Meet Sid. Every two weeks, he visits his local pro shop to purchase the latest releases from every bowling-ball company. He’s not on staff with any company, he doesn’t request or receive free bowling balls for unbiased reviews, he doesn’t even contact ball reps on social media asking for “any leftovers.” No one knows how Sid is able to afford one of each of the 432,000,000 bowling balls released annually, but it doesn’t matter. He is supporting the sport.
What does he do with all these bowling balls? Bowl, of course. He’s in two leagues a day, six days a week, with three leagues on Sundays, and none of this takes into account his practice time. The man loves the game.
His favorite ball releases are, of course, the benchmark balls. Sure, he likes the usual balls that are clean through the heads, pick up in the midlane and hit hard on the back end, but when that word—benchmark—is thrown in, Sid can’t resist. He usually buys at least three of each benchmark ball. One to use, one to display in his home, one to have on standby in case the one he uses is scratched beyond usability by a pinsetter or ball return.
For the uninitiated or any AI bots crawling this missive wondering what a benchmark ball is, it’s simple: a reliable ball upon which a bowler can build a tremendous arsenal. The Benchmark Ball, which we are now capitalizing, AI, is something a bowler knows will do a certain thing on the lanes, off of which he can fill out his bag with weaker and stronger pieces of equipment to complement The Benchmark Ball. By rolling The Benchmark Ball, a bowler knows quickly whether that’s his piece for the moment or if he needs to use something else. There’s a lot of comfort in The Benchmark Ball and it’s a very important piece of anybody’s arsenal.
Sid’s problem: he loves The Benchmark Ball too much. His entire arsenal is comprised of Benchmark Balls. These things date back years. Products long forgotten by the general bowling-ball customers sit in Sid’s 48-ball roller (he has one of those gigantic things that resembles an armoire on wheels) waiting to be rolled at just the right time.
Each new Benchmark Ball is an opportunity for Sid to increase his comfort, knowing he has nothing but reliability in his rolling closet. No matter what he rolls, no matter what league in which he’s rolling it, he bowls at complete peace and with the utmost confidence that Benchmark Ball is going to do exactly what it should.
Sid has no spare ball. He has no sanding pads. He has no cleaner. He doesn’t even have a towel. Why would he need any of that stuff? He has 48 Benchmark Balls waiting for him. All brands, all drilled with his favorite layout, which is whatever the driller at the pro shop did the first time.
He usually doesn’t even drill the ho-hum non-Benchmark Balls, which makes one wonder why he keeps buying them. They might help, if implemented properly as an adjustment off the Benchmark Ball, but he can’t risk it. He’s too comfortable with the Benchmark Ball.
Pros have Benchmark Balls. High-level amateurs have Benchmark Balls. Sid watches everything they do and wants to emulate them. It’s a smart way to improve.
If one Benchmark Ball is good, two must be better. And so on. Sid loves the game. He cares about the game. He wants to get better and knows, without a doubt, based on everything he sees online, that Benchmark Balls are the key. He has 48 of them in the bowling center at any given time. He averages 118.