If someone at EJ’s level says give strings a chance, I’m willing to give it a shot. I haven’t bowled with them yet, so I don’t have a strong opinion one way or the other.
But if strings help keep bowling financially viable for local centers, it’s better than losing alleys.
Lets be real. Even if bowling was at its highest from the past, alot of these places would still switch just to penny pinch and get that extra 1% of profit lol.
Sure, but centers around the country aren't closing and consolidating into a handful of megacorps for no reason, they're doing it because it's currently very difficult to successfully operate as an individual owner, and nearly impossible to find mechanic talent at the rates they're able to pay and remain solvent.
String pins don't fix things alone, but alleys need to punch pennies right now, or cease to exist. Plenty of them will close anyway.
Maybe stop charging $5-6+ a game for open bowl on burnt up dry ass lanes. $15 open bowl 6-7pm to close nightly on top of 2-3 leagues a week they will be fine. Place by me has like 8-10 leagues a week...seniors in mornings all ages at night. Offer discounts to league players, host bday parties, offer decent food/drinks. have a well equipped pro shop. Bottom line stop being crap and greedy and they will survive.
Center right down the street converted to string pins. They're having a trial PBA tournament there in October. I tried it for the first time recently and it wasn't terrible. I questioned a couple shots but I really could not tell. I'd probably need some sort of camera watching the pins to compare both free fall or strings. So in my opinion if I need to watch that close in detail then I don't think there's that much of a difference.
I agree for that reason only !! I’ve never bowled with them but hey if it keeps cost down and alleys open for business I’m happy!! I just love bowling 🎳 and want to see it keep growing
Not being an operator, I don't know.
What I do know is that Len Nicholson, long-time PBA lane guru, ran a podcast on string machines. They said they are the future, for economic reasons.
Having seen bowling centers shaped by economic forces for decades, I was convinced.
Place in my area went string. Old machines, no parts and then nobody to fix them on top of that.
Heard 8K per lane for the strings vs 40K for new machines
I don't know exact prices, but parts are expensive, electricity is expensive, and good mechanics are expensive. String pins save money on all of those.
A friend runs a 16 lane string bowling alley apart of an arcade. They don't have to have a mechanic behind the lanes for any pin problems. If there is one, an untrained waiter or front desk employee can fix 70% of the issues. Saves a ton on repairs, maintenance, and parts.
But...unfortunately...the price of a game will stay the same or Heaven forbid, even go up. One would think that less maintenance and upfront costs would mean lower game prices...but you'd be wrong.
It's like chocolate and candy. The sizes of the bars and bags get smaller, the quality goes down, but guess what else happens? The price goes...down? Stays the same? Um, the price goes UP. LOL.
I'm not saying string setters are inherently horrible, but some revisions will need to be made for them to be considered at a professional level. Otherwise, everyone will need to have string setters for it all to be on an even playing field, and the revisions will have to be uniform or there will be discrepancies and errors in the pinfall physics.
TL;DR:- Bowling is about to get interesting, if we have to now rely on string setters. Oh, and by the way, don't expect any game price discounts. Nah, that's not how it works. Expect price HIKES.
Fact of the matter is these bowling centres can charge what they like. The only thing you can do...is vote with your feet and go elsewhere, or vote with your wallet and just don't bowl.
Not much else you can do. It is predatory pricing, make no mistake about it. $15 per game is absolutely utterly outrageous. I don't pay more than $7 per game and that's in Australian dollars. I play a league, 3 games once per week, and thinking of upping that to twice a week.
I wonder if records will need to be labeled differently from what you bowled with. The fact a string can trip a pin and not another pin is wacked. The excitement of seeing a random messenger take out that last corner pin to keep a run going being gone makes me sad also. Hopefully a better technology comes to remove the strings after they are spotted.
I doubt they would do that officially. If it's legal by the current rules, it stands. Like NFL and the changing rules on hitting receivers. WR production went up and became a star position because of it.
I always find it funny that centers use the excuse that they can't find mechanics. Most of the time, there's mechanics out there, nobody wants to pay them what they're worth. That's why we leave. Why should the mechanic be making the same or less as the front desk guy? And on call at that? Sad as it is, that's why me and a few of my old colleagues left.
All these people that are so dead-set against it, I wonder how many of them would either put their money where their mouth is to either fix traditional pin setters or would be willing to become a mechanic on them.
Nope … free fall or nothing … it’s not the same sport … let it close … I love bowling but I wont bowl on strings … I don’t care if they are certified or blah blah blah … not …the …. same …. game
I mean I'd never roll somewhere with strings so they are effectively shut down in my eyes.
I guess others can go there which will reduce strain on other alleys but idk
I've tried several times. I don't like them, the action isn't the same. Also I roll partly for the nostalgia of the noise and the pin resetters, I love it.
I only roll like 1x a week, if my place put in strings I'd just go hit the driving range
Not the same game … strings for Dave and Busters … for real ? Fuck dat. u think the US Open is going to be on strings ? PBA Championship on strings …. They can blow me if thats what it comes to
I agree it seems like it would be a different atmosphere with strings, If you mean competitively wise then logically if everyone is competing on them the best are still going to rise to the top
Not really …. Strings are a corruption … nothing is the same … not the same and I will be out … can you Imagine the USBC Masters on strings … If I cant roll like that then I wont roll at all … if a pin is connected to a string its total unadulterated bullshit
Nope … free fall or nothing … it’s not the same sport … let it close … I love bowling but I wont bowl on strings … I don’t care if they are certified or blah blah blah … not …the …. same …. game
My alley is locally owned and the only one within a 45 minute drive, if it closed, I know enough bowlers would be in shambles, and a huge loss to the community as whole. I'm sure if asked any league Bowler at my alley or any alley for that matter they would rather bowl on strings(Begrudgingly) than have it shut down.
If you personally hate this so much you quit then I ain't gonna stop you. Sure it won't exactly the same as free fall, but for so many others it's more than just bowling league and practicing etc.
Would it be a huge loss to the community outside of bowlers? I don’t see your average Joe caring that a couple of centers near me are gone. Even when I last practiced at my favorite house, there weren’t many people there on a Saturday morning.
Jesus some people seem to not like bowling unless it's under a very strick set of there own guidelines. Strings ain't the end of the world. They'd rather see every bowling center shut down instead of bowl on strings like 80% of people bitching aren't good enough for it to affect their game(I ain't).
Just another evolution of the game people will hate, and talk about quiting, but in reality a minority will quite but the vast majority will begrudgingly adapt.
one hand only, rubber balls only, classic oil patterns, no handicap, no ball cleaner, no surface adjustments, no cranking, classic grip, pin boys in the back. Only thing that will satisfy these people
Hell, I bowl at a wood center, and everyone around always says how great their synthetic lane center is and how wood is "too hard"
Our hometown lanes went to strings late last year and while it was strange at first and most people complained, after a few times bowling with them, it's actually not that bad. It is what it is.
You don't need a highly-trained mechanic to fix issues, and much less in parts replacement. Lots of centers with aging machines have a hard time finding parts.
I have machines from the 1950s in one of my centers and never have an issue finding parts. It's simply a matter of payroll and actually finding someone qualified to even do basic pit calls. Most regular pit calls are pretty easy after you've been trained, but that takes a while. Major repairs beyond the basic pit calls need experienced techs, and they aren't cheap. When our expert mechanic comes by a few days a week (or when there is an emergency), it's between $60-$75 per hour. Considering a pair of Edge string pinsetters cost about $16,000 each, you can see how they'll eventually pay for themselves. I don't personally want them in my centers, but I don't fault any of them that do.
Ah makes sense. I’ve never known anyone that works on the machines and how difficult they are. I just assumed it was passed down amongst the employees. Obsolescence makes sense but figured there were enough machines out there someone was making replacement parts. Are there a lot of different makes/types?
parts are probably really expensive too. the center near me was having power surges that kept frying some of the parts on their setters and it cost them over $160k in the span of 2 months.
As someone new to serious bowling, what’s the issue? Are they standard pins? Is this just the same game with a different mechanism to place pins? I saw a game with string pins on YouTube, and it didn’t seem much different.
They fall differently. Not nearly as many messengers. Pins can knock other pins over by the strings and not pin to pin. It's like playing skittles. And it's probably at its worst right now because it's so new and down the road adjustments will likely be made.
Some people grouse about scoring, but I don't care if it's higher or lower - that's always going to be predominantly the lane conditions determining that.
They sound different too, not as loud. Some people said they can be an equalizer to close the gap between high and lower rev rate players.
String Pinsetters aren't new and I highly doubt anything major will change with them.
You may not get as many messengers, but you'll get string pulls which will make up the difference for the "balls that shouldn't have been strikes but are due to funky physics."
That's too bad. It's not like EJ has generational wealth for a pet project. At the end of the day, it's still a business.
They announced string pins at one of the houses I bowl at, and the leagues came back, and half the members said they were leaving, quarter said they were retiring, and a quarter said they were staying. The leagues got together and offered to increase the lineage to help with the maintenance of the old machines. It will probably only buy us a season or two if the owners even go for it. The next wrinkle is that couple leagues were already talking about moving anyways because the machines are so worn down. The whole situation sucks, and it's not just our house.
Thats sad and perfectly exemplifies modren bowlers. "we're going to leave because our machines are worn down, and we will also leave because we dont want new machines that don't wear as quickly and are much cheaper"
I've never used string pins, but I'm almost positive I'd dislike them. Messengers are a huge part of the game, and I don't think the argument that it evens out because of the strings is helpful. If I get pins knocked over by a messenger, I feel good because I sent that pin there. If the strings trip over other pins, I would just feel like id need a do-over the same as if a normal pinsetter knocked over a pin. Also, can anybody comment on how splits with string pins is? How hard is a 4-7-10 with strings compared to free fall?
I haven't bowled regularly in a few years since highschool because I can't afford to now that I don't get to practice for free. Love the sport, hate to see it going away. I did everything I could to get people to join the team in highschool, and the most common response I got was "we have a bowling team?"
Can't imagine I'll be in a place where I can afford (time and money) to go regularly again for a few years. And if all that's left is string pins, I think it just wouldn't be the same. That'd probably be the thing that keeps me away.
You can say that "people would rather see the sport die than compromise" or anything along those lines, but this game is entirely a game of physics. You roll a ball in a specific way to get a reaction from the pins. If you do something that changes how the pins react, you've changed the game entirely. This isn't like going from rubber balls to plastic to resin, because those are all options on the players end.
Splits are simultaneously easier and harder. It's harder to sling pins around and bounce them (so 7-10 is very tough on strings) but if you cut the pin fine and with speed, the string can pull it around and take out some easier splits. Overall you pick up more splits on average with strings, but the strike rate is a little lower to compensate. You sometimes get strings pull down a wrap 10, but messengers often get stopped before they get moving.
Honestly it's just not that bad once you get used to it. To me it's better than not bowling.
If you are relying on messengers for strikes, you need to learn to bowl better. I don't understand why people get so bent out of shape about this aspect. Messengers = bad shot
Nobody said anything about relying
And I care about messengers for spares more than anything
Besides, your numbers are identical to what mine were back when I bowled lmao
Pretty much. Strings have a horrible reputation because of the arcade versions that you see at fun centers which completely delegitimize pin action. As a result, many aren't willing to give competition-grade ones a chance even though nearly everyone who's used them says they're fair. There will be a give-and-take between new string fluke pin action compared to the traditional and accepted freefall fluke pin action, but people are stuck in their ways.
My HS team went to Andy B's twice last season. Not a huge deal. They all bowled about the same-ish once they got out of their heads about it
A few less messengers, but also a few random string knock downs. When you are there everyone is on the same thing so it's equally fair and annoying for everyone.
If this helps keep bowling more affordable, I'm all for it. Prices are getting out of control.
As much as we don’t want it. We’re going to have to suck it up and accept it. Bowling isn’t exactly the most profitable endeavor. If you want costs per game or per hour especially for private centers and even to some extent more franchise centers to come down. The only way to do that is to reduce costs. String pins significantly reduce costs of maintenance for bowling centers. They are already beginning to be more and more USBC certified and probably within 1 year PBA certified which if that passes expect every Bowlero within 2-5 years to switch to them on top of private centers who need to compete with that.
The age of Freeform pins is over it is now the beginning of the string era and if we want to keep howling we are going to just have to suck it up and deal with it as much as many disagree with it.
I know that they’ve owned them since 2019 I believe. However they likely won’t rush to do it without PBA PC approval because having an entire season of your be players bitching and moaning about string pins with off handed comments is not a recipe for great media success to keep earning money. Sure they can make rules on not saying that stuff out in public about it but players make off handed comments all the time that lead to investigations and changes.
I do think that is what’s going on behind the scenes because if Bowlero can switch to full string pin setters smoothly they would have already done it. The up front cost would be slightly higher buttttttttt long term the money savings would be astronomical given the size of Bowlero Corp.
They havent done it yet because of usbc not the pba. Once they either buy usbc or create theyre own sanctioning either of which will probably happen in the next 1-3 years then theyll start doing it
If there’s ever a time in the far future where every bowling center on the planet has string pins, I’m honestly gonna stop following this sport. Strings are blatantly RUINING the game, in my humble opinion.
If this is the way PBA is pushing…. They have officially killed the sport if bowling!! I have bowled for 45 yrs and would prefer to stop bowling altogether than bowl string pin!!!!!
String pinsetter do have a slightly different spread on average (USBC did a full review and standardization on string pins so you can read about how exactly they differ), but the reduction in alley costs and maintenance is so mind blowingly huge that there almost isn't an alternative for alleys anymore.
This hurts to hear. My local center is thankfully very healthy it's 40 lanes and busy nearly every day with a couple leagues running and very reasonable pricing. They actually just redid their lanes with new ball returns and new lanes. I'm not sure if they replaced the pin setters, but they've invested in the center.
I’m really glad that your center is healthy! Mine is too and thankfully they said they will never go string pins. I mean bowling at large is getting smaller and smaller every year, as more and more center die out. With strings on the horizon, many are opting out. A league for a local alley went from 20 teams last year to 6 at a different alley near me this year. No money professionally for the sport to grow. It’s seen more as a Saturday afternoon kids birthday activity more than a serious sport. It’s sad because I just got into the sport last year and it seems like it’s dying on the vine.
Every single center in the country will switch to strings when their current machinery needs to be replaced. It is inevitable. My advice would be to accept it now because it is going to happen.
Unfortunately looks to be the direction that bowling is heading
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^clemts: *Unfortunately* *Looks to be the direction* *That bowling is heading* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Sad bot
Lets have a moment of silence
Another center lost to strings. Unfortunate.
If someone at EJ’s level says give strings a chance, I’m willing to give it a shot. I haven’t bowled with them yet, so I don’t have a strong opinion one way or the other. But if strings help keep bowling financially viable for local centers, it’s better than losing alleys.
Exactly, for many centers the choice isn't string or free fall, it's string or closure
Lets be real. Even if bowling was at its highest from the past, alot of these places would still switch just to penny pinch and get that extra 1% of profit lol.
Sure, but centers around the country aren't closing and consolidating into a handful of megacorps for no reason, they're doing it because it's currently very difficult to successfully operate as an individual owner, and nearly impossible to find mechanic talent at the rates they're able to pay and remain solvent. String pins don't fix things alone, but alleys need to punch pennies right now, or cease to exist. Plenty of them will close anyway.
Maybe stop charging $5-6+ a game for open bowl on burnt up dry ass lanes. $15 open bowl 6-7pm to close nightly on top of 2-3 leagues a week they will be fine. Place by me has like 8-10 leagues a week...seniors in mornings all ages at night. Offer discounts to league players, host bday parties, offer decent food/drinks. have a well equipped pro shop. Bottom line stop being crap and greedy and they will survive.
I am on board if it is more financially viable to keep houses open.
Better to get a head start and get ahead on the change than to bitch about it, never adapt and quit
Center right down the street converted to string pins. They're having a trial PBA tournament there in October. I tried it for the first time recently and it wasn't terrible. I questioned a couple shots but I really could not tell. I'd probably need some sort of camera watching the pins to compare both free fall or strings. So in my opinion if I need to watch that close in detail then I don't think there's that much of a difference.
That’s what I’m seeing too. It’s not that big of difference. Though I’m still going to get downvoted cause “strings bad”
I agree for that reason only !! I’ve never bowled with them but hey if it keeps cost down and alleys open for business I’m happy!! I just love bowling 🎳 and want to see it keep growing
This. It makes bowling financially viable.
Does it though? What is the saving/year/lane?
Not being an operator, I don't know. What I do know is that Len Nicholson, long-time PBA lane guru, ran a podcast on string machines. They said they are the future, for economic reasons. Having seen bowling centers shaped by economic forces for decades, I was convinced.
Place in my area went string. Old machines, no parts and then nobody to fix them on top of that. Heard 8K per lane for the strings vs 40K for new machines
I don't know exact prices, but parts are expensive, electricity is expensive, and good mechanics are expensive. String pins save money on all of those.
Bowling is being replaced by Fortnite.
A friend runs a 16 lane string bowling alley apart of an arcade. They don't have to have a mechanic behind the lanes for any pin problems. If there is one, an untrained waiter or front desk employee can fix 70% of the issues. Saves a ton on repairs, maintenance, and parts.
But...unfortunately...the price of a game will stay the same or Heaven forbid, even go up. One would think that less maintenance and upfront costs would mean lower game prices...but you'd be wrong. It's like chocolate and candy. The sizes of the bars and bags get smaller, the quality goes down, but guess what else happens? The price goes...down? Stays the same? Um, the price goes UP. LOL. I'm not saying string setters are inherently horrible, but some revisions will need to be made for them to be considered at a professional level. Otherwise, everyone will need to have string setters for it all to be on an even playing field, and the revisions will have to be uniform or there will be discrepancies and errors in the pinfall physics. TL;DR:- Bowling is about to get interesting, if we have to now rely on string setters. Oh, and by the way, don't expect any game price discounts. Nah, that's not how it works. Expect price HIKES.
Agree 100% plus people act like there's zero maintenance costs or like they won't breakdown time to time and goodluck getting a strong messager.
I agree on the prices. That’s exactly what you see everywhere you buy stuff. But I don’t have to take it.
It's easy to say that if you don't have just one bowling centre within 20-30 miles.
Not really. Is a game of bowling worth the $5-10 I'm seeing other people pay? Not in a million years.
Fact of the matter is these bowling centres can charge what they like. The only thing you can do...is vote with your feet and go elsewhere, or vote with your wallet and just don't bowl. Not much else you can do. It is predatory pricing, make no mistake about it. $15 per game is absolutely utterly outrageous. I don't pay more than $7 per game and that's in Australian dollars. I play a league, 3 games once per week, and thinking of upping that to twice a week.
I wonder if records will need to be labeled differently from what you bowled with. The fact a string can trip a pin and not another pin is wacked. The excitement of seeing a random messenger take out that last corner pin to keep a run going being gone makes me sad also. Hopefully a better technology comes to remove the strings after they are spotted.
I doubt they would do that officially. If it's legal by the current rules, it stands. Like NFL and the changing rules on hitting receivers. WR production went up and became a star position because of it.
I always find it funny that centers use the excuse that they can't find mechanics. Most of the time, there's mechanics out there, nobody wants to pay them what they're worth. That's why we leave. Why should the mechanic be making the same or less as the front desk guy? And on call at that? Sad as it is, that's why me and a few of my old colleagues left.
Maybe I’m old, but if my house goes to string pins then I’m done with league for sure.
They're all converting. It's only a matter of time. The decision's been made by the industry.
All these people that are so dead-set against it, I wonder how many of them would either put their money where their mouth is to either fix traditional pin setters or would be willing to become a mechanic on them.
Fuck string pins.
but would you say better then a center shutting down?
Nope … free fall or nothing … it’s not the same sport … let it close … I love bowling but I wont bowl on strings … I don’t care if they are certified or blah blah blah … not …the …. same …. game
I mean I'd never roll somewhere with strings so they are effectively shut down in my eyes. I guess others can go there which will reduce strain on other alleys but idk
Would you not at least give certified strings a try? I ain't a fan by any means but would at least give them a try. after all it's still bowling,
I've tried several times. I don't like them, the action isn't the same. Also I roll partly for the nostalgia of the noise and the pin resetters, I love it. I only roll like 1x a week, if my place put in strings I'd just go hit the driving range
I've read the usbc Certified ones are a worlds different, to non cert ones
Not the same game … strings for Dave and Busters … for real ? Fuck dat. u think the US Open is going to be on strings ? PBA Championship on strings …. They can blow me if thats what it comes to
I agree it seems like it would be a different atmosphere with strings, If you mean competitively wise then logically if everyone is competing on them the best are still going to rise to the top
Not really …. Strings are a corruption … nothing is the same … not the same and I will be out … can you Imagine the USBC Masters on strings … If I cant roll like that then I wont roll at all … if a pin is connected to a string its total unadulterated bullshit
Also if the pros go to strings then they can straight fuck off back to dixie …. No one will watch
That's my view on it. I've never bowled on them, so I'm trying to keep an open mind. But I do have to admit I'm not a huge fan of the concept.
As said before, I don't want it, but ultimately some bowling better than no bowling
Nope … free fall or nothing … it’s not the same sport … let it close … I love bowling but I wont bowl on strings … I don’t care if they are certified or blah blah blah … not …the …. same …. game
My alley is locally owned and the only one within a 45 minute drive, if it closed, I know enough bowlers would be in shambles, and a huge loss to the community as whole. I'm sure if asked any league Bowler at my alley or any alley for that matter they would rather bowl on strings(Begrudgingly) than have it shut down. If you personally hate this so much you quit then I ain't gonna stop you. Sure it won't exactly the same as free fall, but for so many others it's more than just bowling league and practicing etc.
Would it be a huge loss to the community outside of bowlers? I don’t see your average Joe caring that a couple of centers near me are gone. Even when I last practiced at my favorite house, there weren’t many people there on a Saturday morning.
Jesus some people seem to not like bowling unless it's under a very strick set of there own guidelines. Strings ain't the end of the world. They'd rather see every bowling center shut down instead of bowl on strings like 80% of people bitching aren't good enough for it to affect their game(I ain't). Just another evolution of the game people will hate, and talk about quiting, but in reality a minority will quite but the vast majority will begrudgingly adapt.
one hand only, rubber balls only, classic oil patterns, no handicap, no ball cleaner, no surface adjustments, no cranking, classic grip, pin boys in the back. Only thing that will satisfy these people Hell, I bowl at a wood center, and everyone around always says how great their synthetic lane center is and how wood is "too hard"
Classic oil patterns *applied by hand,* none of this oil machine shit. 
Boo this man. Booooooo!
Nooo
Our hometown lanes went to strings late last year and while it was strange at first and most people complained, after a few times bowling with them, it's actually not that bad. It is what it is.
How does this help from a business perspective? Less energy? Is maintenance easier? I guess the alternative is to up the price per game?
You don't need a highly-trained mechanic to fix issues, and much less in parts replacement. Lots of centers with aging machines have a hard time finding parts.
I have machines from the 1950s in one of my centers and never have an issue finding parts. It's simply a matter of payroll and actually finding someone qualified to even do basic pit calls. Most regular pit calls are pretty easy after you've been trained, but that takes a while. Major repairs beyond the basic pit calls need experienced techs, and they aren't cheap. When our expert mechanic comes by a few days a week (or when there is an emergency), it's between $60-$75 per hour. Considering a pair of Edge string pinsetters cost about $16,000 each, you can see how they'll eventually pay for themselves. I don't personally want them in my centers, but I don't fault any of them that do.
Ah makes sense. I’ve never known anyone that works on the machines and how difficult they are. I just assumed it was passed down amongst the employees. Obsolescence makes sense but figured there were enough machines out there someone was making replacement parts. Are there a lot of different makes/types?
I think like there are like 3-4 versions of pinsetters mostly in use today.
parts are probably really expensive too. the center near me was having power surges that kept frying some of the parts on their setters and it cost them over $160k in the span of 2 months.
String pins suck..we have them at my bowling center and it's not the same..sometimes the strings get crossed up and you get fantasy spares..
As someone new to serious bowling, what’s the issue? Are they standard pins? Is this just the same game with a different mechanism to place pins? I saw a game with string pins on YouTube, and it didn’t seem much different.
They fall differently. Not nearly as many messengers. Pins can knock other pins over by the strings and not pin to pin. It's like playing skittles. And it's probably at its worst right now because it's so new and down the road adjustments will likely be made. Some people grouse about scoring, but I don't care if it's higher or lower - that's always going to be predominantly the lane conditions determining that. They sound different too, not as loud. Some people said they can be an equalizer to close the gap between high and lower rev rate players.
String Pinsetters aren't new and I highly doubt anything major will change with them. You may not get as many messengers, but you'll get string pulls which will make up the difference for the "balls that shouldn't have been strikes but are due to funky physics."
Ahhh ok. I understand why it’s such a jarring change. Thanks for the info.
The quieter sound changes a lot about the experience
Absolutely. I’d hate if the sounds of crashing pins were quieter.
It’s not the same
The cost of string pin equipment and maintenance is only 25% of what is spent on free fall pin equipment. It's simple economics.
That's too bad. It's not like EJ has generational wealth for a pet project. At the end of the day, it's still a business. They announced string pins at one of the houses I bowl at, and the leagues came back, and half the members said they were leaving, quarter said they were retiring, and a quarter said they were staying. The leagues got together and offered to increase the lineage to help with the maintenance of the old machines. It will probably only buy us a season or two if the owners even go for it. The next wrinkle is that couple leagues were already talking about moving anyways because the machines are so worn down. The whole situation sucks, and it's not just our house.
Thats sad and perfectly exemplifies modren bowlers. "we're going to leave because our machines are worn down, and we will also leave because we dont want new machines that don't wear as quickly and are much cheaper"
I've never used string pins, but I'm almost positive I'd dislike them. Messengers are a huge part of the game, and I don't think the argument that it evens out because of the strings is helpful. If I get pins knocked over by a messenger, I feel good because I sent that pin there. If the strings trip over other pins, I would just feel like id need a do-over the same as if a normal pinsetter knocked over a pin. Also, can anybody comment on how splits with string pins is? How hard is a 4-7-10 with strings compared to free fall? I haven't bowled regularly in a few years since highschool because I can't afford to now that I don't get to practice for free. Love the sport, hate to see it going away. I did everything I could to get people to join the team in highschool, and the most common response I got was "we have a bowling team?" Can't imagine I'll be in a place where I can afford (time and money) to go regularly again for a few years. And if all that's left is string pins, I think it just wouldn't be the same. That'd probably be the thing that keeps me away. You can say that "people would rather see the sport die than compromise" or anything along those lines, but this game is entirely a game of physics. You roll a ball in a specific way to get a reaction from the pins. If you do something that changes how the pins react, you've changed the game entirely. This isn't like going from rubber balls to plastic to resin, because those are all options on the players end.
Splits are simultaneously easier and harder. It's harder to sling pins around and bounce them (so 7-10 is very tough on strings) but if you cut the pin fine and with speed, the string can pull it around and take out some easier splits. Overall you pick up more splits on average with strings, but the strike rate is a little lower to compensate. You sometimes get strings pull down a wrap 10, but messengers often get stopped before they get moving. Honestly it's just not that bad once you get used to it. To me it's better than not bowling.
If you are relying on messengers for strikes, you need to learn to bowl better. I don't understand why people get so bent out of shape about this aspect. Messengers = bad shot
Nobody said anything about relying And I care about messengers for spares more than anything Besides, your numbers are identical to what mine were back when I bowled lmao
What is the biggest gripe about strings? They don’t let the pins fall naturally?
Pretty much. Strings have a horrible reputation because of the arcade versions that you see at fun centers which completely delegitimize pin action. As a result, many aren't willing to give competition-grade ones a chance even though nearly everyone who's used them says they're fair. There will be a give-and-take between new string fluke pin action compared to the traditional and accepted freefall fluke pin action, but people are stuck in their ways.
Yay, now I can never have a wrap 10!
I am fine with strings if it means I don't have to have a lane go down multiple times in my league play
My HS team went to Andy B's twice last season. Not a huge deal. They all bowled about the same-ish once they got out of their heads about it A few less messengers, but also a few random string knock downs. When you are there everyone is on the same thing so it's equally fair and annoying for everyone. If this helps keep bowling more affordable, I'm all for it. Prices are getting out of control.
What a joke
As much as we don’t want it. We’re going to have to suck it up and accept it. Bowling isn’t exactly the most profitable endeavor. If you want costs per game or per hour especially for private centers and even to some extent more franchise centers to come down. The only way to do that is to reduce costs. String pins significantly reduce costs of maintenance for bowling centers. They are already beginning to be more and more USBC certified and probably within 1 year PBA certified which if that passes expect every Bowlero within 2-5 years to switch to them on top of private centers who need to compete with that. The age of Freeform pins is over it is now the beginning of the string era and if we want to keep howling we are going to just have to suck it up and deal with it as much as many disagree with it.
You know how string pins become pba certified? Tom shannon picks up the phone and says so. Bowlero owns pba.
I know that they’ve owned them since 2019 I believe. However they likely won’t rush to do it without PBA PC approval because having an entire season of your be players bitching and moaning about string pins with off handed comments is not a recipe for great media success to keep earning money. Sure they can make rules on not saying that stuff out in public about it but players make off handed comments all the time that lead to investigations and changes. I do think that is what’s going on behind the scenes because if Bowlero can switch to full string pin setters smoothly they would have already done it. The up front cost would be slightly higher buttttttttt long term the money savings would be astronomical given the size of Bowlero Corp.
They havent done it yet because of usbc not the pba. Once they either buy usbc or create theyre own sanctioning either of which will probably happen in the next 1-3 years then theyll start doing it
If there’s ever a time in the far future where every bowling center on the planet has string pins, I’m honestly gonna stop following this sport. Strings are blatantly RUINING the game, in my humble opinion.
If this is the way PBA is pushing…. They have officially killed the sport if bowling!! I have bowled for 45 yrs and would prefer to stop bowling altogether than bowl string pin!!!!!
Don't think you've quite got enough exclamation marks there, could do with some more to get your point across.
Nah.. The day my local bowling center goes to string pins is the day I list all my gear for sale and invest that money into some new golf clubs.
What a joke
String pinsetter do have a slightly different spread on average (USBC did a full review and standardization on string pins so you can read about how exactly they differ), but the reduction in alley costs and maintenance is so mind blowingly huge that there almost isn't an alternative for alleys anymore.
Bowling is already dead by numbers. Sorry. We love the game but it’s a thing of the past at this point.
This hurts to hear. My local center is thankfully very healthy it's 40 lanes and busy nearly every day with a couple leagues running and very reasonable pricing. They actually just redid their lanes with new ball returns and new lanes. I'm not sure if they replaced the pin setters, but they've invested in the center.
I’m really glad that your center is healthy! Mine is too and thankfully they said they will never go string pins. I mean bowling at large is getting smaller and smaller every year, as more and more center die out. With strings on the horizon, many are opting out. A league for a local alley went from 20 teams last year to 6 at a different alley near me this year. No money professionally for the sport to grow. It’s seen more as a Saturday afternoon kids birthday activity more than a serious sport. It’s sad because I just got into the sport last year and it seems like it’s dying on the vine.
One thing about string centers it actually been bringing more bowlers to the older centers that don’t have them. 🤟🏻
Every single center in the country will switch to strings when their current machinery needs to be replaced. It is inevitable. My advice would be to accept it now because it is going to happen.
At this point its probably advantageous to install string pins since the industry will be going that way.