By Mo Pinel, MoRich Ball Designer and Advanced IBPSIA Cerification Lead Instructor 

As an industry we have promoted the importance of the mass properties (RGs and differentials) of undrilled balls for years, but how much do those specs really matter to the motion of a drilled bowling ball as it rolls down the lane.  NOT A LOT!  What really matters is the characteristics and the surface preparation of the coverstock and the mass properties of the drilled ball (the RG of the Positive Axis Point and the intermediate and total differential). 

The coverstock characteristics are controlled by which coverstock you choose and what surface you choose to use on it.  Unfortunately, that’s mostly trial and error after assimilating all the marketing material you can find about coverstocks.  That’s a subject for an entirely different article which needs to deal with the science of coverstock technology and a discussion about the truth in marketing.  This article will discuss the effect of drilling layouts and weight hole size and location on the mass properties of drilled bowling balls and, therefore their ball reactions. 

Are there any people who care about how undrilled bowling balls roll?  I THINK NOT!  The decisions made about the layout and the size and location of the balance hole have a very significant effect on the reaction of the drilled ball. A complete layout of a bowling ball consists of two components.  They are the drilling system used and the balance hole size and location.  The drilling locates the pin and the Preferred Spin Axis in relation to the bowler’s PAP.  This represents about 35 to   40 % of the drilled ball’s reaction controlled by the mass properties.  The remaining 60 to 65% of the drilled ball’s reaction attributed to the mass properties is controlled by the size and location of the balance hole. 

The drilling can be done accurately by using either of two systems.  By swinging arcs from the pin and the PSA to the bowler’s PAP and the Vertical Axis Line is one way.  The other way is to use the “Dual Angle Layout Technique” which can be found on www.morichbowling.com.  This is the system that I prefer.  Any accurate drilling system must take into account the location the pin (low RG axis) and the PSA (high RG axis) in relation to the bowler’s PAP and the VAL. 

I suggest using the “Gradient Line Balance Hole System” for controlling the ball reaction by locating the balance hole properly.  It can also be found on www.morichbowling.com.   The closer the balance hole to the PSA, the stronger the resulting ball reaction.  The bigger the balance hole, when it’s located near the PSA, the stronger the reaction of the drilled ball. 

We prepared the following chart for the MoRich FRENZY to show how much the mass properties of drilled balls change from those of the undrilled ball by using different drillings and balance hole locations.

The layouts used in the chart are “Dual Angle Layouts” and the balance hole locations are “Gradient Line Balance Hole” locations. If you look at the chart carefully, you will notice how much the differentials change from layout to layout and from the drilled balls compared to the undrilled ball. Bear in mind that the total differential controls the amount of flare of the drilled ball and the intermediate differential controls how quickly the drilled ball reacts to lane friction.  The larger the total differential, the more the ball flares causing the ball to react sooner.  The larger the intermediate differential, the quicker and sharper the ball reacts to lane friction when it encounters it.  Let’s look at these drillings.  The 80x2.25x50 layout with no balance hole has both the lowest intermediate and total differential of all the drilled balls, therefore, it will be the smoothest and least hooking of the drillings listed.  The 85x3x40 layout with a P2 balance hole has slightly larger differentials and, therefore, will produce a medium ball reaction.  The other two drillings have substantially larger differentials and, therefore, will produce much stronger ball reactions.  The 30x4.25x20 layout with a P4 balance hole has the largest total differential and will, therefore, react the soonest of the drillings listed.  The 65x4x30 layout with a P4 balance hole has the largest intermediate differential and will have the sharpest breakpoint of all the drillings listed.  There will be a VAST difference in reaction between these four drillings. 

Keep in mind that adjusting the surface of the drilled ball to change the surface roughness of the ball will allow you to move the break point closer to the foul line or the pins in order to change length of the skid phase of the ball.  The shape of the breakpoint is due to the ball chosen and the drilling used and the balance hole size and location employed.   

I hope this article gives you an insight into how differently the same type of ball will react with different layouts and balance hole locations.  These are your tools for dialing in the ball for each bowler and, therefore, increasing their enjoyment of the game.

Webster’s defines sandbagging as the following:

‘To downplay or misrepresent one's ability in a game or activity in order to deceive (someone)’

I find the thought of this nearly incomprehensible when it comes to the sport of bowling. Never in my life would I want to have people think I was worse that I actually am. I’m sure at times over the years, my performance has not always reflected my true skill, but it wasn’t because I was intentionally trying to deceive anyone.

Ever since I moved up into the adult ranks of bowling, I found out that sandbagging, at least in my immediate area, is a true problem. Who would have thought that being worse at something would give you any type of advantage?

I think of true athletes like Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and Derek Jeter. Can you image for one second any of them missing the winning putt, not making the game winning shot or striking out INTENTIONALLY? I didn’t think so.

The “sport” of bowling (yes I said it “sport”), has struggled with their identity in being recognized as a true sport for many years – for many reasons. With just the above being known, can you understand why???

Sports are athletic games in which one team, group, individual, etc plays against another. These teams compete to see who between them the best is. They don’t give it less than their all at anytime. If they did, they would lose. These teams are out there, playing the best they can be at all times.

Our “sport” allows a bowler to play at less than their potential at certain times with no penalty. Members on a bowling team might intentionally miss spares or throw low pin counts toward the end of the game if the game is not close enough to have a chance to win. This would keep their average down in order to enter a tournament with a lower average, gaining more handicap than they truly deserve to get.

Our governing body, the United States Bowling Congress has only a couple of rules/regulations when it comes to sandbagging. The two that I know of that try to prevent any type of throwing off are: an “unfair tactics” bylaw and a bylaw that requires a bowler to keep a tournament average and adjust accordingly.

But let’s face it, cheaters know the rules and they do a good job of making sure they are within the guidelines of them. Bowlers affected most by the tournament average and penalized are usually the ones who really and truly are unaware of the bylaw.

Tournaments also reserve the right to rerate any bowler, at anytime, for any reason. A rerate means that the tournament official believes you are playing at an average that does not represent your true ability. If you choose to accept this rerate, you would from that moment on, report that average to any tournament that you bowl in. Penalty for not doing this could result in suspension of your certification (formally sanction).

So what does this all mean? I know I can’t speak for the rest of the country, but in my area, handicap tournaments and events seem to be on the rise while scratch bowling is hurting more than ever. There is one scratch league in existence here and they are down to a mere twelve teams. It puts it far from the hay days of the once elite league that required you to ‘try out’ in order to determine if your skills were good enough to compete in the league. Those were the days.

Nowadays, it seems as though it doesn’t pay to be the best. Higher average bowlers are prevented from bowling in a lot of leagues and various tournaments because of average caps. I guess that’s what you get for having some integrity for the game.

So even though I am limited to where I can bowl and what I can bowl, every time I step on the approach I am trying to knock down as many pins as possible. I would rather look at myself in the mirror and know I lost because I was honest about my ability and someone else wasn’t, than win (no matter the prize) because I was dishonest about my ability.

Bowling is the only sport that the best aren’t rewarded as the best. Either through earnings or public acknowledgement.

Top prize for winning a regular Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) tournament this year is a mere $25,000. Phil Mickelson won 1.4 million dollars last week in Florida. Now $25,000 isn’t a bad pay day but remember, that’s IF you win.

But what if you don’t? Entry into a regular PBA tournament is $500. Minimum prize fund check is $1800. You profit $1300. Well, sort of. That’s before your travel expenses: food, gasoline (or airfare and rental car depending on tournament location) and your lodging at the local Motel 6 (sponsor of the PBA tour). Average weekly expenses for a touring player are in the $500 range. And don’t forget at the end of the year, you have to pay taxes on those earnings.

Ok so you’re thinking, “wow it’s a $500 entry and $500 in expenses and I’m guaranteed $1800 – that’s $800 in profit, not so bad. Especially considering that if I was good enough to make it on tour; I wouldn’t finish last every week”. Well… I forgot to mention that the tour season is only 20 weeks long. So what do you do for the other 32 weeks of the year that you still have a mortgage, car payment, phone bill & general living expenses? Your guess is as good as mine!  Good luck finding a decent payment “regular” job that allows you to take 20 weeks of vacation – in a row.

In 2008 NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Champion (think of it as player of the year), Jimmie Johnson won earnings of 7.3 million dollars. That’s one year of earnings. That’s not too bad for spending four hours in a car making a left turn.

Now let’s put that in perspective for anyone who’s not a math major. A professional bowler would have to win EVERY tournament (in a 20 week tour season) for 14 years to win that much money. You can get the calculator out…I’ll wait.

Ok so what IS the professional bowlers association doing for our sport? It’s pretty obvious they’re not providing an extraordinary lifestyle for their best athletes. And what are their corporate sponsors doing for the sport? Certainly TV wouldn’t be the same if Tiger Woods didn’t adorn the ever branded Nike swoosh on every piece of apparel he wore. Or Derek Jeter didn’t ask the standard: “is IT in you” in every other Gatorade commercial. What if Jeff Gordon wasn’t drinking Pepsi after every race he won?

The NBA, through its NBA Cares program, understands the responsibility they have to give back to the communities that support them and they do so through a diverse array of outreach programs and events. I can’t remember a PBA event where fans got to interact with the professionals in any manner that was free to them.

During the breaks on the PBA telecast, PBA sponsors air their commercials every week. Over the years only a small number of these commercials show a professional bowler, using or endorsing any of these products. Why??? I drink Gatorade, wear Hanes and eat Ball Park Franks because “I wanna be like Mike”.

More people participated in the sport of bowling last year then any other recreational sport. So why don’t people want to be like Walter Ray Williams?

I am a huge baseball fan and I try to watch as many games as I can during the season. However I haven’t participated in a game of baseball since I was in high school. Yet I live and die with every inning April through September in hopes that my team will get to see the likes of October.

On the flip side of that, I bowl in a league four times a week. I participate in local, state and national tournaments on a more than average basis. However, I could care less about who wins on the PBA telecasts on Sundays. Why is this?

This isn’t something that only I’m guilty for either. As I stated earlier, bowling has more participants than any other sport. Why aren’t these people watching the PBA telecasts? Why aren’t these people rooting their favorite bowlers onto victory? I hope you have the answer because I’m pretty sure I don’t and I’m almost positive no one at the PBA has it.

‘From My Perspective’ is an editorial column brought to you each week by a guest writer who is given the opportunity to speak their mind about products, the game or the industry. GLC Bowling does not necessarily agree with or endorse all guest writers’ opinions. We simply print them! Do you have something you’d like to share? Submit your article to kristy.king@glcbowling.com and we might just share your perspective with the world!

PBA Experience means just that…

Chris Schlemer Week in and week out bowling enthusiasts tune in on Sunday afternoon in hopes of witnessing bowling history or in hopes of getting to watch their favorite PBA professional. Week in and week out ESPN color analyst and Storm staffer Randy Pedersen describes the lane pattern and the angles of play best suited for that particular pattern. That is the very point in time when the Lumber Liquidators PBA tour and the PBA Experience league are separated into two opposite ends of the bowling world. It’s safe to say that none of you out there in your PBA leagues are bowling on LIVE television and dealing with the fatigue, adrenaline and anxiety that go along with it. Not to mention everything that happens to that particular pair of lanes long before the cameras start recording.

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