What is bowling?
In the simplest terms it is a game where participants roll a ball at pins and try to knock 10 of them down with 2 or less deliveries of the ball. You can get into dimensions of the playing surface, dimension of the ball, dimensions of the pins but the basic premise is to knock the pins down in 2 or less deliveries.
The game has evolved over the years as the playing surface, pins, and balls have changed.
I believe that with shellac surfaces you had to play the track with moderate speed and turn. With the balls and lane surface of the time bowlers who could throw harder and/or hook the ball a lot were at a disadvantage. So certain styles excelled and were copied.
The same was basically true of lacquer.
Urethane lane surfaces on wood lanes changed this. The lane surface now was much harder and lane conditioner did not stay in place. There was not a defined track area where more friction was available. Bowling centers started putting lane conditioner down in patterns providing a friction area so that scoring was easier. Styles adjusted to that condition.
Urethane balls added more friction to the equation along with dynamic cores in the ball. Styles adjusted once again. Crankers came into the norm and higher ball speeds were needed.
Finally synthetics replaced wood lanes and resin urethane balls provided much more friction. Styles once again adjusted. One handed bowlers, higher speeds, and even 2 handed bowlers.
All styles are products of their environment.
When bowling was at its peak in membership it was during the urethane finish on wood lanes with rubber and plastic balls. Bowlers only felt they need at most 2 balls. When someone shot a high score they assumed the bowler had bowled great. I don’t remember anyone asking what ball was used. It really didn’t matter the balls were all really the same.
With wood lanes centers hated bowlers who lofted the ball, particularly it the loft was beyond the hard maple heads and onto the softer pine boards. With today’s synthetics I’m not sure there is a softer area.
I have no problem with 2 handed bowling and/or bowlers who want to hook the lane. I just don’t feel those styles would have worked on the conditions of the previous era’s.
In longer formats today you often have to get very deep on the lanes and use loft. I feel this could be avoided somewhat if the competitors would ball down early and break the lanes down in an orderly fashion but the mentality is to use the most aggressive equipment from the get go.
I'm sure the shellac players didn't like lacquer and the lacquer guys didn't like urethane.
I believe bowling was better when the ability to repeat shots, small arsenals, and no lane manipulation were the norm. But the cat is out of the bag as far as the conditions the game is played under and I don’t see it going back. So you need to adjust to the current scoring conditions.
