Why Your Bowling Ball Changes Performance (Lane Shine)

[bowl1820]

This is Ron Hickland talking about lane shine.

Basically he says the main cause of "lane shine" is not so much the lane (though that does contribute to it some), But everything else the ball is rubbing against after it leaves the lane surface, Such as the ball return system etc..

[youtube][/youtube]

[boomer]

Here's the huge problem I have with this video:

He seems to be equating the WHOLE ball to the EFFECTIVE area of the ball (being the ball track).

"Lane Shine", specifically, affects the ball track. What the return equipment does to the ball would affect the entire ball, not just the effective area of the ball.

When he measures the balls (from every video I've seen him do) he measures the WHOLE ball. Honestly, I do not care about the surface of my ball around my PAP - that part of the ball never touches the lane (or if it does, I'm doing something REALLY wrong! LOL) I would far prefer him to mark out the ball track area and measure that. That's the EFFECTIVE area of the ball and the only part we should actually care about.

So - by this measure - yes, the return equipment WILL affect the EFFECTIVE surface of the ball, but it will do so inconsistently because the ball is not going to roll around the return equipment along your ball track. . . it's going to be random.

[scotts33]

I couldn't agree more boomer. It's the ball track we are considering. Though the whole ball must be at the same surface.

[boomer]

Right - although I have, in a pinch, just scuffed the track. Was WAY running out of time in practice . . . LOL