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by Randy OoneyMy Nickel’s Worth by Randy Ooney
Marketing
There are as many forms of marketing as there are car insurance commercials on TV. In my chosen career, one of our effective marketing tools was to obtain a potential customer and a factory rep with deep pockets, and go out for a round of golf and lunch. Head and Shoulders shampoo thinks that if Joe Mauer uses it, and is surrounded by beautiful women, that we will use it too. That doesn’t work with me. About 40 years ago, beautiful women realized that I would never be good looking or rich no matter what kind of shampoo I used. Also, I don’t care what kind of floor Parker Bohn has in his home. I can only afford used pins from Texa Tonka so I have to practice in my driveway.
I am interested in the type of equipment that Parker and his colleagues use in tournament competition, however. The recent team competition exhibition of the touring pros attracted some attention, and the ladies sitting at the settee tables look like they might have been borrowed from a Joe Mauer commercial.
But on with the show. In case you missed it, it was a four team format from Ten Pin Lounge in Chicago. Team sponsors included Brunswick, Storm, the Ebonite family, and 900 Global. 900 Global got hammered in the preliminary singles matches, but then came on to sweep the stepladder from the bottom rung in the Baker format and win the event. So does this mean that 900 Global makes the best equipment, and that beautiful women will watch you from the settee table? Probably not. I have often felt that these front line manufacturers of bowling equipment all make quality products. I can’t afford 100 different bowling balls, (I once saw a guy with about 70 at a PBA Regional at Spectrum), so what should I get??
Even though I am not a big PDW fan, about 5 years ago he won a couple of titles and made about 6 shows in two months with a Storm Special Agent, so I purchased one. It was the most powerful ball I had owned to that point, and I had a great deal of success with it. I got older and decided to go to 15 pounds and added a Storm Attitude Shift and a Morich Ntense LevRG, both of which produced several honor counts. But this is my favorite story of 2011. The Attitude Shift got damaged, the Morich ball never worked well at Texa Tonka, it was getting to the end of the season and I was too cheap to buy a new ball. I took the Special Agent out of moth balls and polished it up for a match with Smilin’ Carl. He brought not one but two Virtual Gravity Nano balls to the center when they were hard to get. Both of us were around 750 that night, he beat me but I won two of three games, and renamed my Special Agent the Nano beater. My teammate J.G. took exception since he had just purchased a new Nano.
I watch Matt McNeil put up tons of honor counts with 900 Global while Daron Hansen does the same with Brunswick. Regardless of equipment I will never be able to match those guys because I am right handed and old. So I pay more attention to other old righties by going to the Gyms….as in Lindquist and Wynne. (And Smilin’ Carl is getting there).
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