A level playing field

The type of equipment that you play with can make a huge difference in a person’s performance. I believe that people recognize this but don’t really realize the importance of it. Here are some good examples from previous experience.

When Adam and I were bowling with Jaweens, he owns his own bowl and his own towel to clean off the oil for a true roll. Adam and I are using house balls that have been rolled tens of thousands of times. This isn’t discrediting Jaweens ability but if we level the playing field with Jaweens throwing a house ball, I think we’ll see a different result. Time with tell.

When Sam and I play ping pong, we both use the same exact paddle. Now say I go out and buy a top of the line paddle and he continues using the old one, do I have a big advantage? Then ask, why would I ever want an advantage in a game between two people? If I win, I don’t want any advantages whatsoever. I want to be the better player, equipment aside.

In golf, I think people don’t realize how much equipment comes into play in competition. Give me a driver from 2000 and I promise you my driving distance will decrease 25 yards if not 50. If you are playing with an iron set that has Wilson on it, you aren’t going to play golf as well as someone who is playing the TaylorMade Rocketballs. So you’ll see two people in golf shooting 2 scores but it’s not always the fairest of match ups. Sure the player still has to play well but equipment plays a big part.

These are just some examples of keeping the fairness of the game in mind in whatever game you are playing. Both people should be playing by the same set of rules in terms of scoring and equipment to have an even match.