I really fear for bowling. All of the major American sports, I feel like it's changed the most and the professional game is taking it way away from its roots. The minimalist in me really longs for the days of Mark Roth's plaid pants and that smooth arm swing of Earl Anthony. Now lane owners are bringing in disco balls, strobe lights, gutter guards and electronic scoring.
What is an old Polish, beer-drinking purist supposed to do?
If we may digress to the serious side of bowling and its connections to golf, you will see that bowling and golf are similar in that there are not enough regulations on the construction and materials that can be used in the ball. Furthermore, in bowling, you can use more than one type of ball in a match.
Would bowling be better if there was only one-type of ball, a competition ball?
Would golf be better if players were allowed to switch balls throughout the round?
I'll be back in a minute as I jump to www.bowlingballatlas.com to search for this topic 
Here is a snippet from the Bowlers Journal forum.
The equipment has ruined bowling.
"The general consensus is that bowling SKILL has 4 main components: 1-Repetition, 2-Accuracy, 3-Power & 4-Versatility (the WTBA adds "Knowledge" which is suspect in my mind because "knowledge of equipment" seems to be a concession to ball manufacturers whereas "knowledge of proper hand positions according to lane condition" would be redundant since this is part of the Versatility component of skill) . . .
I certainly see that simply buying an assortment of these latest high tech balls undermines the Versatility component of skill (i.e., less need to experiment with hand positions & speed if you can simply change balls) . . . and the availability of these new balls undermines the Power component of skill also (i.e., just buy a ball that hooks a lot rather than develop this finely honed skill which many bowlers spend years perfecting with regards to finding the right release combination of "lift, turn, and extension") . . .
nevertheless, it still seems that the Accuracy & Repetition are still rewarded on most shots under most conditions . . . except that if the pattern is altered so much and so quickly that it becomes a "crap shoot" then "hitting the same mark" with "exact speed" etc. isn't really rewarded because the shot's gone so "doing the same thing" now will lead to a different result . . . at this point it boils down to the genius of knowing how the lanes are changing (which can be so whimsical that I don't believe anyone can really do all that well, given all the variables such as static electricity, humidity, heat, type of oil used, what the features of the surface are with regards to crowns, tilts, and depressions, what type of surface, wood or synthetic, age of surface, where other bowlers' balls have been rolling on the lane and types of balls they used, etc, etc, etc., etc.) . . . taken to extremes this would be like determining golf champions based on their knowledge of turf management & greenskeeping . . . and frankly I don't believe technical expertise of this type is what most bowlers & golfers want to be challenged by . . . they want to either "hit the links" OR "hit the lanes" and go (leaving playing conditions and technical nuances to the caretakers of the game & the maintenance personnel) . . ..
Well, in asking for a clarification I may have answered my own question . . . these new high tech bowling balls do seem to undermine the 4 primary bowling skills (directly with regards to Versatility & Power by simply buying a new ball to give you power or versatility by way of a different reaction. . . but also though perhaps a lesser degree with regards to Accuracy & Repeatibility since these skills will not be rewarded as much due to the unfairly quick changing conditions the new balls create, esp. the particle balls with their diamond dust, volcanic ash, crushed glass and other highly abrasive coverstocks) . . . .
Seems to me that a Standard Ball would be the perfect way to create a level playing field for competitive bowlers. With a standard ball then a fair & equal competition of bowling skill would take place which was clearly measurable and observable to all (participants, spectators & potential sponsors would be less confused and this would raise the integrity and credibility of the sport). Scoring levels would not necessarily drop that much since the lanes would have a shorter length & lower volume of oil to accomodate the lower friction coverstocks.
If this Standard Ball was much less aggressive than today's high tech balls (for instance - a plastic ball), then the lane pattern would require much less oil with regards to length and volume (according to Len Nicholson & Brian Voss, and lane maintenace experts at Kegel) . . . this would allow the bowling skills of Power & Versatility to be rewarded commensurate with the mastery level of each bowler . . . and since this would allow the oiling pattern to hold up much better / break down more slowly, then the other two bowling skills, i.e., Repeatability & Accuracy would once again be adequately rewarded . . . .
Also, with adoption of less aggressive balls the lane surfaces would be damaged less (the better the lane surface the less problems there are with regards to inequities & unfairness with regards to left & right handed bowlers) . . . .
I really hope that the leaders of the PBA adopt some sort of Standard Ball (I feel the PBA has the most influence on bowling) . . . even if the PBA or USBC simply adopted a "recommended" competition ball then this would be a start."