Just watched an old show with Mark Roth yesterday on ESPN classic. It made me remember how great bowling used to be. When will the bowling community from the Pros down to the average league bowler admit that the game has been ruined because of technology. The lane conditions and new super balls have made the game a joke. The scores have gone wild. An average bowler can average 200 without practice by just getting an expensive ball and bowling on a soft shot. I yearn for the days when you had to do a lot of things right to get a strike. Accuracy, roll,speed, loft, turn, lift were all important now you have a 10 board miss area. Perhaps your too young to remember when bowling was bigger than golf on TV. Not untill the sport gets its integrity back will it ever again be recognized as a great sport.

Couldn't agree with you more, these days we have to find special sport leagues to find out our true average, anything else is usually adult bumper bowling.

Joe

Couldn't agree with you more, these days we have to find special sport leagues to find out our true average, anything else is usually adult bumper bowling.

Joe

Everyone says it's the technology, and I disagree. Take the newest, greatest ball and play a tough shot and you will find your true average. It's the lanes, plain and simple. You only need to look at last weeks show on the shark pattern and you will see how high tech balls don't make the difference. Those guys are the best of the best, using the best equipment and being pretty accurate and they still had trouble carrying. And the one guy, who had immaculate control of speed, revs, lift etc is the guy who won.

While I agree to a point does EVERYBODY average 200+? People make it sound like everyone has multiple 300s and 800s and on a bad game shoot low 200s almost like sub 200 games do not exist anymore.

The technology is better, the equipment is better and some houses cater to easier shots with wide margins for error. Not EVERY house is made this way, if a house is too easy stay away from it by all means, don't bowl there and whine about it(no offense to anyone). There are places that offer sport shots, I'm not so convinced dumping oil from channel to channel making it a spare fest will increase bowling's popularity either.

I'm not sure bowling will ever get the coverage it deserves, there's not enough excitement in the sport unless you truely love it which I do and I'm sure most of you do as well. It's still the most participated sports in the US. Most of the people I know don't all just buy a new ball and average 200+ with no practice. It still takes a certain amount of skill to average 200+ season in and season out. I bowl at 3 different centers just to vary my game, the one place with the most honor scores in the area I leave alone on purpose. Just my take on things.

Sure the house shots are easy. If every center put out hard shots then your average joe wouldnt bowl there. Why? Becuase if he cant score well hes not gonna keep trying. If he doesnt score high enough to keep himself interested hes gonna stop bowling all together and the center then loses that customer.

It is made to be a bit easier to score to get more people involved. If you were an average joe trying to learn on a Shark Pattern you would get discouraged at the complexity of the pattern and how it works until you burn a line and can make the ball move.

If you want to the game to be like it was "way back when" play on a Sports League or the NEW PBA Pattern leagues. They require accuracy, a balance of ball speed and revs, good follow through and a good read on the lanes to perform well.

Bowling will never get popular on a TV front because there is no instant action to an average joe watching it. Now if I watch it and Norm Duke has the front 9 then ill get excited but if your not into the sport, why watch it? Unless they add half naked female cheer leaders in the channel or they get helmets and make it a full contact sport its not gonna get big.

It's really a catch 22. You lose the marginal bowler who will suffer and bowl horribly on the PBA shot and lose interest. You gain the good bowler who will accept the challenge to improve by bowling on the tough shots. I personally don't think technology had anything to do with bowling losing interest. I think it was a combination of things. I believe Tiger had an impact with Golf gaining a load of popularity. Computers and video games keep kids indoors and away from other activities. Lots of other activities has drawn kids away from the bowling alley. Soccer, football, basketball, baseball, hockey, softball, lacrosse, cheerleading, gymnastics, you name it and kids are involved. Look at how basketball has blossomed with the dunk contest, the three point shooting contest, the NCAA tournament, and so on. Kids all accross america are trying to dunk like Michael Jordan and hoping to make it to the NBA or maybe even the And 1 tour. In Baseball, the average salary is over 2 million dollars. Basketball has similar numbers. Football is America's new favorite sport. There is no bigger game than the Super Bowl. Bowling has not enough sponsers to support the salaries that it would need to get back into the public eye again.

No offense, but Bowling is a blue collar sport. Golf is a white collar sport. At least that is the way they are viewed. So golf brings in big sponsers. Football brings in the most sponsers. They are the envy of all the other sports. They not only have the fans in the stands but they bring in plenty of sponsers. You can only have so many fans in the stands of a bowling match. With the interest seen as blue collar, sponsers don't have the same level of interest. It isn't the group they are looking for. The womens tour failed. The men's tour isn't far behind. They are failing financially. You wonder if they will be around in 10 years. How can any business continue if they are losing money? At some point, the owners will cut their loses. They have already made steps to cut their loses and look to make a profit.

I don't think the demise of bowling has anything to do with technology. Look at golf. They make the drivers better and better. They make them bigger and bigger. They discover ways of making the ball travel farther. The combination is the golf ball is travelling farther than it ever has before. That hasn't stopped anyone from playing golf. You have hard courses and easy courses. Golfers have their choice. Most choose the hardest course they can afford. Bowlers choose not to. Sport bowling leagues failed for the most part here in Long Island. There are none that still operate during the fall season. There are a couple that run in the summer. The tough shots are out there, bowlers by and large choose to bowl on the easy house shot. I would prefer to bowl on the PBA shot but most would rather not.

I strongly disagreee with you on this point. Since we sell many bowling balls to beginners and intermediates, and a lot of those bowling balls are from the mid to high range performace equipment, I still do NOT see these folks out there averaging over 200. I don't even see a lot of them over 180. I remember when I got my One when it first came on the market. I shot great with that ball and they flew off our Pro Shop shelves. I'd bowl league and you'd see at least a dozen of these ball in the ball returns. Yet the amount of 200 averaging bowlers did not increase.



I'd like to try this house. Because there are no houses in our area where I have 10 boards of miss area. Maybe one on each side of my target, but not 5, never 5.

I can tell you that I work extremely hard to maintain my average. Maybe 20 years ago, I'd be fighting just as hard to maintain 180, but I fight still. To intimate that 200 average bowlers today do not struggle is kind of insulting. Especially to those that do practise and bowl leagues and tournaments and such. I know of just a few bowlers that bowl league only and average over 200. But they are older, in their 50s and they have been good bowlers for a very long time. Many of them are averaging 200+, bowling once a week, but its lower then they were when they were practising and such. I don't know of anyone under 35 that bowls once a week and averages over 200.

I don't think making harder conditions is going to raise the integridy of the game. I think when bowlers get rid of cheating secretaries, the USBC stands behind their edicts and time lines (like those for sanctioning and registering honor scores) then maybe you'd start to see the bowlers taking this sport more seriously. But when the higher ups and those in charge of the sport do not take it seriously then its pretty tough for the bowlers, especially new bowlers to do so. I think bowlers need to stand behind the rules and that league officers need to uphold the USBC rules and their own league rules. But most bowlers are totally ignorant of any rules reguarding their leagues and sanctioned play.

You talk about the glory days when bowling was on ABC on Saturday afternoons. Do you remember what was on Sundays? The American Sportsman, i.e. hunting and fishing. Where do you think those activities have gone on the TV dial? Where else, cable. There's a lot of programming that was on the big three networks (especially when you didn't have cable available) that are now relegated to cable stations. In fact hunting and fishing has their own channel because even ESPN won't put them on.

Erin

Another point that I just thought of. Instant gratification.

Today's world wants instant gratification in all aspects of their lives. They want new cars, homes, expensive clothes, larger diamonds in engagement rings, high paying jobs right at the start.

Twenty years ago or even a generation ago, everyone knew they had to work to progress. You had to move up the job ladder to get to the higher paying job. You probably had to rent for 10 years or so and save up to buy your first house (or qualify for your first mortgage). You drove an old beater car while you worked up the job ladder. Now a days, high schoolers are driving a more expensive car then I am. Did they work to earn it? NO

People today want instant gratification. And you cannot fight the entire world by saying that's fine but you'll have to work harder to bowl. So the game has progressed as everything has. I'm not typing on an old Comador computer. I'm not watching the Cowboys and Eagles on a console black and white TV. Everything progresses. And today's society wants it all now.

Today bowling needs numbers. They need the numbers of bowlers to keep the doors open to the centers and keep the USBC employees working. If you do anything to drop the numbers any more then they already are, then you might see the end of bowling faster then you expected. So what if someone buys a $200 ball and throws a few high games or even raises their average 10 pins. They will hopefully keep bowling. They might even tell their friends how much fun they had with their new ball and shooting a few big numbers.

There are opportunities out there for those that want more challenging lane conditions. And I have to remind you, that those that do are in the very small minority of the number of sanctioned bowlers in the US. But yet, even though you make up an extremely small ratio of the bowlers, the USBC has a venue for you. Two in fact. The Sport League condition and the new PBA Experience. If no one in your area offers any of these programs, that should just illustrate to you now much in the minority you are. No busiess (that business being bowling as a whole) can survive on catering to an extremely small minority.

Erin

Equipments used in every sport changed and advanced dramatically. How about tennis? From wooden racquets to graphite and Kevlar racquets that are lightning fast and light. As simple as a baseball helmet worn today that is aerodynamically designed to get that extra millisecond worth of time in baserunning. How about the world records in the Olympics? Records in athletics and swimming are being broken with the help of their apparels. Lend those things to someone with no proper training and surely he will not get close to the record. The thing is, technology will help us but it is not the only thing needed to excel in a game. There are also governing bodies that control technological advancements in a particular sport. Formula1, see those 300mph racecars? That would have gone way far if not for the regulations of the FIA. Bowling is not different, that is why there are governing bodies like the USBC. They regulate ball issues like static ball balance to avoid extreme ball reactions.


Surely an average bowler can score 200+, not only by using an expensive ball but even by just using a houseball. So don't blame everything on technology. Well if you can use a nuclear ball and don’t have the proper techniques then I doubt you will get high scores all the time.


The game has changed, so you have to change your perspective about the game too. I don’t know how much difficult it is to get a strike back then as compared nowadays. So if you think that it is a lot easier to get a strike today, so why not change your goal like getting a double, or a turkey? Perhaps a 300! Maybe for you the difficulty of getting a strike the back then is the same as bowling a perfect game today. So you can use your accuracy, roll, speed, loft, turn and lift for your new goal now.

This game is not just about a strike, it’s about strikes, stringing strikes and making spares.

The number of people that can actually say that the lanes are too easy is slim. IMO, the only ones that could back up that statement "the house shots are too easy", can average over 220 on any house shot. For those under 220 that say the lanes are too easy then why are you NOT averaging 220 or even over 200 in some cases? I mean, its so easy.

We have a number of bowlers in our association that average over 220 and a few that are over 230. But those people are less then 50 out of 9000. That's 1/2 a percent are averaging over 220. If you want to get generous, then call it 1%. If the game is so easy and the house shot so easy then why are less then 1% of bowlers averaging under 220. This is what I mean when I say the minority think the house shot is too easy. 1% of the bowlers out there, think the house shot is too easy. Or at least can back up that statement.

Erin

actually in all fairness isn't 200 par for the PBA? Is that not the requirement for a PBA membership?

I saw somewhere some guy posted a 261 for a season average, can't remember if it was Summer or Winter but that is unreal. I could understand if averages like this were routine but they are not. Most good house bowlers are in the 220-230 range like Erin said but even then it has taken that individual years to get there and make no mistake it takes work to stay there.

Everyone is making great points about other sports going high tech as time progresses. Titanium drivers don't make golf balls land 6 inches from the green, graphite rackets don't make tennis balls bounce just inside the baseline and $230 bowling balls don't string 12 in a row on their own. It still takes skill and if you accel to the point any one of these sports are THAT easy you can always turn pro and find out where you stand among the best.

Yeah...they want your money!!!!

Does anyone think that they are actually competative in the PBA world with a 200 one year house shot average? Sorry to burst anyone's bubble, but that's a marketing scam to get your membership money. It takes a 200 average to be cannon fodder to all the 230+ bowlers that are competing on the regional PBA field. PBA needs money, this is just one way they go about getting it. At 200 you are a donator and all tournaments need donators. If you put the price on experience at that level then so be it. But you will not be competative until you are over 220.

Erin

Some of you have missed my point. For the pros to get the respect they deserve the guy that bowls once a week should not be getting scores like a pro. I know the Pros bowl on much harder conditions, but we used to turn on every Saturday to watch the pros and perhaps get a tip that we could go practice with to help our game. Now its so easy just to go out and buy and expensive ball to improve your game without practice. I quit bowling after the first year I bought my first reactive ball in 1994 and averaged over 225 with it. Sure it was fun at first seeing the added power and hook. But I can remember many a shot that I threw poorly and even had the ball slip off my hand and still watch the ball roar back into the pocket and rip the rack. All I had to do was stand left and throw it out toward the gutter. My average like many others who bought these balls went up 20 pins, without doing anything different in my game. Yes we have better technology in many sports. But you can give the best golf clubs to a bogey golfer and he will still be a bogey golfer unless he works to improve his swing.

BowlerJim,
I kind of have mixed feelings about your comment. As one who came from the '80's with a 210 average, on wood, with a black rubber ball, sat out 24 years, and now has returned, and is finally over 200 again, I think I can comment objectively on both eras.

First, I will say that given all factors, I think a 210 average was much harder to achieve then than it is today. But, it equates more to a 225 average of today. I will also say that the ability of the bowlers of that era was about the same as the ability of the bowlers of today. The difference I find is in the equipment, balls, lanes, etc. that have improved scoring. The mechanical repetitiveness of the bowler, the robotic armswing, the bodily control, the pace and balance was just as important then as now. The scoring standard has risen with this newer equipment. And, I don't think that is altogether bad.

As in any sport, it is difficult to compare records of then to today because of the equipment. Sure, the tennis player using graphite rackets still has to place the ball inside the lines, but at a ballspeed that was unreachable 25 years ago. And, a bowler will hit 300, but with ball reaction that also was unattainable 25 years ago. But, this is a part of any sport that has improved with time. I often marvel how baseball players fielded a ball in the '20's and 30's with those little baseball gloves, with NO webbing or pockets. Where the human element has pretty much stayed the same, IMO, the equipment has improved. But, that has raised the standard for all to hit. And, in all sports. How could a pole vaulter reach 16 feet without fiberglass poles?

I guess I feel the way you do as scores rise because bowling, unlike other sports, has a cap on the maximum that can be achieved. You cannot bowl higher than 300. And, today's averages are compressing the difference between them and that 300 max.

Does a 230 average bowler of today actually bowl beter than a 210 of 30 years ago? I say no. And, here is where I agree with you, because the equipment, I feel, has made the difference. But, this is the case in any sport.

The Standards have been raised.

Jim, I didn't miss your point; and I think you sort of proved mine. When you got your first reactive ball you say all you had to do is stand left and throw towards the gutter and you would shred the rack. Well, sir, what would have happened it you were on a PBA or sport shot? You cannot stand left/throw right with the latest greatest ball and score well unless that shot is there. So you got a 225 average without practice, everyone's average went up 20 pins etc due to, not having a reactive ball, but having a ball to take advantage of the already easy lane conditions.

You say that a new driver in the hands of a bogey golfer won't do anything until bogey golfer learns how to golf first, and bowling is no different. Balls do not throw themselves, the bowler does. And high tech balls don't keep anyone from learning how to improve their game. In fact, I think it can make trying new things more challenging/rewarding. I spent a couple hours last week practicing the 2 board & the 20 board, alternating games, with the same ball. The ball I used is an Ebonite crossfire which is entirely too strong to play the 2 board (where there is no oil) and too weak to play the 20. I had to take everything out of the release and add speed for the 2, and get very firm with the release and very soft with the speed for the 20 and be exact in terms of accuracy for both shots.

Anyway, I think you exaggerate the ability for poor bowlers to improve 20 pins without practice. Spares are just as important now as before, and spares don't make themselves. Nor do the strikes. And again, if you play on anything other than a walled up house shot, your arguement is null anyway. Don't be made at the ball makers, get mad at your laneman.

Lorok, there is a time warp in this discussion. Without knowing your ages, I believe both of you are looking at this dilema from different times. 25+ years ago, there was only oil or no oil. There were no different shots, or comparison between House shot and sport shot. In my 24 year absence, these processes and terms came about. In retrospect, to me it seems that this 'shot' concept came about since the advent of synthetic lanes and composite balls. And why? Because they made the playing surface more difficult. And, since I missed their introduction, this would tell me that synthetic lanes were easier to hit with composite balls, then the older wooden lanes with rubber.

There is a distinct difference in a house shot and sport shot. But, 25 years ago, at the 210+ level, there was only the sport shot, oil equivelent. And to hold 210+ on that was an accomplishment.

Maybe someone has the history of sport shot pattern development? I seriously doubt it existed before synthetic lanes were common.

If this is true, then Jim's comments hold, if you look through 25 year older eyes, forward.

Sorry Jim, I don't agree with your comments at all. If you were able to drop balls off of your hand and still strike, kudos to you. It does happen from time to time, but I don't care how much money you spend on equipment, nothing beats good old fashioned practice and putting time into learning the game. You could very easily been the beneficiary of great luck or an easy shot which allowed you to have the success you had. I'm sure that it wouldn't have been the case in every house you bowled in at that time, and if so, then I would be willing to invite you to Vegas with me to sit behind me at the Texas Hold 'Em table, because you are just a lucky so and so...LOL.

All jokes aside, I know guys who go out and buy all the new balls the day they get released and average 180, because they don't know how to throw them or just how to bowl in general. I also know guys who haven't bought a ball in 10 yrs who average 200+. It's about knowing how to bowl. Making adjustments, conforming to lane conditions, etc...these things elude these guys, because they think buying a certain ball will produce results. Despite my constant praise of Storm and the success I have had and continue to have with them, I know that it would be impossible if I didn't put in the time to make my physical and mental game better.

With that said, if you're able to average 200 you should be proud. That's averaging about 5-6 strikes per game and consistently picking up spares. That's the mark of a good bowler. It's very difficult to average 220+ (about 7-8 strikes per game and a good spare game) on any condition and kudos to those who can do that also. I'm currently averaging 208 across three different houses, but again, I work on my game as much as I can.

Why am I defending Jim? I think I partly agree with him. After restarting 2 ears ago, I have raised my average over 27 points. Some of that was physical ability coming back. But, the majority of the increase was the newer equipment that I bought.

You can ask my teammates. As I went from 175 to over 190 in a few months, I would comment that it was due to the new ball. Equipment today means so much in the game. Much more than it used to. Matching the ball, coverstock, weight to lanes and varying conditions is a part of the game that didn't exist before. And, once you learn it, bowling becomes so much easier than it would have 20+ years ago.

Given that you have the ability, and have trained yourself properly, your equipment makes a 10-15 pin difference in your average.

Years ago, there was very little difference between your own equipment and the house balls. Maybe a conventional grip to fingertip difference. But, today, I don't know anyone who would bowl with a house ball and average the same, even with the same grip.

As I said before, I don't think this is a bad thing. It is just a progression in the game.

Lorok has a point. I see guys in my league who have all the equipment and still average mid 140's. In all fairness maybe before they got all that equipment they averaged 120 but to me you still need skills to bowl good.

In my league the highest average is 195. It was up at 200 for awhile. This is out of 92 bowlers.

In all honesty I think the game in many ways has become harder. Now you have to learn the different patterns, have different balls for them. Seems to me in the old days I could go in any house and bowl good with minimal adjustments and one ball. I do not think that is the case today.

Dennis, I see your point (to an extent), but you have made totally contradictory statements here. I do not agree that the advancements in ball technology have produced 'better' bowlers. I hold true to my earlier statement that no matter how much a ball hooks or how much coverstock it has, it takes knowledge to match it up to a specific condition and even then if not properly thrown, will not produce positive results. The advancements that the balls and lanes have gone through is just the product of time. How many bowlers would still be bowling if the lanes were made of wood and the balls made of rubber?

It's like football going from leather helmets to plastic to even more durable materials...it's the evolution of man. Do you think Brian Urlacher or Shawn Merriman could wear a leather helmet and not kill themselves delivering the punishment they dish out to opposing players? No way. Do you think Steve Nash and Kobe or Dwayne Wade could survive with all of their high-flying moves and quickness on the court in a pair of Chuck Taylor Converses? No, the shoes had to evolve to protect their ankles, knees, etc. Why do you think so many new baseball stadiums have been built in an effort to keep the ball in the park? The evolution of man.

Sometimes it's to protect the players, other times to protect the integrity of the game. I don't think there's anything wrong with bowling making advancements. When Mark Roth (and others like him)came on the scene, someone saw a need to provide them with equipment that would complement their games. If not for them, would we even be talking about WRW, Mike Aulby, Parker Bohn III, Norm Duke and others? Why is it OK for these guys to hook the ball and score well with 'advanced equipment', but the house bowler gets put to the fire for averaging 215 using the same equipment. I'm not saying that your average house bowler is in the same league with the pros, but give credit where credit is due.

Some guys have the ability to not practice and still bowl well...I'm not one of them. Without practice, I'm a 180 bowler at best, with practice, 200+. So for me it makes a difference.

Practice and training gives you the ability (for the most part), to be successful. If it were as simple as buying a certain ball, we'd all be averaging 220 and looking for sponsors to put us on tour. But it's not...it's still about effort, hard work and desire to be the best bowler you can be.

I started bowling in 1962 (I was 7) as I got older we learned which houses in the area were the easiest and which were the toughest, when I was about 14 I took some lessons from a house pro, he said "look for the groove on the lane" and it was right up around 10 board,(either side) some houses didn't have this groove and they were considered tough houses, so even back then there were some high scoring houses but the KEY was how to carry the corners with a rubber ball (and pick up your spares), thats one of the big advantages with todays balls. Back then 200 was the number to get respect even at the easiest house.

This is simple.If you are unhappy with the lane conditions ask
the owner to change things,If still unhappy then change bowling
centers.I feel it is easy to complain,It is better to try changing things. Take a more active roll in the center where you
bowl,become a league member,or presedent of a league.Good and helpfull goes a long way.

Have you ever seen some of the intermediate bowlers attempt spare shooting? They have the contemporary equipment but its so unpredictable that they have a hard time picking up spares. So it goes both ways. You say it was hard to pick up spares with a rubber ball, yet most higher level bowlers and pros use plastic for their spare shooting and some still use rubber. I think for some people its harder to pick up spares with their reactive ball.

And of course these are not the 200 average house bowlers with contemporary equipment, these are the 160 - 200 ave. bowlers.

Erin

I didn't really have much more to say, but I don't want Dennis to pass me up in post count! Everyone knows that post count is directly related to the size of one's manhood! Just kidding.

Dennis, what you say is true. The scores have gone up across the board, that's the evolution of bowling. Perhaps nowadays the people who would have 180s back in the day now have 200. But the 200 guy from back when you bowled dinosaur eggs is now the 220+ guy. The better bowler is still the better bowler. The 220+ guys is the one who knows how to control speed, revs, tilt, rotation, loft, hand position etc AND understands the concepts of ball layout and matchups. The game hasn't changed in the sense that it takes skill to win.

So, yes, scores have gone up accross the board... from Joe to pro. In the sense of the skilled pros it is because of the new technology of bowling balls because they already have the skills. For most of the Joes, however, I believe it is because of easy lane conditions. So, who then really benefits from ball tech? If Joe can shoot a pro score on his walled up house shot with a new ball, put him on a challenging shot and see how much that new ball helps him. I see no reason to not let the advancements to technology help whoever it can; the best will still rise to the top, just as it has with our current pros on tour. It's the modern game, and nothing to be afraid of. What I'm afraid of is easy lane conditions that make people think that they know how to bowl once they get a new ball in their hands.

Well, that pretty sums it up. The thing is, there is no point in comparing the average of non pros to those of the pros. As you said, pros bowl on much harder conditions. That’s it. Period. Haven’t they got the respect as we already know they bowl on those conditions? You’re always looking at the average, average and only average and you use it to compare with others. Do you think college quarterbacks are much better than the pros because they throw 500+ yards in a game compared to 300+ of the pros? Stop comparing the averages of the pros to the non pros. Even between us non pros, it is not an automatic that if we’re averaging 220 and the other guy that bowls in a different and more difficult house “only” average 200 makes us a better bowler.

New balls will help us improve our average. If you’re saying that a new ball automatically adds 20 pins to our average, so be it. If your average is 200 and the other is 160, then if you add 20 to your averages, you still got the 40-pin difference. As they said, the standards have been raised. Our average is higher today compared to the average we will have if we go back to the past. But relatively, if you look at the pin difference between bowlers, it is virtually the same given they are bowling in the same generation.

All I can say is that back then, it took a real good Pro Shop to drill without cracking the eggs. Evolving to wooden balls made a huge improvement. LOL

History: 1964 (I didn't witness it) Don Carter set a record for averaging 221 in a PBA Tournament. He became the first Million Dollar Contract man in any sport.
How things have changed!!

Many posters do not have a clear grasp of how far bowling has fallen. I talk with lane operators who are having problems filling leagues, there are fewer double shift nights. League bowlers dont practice like they used to either. Lanes must offer diso lazer lights to attract bowlers. The pros have lost their Saturday slot on ABC. Their now filler on ESPN along with worlds strongest man and Cheerleading contests. Yes bowling is still a huge participation sport but so is bike riding. To get back to where bowling belongs along side golf, bowling must get back its integrity. The bowling community thought that by letting the game become easier with soft conditions and super hook balls that the game would grow. They have taken a lot of the failure out of the game that makes golf such a challenge. A strike used to mean something. Years ago you had to do more things right to strike. I can remember in league when bowlers would stop bowling when someone had the first 6 strikes in a game to watch him. Now with all the 300s they wait untill the last ball to look up. It may be a hard pill to swallow but bowling needs to get rid of all these super balls and go back to rubber and plastic with no blocked lanes. Bowling has so much going for it over golf. You can bowl 3 games in League in much less time than a busy 18 hole course. Their is no rain heat or cold. The beverages are closer. Its cheaper. I truley belive if the sport had been tough and not allowed the super balls bowling would still be where it was 30 years ago.

BowlerJim, you can't convince anyone that didn't live through those years. All they know is synthetic lanes, reactive balls, composite coverstock. I think the history comment I posted sums it up. Don Carter was the first sports figure to sign a Million Dollar contract. It wasn't Willie Mays, or Bart Starr or Bob Petitt. Chris Barnes just received a Million Dollar contract forty years later. And, When I look at today's payouts for tournaments, they are not much different than the '70's. The best thing bowling can accomplish is status quo. The progression has been in equipment, not in popularity.

Sponsorships are gone. The Schlitz team, and the Terryton team are gone. Let's face it, outside of AMF or Ebonite sponsorships, it was Beer and Cigarettes that came up with the money. Denny's and Dexter can't throw enough money into the sport.

But then again bowling doesn't only belong to the USA. Hello World?! Lol. =) Well I'm sorry if I'm posting in this particular topic because nobody said that this topic is only for those in the USA. I'm Asian and there are still a lot of wooden lanes here including the one where I bowl most of the time. And bowling is included in the Asian Games! Wow, that says a lot. ;-) Out of 428 gold medals in 47 sports/discipline 12 gold medals are from bowling.

But it's crazy that anyone is averaging over 220, let alone a whole bunch of people in one association. I remember back when 217 was the high average for our entire association. I few years ago I averaged 231 and wasn't in the top 5 in the association. I probably wasn't in the top 10. That's absolutely insane.

I agree that scores are out of control and have played a huge role in ruining the game. I've read alot of people here say that if it's more difficult then people will leave. Why doesn't golf have that problem? The average golfer shoots 100+ and par is usually 70-72. How many people do you know personally that have shot even one round of par golf? The fact that golf is a very very difficult game doesn't seem to have hurt it's popularity. In fact, it just keeps growing and growning.

I don't know what the answer is because I don't think you can put the genie back in the bottle. Hopefully sport and PBA patterns create more interest in bowling on tougher conditions and we have a return to competitive bowling instead of the adult bumper bowling we have today.

Hi Lefty,
And, Golfers even pay more money for a round at a harder course. They enjoy the challenge. As an 8 handicap, I often suffer the humiliation.
That 261 average was posted as the highest average on the USBC web site.
And, Don Carter set an ABC Tournament record of 221?

Glad to see bowling in the Asian Games. What lane surface do they use for those?

The PBA Tourney was really popular in Japan.
By the way, just how do they throw that helicopter ball?

No, not a whole bunch. 1/2 a percent. .5% of the association membership (in my example). Its not common and its not a whole bunch. It seems that way because the people that post on boards like this are interested in bowling more then a majority of people that use bowling as recreation. Therefore, we pay attention and notice those in the .5%.

As for golf. It has a sensation. It has a personality in Tiger Woods that draws people that don't golf to the sport. I've never golfed in my life, yet I'll watch Tiger Woods play his game every once in a while. You don't have someone like that in bowling. We don't have a personality that reaches out beyond those that are already interested in the sport. Our pros are great, but none of them have been able to reach beyond the sport and inspire awe like Tiger Woods does for golf. The last time bowling had that kind of feeling was Earl Anthony. Before Tiger Woods, I couldn't even bear to have the game on TV for a minute. It was boring. Now golf has an international superstar. And I do know a few people that have shot par golf and had holes in one. But then they were not at Pebble Beach either......sound familiar? Pebble Beach vs. local 18 hole course. PBA shot vs. local house shot.

I think the USBC is doing its best, I hope it is, in creating two bowling environments. One more challenging and one more recreational. In fact they have short lanes with virtual reactions for areas where you cannot fit a full bowling lane. Even that is like golf....PuttPutt vs 40' Lane.

Erin

I think all sports change and evolve over time, in particular in this day and age of bigger and better. I almost look at the chnages as having saved bowling, not ruining it.

bowlerjim has a point, because, IMHO, the sport has evolved into something a little easier, but I disagree on the equipment aspect to a degree. Sure, covers are stronger, cores are stronger, and they make a slight difference, but as far as making the shot, it all depends on the person throwing the ball. If you have, uh, 10 boards (I want to bowl in this house), then you have to know how to take advantage of that 10 board shot. Some people might not be able to take advantage of that shot and might only see 2 or 3 boards.

Had you been able to consistently lay out a walled up pattern 30 years ago, you'd have seen more 300's thrown. But since a lot of lanes were stripped and oiled by hand (anyone remember the sprayers?), consistent lane patterns were a luxury. Now we have machines that strip and oil and use jets to lay out a condition that can specifically lay a certain amount of oil on a board on a consistent basis, so bowlers pretty much know week to week what they're going to face.

Lane technology has changed quite a bit since the 70's. Instead of mainly wood lanes, we have synthetics. Synthetics are far more durable and consistent a lane surface than wood ever could or would be, even despite the technology of wood finishes.

The easier shots laid out today combined with a little better ball technology have raised the mean average about 5-10 pins. The pros, on a most house shots, will average in the neighborhood of 230-240 without batting an eyelash.

As far as losing league bowlers, I don't think it has so much to do with easy shots or ball technology, it's the lack of time and dedication to the sport. Most leagues are now starting at 7 PM because people know have 30-90 minute commutes to work, and a 7:00 time is easier to accomodate more bowlers than 6 PM. People don't bowl late leagues because of that 30-90 minute commute to work and have to get up early.

Mainly, though, it's dedication. As a society, we have so much more demands on our time as people today than we had 10, 20, even 30 years ago, and some of us just can't dedicate one night for 30-35 weeks to be at a bowling center. Times change, and there are so many more recreational activites other than bowling that it's hard to divvy up time between all the things that something has to give. For some ex-bowlers, well, it's bowling, unfortunately.

All your points are excellent Brian. I agree that lack of time is a huge factor in league participation. That being said I think a lot depends on the area where you live. Where I bowl with only 2 centers in a large area I could barely get in a league. Also top dog in our league out of 23 four bolwers mixed teams has a 195 average. I noticed where my sister bowls the averages are higher but they have adjusted the handicap to be based on 220. To me that keeps it competetive and does not give the high average guy at 217 an unfair advantage.