Got this from a post by another guy. Could it be true?
Evening the Score
By: Dick Evans
The new United States Bowling Congress is going to attempt to bring astronomical scores back down to earth with a new ball rule.
If the change works the way the USBC anticipates, then it will be tougher to string strikes and shoot big scores with new bowling balls.
So, I suggest that all high average bowlers in Volusia County rush out and buy all of the bowling balls currently being sold in pro shops. Also, it wouldn't hurt to dust off a high-performance ball that you may have stopped using. The reason for haste - all bowling balls produced before Feb. 1 will be grandfathered in.
The USBC is hoping to curtail scoring by forcing bowling ball manufacturers to make changes. It's a mandate since the USBC has the power to throw out any record score achieved with a non-approved bowling ball.
The change involves the Radius of Gyration (RG) Differential, which means the maximum RG differential on new balls will go from 0.090 inches to 0.060 inches starting Feb. 1. Balls produced before Feb. 1 will be grandfathered in so that's why it will pay to buy new equipment now.
"In more bowling friendly terms, bowling ball flare and entry angle will be controlled," said Jim Jaryszak, USBC senior technician who is in charge of
testing bowling balls in Greendale, Wis. Research at the eight-lane, climate-controlled building has proved that the greater angle into the strike pocket, the more strikes. In other words, if you go straight up the boards into the pocket you are going to throw fewer strikes than if a right-hander & sends the ball right toward the gutter, and then about 40 feet down the lane the ball makes a severe left turn back into the strike pocket.
The word flare may confuse some people unless you go down to the fourth meaning listed by the Webster New World Dictionary - "a curving or spreading outwards."
After talking to the experts in Greendale I came up with this conception for their use of the word flare - the ball is rolling and curving at the same time it is moving from one side to the other on its 60-foot journey down a lane. Therefore, instead of having a customary one ring of oil it may have many.
"We have been looking at making this change for quite some time," said Neil Stremmel, USBC director of research. "This is a big step, and we plan for this to be part of some big picture changes in the future."
Back in 1984 the American Bowling Congress attempted to curtail high scoring by adding a few ounces to the weight of each pin, raising the minimum to three pounds six ounces per pin.
Don Carter, a successful bowling proprietor and the man many consider the greatest bowler in history, complained at the time that the slightly heavier pins would hurt the low-average bowlers with the 10-pound balls and not the power bowlers with 16-pound missiles.
He was right about the power bowlers - their scores and averages have skyrocketed with each passing year.
So, I approached Roger Dalkin, a former North Miami High bowler and the CEO of the new USBC, and asked him if he thought the new ball specification change would impact the lower-average bowler.
"I would say it should have little or no impact on the average or lower-average players," Dalkin said. "The specification deals with the ball track and the accompanying potential hook.
"Average and lower-average players' probably do not have the learned skills to achieve any advantage from the extreme flare which this new specification limits.
"Accuracy and repeatability of shots are far more important to the average and low-average player."
