Just tossing this out there to get a idea on how to get this addressed. Not saying it is happening,but what procedures should one take if there are illegal balls in your league.

Quote from: ignitebowling on September 12, 2016, 04:27:49 PM

If a ball is believed illegal on static weight you can notify a league officer to have the ball checked. If illegal it cannot be used in league or tournament play again till it is fixed.

If after this the bowler continues to use the illegal ball then they are subject to forfeit of scores.

It's listed in USBC rules.

And you become known as the biggest PITA in the league. 

Wouldn't that depend on the amount of bowling money is involved?  A guy winning jackpots with a suspect ball would be called a lot sooner. 

Quote from: spmcgivern on September 12, 2016, 10:14:15 AM

Quote from: Bowler19525 on September 12, 2016, 08:14:09 AM

Ideally, there should never be a ball that is illegal due to static weight [unless it was drilled at home by someone who couldn't properly weigh it out.]  In a perfect world, PSO's shouldn't be letting a ball out of their shop knowing it is illegal.  Having said that, I know for a fact this isn't the case.  I have had PSO's say to me "This ball is currently illegal, but throw a few games with it, see how it reacts, and come back some time and tell me what you think and we will put the proper balance hole in it."  I immediately request for the ball to be made legal before I leave the shop. 

As others have said, it isn't worth protesting a seemingly illegal ball.  The ball doesn't throw itself, nor is one ball out of 6-10 or more balls being used at any given time on a pair the reason an entire team wins or loses.

It is unfortunate you feel your ball MUST be statically legal when you get it.  Current drilling techniques take advantage of balance holes to fine tune the ball.  To do this, balls are drilled with more positive side weight to facilitate the addition of the balance hole.  It isn't an exact science where the ball comes out with 0.99 ounces of side weight.  Sometimes it is 1.1 ounces or even higher. 

I would argue your driller is doing you a favor by letting you know in advance it is illegal.  You should have just thrown the ball some in open play/practice and let him know your thoughts.  If you loved it he could drill a hole to minimize any effect.  If you wanted a change, he could do that also.

But you are entitled to your opinion.  I would just advise you to tell your PSO of your desires in advance next time.

I drill bowling balls and what you (spmcgivern) are saying is incorrect.  After a drill is complete it MUST comply with USBC rules which means that it MUST be within the 1 oz of side to side and finger to thumb weight.  If it does not do that the ball is illegal and the driller should not let the ball leave the shop. 

Static weights in today's balls means very little.  I always make sure a ball has no more than .75 oz of either weight to make sure that the ball passes at USBC tournament.

Surely you realize that there are opportunities to test the reaction of bowling balls in non-sanctioned bowling? Open bowling, for starters?

I agree with the others. If you didn't allow me to tune my ball reaction, you wouldn't be my ball driller.

As long as my ball driller tells me in advance that the ball is illegal and needs a hole, it's on me to follow the rules, not him.

With my PSO, it's pretty simple.  Everything is weighed before leaving the shop.  If the ball is out of spec, it doesn't leave the shop until the ball is legal.  There's been a few I've had where the weight hole was needed and the PSO will give some options on the hole needed to still give the reaction I'm looking for.  This way, I can tune the reaction.

I personally believe that this is how it should be.

the guy that drilled balls for my dad and I in the 90s drilled stuff illegally on purpose, because "it would work better for you".  The last ball he drilled for my dad was used while our team won a tournament, with dad throwing his first 300.  someone that knew our PSO's tendency for drilling ball illegal challenged our scores and got the 300 and our tournament scores thrown out.

The ball my dad was throwing had over 1.5 oz too much side weight and at least an once finger weight.  The situation is burned in my mind. 

With my PSO, it's pretty simple.  Everything is weighed before leaving the shop.  If the ball is out of spec, it doesn't leave the shop until the ball is legal.  There's been a few I've had where the weight hole was needed and the PSO will give some options on the hole needed to still give the reaction I'm looking for.  This way, I can tune the reaction.

How do you tune the reaction if you don't know what the reaction is before adding the hole?  Wouldn't you need to throw it first?