I wanted to bring this up, and see what the general consensus is among those here who have been bowling a long time.

Our sport has been analyzied through science forwards, backwards, sideways-you name it. Launch angles, axis rotation, swing planes, rule of 31, Dual angle system, pin-bufffer system, you name it, it has been studied. With that said, if a bowler gets completely caught up in all of this it can cause what I call information overload.

I cant tell you how many bowlers I see who carry this over into their game, to the point where they second guess everything...im throwing this ball but I wonder if the one in the bag 60x4.5x30 would be better with more tilt...I know you guys have probably been guilty of it as I have too. Alot of time I have to decompress and take a step back, alot more than Id like to admit I bowl better when I get out of my own way so to speak.

So with this being said, do you think the game has gotten too complicated? And if so, do you think it has something to do with the decline in participation over the last 10-15 years?

Stop,
   I think you are correct when it comes to performance. Every bowler at one time or another sits there and second guesses themselves and their choices. For a lot of bowlers, if they get out of their head and let their swing and release go and stop thinking about it, they get better results. But I don't think it is because of the information available. This has been happening for ages, it's the human in all of us causing this. Our brains are very complex machines and sometimes, we over complicate something that should be simple. In the past it might have been just should I be using resin or urethane, urethane or rubber, rubber or plastic, etc.
 
I also don't see this as the reason we are losing members. I, personally, think the reasons are multiple: There are way more things competing for time and money with today's youth. Soccer has taken off in the US, the old staples of football, baseball, etc. The declining economy makes every dollar more valuable and the decisions on how to spend it more complex. I think the proliferation of high scores with the easing of THS rules also contributed to this. It's not special to bowl a 300 anymore, or an 800 series. Scores have gone through the roof and these have become commonplace. If doing exceedingly well doesn't feel special, why do it. People still become excited to score a goal in soccer, to hit a homerun in baseball (or softball), or to score a TD in football. It still feels special. If every football game was 140 - 133, or every baseball game was 30-27, with everyone scoring TD's hitting HR's, then we might see a decline in those sports as well. I also think another reason is the stigma attached to bowling....the fat, beer drinking bowlers. Do to the fact that America as a whole is overweight, myself included, there is push to try to help our youth stay active. I think parents are pushing kids to sports that include more of a workout, like soccer, and away from bowling. If they want their kids to be healthier, then they have to run and play and do sports that include that. Again these are JMHO's, yours may differ.

Hello,

I think many of general public believes bowlers are sloppy and drunk.  Then they see Walter Ray bowl a 227 to win a tourney and think," Hmm I bowled a 220 once and I was half toasted.."  Not to the extent of chess (which almost no one can grip fully) bowling suffers from some lack of knowledge also.

Think about it like this.  I just heard this recently. "Baseball is boring...all they do is throw and swing...big deal."

My thoughts on baseball is this..Tying runner on first, but the pitcher has a great pick-off move.  Will the pitcher have to pitch the slide step, or can he throw his usual high leg kick 98 mph heater to this .230 batting catcher.  Will the batter bunt? Will they send in another pitcher?  The outfield is certainly playing this guy to pull...can the runner score on a double?  Why is the second baseman covering second....will the batter notice and try a late swing?  The third baseman is playing in...maybe the batter will try to slap it by him......

Cav

 "Is the game too complicated?"  I don't actually think complicated is the proper term for this question. I believe the term should've been CONVOLUTED.

 con·vo·lut·ed 
/ˈkänvəˌlo͞otid/
Adjective

    (esp. of an argument, story, or sentence)
 1. Extremely complex and difficult to follow.
 2. Intricately folded, twisted, or coiled.

 Bowling didn't need all the technological "advancements". When the aim of the "advancements" changed from improving the playing conditions, to an attempt to make the game "fair" for everyone, bowling lost sight of what it was, and began the transformation from the sport that it was, into the recreational activity that it is today.

Bowling is only as complicated as you make it to be.  You can play with a house ball, stand on the approach in your spot, hit 3rd arrow and hit the pocket, and leave a 10 pin.  You can also grab a ball you have drilled pin over, thumb kicked out on a 20 deg angle, pin buffer of 1.5", lay the ball out over the middle arrow, hit the 6 board at 47 feet, and slam the pocket and leave a 10 pin.  same result, just one is much more complex and complicated.

if you are finding the sport, or your equipment too complicated, take a step back.  Tell your driller what you want to do with a ball, where it's comfortable to play, and let him set the ball up for you.  After all, that's what you pay, in some cases, $50+ for.  And if you're lucky, someone might be willing to give you small pointers, or major coaching along the way.



As far as decline of the sport, i feel it has to do with diverse spending options / demands, plus increased prices to bowl and get there.  You walk into the average bowling center, the open bowling prices are atleast $3.75 a game.  kinda hard to play for that frequently enough to gain enough interest to think about a league, if you don't play already

It is in no way more complicated. We are all more informed. Information is every where and it is a matter of what you know along with what you need to know. The vast majority of this information is not needed. It doesn't take the place of practice and ability to repeat and to adjust. The game is a lot simpler then it appears.

I agree totally with the last two posts.
Consistency is the most important aspect in bowling.
Adjustment are second because if you can't repeat shots you can't adjust.
Started bowling in 1977 and still got my league champions Jr,s trophy.

The game is too complicated, but so is every other game now.  It's about numbers and intangibles, but at the same time people are still in the equation.  The game is all about execution now, games are always more fun when intuition is a part of it.  However, the single biggest factor in the loss of numbers as far as participation goes is the house shot.  It's so easy it's no fun.  People expect to get "perfect" games, and if they don't, it feels like a failed night.  The better bowlers quit because all the sudden people who are terrible can score almost as well as they can.  The better bowlers can stay within 1-2 boards all night, but a ring 10 or a stone 9 can lose them a game to somebody who can barely manage to stay within 5 or 6 boards.  Average bowlers quit because they don't understand how they can shoot 170 one game and 240 the next just to go back down to 150.  And the casual bowlers never really get into it because they see bowling as a joke.  Some of the most casual bowlers have the best perspective about the game because they are unbiased.  They look at a game with a rapidly declining member base, but honor score numbers are still going up?  Bowling is turning into tic tac toe.  It's zero fun because it's zero challenge, unless you want to travel or spend hundreds of dollars or both.

People who have quit because the game is "too easy" probably make up 1% of the so-called "lost" bowlers.  If you are saying they don't bowl in THS leagues and have moved on to tourneys and tougher pattern leagues, you would be partially correct.  However, the bowlers you are really describing are the so-called great bowlers who don't have the stones to bowl in a scratch tourney or league thus giving the "lesser" bowler a chance to beat them with handicap.  No matter what the shot is, somebody is going to carry a shot and win a match over a superior bowler.  Curious as to how you answer this question;  If two bowlers are bowling in a scratch tournament and a guy buries a pocket hit for a stone eight and his opponent goes brooklyn for a strike and wins the match, is the guy who got tapped going to quit?  Your hypothesis has been discussed many times and found to be full of holes.