Q. Bowling has been controlled by the USBC now for about a year. I just wondered if you have any thoughts on how things have changed from the days of the ABC. Better or Worse?


A. As you know if you have read my article I try to keep answers short
and to the point. But you got me on this one I will try not to ramble but this answer will take awhile my answer is going to be in 3 different categories.

1. I had the occasion to work with the USBC to rectify a sanctioning problem that came up in tournaments that I run. I found that trying to get things straightened out was cumbersome; communications from the USBC was very poor. No one would tell me what was going on. When they did send correspondence the first time it was wrong. I was told later that they sent the wrong decision out by accident. I asked for the explanation and got no answer. I then wrote the CEO Roger Dalkin and was promised an answer within one week. I got no answer again for over 5 weeks and then only because I emailed Roger again. My grade for customer service D minus. I think they have gotten too big to care.

2. The Robert Mushtare fiasco, I know many scribes have written about
this but my opinion is the USBC blew it. These two 900's were pre-bowled the USBC says the rules were followed. Ok show me, publish the details of your thorough investigation and tell me why these scores should be sanctioned. There had better be credible witnesses that saw every shot, not just some of the shots and I don't mean his doubles partner who bowled with him during one of the 900's. There should have been a league representative present to verify scores. If not, I am sorry to be skeptical but I am a non-believer. This gives the USBC a black eye from which they may never recover. Grade D minus.

3. The new USBC Women's challenge the list of names was just released and again the USBC blew it. I know this was invitational and that picking the best 16 to put on the show is a tough job but there are 2 glaring deletions. Where is Kelly Kulick I realize there could be a schedule problem with her now making the exempt field of the PBA still she should be on the list and if she had to decline so be it. I saw nothing to let me know that was the case. Then where is Wendy Macpherson you can't tell me there is a better story out there than Wendy winning the men's regular division singles at their own USBC National Championships not to mention she is a great bowler and teacher. Wendy has been a proven steady winner on the Women's Pro Tour for years. There were several women chosen whose careers aren't even close to Wendy's. My grade D minus again. My question to the USBC, where are you going and what are you doing in that hand basket?

Q. I have a question about changing the ball's surface to try and match the lane conditions. I understand putting the ball on a spinner and sanding or polishing to alter the reaction. And I think that makes sense to me if you are at your house lanes but what do you do to alter the surface for a tournament? You can't take a spinner with you can you?


A. Actually you can buy a personal spinner to take with you to tournaments. There are several available. Donkee products makes one as well as Innovative Bowling Products that are meant to be travel spinners. I like scotch-brite pads. Especially for particle balls. They take off surface material around the particles and don't round off the particles themselves. They work well for all kinds of balls as well. They last a long time and it's harder to make a bad mistake with them. White is about 1000 to 1200 grit, Grey is 800, Green is 600 grit and burgundy 400 grit approximately. There are lots of polishes out there and they all work pretty well. I especially like Quick cut from Ultimate products this is a lot like rubbing compound for dulling the ball down a little or for taking out small scratch's before polishing. For polish I like Ultimate's Black Magic works very well for gaining length when needed. All of these work best with a spinner. It is trial and error to figure out what works best for each bowler, as everyone is different. You just have to experiment. My favorite ball finish that works for me on most shots is to use the burgundy scotch-brite 800 grit. Dull it down clean it and then polish with Black Magic. This gives you polish over sanding marks. The polish gets it thru the heads and the sanding marks help to pick up mid-lane read. Still give great back-ends without losing traction due to roll out. Now if I am at a tournament and don't have a spinner or access to one I take most of my equipment polished and take a green and brown scotch-brite pad with me. If I need more bite on the lanes then I take out the ball I think gives me my best chance and hand sand the track with the pad. The green if I want to hit it hard and the brown for a little less. I sand it in a circular motion all the way around the track. If I need even less than that but a little more hook or back-ends then I sometimes spot sand the track hit the top and bottom of the track at the flair but leave it polished where the flair ends do the widest part of the flair about 2 0r 3 inches on each side. This gives less reaction than doing the entire track but more than leaving it polished. To get them back to close to factory you need a spinner or take it to a pro shop. If you have the spinner you can look up the ball at the manufacturers web site and it should tell you the box finish. You can get it close.

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