my question is this as a pro shop owner why do we have weight rule on bowling balls when the only time you can get the usbc to doany thing about it is at the open? at the local level what person with a ball out of spec is going to give it up to have it checked and if you do find it out of spec there scores still stand if the usbc what people to think that bowling is lagit than we need to find a better way to deal with this because most people are so what i don't go to nationals so i can cheat and in small assoc. like mine there are only two drillers one in the center and one free standing which is me. and the center shop is certainly no going to blow himself in.my secound question is how do i get the usbc to inspect his practices so that balls are brought in to spec all the time?

The only way I know of to get the USBC to help you is to file a protest every time someone bowls an honor score, whether it's a 300, 11 in a row, or 800+ series.  They are required to inspect the ball.  If they find one out of spec the score does not receive an award.  This will piss off the bowler so much he or she will go the person drilling the equipment to raise hell.  After a few times the driller will probably pay closer attention.  I know it sounds like a pain in the rear, but if you want something changed you have to take the bull by the horns...

As a side note, back in the early 90s I bowled heads-up against a current PBA star (no name will be given) in a non-sanctioned scratch tournament.  He beat my brains in with a Blue Hammer that was crushing the pins.  After the tournament was over, he said that he drilled the ball straight up over the label, drilled a weight hole in the side, inserted a roll of dimes, then plugged the hole.  It had several ounces of positive weight that was not visible by looking at the ball.  It was like watching a train drive through the pins, and he easily won the tournament.  He said he only used it for non-sanctioned events so he wasn't breaking any rules.  I don't know about anywhere else, but that day it paid well for him. 

As the saying goes, "It ain't cheating if you don't get caught."

Lefty, your weight issue was very common back then. Many balls had lead weights put in the sides or top. If I am not mistaken that is when the PBA would not allow plugged balls for a while. Back to the first post, I also see some of that around my area. As a pro-shop owner and USBC official I tell my customers that the balls must weigh out correct or I have them sign the drill sheet with a note indicating the ball is non-compliant.

Many years ago there was  a fellow from old home town whose bowling ball was out of specs and when the drill went in to balance the ball out spilled a number of bbs. Needless to say he was a bit embarassed and blamed it on a back home ball driller who had given him the ball.

Don Gates

I would like to add to the fact of the above quote. I do bowl in the same assoc as Mr REC Room. I know for a fact that there are balls that are out of specs. A family member had a ball drilled up from the bowling center and I didnt agree with the way that it was layed out. After having the ball weighed by two other ball drillers outside of the bowling center, they both came up with the same measurements. To much side wt. I beleave that any honor score that is shot the ball should be weighed before the score is certified. I think that if the USBC wants to get a handle on the sport of bowling that it needs to start enforcing the rules from the bottom up. They should enfore the association officials to have a zero tolerance policy with the rule book. The problem with small associations, like the one that we bowl in, is that the bowling center owner has people scared to do anything about it. EX: Threatening that he will not certify his lanes making it impossible for us to have an association at this center. The only problem is that the next nearest bowling center with open spots is over an hour away pending on were you live for the large population of the bowlers.

I wish that there was a USBC offical that could actually come out to places like this and see all the violations that are going on. If anyone knows of anyone or how to get ahold of such a person please let me know. Bowling is to much of a good sport for it to be ruined by certain individuals that cant follow simple rules or be scared off due to improper conduct.

Bowl Well

Bubba

Hopefully static weights will be addressed in the USBC Ball Motion Study. I asked Sam Lantto about this and he told me they are looking at everything. I think it would be interesting to see if there is a point where too much imbalance actually is detrimental to ball motion.