I now confirmed what I've started to believe the past several months and years since I quit bowling competitively (altogether outside of special occasions with house balls and on short notice).  Buying a "premium" bowling ball is unnecessary and MAY actually hurt your average long-term.  Last night I was on YouTube and saw Fagan using his Geico plastic ball against Eugene McCune and even though he lost, the ball reacted just as well (actually better) than a reactive-resin would.

So what do we want in a bowling ball?  I mean really?  If you want a ball that hooks sharp and is unpredictable and is expensive and is "in-style" and is "new" - not really buying that the new bowling balls are "new" if you understand how they are made - , then this is what has new and experienced bowlers going out to buy them.  When you add to the fact that the PBA bowlers use these same bowling balls, you got yourself demand.

However!  This is artificial demand and largely BS.  I was a sucker in this game for decades.  And, the more I see PBA bowlers use plastic or urethane, the more bowling as a sport can improve.

People in leagues and in tournaments need to realize to think outside the box.  Going back to why people buy the latest reactive-resin, they want a ball that is going to "hit like a truck".  It is going to "hook from coast to coast".  But what for? 

You buy your own bowling ball because the grip is yours, the weight is right, and you are familiar with it.  You are buying it to improve accuracy.  I believe a predictable mild reaction from a plastic or urethane ball is what bowlers should strive for.

Anyways, I'm planning on buying a Gold Rhino Pro lol.  I am also getting a Viz-White plastic ball drilled.  And I plan to wreck the competition when leagues start next Spring.

DISCUSS

All I can say is when you see guys shooting 750 and throw the ball all over the place, which is a pretty regular occurrence, I say the ball you are throwing makes all the difference.

You cannot throw plastic and expect to keep up with someone who has 10 boards of room and tons of entry angle no matter how accurate you are.  It sucks but it's a fact.

I am going to take issue with the last statement.  Guys that throw the ball all over the place sometimes shoot 750, but they aren't throwing it all over the place when they do.  The modern resin balls have a lot more friction off the dry, helping to create a larger effective pocket, and most important help carry from deeper.. angles than was possible for a lot of people using urethane or plastic.  However if a guy is spraying the  ball over a 5 or 6 board area, he is going to be leaving splits and washouts from over reaction.  We have all had
experience of getting a ball to recover that we over swung, or getting some hold on a pull, but it is the oil pattern that causes this, and if you start doing it regularly the spraying will bite you pretty soon. 

I don't know if I agree with that.....in a world of wall shots and no thumb two handlers, nothing surprises me.

I have witnessed several clueless 700 series by side arming no thumbers on walls.  Stand left, throw right, pray.....and as long as this stuff is happening due to easy house shots and hook in the box equipment, the competitive nature of bowling in the 60s, 70's and 80's will never return.  What's the point of trying to get good when all you need is a ball, a wall, and no thumb

Too many people don't realize the difference between an extreme one dimensional release being rewarded, and so called spraying the ball being rewarded.  House shots score high because they allow guys with a super powerful release to get in a comfort zone.  At the same time the heavy oil build up in the middle allows straighter players to get in a comfort zone.  Nobody scores by routinely sending one ball wide, and roping another up the oil line.   Maybe one big game, but it catches up to them. 

What has really happened to bowling is that all our formats in tournaments are becoming shorter.  You get 15 sprayers in the field, and one or two of them gets hot for a couple of games, but nobody notices the other guys who are all over the place backing up one big game with a very bad one. 

I have been bowling scratch tournaments for 50 years.  I have seen a handful of really poor bowlers win tournaments, but every one of them was able to get in a zone and repeat a lot more shots than they typically could make on a normal day.  Some patterns reward a powerful release, some reward lefties, and some reward finesse players.  No matter what style is rewarded, it is the guy who executes the best within his style who wins.  I think the best thing about the modern resin balls is that they allow guys with styles that don't always match up to a pattern to be more competitive if they can execute.  In the 80's I couldn't beat a cranker on the short oil patterns, no matter how good I threw the ball because their carry advantage was just too great.  At the same time you couldn't beat a lefty if you were constantly moving toward 4th arrow and they could hang around 5 board all day. 

I have built my game to be as versatile as possible on a variety of flatter patterns.  It hurts me some on house shots because my roll pattern often doesn't carry well when I am forced to hook the lane too much.  However, I can still compete with the wild power players on house shots, just not the real good power players.     

avabob, I have bowled from rubber to resin.  I haven't seen much improvement in bowler skill.  Most are ill informed, no skill, throwers, with no idea what is going on.  This hasn't changed in 40 years.  The only thing that has changed is the conditions.  The oil patterns guide the ball, the balls are engineered to produce roll and energy, the pins fall down by air pressure.   Todays game is a bastardized version of a game that used to be pretty legitimate.  The problem with us old guys is trying to compare the modern game with the old game.

For some reason I busted out laughing at this statement because it seems to be so true seeing the averages I've browsed when looking at leagues to join next year and from watching the teens and college bowlers on YouTube.  When I was younger, having a 200-210 league average was pretty good.  One league I am considering joining has an overall league average of 203.  Maybe this is common these days.  Been out of the game since 2009.  The top bowler has an average of 242 and many are above 220.  That is like 9-10 strikes a game LOL!