When the world's best bowlers hit the lanes for the 2024 U.S. Open next week and the USBC Masters in late March, they will be playing by the USBC's rules, not the PBA's. The hottest topic is sure to be the players' use of the Pitch Black and Purple Hammer, two urethane bowling balls that become illegally soft while in use. Meanwhile, betting markets were recently posted at BetRivers Sportsbook, which begs the question: how can gambling be allowed on a sport where the governing body is openly allowing a rule to be broken?
A Brief History of the Hardness Rule
As USBC Senior Director of Equipment Certification and Specification Danny Speranza explained in the USBC's 2022 Hardness Research Report Video, in the 1970s professional bowlers started soaking their bowling balls in a solvent that made them softer, which created more friction and made the balls hook more. At that point, the American Bowling Congress (ABC) and PBA decided they needed to set hardness specifications. Each set their own specs, with the ABC setting hardness requirements at a minimum of 72D, while the PBA set it at 75D. Naturally, the bowling ball manufacturers wanted the pros to use their equipment on television, so they targeted 77D or 78D hardness in production to make sure they would meet the PBA's minimums in testing.
Around 2001, considering all the manufacturers were producing bowling balls around 78D or higher anyway, the PBA decided it wasn't necessary to have that rule anymore. The effect was that manufacturers began to recognize the USBC's 72D hardness as their "don't go below" number, and hardness of new balls being produced crept down closer to 72D. With research showing that urethane balls naturally become softer with use over time, the USBC raised their new manufactured minimum to 73D as of 8/1/2022 but didn't force people to give up old balls.
Further research confirmed that hardness of urethane balls decreases with use with varying amounts from ball to ball with changes as much as 7.6D in the USBC's 2023 Open Championships Ball Hardness Research Report. The 2023 PBA Hardness Report indicated that it only takes 10 shots out of the box for a urethane ball to drop 2-3 hardness points and will drop more over time. The PBA's solution was to increase minimum manufacturing hardness to 78D, starting this season, meaning even if a ball drops 5D points while in use it will still be legal at 73D.
Why Does Hardness Matter?
As the PBA reported regarding the original hardness rule of the 1970s, "at a hardness above 72HD, the footprint (of a ball) had negligible/minimal change, but once the hardness dropped between 72-70HD the footprint began to increase. Then, as the hardness dropped below 70HD, the footprint began to measurably increase. Therefore, that is where they drew the line. Additionally, based on the gauge accuracy of the durometer, publicized by Rex as +/-2.0HD, the limit of 72HD makes sense to ensure the readings truly stayed above 70HD."
As Jeff Richgels of 11thframe.com explains, "a bigger footprint means the amount of ball touching the lane increases. That creates more friction, more hook, and more oil change. Because older urethanes and polyesters were never found to get softer with use, and reactive resins typically get slightly harder as they continue to cure over time, the issue of balls getting softer after manufacturing was never a worry ... until modern urethanes."
What is the Controversy?
As part of the hardness specification change to 73D, USBC proposed eliminating the use of field tests to check bowling ball hardness because of challenges related to workability, temperature control and variances in testing devices. In other words, there's a rule that is intended to maintain a level playing field for all competitors, but there isn't a good way to enforce it. Additional controversy has been stirred up with past testing being done behind closed doors, lacking the transparency that players deserve to have. And that doesn't even address the fact that years of research have already proven that players who use the Pitch Black and Purple Hammer will undoubtedly be using illegal balls.
Whether or not a couple points of bowling ball hardness gives a player an unfair advantage is still debatable. The USBC's 2022 Hardness Study came to the conclusion that variation by a few softness points does not significantly impact ball path shape, overall hook or entry angle. However, other experts have come out to either say that the study was flawed or to conduct their own study that did show that softer bowling balls could be advantageous.
What Does It All Mean for Gambling?
When we're betting on a sport, we want to know that one player/team doesn't have an unfair advantage over another. Whether we are talking about bowling ball hardness, deflated footballs or corked baseball bats, the governing bodies of the sports that we bet on have an obligation to ensure that equipment is being checked and rules are being enforced.
I believe the PBA took a step in the right direction by implementing the 78D hardness rule and the USBC needs to follow its lead. We also need a solution that brings quick, accurate, transparent field testing, with strict penalties for any player found to be knowingly cheating. Both would go a long way in ensuring the credibility of the sport.
Ultimately, I won't let this situation stop me from betting on the U.S. Open next week or any other tournament this season, but I understand if others are hesitant. Some will wonder, "if this is still an issue after years of discussion then what else is going on that I don't know about?" The integrity of the sport has been questioned. We need the PBA and USBC to cooperate on this and come up with a unified solution so that gamblers can confidently bet on bowling and just focus on our conspiracy theories about the NFL "script" and Chris Paul's feud with referee Scott Foster.
