Frankly, the ease of scoring in bowling has really gotten out-of-hand over the years. From the advent of the reactive urethane bowling balls, the "no-limits" attitude toward bowling ball specifications have unleashed some amazing scores in the sport of bowling. You could, literally, jump your average by 20 pins just by buying a better type of ball.

What I remember reading about in the last year or so has come to fruition. Back then, it was nothing more than "talk and possibilities;" but now, the USBC, after conducting a series of studies, has developed a standard that will limit the porosity and roughness of a bowling ball so that it won't take over the need for a degree of human talent.

In summary, an aggressive bowling ball will have a cover stock that has tall, microscopic surface spikes that are spaced far apart. A lower-end reactive ball will have covers that have smaller spikes closer together. Picture the surface of any type of ball and the farther apart the gripping objects are, the more traction it has, and vice-versa. Of course, the total absence of any spikes allows the ball to slide and slide and slide ….

So, effective April 1, 2009, the USBC Equipment Specification and Certification team started enforcing limits on bowling ball surfaces. The manufacturers must adhere to these new specs or their products will not be authorized for use in sanctioned/certified USBC competitions.

The "Choc-List" of new terms you will begin to hear more often are:

1) "Ra" (read as two separate letters, like in a chemical formula) which is the measure of the spikes on the ball's surface - microscopic, of course.

2) "RS" (again read as two separate letters) which is the measurement of distance between those microscopic spikes.

3) 50 micro-inches of average surface roughness which means that all approved bowling balls must be at or lower than this upper limit.

4) "I'm quitting bowling because it's not fun anymore" which is a common phrase you may hear from bowlers who carried artificially high averages merely because of their bowling ball.

The current spate of high-tech balls are manufactured with very porous materials which allows them to "cut" through lane oil. "Ra" and "RS" are going to play an important part in returning skill, ability, and talent back into bowling.

Get ready for some adjustments, folks.

A Hui Hou! (See You Again!)