BallReviews
General Category => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: pjr300 on December 02, 2013, 08:37:51 PM
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I was told that the USBC will require all houses with wood Lanes to switch to synthetic for tthe2016 season. Has anyone else heard that rumor?
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Though I can't imagine them doing this, then again I guess I could. Not too many wood lanes in the DFW area, but I know of at least one that would just close their doors if they did something this dumb. That would be if it is still open then. The owner died and her son could care less if it is open or demolished.
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I thought from the title of the topic that this would be something about the morality police. :)
No, I have not heard that rumor but I would have to wonder why the USBC would be concerned about that. Why would they care what the houses had for lanes? This might impact a lot of smaller centers in smaller markets that can't afford to upgrade.
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I sent an email into rules@usbc asking if it was legal for a house to prepare a lane with powdered approaches and I got a response of they aren't going to tell a proprietor how to prepare their lanes. Think they will mandate no wood? Wood is good. Makes you really learn to adjust to all kinds of conditions.
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i dont see how they would even think of this so many small town houses that are already scraping by will close up that or just not sanction. i know in central IN there are lots of wood houses still going i know 7 within 25 miles of me. but id be lying if i'd be suprised by it if they did. im starting to think bowling in general has a bleak future ya got he PBA seeming trying to tank itself and the USBC doing the same.
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I agree with you all about wood houses. I heard the rumor from someone who is generally pretty reliable.
Can you explain "PBA trying to tank itself?" Curious on that one.
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A house only has to have two lanes meet USBC regulations for the entire house to be sanctioned. Even if all of the other lanes are garbage it will still sanction the house. I don't see them enforcing this idea ever. USBC would sanction a parking lot if it thought it could get away from it.
USBC will allow anything that brings them money. They WILL NOT do anything, regardless of the rules, to cost USBC money.
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not gonna happen.......that would be like telling everyone you had to own a lexus instead of your current vehicle.
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Not far from me is an old 12 lane house tucked under a grocery store. The place is spotless, has good food, and the suds are cheap. Fronts are synthetics with lots of wear holes. From there, original wood extends to the pin setters — which must be the oldest machines around. Ball returns are above, not below. A 34 week league will put 3-yrs wear on your orb — deep gouges, nicks, dents, you name it. This is a real deal retro joint and a struggle to maintain.
Yet it has a waiting list for players, subs and teams. Leagues are handicap, youth, senior, family fun, and adult scratch. All are run very well down to the last details.
If wood lanes were banned, this proprietor could easily get by without the sanctioning. I doubt anyone would mind one bit. Only problem is, the guy is the epitome of hard core old school USBC bowling philosophies. Silly rumor or not, if he hears it, he'll probably start packing up.
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i honestly giggle, when i hear people complain about bowling on wood lanes or w/e... I grew up on wood lanes.. Bowled on woods lanes with Guardian !! and still averaged over 200.. all but 2 of my honor scores 1 -300 and 1 - 299 came on wood lanes..
I love bowling on wood lanes..
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i honestly giggle, when i hear people complain about bowling on wood lanes or w/e... I grew up on wood lanes.. Bowled on woods lanes with Guardian !! and still averaged over 200.. all but 2 of my honor scores 1 -300 and 1 - 299 came on wood lanes..
I love bowling on wood lanes..
I have to agree with this as well. In my youth days in Omaha, all but 2 alleys were wood with Guardian. By 1989, that went to all but 3. One of those 3 closed up, but another switched to synthetic by 1993. One is a 16 lane house, one is at Offutt AFB, and the third hosts the biggest leagues in Omaha. My 2 best games at that time were on wood: 300 on Wood/Guardian, and a 289 on Wood/Guardian.
The thing I loved about it is that opposed to synthetic, because of the different grains you would see, you could pick out your target 30 - 40ft down the lane, so you could throw the ball out further to delay the roll. Since then, synthetics started to look the same, and took that away. Then they broke down faster than wood, so that made adjustments happen more often.
But consistency was the biggest gain with wood lanes. I find it a bit sad when a few years down the road (read: 20 - 30 years) that there may not be any left, and we can only tell stories about them to those newly upcoming bowlers.
BL.
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First and foremost, it sounds very strange that USBC would take that kind of an action. I'm not going to say that it's impossible, but I haven't heard anything about it, and I can't logically come up with what the thought process would be in making such a move. I guess we'll just have to keep our eyes and ears open.
As for bowling on wood, that's my roots, man! I grew up in a 16-lane wood house that I dearly loved. Sadly, it closed down many years ago now, but I still love bowling on wood on the rare occasions when I find it. The best experience though was when I worked for USBC in Greendale before the move to TX. The old research building had all different types of lanes, various synthetics, various woods, some with guardian, etc., etc. Nothing was more telling than when they'd put the same pattern out across the place and you'd go from pair to pair. It was amazing to see just how much difference there was in the way the ball rolled from pair to pair based on the lane surface. I wish they would've shot more video out of there to show people the drastic differences caused by lane surface!
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I may not be a super duper bowler yet, but this year shows promise, 203 last year. after a rough start, up to 205 on Mondays, and 210 on Sundays. But I think part of what will make me a more rounded bowler when time comes, is I learned to bowl in a 12 wood lane house, with lane 12 being literally within 15 ft of a lake. Talk about condition changes with the wind direction outside! When I need to go into "hunt mode" or chose to because all I am doing is a 10 pin drill during league, I can usually come up with something. Others that grew up in the area I did, saw synthetics in nearly every house, and the only differences always were very small from night to night, and house to house. Back at Lakeshore lanes, the differences could be see 3 time on the same lane some times....
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If the USBC did that, I'd gladly vote for my 'wood' league going non-sanctioned.
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I bowl in two leagues: one house is wood and the other is synthetic. Both play fine; the only issues I hear is from bowlers who cannot adjust to wood (softer surface = earlier roll/reaction) and from a "tournament director" perspective, as mandated patterns (i.e., Kegel street patterns) do not play or transition nearly the same on both surfaces.
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I bowl in two leagues: one house is wood and the other is synthetic. Both play fine; the only issues I hear is from bowlers who cannot adjust to wood (softer surface = earlier roll/reaction) and from a "tournament director" perspective, as mandated patterns (i.e., Kegel street patterns) do not play or transition nearly the same on both surfaces.
For the latter, the answer is simple: THEY ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO!! :)
Every time I have bowled on wood, the transition has always occurred a lot later than they would on synthetic lanes. ALWAYS. On the other hand, it is easier to find a good track on wood than synthetic, plus create that room left or right of target, should you need it. Wood is more forgiving than synthetic in that aspect.
For the former, they simply need to practice on it more. Ball surfaces aside, wood is less erratic and subject to the transition than synthetic. I've bowled in league at alleys where the lanes started to break down prior to the 1st game even starting, whereas on wood, it wasn't at least until the middle of the 2nd game that they started to break down. For synthetic, add in the fact that people would play different lines, and it made for a very squirly night, especially when you caught the carrydown. Not so much with wood.
Those that complain about wood being harder to bowl on, just aren't used to the surface. The only way around that is to practice on it and get used to it.
BL.
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For the latter, the answer is simple: THEY ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO!! :) ....
I agree with you!!!
Example: In Michigan, the Michigan State High School Athletic Assn has mandated patterns for some tournaments, including regionals and state qualifiers. Great concept on paper, but in reality, with such variability between houses, it just makes no sense. The shot will play easy on some houses and a total nightmare at a house just 10 miles away....
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What I'd like to know has any either new houses built or older houses fully replaced their lanes or new houses installed wood lanes?
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re: Wood vs Synthetic Lanes / Playing Differences
Speaking in "general terms" is one thing, but the devil is in the details.
Let us not forget that the lane oil has a lot to do with it, too. Other factors include the type of synthetic lane surface, the surface condition of wood, the playing environment, and how well the lane machine is working. These have significant influences that are often overlooked.
Making comparisons can a tricky thing to do.