and viable organization again.  I know as a USBC sanctioned bowler myself, this is one thing the USBC could do to give back to bowling, and at the cost of only $1 more, I wouldn’t even notice the cost difference out of my pocket.

Those are a few of my thoughts on the PBA, and my hope that it will continue to thrive and survive this tough economic time.  There is no better honor than to be considered one of the elite athletes of your sport, and the PBA players are no different in that aspect.  They deserve to be recognized and paid on a level more consistent with the best in other sports.  It would be a great travesty if the PBA had to fold, and have devastating effect not only on the economy but on amateur and professional bowling as a whole.  If there are no heros left to look up to, than where do we look?

As always, the opinions expressed in this blog entry are my own, and in no way reflect the opinion of the MSUSBC or their members.  Thank you for reading, and please feel free to comment on anything you read here today.  Take care!!!

-James Goulding III

www.lausbca.org

www.msusbc-maine.org

Keys to Effective Practice – by David Charron

I have been bowling for some 30+ years now. When I was a Younger Bowler in my early and late Teens I use to practice much the same way as many of the youth and adults for that matter, I see practicing today. Throw as many games as possible just as quickly as you possibly can. I quickly learned through my early 20’s that this type of Fast Paced non-thinking approach to practice was doing more harm than good. I changed my method of practice, while my number of practice games did not decrease (Roughly 50-80/Week in my 20’s), my time on the lanes certainly increased. I started to key on certain things through my practice session and started to see vast improvement on the lanes. The results of my new practice regiment only wanted to make me spend more time and effort on my game. I don’t practice as much these days, occasionally when my timing is bad, or I am having a particular difficultly, or most often when I get new Equipment to simply figure out reaction compared to my current equipment. So in this article I am going to share with you my 7 Keys to Effective General Practice.

 1)      PICK A GOOD TIME TO PRACTICE – Pick a time when you can devote at least 2 hours to a practice session. Not 20 Minutes before league to throw 3 games of one ball after another.

2)      PREPARE TO PRACTICE – Always start with stretching, Arms, Legs, Back, Neck, Hands, Etc then start slowly by rolling anywhere from 10-12 Balls down the lane with no particular attention to where, start with a very slow ball speed, and gradually pick this speed up to normal this with further stretch the muscles … Also prepare yourself mentally as well (see PLAN PRATICE) Make sure your body and mind is ready to practice.

3)      PLAN PRACTICE – Remember when you went to your high school or other team practice for Basketball, Football, Soccer, Baseball, or other sport. Your practice was planned with certain activities in segments. This is no different. Plan your practice and the things you will work on. Try to plan your Practice when Lane Conditions will be Similar to Leagues or Tournaments, or just the opposite if Adjusting to Different Conditions is the main focus of your practice. (i.e. Corner Pins, Single Pin Spare, Multi Pin Spares, Hand Positions, Approach, Ball Speed, Baby Splits, Angles of Entry, Timing Issues, New Equipment, etc)  Each practice segment (3) should be 20-30 Minutes in length approx. the time to bowl a Full Game.

4)      DON’T HAVE PRACTICE OVERLOAD – Do not try to work on too many things in one practice session. This will diminish the quality of your practice. Also be mindful of practicing too quickly, think about each shot in practice as if you were bowling in a league or tournament. Try to maintain the same type of pace to your practice.

5)      SIMULATE COMPETITION – Remember when you were in the yard, playing whatever sport when you were younger, say Basketball for instance, “It’s Jordan for 3 at the buzzer, and it’s good” How many times do you hear that play in your head as a kid. Regardless of what you are practicing on when you get to the Tenth Frame of each practice game, pretend you need to throw the First Strike to win the game. Put the pressure in your mind practice with this pressure, when you get to real life situations you will be better prepared.

6)      COMPLETE PRACTICE – Complete your practice session, by bowling regular games at a tournament or league pace. Remembering to simulate competition, but now on every shot. Make this session of your practice about bowling for score applying the ideas and techniques you learned, modified, or practiced during other portions of your session.

7)      MENTAL GAME - Keep POSITIVE mental focus on every shot regardless of how poorly or how well you might be doing or what portion of your practice session you might be in. Remember once you get to certain skill level the Mental Game is probably the most important part of your overall game.

Now that we have covered General Practice Tips I want to also cover “Breaking in the NEW Ball”. Most of the time I see Bowlers practicing because they just got a new ball and want to “see how what it does”. I do this as well, but again I see bowlers doing this in the same fast paced non-thinking environment as they utilize for their General Practice. Here are my 4 Additional Tips for New Equipment. .

 1)      PICK A GOOD TIME TO PRACTICE

2)      PREPARE TO PRACTICE

3)      PLAN PRACTICE – If you are going to test or try new equipment you can put this into your General Practice Plan, but put it at the end. However, my Suggestion is that you devote an entire practice session to NEW Equipment.Make sure your new equipment is prepared to bowl. Whether that is inserts, beveling of holes, sanding, tape, etc.

4)      CURRENT EQUIPMENT FIRST – Bowl a couple games with your current equipment to give yourself a baseline on how the lanes are reacting and such with the equipment you are currently use to using. Fight the urge to put that NEW Ball in your hands immediately.

5)      SAME LINE – Now play the NEW Equipment on the same line, hand position, speed, etc. Simply try to throw the ball the same way as the Current Equipment to give yourself an idea of how it will react in comparison to your current equipment.

6)      ADJUSTMENTS – Make adjustments to ball speed, hand position, line, etc to find the desired ball reaction. Test these adjustments in a variety of circumstances, throw the ball at full racks, corner pins, single & multi-pin spares.

7)      SIMULATE COMPETITION

8)      COMPLETE PRACTICE

9)      MENTAL GAME

Following these guidelines to General Practice and New Equipment will make the most of your Practicing TIME & DOLLARS. This also should lessen the adjustment time to your new ball and hopefully save the frustration of struggling with new stuff, because you didn’t take the time to make sure you were ready to use it.

Opinions expressed in this post are solely mine and may not reflect the opinions held by MSUSBC. As always your comments and opinions are welcome and encouraged. Please post your responses and thank you for reading the Bowler 2 Bowler Blog. Good Luck and hopefully I will see all of you on the lanes.

Keeping Equipment Clean: One Key to Success. By James Goulding III

Keeping Equipment Clean:  One Key to Success

by James Goulding III

 

Getting good coaching, watching video, and working in a pro shop have all been valuable tools that have helped me become a successful bowler.  But, there is also another part of my game that is important on a weekly basis, and that is taking care of my bowling equipment so that it takes care of me on the lanes when I need it.  What I mean is, I can’t expect to bowling balls to perform at their peak all the time if I am not willing to put in some time of my own to make sure factors such as lane oil, rubber marks, track grooves, and such don’t take away from the balls performance.  A little bit of extra time spent on cleaning and maintaining your bowling equipment goes a long way to not only keeping your bowling balls working at their optimum level, but also extends their life so that it saves you money on buying new equipment in the long run.  I am going to discuss a few areas where bowlers need to pay attention to, which is daily maintenance, bi-monthly maintenance, and annual maintenance.

DAILY MAINTENANCE

When I write this, I don’t mean go in your bowling bag every day and do the following steps, but rather after each time you bowl a league set, tournament, etc. before the next time you bowl.  First off, I recommend all bowlers use a microfiber towel to wipe the bowling ball off.  This type of towel gets the oil off of the surface of the ball, without scratching the coverstock or leaving marks. 

Secondly, you should take a USBC approved bowling ball cleaner with you in your bowling bag, and use it to thoroughly clean your bowling equipment IMMEDIATELY after you are done bowling, before you get home.  I can not stress enough the importance of getting the lane oil and dirt out of the coverstock as soon as possible, as with the porous coverstocks on resin bowling equipment, it takes no time at all for the oil to “soak” into the cover and stay in the ball.  This causes loss of hooking action, and possibly premature ball death due to it being contaminated with lane oil deep in the coverstock.  By simply cleaning the ball as soon as you are done, you have a very good chance of removing most of the oil from the outer surface of the ball, before it has a chance to soak in and cause long-term damage to your bowling equipment.

Lastly, invest in a ball carrier to put each of your bowling balls in before you put them in your bowling bag.  These carriers are fairly cheap (in the $10 range) but by putting your ball in them, you are protecting it against anything sticking out of your bowling bag that could damage it, as well as protecting it from getting cracked in case you accidently drop it.  Also, if you have a locker, it prevents the ball from rolling around and getting scratched up from any rocks or debris in the locker. 

BI-MONTHLY MAINTENANCE

Calling it bi-monthly maintenance is a “loose” term, what I mean is the following steps should be taken every 50  games or so (which would be bi-monthly if you bowl twice a week).  What I am referring to is giving your ball a hot water bath so that you remove any lane oil that has been soaked into the deeper parts of the coverstock.  Using the towel and cleaners works good to get MOST of the oil out of your ball night in and night out, but to get the oil that is missed, you need to do something that can extract the oil out where the cleaner and towel can’t reach.  This is where the hot water bath comes in.

First, I recommend you sand your ball down to about a 400 grit surface before putting the ball in any water bath.  This can be done with regular 400 grit sandpaper, or a maroon scotch brite pad, or even a 500 abralon pad will suffice.  What this does is it opens up the pores of the ball, allowing the oil to escape out when the ball is submerged in the water bath.  If you do not have any sandpaper, doing the bath is technically “better than nothing”, but you can always go to your local pro shop and ask them to sand it for you before you do the bath, so doing that would be an option as well. 

As far as the actual bath goes, the biggest thing to remember is to make sure the water temp. does not exceed 140 degrees.  If your water is hotter than 140 degrees, you run the risk or removing plasticisers in the ball, which will harden the resin and ruin the bowling ball.  If you are not sure how hot your water temp. runs, as long as the water is not too hot to put your hand in for an extended period of time, that should suffice for the water bath.  Using an actual thermometer is best, but use you head, don’t just “drop” the ball in the water if it is too hot to handle.

When you start running the water, put in a few drops of liquid dish soap (DAWN or equivalent) that will be used ot help break up the lane oil and grease in the coverstock.  Fill a bucket up enough so that the ball will be completely submerged below the surface and then place the ball gently in the bucket.  Some people like to tape over the finger and thumb holes, but I do not recommend doing this.  You are blocking a route of escape for oil and dirt, and the bath does not hurt finger or thumb inserts since it is just water and dish soap.  At this point, you let the ball soak for approximately 15 minutes and place on the counter on a towel ot let the remainder of the water drip off of the ball.  You will notice an oily/water type mixture on the surface of the ball, especially if it has been a very long time since this process has been done (if ever).  Wipe the surface clean using a microfiber towel (or equivalent) until it is dry.  If you are seeing this oily mixture on the surface, you need to perform the water bath again, until you no longer see any oil come to the surface of the bowling ball.  I would recommend changing the water each time to start fresh, and not have any oil floating around in the water when you re-submerge the ball.  Once the ball has only water on the surface (and on oil or dirt), you are done.  It may take 2-3 15 minute sessions to get all the oil out, but it is well worth it.  Give the ball ample time to dry before use again, I would recommend 24 hours to  make sure all the water has gotten out of the coverstock.

Now, once the water bath is complete, you need to take the coverstock of the ball back to whatever the factory finish was on the ball.  This will ensure you get the same type of reaction you are used to out of your bowling ball.  If you do not have the tools at home to do this, take it to your local pro shop and have them complete the process.

ANNUAL MAINTENANCE

This section is going to deal with a few of the things bowlers should do once a season to their bowling balls to make sure they last long, and perform well.  I have covered ways to keep oil out of the ball, but now I will get into what to do when the ball becomes “tracked up” with all the marks from the lanes.  When a bowling ball has more than 80-100 games on it, it loses its polish (if it is a polished ball), and also gets a series of grooves in the coverstock form the places that the ball touches the lane consistently.  This has an adverse effect on your ball motion, and causes it to not perform at a peak level.  The only way to get these grooves out (an re-polish the ball) is with a resurfacing.  This will remove the scratches and gouges and get the ball back to like-new performance.

When I resurface bowling balls, I like to take them down to a 220 grit surface, sanding the ball in (4) different directions in a ball spinner.  The first two directions are having the finger holes and thumb holes both sit horizontally, parallel with the top of the ball spinner.  Once you sand that side of the ball, flip it over 180 degrees to do the other side.  Then when you’re done on both of those sides of the bowling ball, position the ball so that the fingers and thumb are on top, pretty much horizontal (perpindicular) to the ball spinner.  Sand the ball with the fingers and thumb up, and then turn the ball 180 degrees to sand the other side of the ball.  At this point, you are done with the 220 grit (or whatever other grit you might be using).  Sand the ball this way for each grit, until you reach the final grit that the ball came in at from the factory.  Refer to the bowling ball companies website or sheet that came with the ball to make sure you get the correct final surface for your bowling ball. 

Also, if the ball requires a polishing process, polish it in the same (4) directions you sanded the ball in to ensure you are doing things the same way all the time.  Refer to the company recommendations for what type of polish to use on your bowling ball to achieve the correct reaction on your bowling ball.  If you do not feel comfortable doing this process, which can be very time-consuming, take the ball to your local pro shop and have them complete the process for you.  Usually this costs in the $25-40 range, varying from shop to shop and how bad the ball was to begin with for the cost of resurfacing.  That is still much cheaper than having to buy a new ball because your old one “died” from lack of proper maintenance.

The last thing I will recommend for yearly maintenance is to change your finger inserts (if you use them) in your ball.  Over the course of a season, the inserts become worn out, causing them to feel big or slippery since there is a good chance there is some lane oil and dirt mixed into the rubber inserts.  It costs between $5-10 for a new pair from your local pro shop, and should be done at least once a season (probably more if you bowl more than twice per week).  When it comes to your thumb, also make sure you change out your thumb tape regularly, because the sweat from your thumb, as well as the oil and dirt from the lane, causes the tape to lose its grip.  Those two simple steps can go a long way to making you feel comfortable all the time in your bowling ball.

Well, that is all I have for tips to keep your bowling equipment in tip-top shape.  Today’s bowling balls are more aggressive and condition specific than ever, and hopefully with the methods I discussed earlier, you can keep those bowling balls running at peak performance, and able to be used for the right conditions they were intended for.  The opinions expressed in this blog post are my own, and do not reflect the opinion of the MSUSBC.  Thank you for reading, and feel free to comment on anything you see here, I will try and respond as quickly as possible.  Good luck, and good bowling!

Balancing Technology with Tradition by James Goulding III

Balancing Technology with Tradition

by James Goulding III

I have been thinking a lot lately about the direction of the sport of bowling, and some of the good and bad things that have shaped the sport we have today. Any way we slice it, technology advancements have put their permanent mark on the game of bowling, and the jury is still out as to whether or not those changes have helped or hurt the game as a whole. The one thing that can not be debated, however, is that there seems to be no turning back to the old days of sub 200 averages being king, and spare shooting being the name of the game. Today’s bowling is a different animal altogether. If it is true in baseball that “chicks dig the long ball”, then I think the same can be said about bowling in the sense that “chicks dig the hambone”. What I mean, of course, is that stringing strikes together is the name of the game nowadays, long gone from the days of grinding out 192 games to take a high game pot. Now, if you can’t shoot 250+ on any given night, don’t even bother wasting your money. Is this the way the sport is going to stay, or is there a possibility of striking a balance between tradition and technology that everyone can live with?

First off, let me say that the USBC has done a wondeful job with bowling ball research, and possible solutions on the equipment end to reign in the scoring pace across the board. The new porousity rule for coverstocks, as well as increasing the minimum rg value (which takes affect next season), are both welcome and needed changes to bring more “standardization” to bowling equipment. The reason for all this, of course, is to minimize the effect bowling balls have on lane conditions, and to help bring into focus the scoring pace of bowling as a whole. With all that being said, I still think the USBC has been dropping the ball (figuratively speaking) to bring ALL aspects of the sport up to speed and keep integrity in the game of bowling.

One aspect that has been seemingly ignored by the USBC is what the bowling balls glide through as they go down the lane, and that is lane oil and lane conditions. The rules on what needs to be put down for a bowling shot to be legal, according to USBC, is almost laughable, as houses have a very wide margin for manipulating shots to increase (or decrease) the scoring pace, while still being within USBC specifications. In my opinion, tightening up restrictions on lane oil conditioning is the key to bringing the scoring pace back to a more rspectable level, which brings factors such as talent and mental toughness back to the game of bowling. Lowering ratio of oil, shortening patterns, or even just telling bowling centers they need to put out one of three patterns and that’s all they can lay down night in and night out, could have drastic effects on the game of bowling. Also, the USBC could look at lane oil viscosity, and standardize some sort of conditioner that houses could put out, as well as stength of stripper solution that can be used on the lanes. These are things that could be implemented almost immediately, but have seemingly been ingored. Why?

The only reason I can think of is that the USBC is scared to lose bowling centers that wouldn’t want to comply, thus possibly lowering more membership numbers, and hurting the sport. I think it is worth the risk. Numbers have been declining since the late 1980’s, so trying a bold new strategy wouldn’t be a bad idea. Also, the BPAA and USBC are now partners, which will make it harder to change aspects of what bowling centers need to do to change their ways and help the sport, so the honus falls on bowling ball companies to change their product to compensate, since all of the USBC research has focused on limiting what they can produce. I am not saying that all the blame should be shifted to either bowling ball makers, or bowling centers, or even the USBC themselves, but they all need to realize they have done their part to lead the sport down the road where we are today, so they all need to change how they do things to get the sport back on top.

The old saying “it takes two to tango” is very true when you look at what has been done to the sport of bowling over the past 25 years, and looking forward what needs to be done to save the sport for future generations to enjoy. I, for one, am all for doing whatever it takes to bring integrity and ability back to bowling, and I think that if the USBC, BPAA, ball companies, etc. all realize that most bowlers want what is best for the sport, they will try and make the needed changes to make it great again. If this means less honor scores every year, then so be it. If a bowler gets less awards, that seems like a bad thing, but a positive spin would be that those awards mean so much more when you actually get one. I think we can all get on board with that kind of logic.  Opinions expressed in this post are solely mine and may not reflect the opinions held by MSUSBC.  Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave a message, and I will try and respond ASAP.

-James Goulding III

www.lausbca.org

www.msusbc-maine.org

League Prize Funds – By David Charron

I have bowled in Leagues for the last 30 Years in many different Associations in Numerous States. I have also prepared Prize Fund Proposals for a majority of the leagues I have bowled on. So I pose the question, what makes a good Prize Fund?

First, the rules pertaining to League Prize Funds. Prize Funds should be presented to the league as soon as possible USBC Rules mandate by week 5. Remember a Prize Fund must have the MAJORITY vote in order to be accepted. What this means is that if you have 16 Teams and you distribute 3 Prize Lists, in order to be accepted one must receive at least 9 Votes. Otherwise, you must drop the list(s) with the least votes and re-vote on the 2 Lists which received the most votes.

Now, you’re preparing a list, what should you include. Most leagues in Maine bowl a split season. Halves, Quarters, or even Thirds. For the sake of this discussion we are going to assume your league has 16 teams and bowls a split season in 2 halves. Your prize fund should pay every team based on standings each half. And then pay the top 2 or 4 teams in a roll-off at the end of the year. Additionally you should pay Team Awards for High Series Scratch, High Series Handicap, High Game Scratch, and High Game Handicap. The awards should be of equal value, and you should pay 2 place in each so that half of the teams in this league will get some Team Award Money. Also, you will pay Individual Awards for the same, High Series Scratch, High Series Handicap, High Game Scratch, and High Game Handicap. Again these awards should be of equal Value, except I would pay 3 Places in each, so that 12 different bowlers will get individual Award Money. There will also be awards for High Average 3 Places, and Most Improved 2-3 Places. Finally, let’s talk Point Money. For those of you who don’t know what Point Money is – it is an amount of money that each team will receive for each point it wins during the regular bowling season – not including Roll-Offs. The reason to include Point Money in your prize fund is for 2 very important reasons. First Point Money will give some of the bottom teams a little extra money which is more evenly distributed than your overall league prizes, because there will just not be as much disparity between first and last place monetarily where point money is concerned. For instance is point money is worth $1 per point, then the first place team may get $160 in point money and the last place team is going to get around $75 in point money as opposed to the $600 For first and $100 for last they are also going to get. The second reason is Point Money is easily adjusted to account for variation in Actual Prize Fund Dollars at the end of the year. As you know most leagues have 50/50, which provides a unknown amount to the prize fund, and therefore you could have a “budget Shortfall or Windfall” at the end of the year, which without point money leaves you with a problem of what to do. With Point Money you have a way to easily adjust the point money to the Actual Amount in the Prize Fund at the end of the year.

Let’s Assume your League has 16 Teams and a Prize Fund of $10,000. This is exactly what I would submit for a Prize Fund

Team Place Awards

First Half                          Second Half                         Roll-Offs

1st $ 500.00                  1st $ 500.00                      1st $ 500.00

2nd $ 300.00                2nd $ 300.00                    2nd $ 300.00

3rd $ 200.00                3rd $ 200.00                     3rd $ 200.00

4th $ 175.00                4th $ 175.00                       4th $ 100.00

5th $ 150.00                5th $ 150.00                      

6th $ 125.00                6th $ 125.00

7th $ 100.00               7th $ 100.00

8th $ 100.00               8th $ 100.00

9th $ 75.00                 9th $ 75.00

10th $ 75.00              10th $ 75.00

11th $ 50.00              11th $ 50.00

12th $ 50.00             12th $ 50.00

13th $ 50.00             13th $ 50.00

14th $ 50.00             14th $ 50.00

15th $ 50.00             15th $ 50.00

16th $ 50.00             16th $ 50.00

Team Awards

High Series Scratch - High Game Scratch – High Series Handicap – High Game Handicap

1st $ 150.00  2nd $ 100.00 

Individual Awards

High Series Scratch - High Game Scratch – High Series Handicap – High Game Handicap

1st $ 100.00  2nd $ 60.00  3rd $40.00

High Average

1st $ 125.00  2nd $ 75.00  3rd $50.00

Most Improved

1st $ 75.00  2nd $ 50.00  

Point Money Estimated Point Money $0.82 Approx Per Point $ 2,525.00

Actual Point Money Adjusted to Reflect Actual Total Prize Fund

Total Prize Fund $ 10,000.00  

I hope this post has been thought provoking, I am sure Some bowler would not vote for this prize fund and others would, but it is meant to be the start of topic conversation. Opinions expressed in this post are solely mine and may not reflect the opinions held by MSUSBC. As always your comments and opinions are welcome and encouraged. Please post your responses and thank you for reading the Bowler 2 Bowler Blog. Good luck and good bowling I hope everyone is having a great Start to the Fall League Season. I’m sure I will see you on the Lanes.

Finding Motivation and Mental Focus Comes From Within: by James Goulding III

Finding Motivation and Mental Focus Comes From Within

by James Goulding III

 

How many times have you seen a team mate throw a bad frame, only to lose their cool and subsequently it costs them an open the very next frame? It happens all the time, and I bet each and every one of us who have ever picked up a bowling ball and bowled competitively have a similar experience to what I just mentioned, only it is YOU, and not a team mate, who is the culprit.

Most of us competitive bowlers are now a week or two into the fall league season, and as we get back into the swing of things (no pun intended), we must remind ourselves that the game of bowling is all about your ability to deal with adversity, and how to make the best out of bad situations. What I basically mean is that bowling is about 90% mental, and only 10% physical. Anybody can say they love to bowl when they shoot their first 300, or a high series, or strike out in the 10th frame to win a match. But, how many times have you said you love the game after shooting a career low game or series, or split in the 10th frame to lose a match by 2 pins? If you love something, you need to realize that there are going to be good times, and bad times, but keeping a level head and motivating yourself from within will help lessen the impact those bad times have on any potential good times you might miss out on otherwise.

I find that you need to have the mentality of a closer in baseball when it comes to bad shots in bowling, which means you have a short memory and live in the moment. When you whiff a 10-pin, let it go, don’t stew over it for the next three frames, or you will lose your mental focus altogether, and snowball toward a terrible finish, and wonder what happened at the end of the game. Just let that open go, and concentrate on the next good shot. You will find that by doing this, you have allowed positive thoughts to fill the space that would otherwise be filled by negative images of the open you just threw, and allow you to re-focus your efforts on making good, clean, crisp shots going forward.

Also, start keeping a running journal during bowling. Many bowlers do not realize the power of simply tracking your shots frame by frame, and seeing where you might be making your mistakes. Also, I like to keep track of which lanes I am bowling on, and what ball I threw, so that I have a good idea of what works, and what to stay away from the next time I bowl on a certain pair of lanes. The biggest reason for tracking your scores is simply repetition of the mind, and the power of cognative repeatability. What I mean is, by writing down your shots after each frame, you are channeling your brain to think more about your game and ways to improve it, instead of thinking about what Rita the waitress is wearing, or what the high score is on the pinball game in the game room. This is just another tool to sharpen your mind, and help overcome those lulls when one may lose mental focus.

Visual imagery is another powerful mental tool that can improve your game. Close your eyes and visualize where you want the ball to go, think about what arrow it goes over and watch as it goes down the lane and thunders into the pocket for a strike. This technique takes some practice, but once you get it down, it is VERY effective in helping your brain understand and guide your physical being toward throwing quality shots down the lane shot after shot.

By using the power of positive thinking, the cognative repetition of score tracking, and visual imagery, you will notice a marked improvement in your scores without ever having to set foot on the lanes for practice. Like I said earlier, bowling is 90% mental and 10% physical. Once you learn some tools and techniques that work for you consistently, you will have an advantage over every opponent, and will learn to enjoy the game of bowling no matter what you score. Take care, and any questions or comments are always welcome. Thank you for reading, good luck and good bowling!

- James Goulding III

www.lausbca.org

www.bowlingboards.com

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Trimming Down a Bowling Ball Arsenal……A Lefties Approach

Trimming Down a Bowling Ball Arsenal………..A Lefties Approach

by James Goulding III

 

Well, here I am at the cornerstone of another league season, pondering what to do about bowling equipment. I remember the days when you could just keep the same 2-3 balls in your bag for a couple of seasons, and once a year give them a quick re-surface job and go bowling. Nowadays, with specialized balls for different lane conditions, and cover stocks that need constant cleaning and attention, it actually takes a re-tooling of my entire arsenal each season.

So, I am going to list what I have by manufacturer, and see if I can brainstorm ideas on how to trim down what I have to save on the “confusion” factor later on down the road.  I am sure there are many of you out there in a similar boat that I am in right now, so hopefully my selection process can be a help to some of you out there who are struggling with which equipment to keep in the bag, and which to leave at home.  Here is my current active ball list broken down by manufacturer:

Brunswick
Swarm
Twisted Fury Solid
Ultra Zone (not drilled yet)

Columbia
Perfect Rival

Ebonite
The One (re-release)
Big One

Hammer
No Mercy

Lane #1
Chainsaw Massacre

MoRich
Awesome Revs

Storm
Virtual Gravity
Secret Agent

Here is what I have come up during my brain storming session.  I tried to take into account a few factors, including age of the bowling ball, cover stock overlap between balls, and drill patterns that may be very similar so that having two balls in my bag that do basically the same thing would be bad.

Leading off, I think I am going to shelve the Awesome Revs in favor of the Secret Agent. Both are a particle pearl blend, but the Secret Agent has a smooth pin-axis drilling on it, which gives me a completely different look than anything else in my bag.

Next, I am going to take the Big One out of the rotation and put it on the bench.  This ball has an identical drill pattern to the One and very similar to the Swarm, so it will not see much play since it has more games on it than both of those balls.

That brings me to a tough choice, the No Mercy.  This is a hard one for me since I have shot some VERY good scores with this ball, but it is very cleaning sensitive and pretty aggressive, so I will leave it in the tournament rotation only, because I will not be able to justify having it in the lineup if I can’t use it on a regular house shot most of the time.

The Ultra Zone is a non-factor as of right now since it has yet to be drilled, but I will have it waiting in the wings in case I need it.  I think I am going to try a funky drilling on this ball to turn it into a true “specialty ball”.

Here is what the rotation looks like now, after that selection process:

Swarm
Twisted Fury Solid
Perfect Rival
The One (re-release)
Chainsaw Massacre
Virtual Gravity
Secret Agent

Well, I have been able to trim it down from 11 to 7, which is pretty good.  I think I may be able to trim one more ball, but I am going to leave this alone for the time being and let things play out as the season progresses.  These will be the balls in my league lineup, and in my next blog entry I will discuss what I will do for a good all around tournament lineup of bowling equipment.  Thanks for reading, and any comments are always welcome!!

-James Goulding III

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