BallReviews
General Category => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: xrayjay on October 07, 2015, 01:44:26 PM
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why?
I always wondered why the next release out hooks the other release that is just a little over a year old - or less. but I wasn't so sure about what I had assumed till I had a chat with a BR legend and someone who was involved in the industry. And I was somewhat right.
Not much has changed when it comes with playing conditions, especially at the house I bowl. and I'm pretty sure hundreds of houses across the country haven't changed much too. It takes years for some houses to change surface and/or machines, or conditions/pattern/oil.
But, every new release in the HP level always seem to hook more - or does it really? are bowlers being suckered into buying another NIB?
It's been a couple of years that I figured out that I don't need to fill my bags with more NIB's. Or buy an HP ball. I own 6 or seven balls (two NIB) and I only use 3 at the most. The others are "just to try" balls.
But this country always wants more and more, go bigger and bigger, and so I guess it's a good thing for bowling companies and small shops. At the same time, isn't their a peak to bowling ball technology?? if conditions don't change much, what else can bowling ball engineers do?
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The house shot where I bowl has changed drastically over the past several months. In comes the Kegel Flex machine and Ice lane oil, and along with it comes a house shot that is extremely challenging. Averages are down about 20 pins from last year. The management has stated they don't want to be known as the "easy house" or the "home of the 300 game". Bowlers are getting frustrated, and many have quit.
From an equipment perspective, Mid-level and lower mid-level balls are showing up left and right. Brunswick Melee's, Columbia Deliriums and Blurs, Radical Grease Monkeys, Motiv Graffiti Tags, etc. People are also going in to their basement and pulling out their old stuff with fairly good results. Bowlers trying to throw the latest and greatest aggressive HP stuff are simply struggling.
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Every center in my county jacked up their house shot. 60 dollar hollers are the new thang.
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It applies to cars, golf clubs and many other industries. They sell products. They have a limited market and a limited run on a product line before they have to release a "new" product.
Like many thing most people do not know how to properly maintain what they have and because of that the performance decreases.
Many proshops miss out on $$$ to be made on ball maintenance vs ball sells.
Everything has to be more because otherwise you'd buy the older stuff at half the price on closeout……. The smarter option to consider.
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Let them have their hook monsters, at the end of the night I'll have their money.
Be nice to the customers. ;) :)
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Because they get better length and are more continuous through the pins. Plus, you just gotta have THIS one in your bag. ;D
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From the view of the generic house bowler (not me, who throws tropical breezes).
I want to hook a ball like Tommy Jones (or another pro they see that hooks the lane).
So I buy new ball X. I throw it and (because I don't put near the revs or proper release) it doesn't hook like Tommy Jones.
Ball company Z now comes out with ball Y which has marketing material that say it hooks more than ball X.
Bowler now buys ball Y trying to hook it like Tommy Jones.
Repeat with next ball release.
And since Fire & Ice oils have come out, I have seen numerous houses switch to that oil and the shot at those houses has changed quite a bit.
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Good points txbowler. I have had conversations with manufacturers reps on balls, and they admit that the hook monsters are totally aimed at the "hook in box" crowd that is always trying to buy more hitting power. The first thing pros do when or if they use these hook monsters is shine them up. There is way more friction available, even on long patterns, than top caliber scratch bowlers need.
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Give me my Night Hawk and then give me your money!
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I have found that most new releases have covers that are way too strong for a house shot. Before, you looked for the friction outside to bounce off of and get to the pocket with more angle and carry. Now it seems that most people want to stay away from the outside friction, because when the ball hits the dry, it burns up and rolls forward. Yes, a big part of this using the wrong ball, but people don't realize that when they buy the next biggest hook monster and expect it to cover the whole lane.
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I heard Ronnie Russell mention that guys out on the national and regional circuit have gone more towards symmetrics on most of the patterns they encounter.
I've been in conversation with others who say, depending on the sport-compliant/flat pattern, they're also balling down to a symmetric piece as early as game two out of an eight-game set. And they rarely use a high end asymmetric piece on a THS. If anything, it's only during a practice session in order to get a feel for the piece.
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Visionary released the Blue/Green Centaur in 2004 (I think it was actually earlier than that but 2004 was the earliest date I could find for this thread.).
I used it then, for light to medium-light oiled lanes. I am currently using it for each of 2 different leagues in 2 different houses as my main ball.
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It's also called "Keeping up with the Jones's".
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I'm having fun and scoring throwing my Ride. I'm considering the Joy Ride just for fun. The only time I really need anything stronger is tournaments on sport shots
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I used to say stuff like:
"The ball companies have artificially inflated the market WAY passed the saturation point by preying on the uninformed. Using human nature against the very consumers they were targeting, they have created an artificial "need" by convincing people that you can replace skill with equipment, telling them they can buy the "power and hook of the professional bowler" in a box".
I no longer say that, merely because I got my behind handed to me by all the internet Einstein's who told me I was just a loud mouthed, opinionated idiot that didn't know what I was talking about.
But, I do still think it. Just not out loud.
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Juggernaut, the bowling ball makers are no different than many other industries. I do a lot of freshwater fishing in addition to bowling. The kinds of fishing lines have exploded in recent years: braided lines, fluorocarbons lines, and super lines like "Fireline." For my money, there is no substitute for a good monofilament line like DuPont Stren. It is not as sexy as the other products, but Stren is much cheaper, more versatile, and actually more effective.
A lot of guys here play golf. The same principles apply.
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Did Someone here say something like....
"Hybrid" covers is just another ploy to get bowlers to buy balls...???
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I get a ball for need not want anymore. A few years ago, I bought numerous pieces, and only used a couple.
Do I need the next hook monster? No, do I still want one: YES! Will I get one - NO.
Lower tiered pieces have proven to be winning for me.
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I think the hook monsters fit the young guys with tons of revs and lots of ball speed. Their "A" game is grip it and rip it, so they can go full out and know the balls is always going to make it back. Since a lot of the high rev guys seem to have more forward roll than in the past, the ball doesn't go side ways when it sniffs the dry. The two kinds of people I see throwing these balls are the people who don't know better and the guys with 500 rpm and 19-20 mph ball speed.
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Juggernaut, the bowling ball makers are no different than many other industries. I do a lot of freshwater fishing in addition to bowling. The kinds of fishing lines have exploded in recent years: braided lines, fluorocarbons lines, and super lines like "Fireline." For my money, there is no substitute for a good monofilament line like DuPont Stren. It is not as sexy as the other products, but Stren is much cheaper, more versatile, and actually more effective.
A lot of guys here play golf. The same principles apply.
I know. There are many examples of things like this. Even those who actually started out with good intentions, but got lost somewhere along the way.
I will give away the fact that, when looking at a "regular" old rubber ball, there was a lot of room for "improvement", and I mean the kind that actually IMPROVED the product.
But, the question is, when did it stop being change for actual improvement, and become change just for changes sake? Just for a way to move more product?
It is my OPINION that we reached that point in the mid to late 1980's. Somewhere after that era in time, it became a game of trying to replace physical abilities (or rather, the lack of physical abilities) with equipment designed to "level the playing field". By supplying the lowest common denominator with equipment that allows them to overcome skills it took
others many years to acquire, they basically negated all the hard work and practice that thousands of bowlers spent thousands of dollars and hours to learn.
Just because you CAN do something, doesn't always mean you should.
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I think the hook monsters fit the young guys with tons of revs and lots of ball speed. Their "A" game is grip it and rip it, so they can go full out and know the balls is always going to make it back. Since a lot of the high rev guys seem to have more forward roll than in the past, the ball doesn't go side ways when it sniffs the dry. The two kinds of people I see throwing these balls are the people who don't know better and the guys with 500 rpm and 19-20 mph ball speed.
Last year, we had a PBA national tour player in our scratch league. He fit the mold of high revs with more forward roll. He mostly used aggressive symmetric equipment with some surface and kept the ball just inside the oil line of our THS puddle. He averaged 240+, so it didn't work out too bad for him.
You'll also see a lot of the higher end equipment on the fresh longer PBA patterns. Regardless of ball, it's not a surprise to see guys prep their equipment with by hand with 500 Abralon in the paddock room before morning squad competition.
It's not that "hook monsters" are useless, it's that they're mostly used improperly by Joe bowler. In most cases on a league THS, a strong pearl is all that's needed to get the job done if you play the drier outside boards correctly.
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Steven, Good point, but don't forget, young bowlers want to look cool. You don't look cool, covering 7 boards. ;D
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Steven, Good point, but don't forget, young bowlers want to look cool. You don't look cool, covering 7 boards. ;D
Say it isn't so. My seven board hook doesn't look cool?
:)
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Steven, Good point, but don't forget, young bowlers want to look cool. You don't look cool, covering 7 boards. ;D
Say it isn't so. My seven board hook doesn't look cool?
:)
Sorry, but chicks dig the big hook. :o
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Steven, Good point, but don't forget, young bowlers want to look cool. You don't look cool, covering 7 boards. ;D
Say it isn't so. My seven board hook doesn't look cool?
:)
Sorry, but chicks dig the big hook. :o
Well, that explains that!
:)
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Steven, Good point, but don't forget, young bowlers want to look cool. You don't look cool, covering 7 boards. ;D
Say it isn't so. My seven board hook doesn't look cool?
:)
Sorry, but chicks dig the big hook. :o
Well, that explains that!
:)
Tell me about it, I don't have either! :0
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I see old ppl (retired guys) at my center buying the big hook guns, take a big step left and suffendly they are not making the ball come back, if they do, weak tens all over the game, people gotta know where is your confort zone in the lane and how deep you can get before you get frustrated, spend 180 for the new release and use it jsut a couple of times before you get tired of I cant use this ball, not a smart move..
Rather use my rocket and stay as left (LH here) as I can before I need to move inside 3rd arrow than use hook monster and be 3rd arrow from game 1 and have to play 5th arrow for game 3 and start loosing pin carry
Just my thoughts..
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The change in lane surfaces in the late 60's precipitated the constant advancements in ball technology. Prior to the introduction of super hare epoxy urethane lane finish the hard rubber ball was just as good as the polyester balls that had been around for 10 years. Bowlers quickly discovered that the softer polyester shells reacted better than hard rubber on the new lane finishes, and the race was on. It has always been about finding friction at the right place on the lane. When the friction factor of the lanes changed, manufacturers started finding ball surface material with different friction factors. The introduction of resin additive in the early 90's was revolutionary because, for the first time friction off the dry was increased without increasing friction in the oil. There really has been nothing revolutionary since then. Advancements in core technology have had a much smaller impact on the game.