in your opnion not be where they are at with out all the great technology that we have now.  Say that All we had these days were platic balls with pancake cores.  What pro bowler would not be where they are today??  Just for fun not trying to take anything away from those guys cause they are great.
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Raceway Lanes FOREVER!!! ROYAL PIN You ARE WHATS WRONG IN INDY!!!!
high score: 300 (1/10/07 Tropical Storm)
My Arsenal
Storm 2nd D pin over ring finger
Columbia300 Perfect Rival pin above the bridge
Storm Rapid Fire Pearl Pin above ring finger
Columbia Messenger Low RG stacked label
Brunswick Inferno Pin above Bridge
1 tropical storm pin down below the bridge

with the current lane surfaces used on tour i think that the plastic ball tournament would have been fairly indicative of what the pros can do with such equipment.
however, if the tour still used lacquer or even old wood lanes the story may be a bit different.  If it was simply plastic balls on good surfaces I would have to say Norm Duke.  As good and accurate as he is, he would not be able to play his straighter angles and enjoy the luxury of good carry to the extent that he has.  I think he would still be on tour, but not a player of the year contender without the aggressive coverstocks and strong cores featured in today's bowling balls.  What makes Duke special is that he can play straight the longest, and with everybody else being forced right with weak equipment, he would lose his advantage.
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Brandon Riley

Its something that simply cannot be answered as we just don't know. One thing I will say is that the reason certain bowlers bowl they way they do is because the current equipment available allows them to.

If this equipment was not available then it is quite likely that they would have a differnt release entirely and who is to say that they would not have been as good as they currently are or possibly even better?

I am no pro but I know myself that if such aggresive balls were not available, I would simply bowl a different way and whilst things like carry might change a bit, I doubt my accuracy would and I don't believe that would be the case for the pros either and when push comes to shove that is the key to sports such as ours.
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I would have got away with it if it was not for those pesky kids (Behind my lane) and those blasted 10 pins.

Walter Ray and Duke.  The majority of their titles have come during the resin era.  Before then they were the kings of plaque 10s.
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Classic Rock and Blues Net Radio

You guys have to remember that with the new technology has came more and more oil. Back when it was just plastic and urethane there was short oil. Since the reactive balls have came along and the technology has advanced with the coverstocks so has the oil patterns. There has been more oil added as well as the pattern stretched out further down the lane.
To sit here and say this pro or that pro would not be as good is hard to say because the oil has changed as well. Look at guys like PDW, Duke, PB3, WRW, they all have been around to see everything change and they all have stayed up on top. The pros are out on tour because they have learned to adapt to differing circumstances including ball technology as well as oil technology.
In my eyes there are to many variables to consider when tossing this question out.
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Kyle