Back to the original OP, I think choice is good. I don't care that a boat load of balls are released on a yearly basis. I know enough about equipment to figure out what might be interesting, and what to pass on.


Regardless, the ball companies wouldn't proceed with this strategy unless it generates more profit. It seems to be a win-win.


This topic raises it's ugly head on a predictable basis. I don't understand the need to beat up on the tactic. Nobody holds a gun to your head to force an unneeded purchase.

I also tend to believe that the ball nuts wouldn't suddenly stop buying balls, they would just switch to buying more of the same and drill them different or go to buying multiple brands. Meanwhile I think you would see more people getting back into being single brand people because they would be able to pick up whatever was new for their company every year without fear that its not gonna be the best in 3 months.

I still feel like though that eventually its all going to slow down anyways. I just can't imagine there will be as many ball nuts coming up to replace those that will be going away in future years.

You asked me to explain why your tire analogy fails. The best way for me to do that is to have it in quotation, so that you may compare it with my reasoning.

The perfect example is the tires I put on my car.  High performance summer rear tires last 8000 miles.  Could I buy lower performance summer tires that are cheaper or all-season tires to last longer?  Of course.  But they wouldn't perform the same.

 But, these are tires that you CHOOSE to put on your car, not tires that are REQUIRED by the manufacturer in order to properly, and adequately, operate your car under all normal driving conditions. If you operate your vehicle OUTSIDE of the normal parameters, or operate in in EXTREME conditions, that is another thing entirely.

 If you want a bowling ball to react properly on today's "normal" conditions, you really have little, or no, choice. Normal tires work well on normal conditions, but normal bowling balls do NOT.

By you saying that manufacturers should be REQUIRED to have performance and durability is like me saying that Goodyear should be required to make a tire that I can get 40k miles out of that performs like the ones Jimmie Johnson uses for 30 laps.

 Taking a highly trained professional (Jimmie Johnson), operating a high performance vehicle, under critically demanding and extreme conditions, on a specially prepared surface and comparing that to a soccer mom driving the kids to the next PTO meeting just doesn't work as an analogy. They are two distinctly different things.

 Because of the SPECIAL CONDITIONS, Jimmie Johnson actually NEEDS those tires to do what they do. Normal, everyday driving does NOT.

 Tire makers ARE required to make durable tires that operate well under normal conditions, and have chosen to make high performance tires for the niche market that wants them. The government regulates the tire industry to insure quality, durability, and safety. The A.B.C./U.S.B.C. should've done the same with bowling balls. They did not.

 

I agree somewhat.

Those are the tires the car is designed and sold with.  I choose to replace them with the same thing so the car performs as expected.  You choose to buy new high end balls so you perform at the level you have come to expect.  I can drive the car with cheaper tires, you can bowl with a lower performance ball. 

If I drive with cheaper tires the traction control kicks in every time you get on it.  You bowl with a lower performance ball and it doesn't hook when you miss right.  Neither would be much fun.

All I'm trying to say comparing them to JJ is you can have durability or performance.  You have to pick one.  Based on voting with dollars the bowling community chooses performance or we would still be bowling with rubber.

Thank you for sharing you opinion.  I'm serious on the ball.  PM your address, choice and ball weight.

 After thinking about it (which this discussion made me do for the first time in a while), I guess it is about a persons perception as much as it is about anything else.

 I never needed high performance equipment until recently. I learned to bowl with a yellow dot and a manhattan rubber. Guess I thought that was the way it was, and the way it always would be.
 While I never considered myself a GREAT bowler, I was considered pretty good. First guy here to ever average over 200 for an entire season. Every time new stuff came out, it seemed to be far too aggressive for me. My perception told me there was nothing wrong with bowling that some practice couldn't have fixed.

 From my point of view, everything was fine, and people just needed to practice more, and try harder.

 I suppose that, from their point of view, bowling was just hard to learn, and almost impossible to master, so they "needed" the equipment to help them keep up, and soon, I needed to learn how to use it to continue to beat them. Still didn't mean I wanted to, only that I began to have to. Not to score, but to outscore people that formerly had not been able to.

 Many people relied on the "crutch" of equipment to help make up the differences in ability. Instead of practicing to get better and be able to produce the proper rolling characteristics with their release, people just bought stronger and stronger equipment. Human nature I suppose, always looking for the easy way out.

 All a point of perception as to whether we "needed" modern equipment or not, and I didn't really feel like we did, not when the revolution first started anyways. Now, just as always happened before, using the most modern stuff available has become necessary IF you really want to compete on a serious level.

 I would like to thank you for your more than gracious offer, and to no ones surprise, I am going to take you up on the offer, but I am going to give you something in return.

 In return, I will post a thread about my bowling experiences, in any forum that you wish, and update it with weekly reviews of the balls performance. It will include pictures, results, and if I can get my camera back from my daughter, maybe even a few videos of it in action.

 Furthermore, I will use ONLY equipment by ELITE bowling for an entire season. If, for some reason, the ball I get does not work on the conditions I see here, I will contact you for information and suggestions as to what I need, and where to get it.

I can more than relate to that story except I didn't start bowling til the mid 80's and started with a Yellow Dot and Black Angle and went to a Manhattan during the short oil days.  The game was much simpler when the crazy ball nuts had a third Don Johnson Easy Tote.

 Funny you should say that about the Manhattan. Years ago, we were bowling a 4 game summer league, and I started out shooting a mid 170's game with my "good" stuff. Sent my wife out to get my old Manhattan out of the trunk. Don't remember what the games were, but do remember the back three were over 830 using the Manhattan, and the total was over 1000 for the 4 games, all on short oil.

 Just part of why I think like I do I guess.  Thanks for the memory. I had all but forgotten about that. Dang I'm getting old,lol.