Where to next for Ball Companies?

[Toon]

I recently threw some new gear from a few different companies while in the US.

In all honesty it was nothing new that hasn't been covered. Just more colours and fancy weight blocks and coverstock names to fool the masses. I haven't seen much of a change in what a ball can do in the past few years except there had been a lot of ground covered in the Entry - Mid Range level across the boards.

Years ago, Entry level meant either Urethane or very little movement, whereas now you can pick up a cheap ball for heavy oil which is great if you are on a budget but as far as improving scores etc.

Are we going to see much more development?

Where do Ball companies go from here?

Will we see Ball development take a step back?

I don't see Balls getting any more powerful, that would just mean Centres need more oil, which is a lose lose situation for everyone.

Any predicitons?

 

[Troyza]

I think it's more a question of what's next for lane surfaces? Ball companies have covered each extreme end of the spectrum when it comes to covers & cores, I'm not sure (or probably just not capable) of thinking of any way ball companies can further innovate, until they have a reason to innovate, or regulations are changed, etc.

 

[jason_doust]

Ball companies have plenty up their sleeves in terms of chemistry. As for lane surfaces, ball companies and house shots have been destroying them for decades!

 

[Mistagear]

Question ??????
Is it time for lane oil to be coloured so it is readily visible similar to how a screen printout of sports patterns show varying depths across the length and width of the lane ? Hard patterns would then be recognized over easy ones, long or short etc, and bowlers would have something tangible to compare their performance (or lack of) from one competition to another.
House patterns would then be placed under greater scrutiny and eventually a minimum standard would be created.

I know, will never happen, but I've been thinking outside the square for so long, its getting easy to find different ideas

 

[CT]

We already had a Lane conditioning policy that ensured that lanes were oiled edge to edge unlike today's lanes. This was scrapped I believe when the TBA took control.

 

[jayboybriz]

Question ??????
Is it time for lane oil to be coloured so it is readily visible similar to how a screen printout of sports patterns show varying depths across the length and width of the lane ? Hard patterns would then be recognized over easy ones, long or short etc, and bowlers would have something tangible to compare their performance (or lack of) from one competition to another.
House patterns would then be placed under greater scrutiny and eventually a minimum standard would be created.

I know, will never happen, but I've been thinking outside the square for so long, its getting easy to find different ideas

I think the only problem with this is that after a while the lanes would look awful with all the carry down

 

[Brenton_Davy]

I have asked a few people about this possibility, techs etc and the answer has always been the same. There would not be enough volume of oil for the colour to show up to the naked eye. lane oil has a UV additive and it doesn't show up under the black lights during moonlight bowling, so i doubt that and tint or dye added to the oil would show up under normal lighting

 

[Troyza]

Ball companies have plenty up their sleeves in terms of chemistry. As for lane surfaces, ball companies and house shots have been destroying them for decades!

What about a lane surface which destroys balls? Jokes aside, perhaps that's exactly where the innovation is - creating more durable lane surfaces. I'm obviously no expert on ball companies, but I guess they would react by creating even more aggressive coverstocks. What are some things we can look forward to with up & coming coverstock tech?

Not sure about coloured oil, seeing breakdown & transition would ruin the sport more than aid it I reckon. & as Brenton said it's pretty much impossible due to lack of volume. But if it was possible, the amount of chemical it would take would probably cause havoc on the lane machine & pattern breakdown. Just like scented additives that some companies are coming out with for lane oil, have only heard bad stuff about that. Don't fix what isn't broke!

I think we can all agree though, that the innovation needed is something that returns integrity to the sport.

 

[jason_doust]

Yes. As Ron Bickerstaff one recounted, one end of the Brunswick campus is billing slicker oil. The other is developing ball covers to slurp up said oil, so the first end is developing slicker oil...

Fred Borden once said night vision goggles did a fair job of seeing oil. There's probably a rule against it. Especially if Belmo or Sam have tried it! ;-)

As for stinky oil, no thanks. Nothing would get me onto a nice road bike faster! (That said, I've been looking... A real bike. One you pedal!)

 

[jason_doust]

Pardon my erratic auto corrects. Stupid tapatalk...

 

[Loose Cannon]

These days we are spoilt for choice with the range of balls on the market and the frequency of ball releases in a calendar year, balls with different coverstocks, cores & how they are drilled etc means we can have an arsenal of balls to suit any lane condition. We can take a lot of thought out of our bowling by just grabbing another ball if one isn't working. An old bowler I bowl with has one ball, he bowls differently to suit the conditions, he can up or slow his speed, loft or lay down at the line, give the ball forward or side roll etc , even in his old tournament days applied the same tactics. I wonder if he is onto something with this back to basics approach , ball technology means little if your skill set is poor.

 

[Hughston89]

http://www.11thframe.com/news/article/6183

 

[Schmicko]

Beat me to it ^

Ask and u shall receive

 

[Mistagear]

I would love to have some of that for next weekend, Hey Brenton, any ideas ?

 

[Troyza]

I just found that article as well. Innovation? Not sure. Perhaps I'm looking at this from the wrong perspective. Perhaps being able to see conditioning will benefit the sport in terms of visible difficulty?

 

[Roysa]

Great idea. Love it.

 

[Brenton_Davy]

I would love to have some of that for next weekend, Hey Brenton, any ideas ?

So would I Pete, unfortunately I don't see it coming here any time soon. Having said that, it might be worthwhile seeing if there is a bottle or 2 available in the future exclusively for our use...

 

[Brenton_Davy]

I just found that article as well. Innovation? Not sure. Perhaps I'm looking at this from the wrong perspective. Perhaps being able to see conditioning will benefit the sport in terms of visible difficulty?

^^^^^^^ This, a thousand times this!

 

[Mistagear]

I just found that article as well. Innovation? Not sure. Perhaps I'm looking at this from the wrong perspective. Perhaps being able to see conditioning will benefit the sport in terms of visible difficulty?

Troyza, If you can accept for a moment that every modern sport needs TV to widen its spectator base ( and every modern sport NEEDS spectators) then
Spectators at a footy match or golf or whatever sport held outside, feel the unseen wind and factor that into their opinion along with other facts. This allows the attending spectator a chance to share the emotional experience with a participant so he feels part of the elite group (home team or favourite player etc). In short, this empathy and sharing of feelings is what attracts spectators to a sport.
When TV broadcasts this match, a good Director will show plenty of evidence of these things, showing flags being blown and Commentary team talking about the wind etc so the viewer at home can also gain the same empathy and sharing.
This is in part, the reason why sports commentators are usually past competitors, because they are passionate and because they are seen as being part of that elite group, so for a viewer to have things explained by one of the inner group, it feels more like the viewer is being included in the inner group.
Now...back to Bowling, if TV could show the oil to the viewer, it would go a long way towards turning casual viewers into avid fans.

Sorry, that's a very brief answer to a complex question but probably a longer answer than most here are interested in receiving.
I think Bowling needs more of this fan/spectator based innovation ! ( I declare a vested interest in the subject)

 

[Mistagear]

Tried dye in lane oil, its relatively easy to mix enough colour to see the oil, little less easy to but possible to make different amounts of oil on various parts of the lane appear different...so all good, Right ?
Well, no... biggest problem is not the colour on a shirt or towel, it's the rings of colour which remain on the ball.
So far, as the oil is absorbed into the ball, what is left on the surface is the colour particles.
That will be good for TV to see the circles left on the ball and ok for the Pro's because they may have to throw the ball away after the telecast. Might present a problem to introduce into other competition

Must point out, the trial I did has nothing whatsoever to do with the PBA tests and their results may be totally different