Did you mean it doesn't matter where you place the CG? I know a lot of old school drilling techniques don't hold true anymore, but I believe pin placement still matters.
Strider,
This is in reference to the VLS adjustment tool for no balance holes that Steven brought up. Basically, it's a great tool to help a bowler use a different layout than what they already use, to produce similar results. It's a great tool, but it doesn't change the fact that if you drill a ball with a 5", a 3 3/8", or a 1" pin distance, after drilling, the thumb hole becomes the PSA. The Z axis can come in to play on a symmetrical ball with a large deep balance hole properly placed to remove mass from the core. This can pull the PSA away from the thumb. This creates a different shape and hook potential. You can use the conversion tool to help create more flare with the absence of a balance hole, until you get to 3 3/8" pin distance, which is max instability of a core. Often times in the pro shop, I have drilled balls for speed dominate, low rev players and have used 3 3/8" on a symmetrical ball, placed a large deep hole that created the needed extra strength to get the ball to hook enough. Not everyone has a 540 rev rate. In fact, even though the tour rev rate average has increased a ton with all the two handers, the average league bowlers rev rate has not. The average league bowler age is in the 50's, and isn't showing signs of reducing any time soon, in fact getting older. The older we get, the less revs we put on a ball. The less revs you have, the more you can benefit from asymmetrical balls.
I think you are going to see more balls like the Rubicon coming out from all the manufactures. Having a mildly asymmetrical ball is like using a large deep balance hole in symmetrical. They tend to be a little more driller friendly because the prop shop can still miss a touch with the layout, and still get the ball to stand up in it's forward roll toward the pocket at the right time.
I'm not against the new no balance hole rule. I think it allows the pro shop to give the bowler closer to what the manufacture designed the ball to do. However, this does remove a tool from the tool belt that help us help the more rev challenged bowler that was on a budget. We could drill them a cheaper ball, and create more motion with the right drilling and balance hole placement. Moving forward, we are going to need to push these styles of players into asymmetrical balls, to help them get the shape they need to strike consistently. My issue with the rule is the USBC saying that the rule is to help pattern integrity. Pattern integrity has nothing to do with drilling, it has to do with surface management. If a bowler can't get their ball to hook, they are going to use more surface to get it to slow down faster and create more traction, which will reduce pattern integrity.
Hope this helped answer your question.
