Do String Pins Ruin Bowling Centers?! 

If string pins become a normal in bowling I am retiring from bowling

String pins should 100% be put into an entirely separate category than regular free fall pins. I think they're a great idea for newer bowlers and people who just wanna go out and have fun, but any serious bowler(s) should primarily use Free Fall, especially in tournaments.

Thankfully, I live in an area with lots of centers, so I think I will always be able to choose a center with free fall pins. This is what I will opt for every time I have a choice, even if it costs a lot more to bowl.

I have nothing but respect for WSU, but this is a bad look for the program...also packy mentioned lack of messengers. thats something i never thought about

Rather see candlepin bowling become the norm rather than string-pin bowling.

In Canada, I coached a National Championship held on string pins. Had a bowler (very good young man) averaged 256 for 7 games on them. It was tough as you had to watch your bowler, the lanes for changes and also the pins to make sure of the pin fall if it was a string pull or a true fall. I mean just before the shield drops the machine starts pulling the strings back and sometimes the 7 or 10 pin will fall extremely late and the camera most times will count the wrong pin count. Extremely time wasting getting the right call and changing the score. Not the way for competed bowling at a high level, for entertainment and fun leagues yes, high level of the sport no thanks.

Packy, Ryan, winning make me feel good too! Not sure if anyone asked this yet, but was wondering about the weight of pins used with strings was different than no strings? Not a fan of string pins, like watching a punch judy puppet show .

We have 2 centers in our town, I can see the one getting stringpins, and all the casual bowlers will go there. And the few leagues they still have will probably go to the other house which will never install them.

Now we need you and mitch to do a split challenge with string pins.

Slightly off topic, but I distictly remember the current two handed "no finger" style was what we were started on till we got big enough to "graduate" to finger holes. So, a lot has changed. Back on topic, string pins strike me as toylike compared to free fall.

That's why i don't go the bowling center, i go the bowling alley where they don't have string pins but they do have cheap beer and you can smoke inside.

So I just want to add my 2 cents here. I own a 10 lane string pin alley and have a good friend who owns an alley with a traditional system. The fact is maintenance and mechanical issues are a fraction of what my good friend needs to deal with frequently (and yes he takes care of his machines). My consumer is the general public and I’m in this business to make money. Not hear amateur and “professionals” complain 😂

String pins would be cool in a couple of lanes as a sort of "practice lane" for good bowlers. Maybe a few more for the birthday party crowd but the actual comp lanes need the pinsetters.

In just 20 frames, I counted 12 hits that were affected by the strings. USBC is claiming only a small difference in the overall scoring... while at the same ignoring exactly what Packy said... which is that scoring pace might not change a lot, but the way the pins fall will be forever changed. And that will have a major impact on the sport, even if the average score doesn't change much.

Okay for training purposes... otherwise, not doing it. One center near my home went string-pin a few months ago and I have yet to visit. There is one other mom/pop place nearby but mostly I drive about 40 minutes to the best bowling center in the area. And from what I hear, they are not making the switch. The place that did, I heard they barely oil. I think they just want to host kids parties and get bowlers who just play for kicks and don't have their own bowling balls. Too bad.

I bowl on strings in the UK and am not a fan but it is what it is. Last week in my third game I managed to leave 5 splits but converted 3 so splits are definitely still part of the game.

the thing about string pins is an adequate amount of slack allows the same messengers and no weird string twister pins to occur, but too much slack leads to tangles. this goldilocks zone needs to be realized so that string pin can become an adequate form of bowling for competition. Right now there are far too many variables and I feel like we're head straight for the dark ages of bowling if it keeps up, free fall will always be better imo.

I'm curious, how many 300 / 800 games have been shot on strings, how much harder it is to do it

You should interview all the pros what they think about stringpins

I can’t believe that Wichita State, with its world class college bowling program, switched to strings! My college, with a team nobody knows about, and a games area that is basically just a party center, has beautiful new Quibica free fall setters. They are difficult to maintain with a part time, student team of workers but we do our best.

Tested at the itrc and my free fall the second day I averaged 240 and 232 string pin so I’d say that’s accurate I also was throwing nuts the 2 free fall games

I think two things can be true at the same time when it comes to string pins vs. true free fall pins: 1) I personally don't like the idea of string pin setters becoming a "norm" for competitive or league bowling. I don't feel that it is good for the sport, the physics of the pinfall feels off, and I can't help but feel it cheapens the sport somehow. That said, I must admit that I haven't yet personally bowled on string setters so take what I say with a grain of salt 2) I recognize that in the specific case of the WSU Rhatigan Center, with an ever-rotating staff of mostly untrained college students, string setters can be appealing. The student-employees, usually, are not experienced working in bowling centers and their machinery, and string pin setters can make more sense. Especially when considering the costs of training and paying a mechanic, personnel safety, the insurance premiums, and simply the amount of time a manager would have to spend training new staff almost every year (if not even more frequently), I begrudgingly can admit that I understand WHY the Rhatigan Center would do this; and why this can be a more economical and easier option for more casual bowling centers.. Still, I will miss the late-night practice sessions at the RSC where the only sounds were you and the A2 pinsetter machine buzzing and clattering away in the background lol

The LUCKIEST bowler ever to throw a ball: Belmo without messengers is like chicken soup without the chicken or in Belmo's case a kangaroo without his tale. heheheheHA!

I watched another person just before this and they had a second camera back at the pins. You could see some were made and some missed just because of the strings.

So many competitive bowlers in here. Interesting. Never knew that 95% of people that play bowling play it competitively. Enyways, perhaps try the 9 pin version of bowling. All of them are string, but they are so light and sensitive that in general it is HIGHLY UNLIKELY that strings will alter how pins move. Also this type of bowling is literally a competitive sport. So if you want to play bowling like sport players, play this type of bowling.

That has to be Chris Barnes' son. He looks and fist pumps (8:25) just like him....which is uncanny.

The last minute of this video is why comparing average scores between strings and free fall misses the point. It's obviously a different game. It doesn't matter that the differences that negatively impact scoring are well-balanced against those that positively impact scoring. It's a different game. If your favorite golf course doubled the diameter of the holes, but placed random spikes on the green to deflect and obstruct the ball, scores might end up being pretty similar, but no one would cite that to justify those changes.

To answer your question - yes

I've bowled a few games on string pins. I've never liked them.

Yes. At least for me. Considerably fewer strikes. The pins don’t carry. Horrible.

They have bought them into some centres in Australia and I haven’t heard 1 good thing. If they put it in my home centre I’m retiring

Good thing that every bowling alley near me has Free Fall pins. I played at a place with string pins and it was terrible. The pins kept getting tangled and the pin reaction felt wrong. It might be fine for little kids or people just wanting to have fun but for any serious bowler, I would avoid it at all costs.

IMHO there is a reduction of pin action due to strings causes up to a 7-8 pin diff on averages

These string pin machines *seem* cheap, but thats only because they are relatively new. Just wait 10-15 years until you start getting niggling problems. String pin machines are proprietary and due to software are only repairable by the dealerships. If, lets say, after 11 years the 6-pin wont set, you have to call out an engineer who charges more than the cost of a brand new Ford pickup truck as a callout fee *alone* ..... Now compare a normal freefall lane. Your 48 year old pinsetter develops the same problem - the 6-pin wont set - what do you do? You just get your in-house lane mechanic to fix it.

Yesterday, I left the 6 pin after the 10 pin stood up in the gutter. The free fall machine arm would have cleared the 10 pin away, leaving me with only the 6 pin. However, the string pin machine picked up the 10 and put it back in its place, so I had to convert the 6-10 instead of just the 6 pin. We've noticed this happening quite a bit, and our alley has no way of correcting it. Our fall league met today for signups, and a new rule had to be added to deal with pins being picked back up when they were clearly out of play. Outside of that, we've not noticed any difference between splits and strikes compared to the free fall machines. Of course, our leagues are no longer sanctioned by the USBC.

String pins will end bowling as we know it...

The price per game or hour, should be cut in half! Did the price structure change?

I hate strings it’s horrible I won’t use string pins. It’s like cheating

Don't even need to watch...short answer, yes. No serious bowler are going to use string pins.

If anybody wants to see what life is like on the other side of the wall, I've made a channel. Come check out the repair and maintenance side of the bowling world!

A few years ago it was a big thing now you hear very little about them

Bowling leagues will collapse for those centers that shift to string pins. Including me!

Can a pin even rock with string or slide

I like how he said right hand vs left hand, yet each use both to bowl 😐🥴

I was invited to the ITRC for testing,went twice, and it appears that both times, most bowlers did better on free falling pins.The best part was I got a free ball after the second session.

No string pins.... ever.

I hate them. 220 average bowler posted a video on them and he made the big four, Greek church, and 7-10 all within ten attempts on them. They’re atrocious

Not a fan of the string pins. I feel that you either get robbed or unreal pick-ups.

What I’ll miss the most with string pins is the Deadwood Clears!

Even though the 2 pin did not get rolled, the 8 pin was hit by a string and fell forward, yet in free fall you would have had double wood. On those single pins they were shooting all over the place and would have converted the 7-10 a few times. Strings are crazy. I think for pure arcade bowling they would be fun because you would get all kinds of weird ass stuff happening.

I get it. I understand why. Still don't like it, but it could be a way to save my home center ( and others across the country). We definitely wouldn't see a decline in the lack of carry we already have there!

Real bowling centers shouldn't go strings. sorry not sorry.

trick question, string pins ruin every bowling center

Freefall pinsetters = more Maintenance but more fun String pinsetters = less maintenance but less fun Definitely the more fun one

My local bowling center went with strings 2 years ago, so most of the bowlers around here have gotten used to them. The reset always puts the pins back in the correct position, so no issues with pins sliding upright into odd positions. A light pocket hit, however, very often results in a 4-5-7 split, where before it was a high probability strike shot. It's not unusual to see this little split 6-8 times per night among the 8 bowlers on 2 teams. Before the strings, a 4-5-7 split was very rare. Split conversions are easier with the strings and I've made several 4-7-10 and 4-6-10 split conversions. I average around 200 in two leagues, which isn't bad for a 74 year old guy throwing 13 mph. For splits, I ramp this up to 14.5 mph. The bottom line for me on the strings is that... it's not better or worse, just different, and it's not that hard to get used to string bowling. I like that the equipment is more reliable, so no long waits for pin machines to be fixed. The play stoppages are brief, usually only 2-3 minutes, and much less often than with free-falling pin machines. It's also cheaper for the house, which is good because it can mean lower bowling costs as well as the house staying in business during difficult economic times.

Bowling is not a carnival game ,USBC shouldn't have approved any of these string machines

My biggest problem with strings is were is the trade off? Bowling has gotten so expensive

I *wanted* to bowl at shocker lanes. But after they replaced the A-2 with strings. I think i would rather go to Northrock or Scneca lanes.

Absolute garbage. Any center that change over to these is the last day they receive my business!

So my hometown in Connecticut had two centers for years. One AMF and one Brunswick. The Brunswick one was sold, while the AMF was renovated and became a Bowlero. From what I've heard from one of the centers managers, there's talks to possibly buy back our old Brunswick house from the people who wanted to turn it into a used car dealership but never did. It's still there completely untouched. They would use that house for leagues with free fall pins, while possibly turning the Bowlero into a strictly string pin house. Nothing is confirmed yet, but I feel like that would be a good idea to keep everyone happy.

String pins weren't even fun for me as a kid. WHY tf would any center introduce string pins now? In 2023? After all these years? FOR WHAT PURPOSE?!?! This is such a dogshit move. The PBA better steer FAR away from string pins or bowling is ruined as a competitive sport.

I played bowling back when prople would set pins. Then, lower end alleys put in the carnival atring machines while the larger ones in my area but in beautiful brunswick machines. Strings greatly affected game play. The alleys who had strings went out of business over the ones who didn't. This is the last gasp of the bowling industry.

STRING PINS IS FAKE BOWLING. I HATE THEM!

This is the first I've seen where pinfall looks acceptable. If this is the proper certified version, I am no longer 100% against it.

So you going to be sticking to bowling at Northrock or do you plan on staying here at all?

String pins remind me of the mini bowling you see at arcades

They look dead

The physics of string pins will never be the same as free fall pins no matter how hard they try. Big nope for me.

Calls himself a "traditionalist" while throwing with 2 hands...

What will kill bowling quicker? String pins or all the idiots copying Jason Belmonte and bowling like 5 year olds?

String pins and 2 handed bowling. 2 of my least favorite things in bowling.

Got em with the ole slanted lane trick! Well played..

String pins are good for practice and birthday parties, but not for USBC sanctioned leagues and tournaments... and DEFINITELY NOT for PBA tournaments

Packy, I hope you do a few more videos on this. Just try to get a camera setup close at an angle that shows the top/rack area well. Looking mainly at spare, mainly splits to be honest, odd carries. Looking to see if you or Mitch or anyone for that matter, get carry a hard split but getting a weird string interaction with pins in the "rack" that are suppose to be out of play. This is one of the things I believe happens more than it should, where the string catches an out of play pin and instantly changes the direction of the pin more so than what it would with the string just alone.

Before I say no I'd like to try them I've been bowling for a long time. Unfortunately this won't help league because to many will just say no its not real bowling. Open bowling probably will stay the same

It ruined ours. I refuse to bowl on them. I prebowl when we are in that area. Garbage

The best school in the world when it comes to collegiate bowling installed string pins. We are doomed.

I hate string pin. They should have switched to the Brunswick GSX

Oh, I like the freefalls better but the string pins don’t seem too bad

String pins....not a fan. Never bowled with them (other than at an amusement park). Sure they save money, but changes the game too much in my opinion. Maybe I just need to try them?

The pinfall there looked pretty good actually, albeit a small sample size.

I would prefer free fall pins but if everyone is bowling on the same lanes with the same pin setters, i dont care.

I'll take the background noise of a Brunswick A-2 Pinsetter over the not so silent string - pin Pinsetter. Packy there not silent🧐🧐

The negative part of string pin setters is that makes bowling strikes harder to hit. The positive part is that enables any bowling alley to offer different types of bowling in the same place. The bigger modification will be the adjustment of ball returns. So everyone can enjoy ten pin, duck pin, five pin, and candlepin bowling in special universal lanes at low cost. Arthritis guys like me can practice the smaller ball bowlings without the risk of injuries of the most popular ten pin bowling.

I fkin hate string pins. Hurts the experience.

WHEN I see the PBA use them................... BE HILARIOUS TO WATCH THE FREE FALL LANES SHRINK TO THE POINT OF NO OTHER CHOICE FOR THE PBA

Here in Canada, 5 pin bowling has been on strings for years. Very few bowling alleys have free fall 5 pin. Nothing wrong with strings but sometimes you get a tangle. We have some lanes with pinsetters that are convertible to both 5 and 10 pin games. Maybe we can bring 5 pin bowling to the United States...

Don’t do it, Packy, don’t you do it. String pins are the worst. The only positive is for the center until all of the bowlers leave for a real bowling experience.

Im a pool player, not a bowler, so I dont know much about this. However, I did see one video where they did say string pins are cheaper to install, require less maintenance, and the maintenance itself cheaper, easier, faster, and safer. Obviously, these are preferable traits for the bowling alley. Obviously, I can understand that the strings do change the behavior of the pins and that is an issue with traditional bowlers. There are many comments and upvotes from people saying if their bowling alley switches to strings, they will quit. I can understand that. However, do bowling leagues and/or serious bowlers have enough financial sway to actually make a difference in a decision by a bowling alley to switch? If you all quit, would they alley even notice or care?

Anything is better than the high pitched sound from an A2 machine. Those machines are workhorses though

I don't like string pins. Per usual, people are trying to "fix" things again that aren't broken.

Does everyone bowl two handed now?

Got to change with the times I bowl on strings and yes there are some differences but it’s bowling either way might effect your game a few pins here and there or for the good and the bad .. it’s a lot cheaper for the owners to maintain with the shortage of decent mechanics

There are pins on strings? I haven't bowled since my bro died (was always Jeff's game anyway) but this scares me about going again.

I won’t even play on string pins anymore, the strings hit other pins sometimes, and in the game of bowling 1 or 2 situations like this drastically change the game. Not worth it, better to go elsewhere IMO

not gonna lie Candlepin would be so much better than string pin bowling lol

I feel splits would be easier to pick up for sure!!!

Strings didn't ruin my house because we got them. It ruined my house cause the next town over did... We absorbed all their leagues... Now the only rec time is first thing in the morning, or late at night. Annoying, but mostly just glad it wasn't the one that got changed.

In a league I am now substituting and they use string pins , I noticed right away all the high handicaps. 48-52-55-59 46. .Not the 19-20-25's I am use to seeing. People with 213 on real pins and after 7 weeks they are at 165. I will most likely drop 2-3 teams at this alley. I will just drive 25 miles for occasional bowling at a real alley . I am at 185 last 18 games one league, 189 for last 12 games and 198 for last 15 games with a 280 and a 667 series. Then I go to strings bowl a 174 to qualify in league, people say, wow you're bowling good. Thursday night I had a 455. and game I was in pocket 9 times and left single pin nine times. NO carry. Strings knocking down pins when there were no pins near them, just stupid string

They create the hung 10…when the the 10 goes because the string wraps around its neck and pulls it down. No more really cool bird dogs and messengers…as he notes.