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Author Topic: If you were given free bowling balls to review,...would you  (Read 3365 times)

302efi

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If you were given free bowling balls to review,...would you
« on: May 19, 2008, 06:12:11 AM »
...have anything bad to say about a ball even though people look to you for advice or real lane preformance ?

Lets say a comapny says that their newest ball is to be the most biggest hooking ball ever made. Well, when you got your free test samples, you find the ball to move only a couple boards at best.

What do you do?

Do you review the ball and say its not what it says it is, or do you just lie and sugar coat your review ?...You wouldnt wanna stop the flow of free balls, right ?
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quote:
I will head to my local pro shop. Right after I buy it online.


Sport Bowling is a F**king joke
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Doug Sterner

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Re: If you were given free bowling balls to review,...would you
« Reply #16 on: May 19, 2008, 05:13:15 PM »
And yet here the Tonx is heard from bashing Lane 1 yet again without provocation.
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Doug Sterner
Doug's Pro Shop
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http://dougsproshop@aol.com
www.dougsproshop.net
Lane 1 Buzzsaw...The Official Power Tool Of Bowling
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Doug Sterner
Doug's Pro Shop
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BOWLGNUT

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Re: If you were given free bowling balls to review,...would you
« Reply #17 on: May 19, 2008, 05:29:47 PM »
If the company give me a free ball to test and relay the feedback on why,what the ball is or is not doing.I go and test on all oil patterns as possible and on wood,synlethic or Guardian overlay.Then i give my opinion as to how to improve the ball to make it better.Plus throwing the ball straight or down and in,swing it out.Altought BuzzBomb is not free I throw it where out of bounds around 1st arrow and the ball hook.I use what I explain earlier but more is need to be done.

Edited on 5/19/2008 5:30 PM

Edited on 5/19/2008 5:35 PM
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I hate ten pins but love the game of bowling with just the right ball to take them out.

noturcuzin

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Re: If you were given free bowling balls to review,...would you
« Reply #18 on: May 19, 2008, 05:36:15 PM »
I wouldn't lie, if the ball sucks i'll tell you it sucks.
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CHRIS FARLEY:1964-1997

JOHN CANDY:1950-1994

"NO RESPECT, I GET NO RESPECT."-the great Rodney Dangerfield
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Re: If you were given free bowling balls to review,...would you
« Reply #19 on: May 19, 2008, 06:08:44 PM »
quote:
quote:
In about 3 years of throwing Brunswick exclusively I can think of only one ball that just did not fit my game very well. I didn't post a review on here because it came out before I started posting here, and I kept wanting to give it another chance, so to speak.


That's almost the same problem.  "I kept wanting to give it another chance" before saying it's a lousy ball is, for all intents and purposes, the same as not writing a review of a bad ball.  Then you're left with only writing reviews of "good" balls, and the notion of impartiality is gone.

Would you wait to post a good review until you'd given the ball a chance to go bad?  Would you redrill or do surface alterations to a ball trying to find what doesn't work?

Not posting a review of a ball you don't like is no different than only posting good reviews.

SH


________________________________________________________________

shelley,

If your'e going to "pick" at my post, then post the part that said "I know that others have had some good results with this particular ball, so it could be all about my game and the conditions I bowl not matching up well."

Maybe I can say it more plainly. Just because a ball may not fit MY game, that doesn't mean it can't be great for someone else's game. Why should I label a ball "bad" just because in the 5-8 games I've thrown it my carry was better with other stuff?  


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Lane Carter, Strike Zone Pro Shops - Salt Lake City, Utah
Brunswick Amateur Staff
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shelley

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Re: If you were given free bowling balls to review,...would you
« Reply #20 on: May 19, 2008, 07:45:30 PM »
quote:
Maybe I can say it more plainly. Just because a ball may not fit MY game, that doesn't mean it can't be great for someone else's game. Why should I label a ball "bad" just because in the 5-8 games I've thrown it my carry was better with other stuff?  


Then you have to also be honest about the converse: Why label it a good ball just because in the 5-8 games you've thrown it you've had good carry?  Just because it fit your game doesn't mean it fits someone else's.  If you don't post the bad with the good, then labeling a ball "good" or "bad" means nothing.

Do you believe that another bowler with a similar game wouldn't like to know that you had poor results?  That's what reviews are for, after all.  We can't test every ball, even if we want to.  We rely on others to help us.  If they only write about balls they are successful with, our knowledge base is incomplete.

It really is the same problem.  Paid-for reviews are a conflict of interest regarding quality.  Whether they're bowling balls, games, electronics, books, or anything else.

SH
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stackedlevrg

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Re: If you were given free bowling balls to review,...would you
« Reply #21 on: May 19, 2008, 07:49:01 PM »
btm has been watered down ever since Bob died.

i don't trust any ball reviews and more because i am sure the big companies slip them some more income

-stacked
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AdrianS

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Re: If you were given free bowling balls to review,...would you
« Reply #22 on: May 19, 2008, 10:03:09 PM »
Id rather review old ones, just need a few more of mine up here. Then get the thumbs all the same and get a camera and actually do something with my youtube account!!!
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Time for some REAL bowling!!!
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Time for some REAL bowling!!!

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Re: If you were given free bowling balls to review,...would you
« Reply #23 on: May 19, 2008, 11:06:50 PM »
Okay shelley, I see your point. Normally I don't post a review on a ball until I have at least a dozen games on it and at least two different bowling centers so I can find if there is shot that I should avoid using it on. Almost always I will adjust the cover, too, before posting a review.

Tonight I went to practice on a fresh shot. First game with Ultimate Inferno was 300. Up to then I had put 4 games on it, then adjusted the cover and added a weight hole to fine tune the reaction.  I still haven't posted a review on the Ultimate Inferno.  But so far it looks like I must have guessed right. I will use it tomorrow in league just to see if it's really that good.  Second game of practice I tried several different lines with the "ball in question" and shot 189. Then I went to the Vapor Zone and shot a few 240s to finish.
 
I noticed a kid who was working hard at the center and gave him my "least favorite" ball. He was thrilled. I was glad that he wanted it. It just wasn't any good in my hand. Pretty decent reaction, but not good carry for this old guy.

In all fairness to Brunswick, I haven't had any luck with this type of ball from ANY manufacturer over the years, it's just not a good match for my game (or lack thereof).




--------------------
Lane Carter, Strike Zone Pro Shops - Salt Lake City, Utah
Brunswick Amateur Staff
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dizzyfugu

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Re: If you were given free bowling balls to review,...would you
« Reply #24 on: May 20, 2008, 04:26:11 AM »
I'd tell what the ball does for me - period. That's anything I can provide if I test or try out a ball and with which I can identify with.
Besides, if a ball does not "work" properly, there can be many reasons behind it, so just drilling a hook monster strong and being disappointed when it does not cross the lane twice is pretty unprofessional. There are so many factors involved, that ione can only give a subjective impression, you'd need to run a true test program with various players, lane conditions, setups and surface preps under clinical/controlled conditions to conduct a "complete" review.  atough thing for a single bowler.

On the other side, that's what BR.com and other review sites can provide: a lot of different impressions from different bowlers. Only the complete picture can give an impression about a ball's performance. Therefore, coming back to the topic, a detailed but subjective impression is IMHO the best thing a single ball tester/reviewer can provide - hopefully untinted by personal bias or marketing motivations
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DizzyFugu - Reporting from Germany

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JOE FALCO

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Re: If you were given free bowling balls to review,...would you
« Reply #25 on: May 20, 2008, 08:04:08 AM »
I would do a BALLREVIEW honestly .. but .. I'm not SMART ENOUGH to define all the details that are suggested by many readers here. In fact many of the BALLREVIEW that go into GREAT DETAIL .. GO OVER MY HEAD!

I'd be happy with the RATING system that BTM comes out with! They offer ratings from three different type bowler .. an approach like that can not be done by an individual but needs input from a number of bowlers!

My answer would be .. NO I don't think I could bo a ball review as my results would NOT be adequate for BOWLERS!
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Hit them light and watch them fight
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janderson

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Re: If you were given free bowling balls to review,...would you
« Reply #26 on: May 20, 2008, 03:04:12 PM »
Lie and sugar coat?  No, and you would probably only lose the flow of balls if all of your reviews were negative.  The company would take your positive reviews and use those testimonials and not use your negative testimonials.  Some other person getting the same deal as you will like the ball you didn't and write a positive review.
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J.J. "Waterola Kid" Anderson, the bLowling King  : Kill the back row
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BOWL119

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Re: If you were given free bowling balls to review,...would you
« Reply #27 on: May 21, 2008, 09:50:08 AM »
quote:
I don't even really bother to review the balls I buy myself, because unless someone throws it the same way I do on the same shots I do, they won't really amount to a hill of beans.
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"A word to the wise ain't necessary -- it's the stupid ones that need the advice."  Bill Cosby
"Never argue with an idiot. They bring you down to their level and beat you with experience."


Edited on 5/19/2008 2:25 PM


I agree. It is so hard to read a review and decide that a certain ball is going to work for you. I watch the videos and all the equipment looks great. But looking closer, I see that those people have more hand in the ball then I do. So will it really work for me, who knows. The only way to find out is to buy the ball and try it.

Most people tend to find a comapny that works for them and they kind of stay there. They might buy a ball from another company now and then, but most will stay with what the know.

But reading reviewa really do not do much then peak your interest in a ball. You will never know if it is going to work until you buy it, drill it up and throw it.
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Thanks in advance for all comments...

T.J.
BOWLING IS FUN NO MATTER WHAT YOU SCORE. BUT A 300 IS ALWAYS NICE.
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