SouthpawTRK's scores

[SouthpawTRK]

I bowled in the Tony Reyes Memorial Tournament today. I was really nervous, but I was glad that I entered (it was the first tournament that I've ever entered) since part of the proceeds went to his family. I shot the following: 139, 149, 170, 114 (we got to drop the lowest game).

[SouthpawTRK]

Being that I only have the one day to go bowling this week, I figured that I'd make the most of my day off by heading to the lanes. Initially, I was only planning to bowl four games. However, things don't always go as planned and I ended up bowling more than four. I really wanted to work on my release, trying to hit my mark and to slide with my right foot (I'm left handed) versus my usual planting. The planting of my right foot has been giving my right leg/hip some medium discomfort, so I figured that I need to work on my sliding foot. The scores were like a roller coaster; hills and valleys for me. It also really hurt to shoot one game that was sub 100 :(

128, 182, 183

128, 98, 116

152, 179, 171

192, 149, 115

158, 131, 120

190, 150, 156

[SouthpawTRK]

Subbed for the first time in a mixed trio league and had a blast! While I had the low scores of the trio, it was such an awesome time and it was a bonus to get to bowl with my cousin. My numbers for the series were as follows: 140, 150, 168. Should be able to sub next week, hopefully I'll be more consistent and put up some higher numbers.

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out this morning to bowl a few games; which turned out to be eight more than a few.

145, 164, 165

138, 175, 156

158, 122, 144

168, 167

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to the lanes tonight to get some practice in before league at the end of the week; here's what I shot:

132, 154, 156, 181

Still working on a consistent release, trying to hit my target and slide instead of planting.

[SouthpawTRK]

Played as a pacer last night in the league I plan on joining in the fall. It was a lot of fun since the league was having a pot luck dinner; so I got some good food prior to playing. My scoring was more consistent; albeit my average was a bit lower; than the week prior (maybe it had to do with me being nervous last week). It was really interesting in the sense that 4 of the 5 bowlers in our group were left handed. One of the guys gave me a couple of tips that I employed and it seemed like it helped. Here is what I shot for the night: 153, 146 and 145.

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to practice the day after league to try out some tips another player had mentioned to me.

140, 125, 180

158, 130, 171

[SouthpawTRK]

Went to my home lanes today for some practice and an evaluation of my swing; both proved to be very useful. One of the main things he noticed in the evaluation was my alignment on where I held my ball in my set up. I was holding my ball too centered in my set up, so the ball was not able to swing straight down. He showed me to move the ball over to be more in alignment with my elbow and shoulder so that the ball could swing straight down and back.

As far as the practice went, here's the numbers for the night:

178, 143, 214

131, 170, 155

I had one game in the first series that tied my all time high of 214.

[SouthpawTRK]

Subbed again last night for Friday night league; had a great time and got to hang out with some good people. The lanes were definitely more oily than in the weeks past and proved to be interesting. Last night I shot: 138, 133 and 155.

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out for some practice this morning for the New Year at my home lanes.

192, 165, 173

149, 149, 148

The first series had some promise (and a lot of luck :))

The second series is more how I normally bowl.

[SouthpawTRK]

First night of league and it was a blast! Good people, lots of laughs, smiles and an overall good time. I did not have an established handicap, so one was going to be based on my first three games. I ended up shooting a 140, 90 and 167. The first game seemed to go fair. The second game the wheels fell off (I believe every single frame was an open frame). The third game I wanted some redemption and made a move that worked better overall.

[Perrin]

Good job coming back from the off game. pretty sure we have all been there where it seems no adjustments you make are working.

[SouthpawTRK]

Thanks Perrin for the kind words! I'm glad that the third game things came back around from that miserable second game. I think one thing that helped is in the league I'm currently playing in they have the music in the center cranked up with a bunch of classics.

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to practice today at my home lanes (not the one from last night's league) and had a little redemption. I'm so glad that bowling centers offer league discounts; it's a nice incentive and allowed me to bowl a number of games today. Here's the numbers for the day:

171, 202, 175

170, 161, 205

172, 151, 192

My main goal for today was to work on technique and trying my hardest not to look at the scoreboard. The other plus is that this was the first time during a practice session that I had two games that were 200+.

[SouthpawTRK]

It was a double header at my home lanes last night; had league and there was a Progressive Pot Game Fundraiser for Tony Reyes (with Kelly Kulick and Randy Pedersen)!

League started out on a high note, but then the oil started to leak as the series progressed; 187, 160, 139.

The Progressive Pot Game started after league and it was truly a very cool thing to watch. It was a treat to watch both Kelly Kulick and Randy Pedersen throw; as well as all the players that entered.

[SouthpawTRK]

Started out this morning to get some practice at one bowling center that I play league in. Unfortunately, they were full up with a morning league and a 9 pin no tap tourney. Not to worry, went to my home lanes, but they too were having league and a tourney as well. I figured I would try one more center and if I got denied, then I would go home to watch some football. Luckily, my local AMF center was open and had plenty of lanes to spare. I had some things that I wanted to work on; but I primarily wanted to work on producing more revs (after watching various videos on youtube the night before.

121, 119, 108

157, 134, 134

180, 164, 138

130, 150, 119

220

The hills and valleys of the series drove me nuts; it literally felt like I lost whatever fundamentals I had. Perhaps I was too focused on trying to increase my rev rate and failed on the other basics such as hitting my mark, release, etc...

I was about to pack it in and then decided to bowl one more game; after all it was all you can bowl for $18; but my thumb was feeling pretty sore. The last game I was so tired that I felt really relaxed, was not trying to worry about my rev rate and just focused on hitting my mark. Started out with a 5 bagger and broke my old high score with a 220 :)

[SouthpawTRK]

Last night in league, I was a different bowler than last week's showing.

203, 196, 202

I was stoked because I achieved one of my bowling goals for 2013; my first 600 series :)

[SouthpawTRK]

Subbed tonight for my Friday night league and shot the following:

166, 155, 162

It was a big change from my scores on the Wednesday night league I play in (at a different house) the other night. Tonight, I felt like I was hitting my mark some of the time, but not consistently enough to score higher. That and the fact that I missed more spares that I should have.

[SouthpawTRK]

Tonight's league night was pretty interesting to say the least :)

Shot a 201, 126, 194

Everything felt good on game 1, game 2 I could not find my mark and game 3 felt like I was back on track.

Won some cash in the evening raffle and we got our league t-shirts :)

[SouthpawTRK]

Finally got back to the lanes tonight for league; had not bowled for one week.

The night started out with some promise with a 211; my highest single game score in league; had either a 5 bagger or 6 bagger to finish it up.

The second game was a lot like the second game I had last week; could not find my mark and missed many needed spares; I shot a 125 on game two.

The third game started out with an open frame and then nothing but spares until an open frame in the 10th for a score of 150.

[SouthpawTRK]

I subbed tonight for the Friday night league that I plan on joining once the new season starts. I wasn't able to bowl with them last week, so I was really looking forward to tonight. The night was interesting to say the least. Everyone on the team I was subbing on was a sub themselves; all the regular players on the team were not able to make it. The two other players were definitely top notch and bowled a 700 series apiece. Unfortunately, my scores were pale in comparison:

126, 132, 161

I was talking to one of the other players on the team and he suggested going with a ball that had more hook and was designed for oilier conditions. We talked about the two different centers that I bowl at and he mentioned that they were pretty diverse in terms of lane conditions.

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to practice today to work on things such as hitting my mark more consistently, working on keeping my forearm open on the backswing (and closer to my body), and with a consistent follow through of my throwing arm. Here are the results:

153, 134, 158

158, 147, 114

The last game was horrible; lots of open frames; had problem picking up spares.

[SouthpawTRK]

I went out to a bowling center that I've never been to before for some practice today; it's always nice to bowl at a new place.

179, 149, 188

168, 177, 135

157, 155, 179

I bowled one game with only my spare ball, only trying to shoot at the 7 and the 10 pin. I only had one frame that was "perfect" for a score of 2 pins. It was a great drill to work on and it showed me that I stink at picking up spares :)

[SouthpawTRK]

I felt like I was going to have a good night of bowling at league tonight, due to the practice I got in earlier in the day. Well, that feeling was way off base and the wheels came off tonight. I don't know if I was fatigued from practice earlier; I did feel a little edgy when I got to league tonight. The music seemed too loud, my arm felt a little tired, my thumb seemed to be a little swollen and we were one player down for the night. Anyhoo, here's what I shot for the night:

107, 123, 116

I was plagued with a lot of open frames, very little strikes and/or spares. I'm looking forward to redeeming myself next week at league; however I won't be practicing the day of league.

[SouthpawTRK]

I was really looking forward to going to league tonight; it's a great group of people to bowl with and because I was going to be able to pick up my new Storm Sync!

The other nice thing about this league is that apply a fresh house shot right before we bowl; the lanes are very dense and the oil sits atop the lanes more so than other lanes that I've bowled.

I rolled my Misfit, Zombie and Sync during practice; but once league started, I only rolled the Sync and Zombie. This was the first time that I rolled the Sync and I was thoroughly stoked on the ball!

The ball had much more hook than my Misfit and worked very well with the house shot for the night; here's what I shot:

153, 131, 198

It took me a little while to find a line, but I was able to play it around the third arrow (I'm left handed) and had 5 strikes to start out the third game of the series.

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to practice tonight at one of the local bowling centers to work on increasing my ball speed and rev rate. The first series I made a point to increase the length of my back swing and to increase my revs. My ball speed increased, but unfortunately my accuracy was affected and I did not notice any significant change in my revs. I was feeling pretty frustrated at the end of the first series, so I decided to bowl using my normal technique and just concentrated on hitting my mark.

128, 99, 132

144, 118, 155

[SouthpawTRK]

Went to my home lanes tonight to get some practice with my new Storm Sync. It was all you can bowl for $10; so I played a total of 12 games; 9 with the Sync and 3 with my Misfit. Here's the results

144, 158, 152 (Sync)

156, 194, 149 (Sync)

128, 166, 132 (Sync)

183, 143, 125 (Misfit)

I really love the Sync, since I can play it up the second arrow or play it through the third arrow (I'm left handed). I'm still getting used to it compared to the Misfit; it's definitely has a lot more hook.

I was pretty tired by the end of the night; probably should've have quit after the first two series; but I could not pass up the all you can bowl and wanted to get as much lane time with the Sync.

[SouthpawTRK]

Tonight my goal to keep my mind quiet and not let the demons of bad shots get into my head. I went to league tonight to have fun, focus on hitting my mark and to get a good release with every shot. After all was said and done, my scores did increase from last week's fiasco; my low game tonight was higher than my high game last week (I'm not sure if I want to laugh or cry about that).

170, 163, 136

The last game of the series, I could feel my arm getting a little tired and my technique was getting a bit fatigued; wish I could have thrown a better third game.

[SouthpawTRK]

So I went to my home lanes today to get the thumb hole on my Misfit opened up a bit; it's been sticking a lot lately over the past couple of weeks. I was not really intending on bowling, but how could I pass up a chance to bowl :)

In all honesty, I was way too tired to bowl due to not enough sleep over the past few days. I decided to make it a bit interesting and had a battle of the bowling balls; my DV8 Misfit versus my Storm Sync. I realize that they are completely different balls, but I thought it would be fun. Here are the results:

DV8 Misfit: 99, 127, 99, 106, 168

Storm Sync: 112, 163, 136, 115, 154

I was having issues with both thumb holes due to my thumb swelling/shrinking. I tried to fix the situation with with some white tape; I think that it helped some; but I need to experiment with it more.

[SouthpawTRK]

Had a lot of fun at league tonight at my home lanes; I really look forward to it every week. I really like this league because all the members are super friendly, it's a very relaxed setting, the lanes are challenging and they put a fresh house shot right before we bowl. I felt more consistent tonight; hit my mark more times than missing it. My thumb was not giving me any problems; I did not have any issues with it sticking. My main issue tonight was picking up spares, which lead to some open frame (about 4 per game). Here's what I shot tonight:

145, 164, 150

I really got to work on picking up spares, it's definitely not helping out my scores.

[SouthpawTRK]

I finally ordered a wrist support to help me keeping my wrist in a set position; it's a Robby Revs lite. The support felt like it helped, but the support piece on the back of the hand caused a spot on the back of my hand to be a little sore. The first game in the series started out with some promise, but then I couldn't hit my mark in the second game. The third game was a bit better, but missed some much needed spares. Here's what I shot for league tonight:

203, 141, 147

[SouthpawTRK]

I had a lot of fun at league tonight; all the members of the league are down to earth good people. I've been primarily rolling my Sync for the past few weeks; I really love this ball and it handles the heavier oil at my home lanes. I decided not to use my wrist support that I used earlier in the week; the back of my hand was still a little sore. Here's what I shot:

160, 160, 146

The first two games of the series I opened up with doubles; however I missed some spares which lead to a handful of open frames. The last game of the series I had too many open frames and shot below my average.

[SouthpawTRK]

Had my local pro shop put my Misfit through the Revivor and then had it resurfaced; I should have done it a long time ago. I was hoping to bowl at my home lanes with Misfit, but they were having a tournament and it was a full house.

I decided to check out another center that had a number of open lanes; I should have stayed home and got some rest; but the bowling addict in me did not listen to common sense. I played ice hockey in my brother's memorial skate and then bowled in league last night; I was exhausted by the end of the night.

The center was teeming with kids and adults that were there to have fun; unfortunately they did not have any bowling etiquette; I had a hard time concentrating to say the least. The scores for the day were like being on a roller coaster with a full stomach.

142, 148, 126

126, 110, 141

114, 162, 118

I tried using my wrist brace on the third series; seemed to help with the second game. Then in between the second and third game of the series, they announced it was going to be cosmic bowling :(

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out for some practice at my home lanes today, had a great time to say the least. The center was pretty slow, so I was able to get two lanes to help simulate a league set up. I bowled a total of 8 games; using my Sync and my Zombie; here's what I shot:

156, 199, 158, 157

142, 148, 147, 190

On the 199 game, I had a five bagger, but an open frame in the first and tenth. Was really hoping to break 200, but still had a great time today.

[SouthpawTRK]

I bowled horribly in league tonight; I'm not sure what it was; but I did not bring any semblance of bowling skills to the lanes tonight. Missed my mark more times than I can count, too many open frames, and even a couple of gutter balls :( Here's what I shot: 131, 121, 115.

[SouthpawTRK]

I look forward to Friday night league each and every week. It's an awesome group of people and everyone is there to have a good time. As the series progressed, my scores improved; I had a great time! Here's what I shot:

131, 158, 163

Finished up the last game with a turkey; definitely a great feeling to finish strong on the last game.

[SouthpawTRK]

Went to my home lanes today for some practice on my first day off in over 7 days. They had enough open lanes, so I got two lanes to help simulate league set up. I decided to have the practice session be a battle between my DV8 Misfit and Storm Sync. Here's the scores for the day:

Misfit: 133,145,92,154,121,170,135

Sync: 134,162,148,138,158,131,126

It wasn't about which ball was better; it was just for fun. At times I was throwing the ball well, other times not so well and I missed more spares than I would like.

It was great to finally have a day off from work and it was a ton of fun to bowl at my home lanes (although my arm was about to fall off by the 13th and 14th game) :)

I also had a great talk with the pro at the shop in regards to bowling techniques, strategies and lane conditions; I learned a lot of things from him and will employ them in practice tomorrow.

[SouthpawTRK]

Since I had back to back days off, I figured that I would go out to practice at my home lanes. I took all the advice that I got from the pro at the shop yesterday and it really helped overall with my practice today. Here's what I shot today:

115 (plagued with a lot of splits that I could not convert)
218 (started with a 5 bagger)
146 (some open frames)

I bowled a fourth game that I was practicing only throwing at the 7 and the 10 pin. I had one frame that I got the 7 and the 10; everything else was either a gutter or a huge miss hit.

[SouthpawTRK]

The Wednesday night league I bowl in has had it's shares of ups and downs in regards to scoring. Tonight's game was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde compared to last week's scores. I owe a lot of it to my pro shop; the pro I work with is amazing. We talked about some bowling techniques and worked on my bowling ball to give it a more aggressive cover. With everything said and done, here's what I shot for the night:

189, 158, and 232

The first game felt good, the second game I missed some spares, and the third game I finally felt like I was in the zone; I had a 5 bagger to close it out. The 232 gives me my high league game at that house; I had a pretty big grin on my face on the drive home :)

[SouthpawTRK]

The Friday night league at my home lanes is like my second family and had a blast tonight rolling my Storm Sync. I found my line early in practice and only had to make a slight adjustment through the series. Here's how I shot for the night:

179, 176 and 193

The first game started out well; strikes and spares until the seventh frame; then three open frames. The second game had a few open frames as well; missed some spares that I should have made. The last game started out with an open frame, but followed up with strikes and spares. I would have loved to have bowled a 200 game or a 600 series tonight, but I'm stoked since this is the highest series that I've bowled at my home lanes.

[SouthpawTRK]

Went to practice last night with some of the guys that I work with. Even though the scores were hills and valleys; we all had a great time. Here's what I shot:

154, 172, 206, 164 and 135

The lanes were really dry so I used my Misfit for the entire night.

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to my home lanes with some of the people that I work with today; it's nice to to be able to hang out with people outside of work. We all bowled one series, here's what I shot:

145, 169, 185

We all decided to have one final game; a bowl off; the winner takes all (just bragging rights). The game breaker did not start out too well for all of us, but when the smoke cleared, I ended up being the victor with a score of 194.

[SouthpawTRK]

I was feeling really confident about bowling well tonight at league. The first game seemed to be the right start to the series. However, myself as well as the rest of my team and the opposing team seemed to lose focus in the second game. Got focused back for the third game and shot the same exact score from the first game. Here's what I shot:

174, 118, 174

The weather has been a bit warmer than usual in my area and the lanes were pretty warm to say the least. My thumb was sticking a bit, but unfortunately there was not tape in my thumb hole to take out and I forgot my powder at home.

[SouthpawTRK]

Finally got to use some vacation time from work; just need to get away from work and recharge my batteries. So, until I go back to work in nine days, I've decided to do a lot of bowling. My goal is to bowl at a different house each day (preferably a house that I have not yet bowled at) that I'm on vacation; at least one series or perhaps two. So, to kick off the start of my vacation, I went to a house today that is about 40 minutes from me. The lanes were fairly dry and there were only two sets of dots; one set at the back of the approach and one set at the foul line. It was interesting, since the dots were misaligned by one or two boards. It was a good time; even though I did not shoot too well; here's the numbers for day one:

159, 118, 135

[SouthpawTRK]

I woke up this morning at 6:00am to head to the lanes for my second house in nine days. I was surprised because of how early I woke up to go bowling, how many people were at the lanes at that time, they offered a sports pattern and the games were only $1.75. On the first game, I opened up the first three with strikes. I was thinking that this sports pattern would not be too hard, but then the open frames started :) I guess I jinxed myself :) Here's what I shot this morning:

159, 130, 155, 127, 129, 146, 120 148

[SouthpawTRK]

Today was the third day of my nine day bowling vacation. It was a double header since I was going to partake in my home lanes $1 per game (for league members) and to pick up my new Track 706A. The pro at the pro shop was super busy and had a lot of work to take care of before he could get to drilling my ball. I decided to bowl a bit, but all I brought with me to the lanes was my zombie. I bowled 6 games with my zombie, before my 706A was ready to go. Here's what I shot for the day:

Zombie: 170, 156, 158, 151, 175, 160

706A: 177, 149, 143

The lanes were really dry, it was late in the afternoon and the lanes had already seen a lot of action during the morning/afternoon leagues. Evening league was going to start at 5:00pm and I was rushing to get through the last game with the 706A. I'll be using the 706A during for league both time this week.

[SouthpawTRK]

Today was the fourth day at a fourth house on my mini bowling vacation. The lanes were pretty dry, so I rolled my Misfit and Zombie for the entire time I was there. I bowled a total of 20 games; up until today the most I've ever bowled in practice is 18 games. It was all you can bowl for $12, so I figured I would get my fill. Here's what I shot for the day:

123, 153, 151, 191, 151, 130, 175, 142, 128, 161, 160, 123, 177, 148, 189, 179, 152, 185, 185, 119 for an average of 156

About the second or third game, I had a friend video my swing. After watching the video, I laughed so loud. I always thought I had a bigger back swing, but after watching the video, it's practically non existent. From that game moving forward, I increased the length of my back swing and tried to stay behind the ball to help increase my revs. By the end of the 20 games, my arm was toast and my thumb was a bit swollen. Cannot wait for house number five.

[SouthpawTRK]

Last night at league the team I play on had a great night. After ten weeks of winning only a point here or a couple of points there; we actually won all four. The first game had a lot of promise; had two open frames; but everything else were strikes. Missed breaking my league high by two pins. Here's what I shot last night:

231, 136, 174

It seems like whenever I have a good first game, I have a brain fart and have a poor second game. I somewhat covered in the third game, but was still a far cry from the first game.

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to practice today to make house number six on my nine day vacation. The inside of the lane had a very modern look, the lanes were on the dry side and they used a computer scoring system like the chain bowling centers in my area. I bowled a total of six games; they had really good pricing per game; only $2 per game. I started out well on the first game, but then proceeded to shoot in/around my average for the rest of the give games:

193, 150, 145, 149, 125, 145

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to practice for the seventh day of my bowling vacation at my home lanes. I've definitely had a lot of fun bowling each day for the past seven days; I feel that it's helped my consistency somewhat. Here's what I shot for the day:

215, 164, 115, 122, 166, 142, 136, 135, 96, 213, 201, 165

On some of the lower scoring games, I was trying to increase the length of my back swing and to increase my rev rate. It was really sporadic in regards to accuracy, but it did appear that I was getting more revs. On the higher scoring games, I stayed with my standard back swing, which helped with my consistency.

[SouthpawTRK]

For some reason I was a little nervous at league tonight; not sure exactly why; but I was. Still had a great time and met some new people that I had not met yet in league and had a lot of laughs. Here's what I shot for the night

156, 139, 163

The first game I shot was my average, the second game was 17 pins below my average and the last game was 7 pins above my average.

[SouthpawTRK]

I went out to my home lanes this morning to get in a few practice games with my Track 706A; bowled one warm up game and then played a series. Not only did I have a lot of fun this morning, I got to see my uncle and my cousins at the lanes as well. In the warm up game, I experimented rolling the ball from various spots on the approach; ranging from board ten to board 20. Because of the ball's layout and I had it based on my PAP, it was playing much more versatile than my other bowling balls that had a more general layout. Here's what I shot for the series today:

149, 163, 166

Today was also my eighth day of bowling; it's been a great vacation.

[SouthpawTRK]

During practice at league last night, I decided to try the hinge method, instead of the standard push away. It felt a lot more natural and allowed me to keep my wrist in a cupped position. By keeping it in a cupped position, I was able to stay behind the ball and have the ball come off my finger tips to increase my rev rate. Here's what I shot for the night:

179, 152, 226

The first game I had a few open frames that I could not convert. The second game I had too many splits and could not convert. The last game I wanted to redeem myself and got really focused on the basics; all strikes and spares; no open frames.

[SouthpawTRK]

Had a great time at league tonight; finally shot a 200 game and a second 500 series. My home lanes are much more difficult than the other league I bowl in at another house. I used the hinge method again tonight and tried to stay behind the ball to increase my revs. Here's what I shot for the night:

179, 200, 189

Usually, i struggle with the second game, but the middle game in the series I was hitting my target more often.

[SouthpawTRK]

I've been busy with work, so I did not have any time to practice between leagues. Last night was the first time I rolled a ball in more than four days. In practice I bowled well, mostly strikes and the rest spares. However, when league started, the wheels cam off. The inside of the center was really hot and my thumb was sticking like crazy, even when I used some powder. I missed my mark more times than not, missed a lot of spares and too many open frames. Here's what I shot:

133, 108, and 157

[SouthpawTRK]

It's amazing how a combination of being at your home lanes and being surrounded by really supportive players can make a less than stellar night of bowling seem not so bad. I definitely had issues tonight with hitting my mark, picking up spares and my timing. I was glad that I was surrounded by great people and that I was at my home lanes. I gotta get some practice in before next week since we have positioning next week. Here's what I shot for the night:

111, 156, 136

[SouthpawTRK]

I was fortunate enough to have today off, so bowling was definitely on the agenda of things to do today. One of the bowling centers near me was having a singles no tap tournament around the middle of the day. So today, I entered my first no tap tournament and had a great time to say the least. For some reason, I had envisioned that it would be easy to score high, but that was not the case. I still had open frames that hurt my score and it's pretty evident that I don't knock down as many pins as I think (when I don't throw a strike). Here's what I shot for the day:

171, 280, 174

I won the single high handicap game for the day and the prize money was very cool. I'll definitely be entering other no tap tournaments; definitely a good time.

[SouthpawTRK]

Had a little better time at league this week; definitely shot better than last week. Our team is basically in last place and the other night we took three of four games against one of the top five teams. Still had some issues with hitting my mark and picking up spares; I need to get out to practice; but work has been busy and time is scarce. Here's what I shot for the night:

173, 152, 148

[SouthpawTRK]

Had a lot of fun at league tonight at my home lanes; we had our positioning round tonight. I was a little sad since we only have one more week of bowling next week and the next season for this group does not start until later this year. We'll be bowling sweepers next week; should be another great time. I bowled a lot better than last week, but still was having problems missing my mark and had some funky splits during the series. Here's what I shot for tonight:

158, 181, and 143

[SouthpawTRK]

A few of the people I work with have caught the bowling bug and we all went out to bowl last night. Went to a chain bowling center and despite the bad customer service, we all had a good time. Here's what I shot for the night: 136, 162, 216, 229

[SouthpawTRK]

Tonight's league was a little hit and miss; thought I found my mark; but looking at the scores it was very short lived. We had a bye this week, so we won 3 of the 4 games. The last game in the series was a complete disaster; I fell apart mentally. I partially blame the fact that the captain of our team says that he's not coming back; but for the past few weeks he's been saying that he was coming back. Now our team will be one short and finding a replacement within two weeks won't be very easy. Here's what I shot for the night: 153, 188 and a 99.

One of my team mates and I stayed after league to play another series; we did not bowl too much better; but the series was a little more consistent (I broke a 100 each game :)). Here's what I shot for the series: 147, 136, 140.

[SouthpawTRK]

Had both a very happy night and a sad night at league tonight at my home lanes. I had a great time because I got to bowl with a lot of awesome people, had some good food, got a new ball from a friend, got asked to join a summer league, won some cash in sweepers and even rolled the ball well (at least some of the time :)).

It was a slightly sad night since I won't be bowling with most of the league members until the start of next winter season; I'll definitely miss them all.

I ended up shooting the following: 145, 197 and 157

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to practice with some guys from work that are going to be joining the league I bowl in. The bowling center last night was really empty, so it was nice to get two lanes and not have anyone bowling next to us for a majority of the time. Here's what I shot for the night: 149, 147, 175, 120, 198

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to my home lanes today to get some practice in on my day off. I took out my 706A and bowled two series; one was far better than the other. I'm still trying to get the 706A dialed in; I can play it both shallow and deep; it seems really versatile to say the least. This was the third time that I have taken out the 706A, I'll be putting in some more time with it in the weeks to come.

Here's what I bowled for the day: 140, 194, 161 (first series), 145, 169, 132 (second series)

[SouthpawTRK]

Last night was the conclusion of our Winter league; had a lot of fun over the past handful of months. Won some cash and had a good third game in the final series. Here's what I shot for the night: 162, 162, 200. Got a couple of weeks off and then the summer league starts.

[SouthpawTRK]

Took a couple of weeks off from bowling since there was a break from the end of the winter leagues and the beginning of the summer leagues. Bowling back to back nights should be fun and I'm looking forward to some summertime bowling. Here's what I shot over the past two days:

Wednesday league: 149, 145, and 115

Thursday league: 164, 153, and 168

[SouthpawTRK]

League was a lot of fun last night; second week of summer league and we added a new player to the team. Bowled a bit better this week than last week; way too many spares and not enough strikes. Here's what I shot:

147, 158, 147

[SouthpawTRK]

Definitely had a lot of fun at league tonight; good people and good times. Overall, I was pretty happy with the first and last game of the series; game number two was something I'd rather forget. Tonight was completely clear that I need to work on spares. Here's what I shot for the night:

169, 136, and 187

[SouthpawTRK]

Work has been really busy and lately I've felt fairly run down. Feels like I just go to work, come home, eat, sleep and repeat; with the exception of league twice a week. While I have been bowling in league, my practice has vanished. So, today I decided to head out to my home lanes and get some practice in before league tonight. Bowled two series today; my main goal was to hit my mark and pick up spares. Here's what I shot for the day:

161, 139, 169

152, 151, 153

Still missed more spares than I would like, but I felt more confident picking up spares today at practice.

[SouthpawTRK]

I'm glad that I went to practice this morning, really felt like it helped out with league tonight. Still had trouble with picking up spares and pulled the ball a few times; here's what I shot for the night:

153, 203, 175

[SouthpawTRK]

It was a family bowling royale tonight at league; got to bowl with three of my cousins. Brain farts, poor form and too many spares made the first two games of the series a little frustrating. Decided to try and focus on game three and had less missed opportunities. Here's what I shot for the night:

143, 126, 172

[SouthpawTRK]

Work has been a grind the past 6 days in a row; so glad to go to league tonight. We had a debut of our new team t-shirts, the guys on the team really liked them to say the least. We bowled against a really good team; super nice guys and they put up some sizable numbers. Of the series, the first and the last seemed to have some flow. The middle game was lacking in picking up spares and hitting my target. Here's what I shot for the night:

161, 138, 169

[SouthpawTRK]

Had a good time tonight at league; lots of laughs and lots of good people. I wish I had bowled better, but too many open frames, not enough strikes and not enough spares. Took out my Misfit since the lanes were on the dry side; weird thing was that my ball seemed like the only one that had any belt marks on it. I don't know if it was due to the finish, but boy was my towel dirty after league. Here's what I shot for the night:

133, 153, 146

[SouthpawTRK]

Well, after working for the past ten days straight, I figured I'd treat myself to some practice today. Was supposed to meet a coworker, but he decided not to go. I ended up bowling a bunch of games; mainly to work on the basics; form, hitting my mark, consistent release and picking up spares. The practice did help and I even video taped a few throws (which was a little horrifying).

132, 137, 161, 136, 160, 140, 151, 126, 174, 124

[SouthpawTRK]

Spent some awesome family time on a recent vacation; happy memories, good food and great weather :)

Today was my first day bowling, so I decided to head down to my home lanes for some practice. I went there with the mindset that I was only going to work on technique; tried my best to not to watch the score card. Spares are still a problem and missing my mark are both areas that I need to work on. What was weird was that my revs seemed to be (at least visually) higher than prior to vacation. Here's what I shot for the day:

148, 134, 184

168, 175, 216

[SouthpawTRK]

Last night at league was a lot of fun, despite the fact that we only won one point last night. Still missed my mark, but felt a bit better with picking up spares. Here's what I shot last night:

156, 164, 167

[SouthpawTRK]

Had a great time at league tonight; got to bowl with my cousins, my auntie and our wonderful league secretary. Still had problems hitting my mark and picking up spares; especially noticeable in the third game. Here's what I shot tonight:

169, 191, 127

[SouthpawTRK]

Well, this post is not really a bowling score, but something that was long over due. I had my first one on one lesson that lasted a little over an hour; primarily working on correcting bad habits and forming good habits. My instructor is a really great guy; loves bowling and is very active in the bowling community. He was real patient and really helped me with a mental checklist to help develop my technique of bad habits to one that will provide me positive consistency. By the end of the lesson, I felt like a totally different bowler; more consistent and more confident to say the least.

[SouthpawTRK]

At league tonight, I stayed mindful the entire series on all the technique changes that I learned in my lesson the earlier in the week. While the scores did not reflect the swing, I can honestly say that my swing felt better the entire night. The reasons why my scores were low were me missing my mark and my thumb sticking a bit. I think that I only pulled one to two shots the entire series; usually I have at least a few per game. Here's what I shot for the night: 131, 165, 122

[SouthpawTRK]

Had an awesome time at my home lanes since they hosted a bowling seminar featuring legendary Walter Ray Williams Jr!!! He covered everything from drills, open forum for questions, tips, technique and a critique of your swing on video. I learned a lot of things that will help me become more consistent and get my average up in the time to come. Many thanks to Walter Ray Williams Jr, my home lanes and my home pro shop for putting the seminar together!!!

[SouthpawTRK]

Last night at league was a lot of fun; bowled better compared to last week. Not only were my scores better, but my form was a lot better and I was picking up spares at a higher percentage. I still had some open frames, but a lot less comparatively. I still missed my mark which cost me some pins, but it seemed like I did not miss my mark as much. Here's what I shot for the night: 170, 177, 149

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to my home lanes to practice on my new form from what I learned last week. I found that by employing what I learned in my lesson and the seminar last week, that it takes more energy than when I had my really bad form. I bowled two series today; not really interested in keeping score; but rather working on maintaining my new form, hitting my mark and picking up spares. I'm not sure if it's possible to turn off the scoring system; so I let it run it's course. Here's what I shot for the day:

178, 138, 135, 199, 154, 139

[SouthpawTRK]

Last night my form and technique seemed to be good, just had a hard time dealing with the lanes. Usually I can bowl between first and second arrow, but tonight I had to target the anywhere from third to fourth arrow. Here's what I shot: 126, 141, 157

I stayed and bowled four more games after league; trying to work on my form as well as bowling more inside. The last two games I worked on some drills that I learned the other week: 186, 117, 115, 105

[SouthpawTRK]

Lane conditions last night was a little difficult; flooded lanes were not helping the cause. I was feeling a bit fatigued, overheated and my new form was here and there; basically I bowled very poorly. Here's what I shot for the night: 123, 167, 134.

[SouthpawTRK]

I'm making a conscious effort to get better this year; I'd like to raise my average and start scoring better. So after taking a lesson and attending a seminar recently, I went to the lanes today to practice. I practiced three different drills that I found on Joe Slowinski's website for a total of a series. I then bowled a series after the series worth of drills and things seemed to be working in regards to my release and hitting my mark. At the end, I decided to bowl two handed for fun and partly to experiment with a different approach in case I had to bowl from a deeper part of the lane. Here's what I shot for the day:

Drills: 83, 115, 79
Regular series: 140, 172, 168
Two handed: 161, 127

[SouthpawTRK]

Last night at league was pretty interesting. We played on a pair of lanes that most don't like playing on. We played the first place team. We were minus one of our players. The outcome was interesting in that we took 3 of the 4 points; we also bowled better than in prior weeks. Here's what I bowled last night: 162, 195 and 198.

[SouthpawTRK]

Went up against the newly appointed top team and walked away with three of four points. Had some issues with hitting my mark; especially in the last frame. Little bummed out that one of our players is leaving the team. Here's what I shot for the night: 149, 171, 141

[SouthpawTRK]

We had our positioning round the other night at league; our team bowled well and we had a lot of fun. My cousin bowled a monster number and won some cash in the first game high handicap pot. My games gained momentum and I ended up bowling the high handicap game for the last game of the series and won some cash as well. Here's what I shot for the night:

150, 178, 213

[SouthpawTRK]

Had a lot of fun with league tonight; it was a mixture of the team bowling well and the newest addition to our team. The pins fell both good and bad for both teams, but we ended up taking all four points. Here's what I shot for the night: 170, 128, 155

[SouthpawTRK]

Last night we concluded our summer league with sweepers and a festive pot luck! During practice I bowled at least 8 strikes in a row; which got my mind thinking about a high scoring game. Well unfortunately the practice did not translate too well into the series, but I still had a lot of fun. We took a break between the first and second game to feast on all the goodies that people brought for pot luck; ate way too much and had a hard time bowling the second game. A lot of people had some issues with the second game; a little food coma to blame :) Everyone had a great time for a very short season; lots of laughs, good food, great people and some cool cash. Here's what I shot for the night: 176, 152, 171.

I wanted to make mention that in my previous post, I said that our team won all four points. Well, we actually won three of the four points (it would not let me edit my original post).

[SouthpawTRK]

Was so glad to get a day off to head to my home lanes for some much needed practice. I've been practicing a few different drills; doing each one of them for an entire series. Today I practiced a one step approach, no step approach and practiced shooting only the 7 and 10 pin. Here's what I shot for each in their respective order: 135, 130 and 58. The no step and the one step approach is getting better compared to the last time that I ran those drills. The spare shooting drill was miserable, I hit one 10 pin cleanly for the entire game.

I figured that I was warmed up and decided to bowl two series as seriously as possible; here's what I shot for the two series:

#1: 165, 149, 165

#2: 173, 202, 197

I'm headed back tomorrow for some more practice since I was able to score two days off in a row :)

[SouthpawTRK]

My chore list was a little longer than expected, so I did not get a chance to go practice today. We did have league last night; so I was able to get my bowling fix. First two games in the series felt good, while the last game the wheels fell off a bit for our team. The big bonus was that we won all four points and are now in third place for our summer season. Here's what I shot for the night: 180, 169, 136

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to my home lanes to practice some drills and bowl a few games. I've been trying to practice some of the Joe Slowinski drills for a full game, prior to actually bowling. I feel that the drills help in lowering my shoulder and getting my spine angle in a proper position. For the series that I bowled after running the drills, I shot the following: 154, 191, 160. Open frames due to my horrendous spare shooting is the main area that I need to focus on fixing.

[SouthpawTRK]

The summer team that I am a part of has been slowly on the rise during the course of the season. We basically went from being cellar dwellers to the third place team. The other night I think I was thinking too much about advancing to second place, that I lost focus on staying in the moment. Here's what I shot for the night: 134, 164, 136. Even though we did not bowl well as a team, we managed to keep our spot in third place! We have one more week of bowling, then we have a positioning week and then sweepers.

[SouthpawTRK]

Was not too happy with how I bowled last week; too focused on trying to win and not concentrating on throwing the ball well and having fun. This week was retribution for the entire team; we took all four points and moved into second place! Here's what I shot for the night: 197, 157, 186.

[SouthpawTRK]

Last night we had our positioning round for our summer league. We ended up taking two of the four points and maintained our second place position for the season. I ended up bowling fairly well (for me) and shot the following: 186, 181, 219.

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out for some practice at my home lanes; trying to incorporate DYDS and play a bit deeper than I normally would. I would like to have the versatility to play at a variety of angles; it's going to take some time; but I'm sure that I'll get there sooner than later. Here's what I shot for the day:

143, 127, 164

129, 170, 144

[aussiedave]

Finished the league with a 187 average - my highest ever finish by 10 pins. That was one of the targets achieved at least!
ad.

[SouthpawTRK]

Final night of the summer league with payouts and sweepers. The past few weeks I've been bowling better at this house; about 25 pins above my average. Walked out with some cash in my pocket to put towards possibly a new ball for the fall season. Here's what I shot for the night: 185, 170, 179.

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to practice today at my home lanes. Took out my Misfit today; usually I don't play that ball at my home center since the oil is pretty heavy compared other centers in my area. I bought some Vise Bio Tape the other week and it definitely gives me more grip on my finger tips and seemed to help out increasing my revs. I was able to stand a bit deeper on the approach; anywhere from 17 to 22. Here's what I shot today: 167, 165, 163. My scores could have been higher, but too many open frames to say the least.

[SouthpawTRK]

I went out to practice today at my home lanes and was given the opportunity to play on the Viper pattern. I only brought two balls with me; my Sync and my Zombie; so I basically played the Sync for two series. The pattern was tough to say the least. The times that I tried to play it deeper, the ball would hook way too much. I ended up having some success playing between the 5th and 7th arrow. Here's what I shot for the day:

Series #1: 149, 127, 170

Series #2: 145, 147, 200

[SouthpawTRK]

I played in the Tony Reyes Mix-Match Pro-Am today and it was truly an amazing experience. The Mix-Match had a three game format; 3-6-9, No Tap and Standard 10 pin. Our group got to bowl with one pro per game. I ended up shooting the following: 183, 193, 167.

[classygranny]

I played in the Tony Reyes Mix-Match Pro-Am today and it was truly an amazing experience. The Mix-Match had a three game format; 3-6-9, No Tap and Standard 10 pin. Our group got to bowl with one pro per game. I ended up shooting the following: 183, 193, 167.

What is the 3-6-9?

[SouthpawTRK]

3-6-9 is when you get an automatic strike in frames 3, 6, 9; it was pretty fun; even though I did not bowl very well.

[classygranny]

Do the pro's get automatics as well?

[SouthpawTRK]

Since the mix-match pro-am was part of the Tony Reyes Memorial weekend; the pro bowlers that were involved with the mix-match got the automatics of the 3-6-9 and the no tap.

[SouthpawTRK]

Came back from the summer league with a new team for the winter; lost a really good player (she's getting married). We picked up another player that should work out fine for the winter season. Our team came in second during the summer league, so coming back for the winter we had some big shoes to fill. Here's what I shot for the night: 180, 154, 141. The night started out good, but my lack of being able to pick up spares killed my numbers. My goal is to raise my average by 20 pins; not the start I was looking for on week #1.

[SouthpawTRK]

Our winter league at my home lanes started tonight; a little nervous since I was bowling with my cousin (who is an excellent bowler) and his friend (who also is an excellent bowler). I really need to go the practice and just shoot spares on a consistent basis each and every week; definitely the weakest part of my game. Here's what I shot for the night: 169, 137, 168.

[Aslan]

COOL!!

I like seeing guys bowl scores like mine. It's disheartening to see, "last night I had a bad series and bowled 193-197-232."

[SouthpawTRK]

@Asian: I'll take that as a compliment :) My goal is to raise my average to 180; a little more than 20 pins above my book average.

[Aslan]

@Asian: I'll take that as a compliment :) My goal is to raise my average to 180; a little more than 20 pins above my book average.

It's an "L"...but our goals are similar. I hope to carry a 190 average or better by the end of leagues that start 9/27 and run 23 weeks. My average has already went from a 120 to a 129 just by practicing the last couple months...so I'm thinking by the time leagues start...my starting average is likely to be in the low 140s. That'll give me 23 weeks to get up about 50 pins.

I'm starting out without a "book average"...first league. I've been keeping track of my average for about 18 years...just during the occasional practice. It's always been in the 110-120s. Now I'm in the 130s-170s these last couple months. Just gotta get my form and consistency down...pick up more spares.

Good Luck!!

[SouthpawTRK]

League was interesting tonight; kinda like the Clint Eastwood movie; The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. When all the smoke cleared, I ended up being 1 pin under my current average. The plus is that I did win a few bucks in a side pot game. Here's what I shot for the night:

154, 187, 134

The 154 game should have been higher; but a few too many open frames. The 187 game was clean until the 9th frame. The 134 game stared out with 4 to 5 open frames. I tried to shake them off, but it's easier said than done.

[SouthpawTRK]

One of my goals for the new Winter season is to get two days of practice in per week; hopefully on the day of or the day before league night. I went out to my home lanes for some practice since I have league later in the week. I made it a point to dedicate the first series to working on my spares. Since the seven pin is my nemesis; I would shoot at the seven pin on the first ball and then throw my strike ball on the second shot. For the first series, I had some good looks at just knocking down the seven pin by itself; most times I would take out the 5-7-8 or the 7-8. After a series of working on my spares, I then proceeded to bowl another series to see if the spare shooting drill helped out much. Here's what I shot for both the series:

Spare Series: 141, 81, 116

Standard Series: 180, 139, 162

[SouthpawTRK]

The practice at my home lanes the day prior to league really paid off! I only had 4 open frames over the entire series; usually I might have up to two to four open frames per game. I was like a completely different bowler last night and it definitely showed in all the spares that I picked up and my overall average for the series was twenty pins over my book. I also wanted to say that if you have not checked out Joe Slowinski's tiered thumb hole taping system, then you should!!! Here's what I shot for the night: 172, 194, 179.

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to practice today; mainly to work on shooting spares and to work on my release. I used the Joe Slowinski 4-2-1 tiered tape system in my Misfit; definitely came off my hand better; just did not have the pin action that I was looking for from it. I also brought my 706A to see how the pin carry would be and since the lanes were a little more oily than during league. I shot two series; the first series I used the Misfit, 706A and Zombie per game (the Zombie on any spares). The second series I had the mindset that it was league, so I used the ball that worked best; Misfit; and the Zombie. Here are the results.

Series #1: 152, 144, 90 (the 90 was all spare shooting; no strike ball)

Series #2: 136, 191, 150

[Aslan]

YAY!! Scores like mine!!

Congrats on the 191 though. My best today was a 184.

[SouthpawTRK]

Another goal of mine for this Winter season is to be able to keep my head in the game; being able to shake off a bad shot(s). I need to be able to just concentrate on making good throws and dismiss all the bad thoughts/feelings of an open frame(s). I did not do a good job of this last night; here's what I shot:

134, 141 and 199

I started out the first game with my Misfit, but then decided to make a ball change at the start of the second game. While the second game was slightly better than the first, I was determined to bowl at least one good game. During the first two games, I made several different moves in regards to my feet. For the third game, I decided to start my feet at ten and play up the second arrow. I did not strike much in the last game, but did pick up most of my spares (I think I had one open frame). The one other positive thing was that I won the high handicap pot; a nice reward for such a frustrating evening.

[Mudpuppy]

can't change the last shot. I never worry about it. Just shoot the next shot. And spares are MASSIVE. Once I consistently hit my spares I went from 185 average up to 209.

[SouthpawTRK]

I try to clear my head after a bad shot; try to shake it off. Sometimes I'm too critical and put too much weight on a bad shot. I totally agree on spares; the last game I did not leave any open frames until the final frame. I still need a lot of work on my spares.

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to practice tonight to work on a few different things; release, timing, and spares. During practice I noticed that I drift right about 5 boards, so that was another thing to work on during the practice session. I'm hoping to bring it all together for league this week and help raise my average. Here's what I shot for the night:

151, 191, 160

157, 166, 172

[SouthpawTRK]

Being that today was my birthday and that I had the day off, I naturally went to the lanes. It was the late afternoon before I had time to head out to go bowl. Due to the time of day and the fact that my wife and I were going out to dinner, I opted to go to another house since it was closer to my house (I would much rather have gone to my home lanes). Well, I get to the center and I get a lane in my lucky number. Well, about the middle of the first game, I noticed that there were some nicks/chunks missing from my bowling ball. I showed the front desk what happened to my ball, so they decided to move me to another lane. I was a little perturbed about the ball return machine chewing up my ball (which only had about 60 games on it), but realized that there are far worse things in the world than a nicked up ball. I figured that it's about due for a session in the rejuvenator oven and a resurface; so it's not the end of the world. I decided to play the first game in series as a regular game. The second and third game, I tried to shoot spares only; somewhat successful, but still needs some work. Here's what I shot for the day:

186, 118, 98

[SouthpawTRK]

I should have taken the day off from bowling practice; I felt fatigued and overall low on energy. However, since I had the day off, I decided to go bowl a handful of games; considering that we have league tomorrow. I was an open frame machine; couldn't shake off the bad shots. My timing was all over the place and my frustration level was through the roof. By the end of the practice session, I could not wait to go home. As I was packing up my gear, another bowler next to me started up a conversation. We talked about bowling, technique and the influence that Tony Reyes had on the bowling community. After our conversation, it "reset" my mood and I left the bowling center a happy camper. Here's what I shot for the day:

124, 146, 114

117, 140, 122

[SouthpawTRK]

League tonight was a lot like league last week; two terrible games and one good game. I did have a few more pins this week than last week, but I'm only talking a handful. We were down a team mate and managed to win 2 of the 4 points. The two positive points of the night were a game over 200 and winning some cash for the strike out pot. Here's what I shot for the night:

144, 202, 137

Even with two horrible games, the 202 game helped keep me a little above my average. At the end of the night, I am of the mindset that I'm not going to buy another ball for for a while. I think I've been too fixated on what ball I should buy and not working on the fundamentals of the game.

[vdubtx]

Happy Belated Birthday!!

I applaud your statement of not buying another ball. A new ball doesn't magically improve your scores. Working on your fundamentals will go a long way to improving your scores than a new ball would. Keep it up!!

[SouthpawTRK]

Thanks vdubtx!!! I need to start working on the fundamentals to increase my average/skill set. It's difficult not to look/read/see new bowling balls, but I figure that I can "reward" myself if I reach my goal at the end of the season.

Tonight at league started off with a great first game, but then my bad tendencies came back and I became a open frame machine; couldn't score a mark to save my life. The last game I was trying to bowl with a clear head, but I could not bring it together. Here's what I shot for the night:

188, 149, 128

[SouthpawTRK]

I'm going to be bowing in a memorial tournament relatively soon, so I figured that I'd get in as much practice that I can this week. I figured if I can get the lanes each night this week and roll a series to work on a consistent release and working on picking up spares, that I should hopefully have a decent showing at the tournament. When I go tomorrow, I'm going to ask the front desk if they can turn off the score sheet; I try not to concentrate on it, but it's hard not to look up at it. Release and spares need a lot of work; ended up pulling shots and missing spares. Here's what I shot for the night:

142, 187, 134

Besides working on release and spares, I was trying to get into the habit of keeping an open mind of moving my feet and target.

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to practice at my home lanes to work on the basics; timing, free swing, release and picking up spares. I told myself that I would only practice for a series, but after the series was said and done, it still felt like I was not warmed up. I know that this may sound ludicrous, but sometimes it feels like it takes a while before I groove my swing. So I ended up bowling two series; here's what I shot for the night:

134, 154, 139

170, 208, 157

Since my thumb to be always shrinking or swelling, I put a piece of white tape on the front of my thumb hole and a piece of black tape on the back of my thumb hole. After the first series was over, I took out the white thumb tape and left the black tape inside. Seemed like my thumb was releasing better after taking out the white tape; but that just is probably coincidence.

[Bunny]

When I go tomorrow, I'm going to ask the front desk if they can turn off the score sheet; I try not to concentrate on it, but it's hard not to look up at it.


I was wondering if they could do that. I think it would be great for practice!




I was trying to get into the habit of keeping an open mind of moving my feet and target.

Yes! Good point. I figured that out a little late Sunday practice at an AMF center that I've never bowled at before. Had a decent 1st game 175. Then some splits started creeping in. (7-10 yikes, then 4-7-10. Almost picked it up, hit 4-7, 4 went sliding across just in front of the 10!)

I had it in my head that I had to move left. But it wasn't working. I remembered that Liz Johnson was playing the 7-8-9ish boards at the Open. So, I moved right, feet and target, and strike-strike to finish the 2nd game at 151.


Love your Avatar! Very nice!!

[SouthpawTRK]

@Bunny: Good job on finishing strong on your second game!!! Thanks for the compliment on my avatar; Tony Reyes did so much for the sport of bowling.

[SouthpawTRK]

My plan was to practice at least one series per day until the day of the memorial tournament. I went to practice on Sunday and Monday, but was not able to get out Tuesday; just got a little too late. I headed out today to practice all the basics; I'm just looking for solid consistent throws. Strikes will come, but I still need to work on my spares. I bowled two series today and did one entire game using the one step drill (which I find very helpful). Here's what I shot for the day:

170, 115, 155

151, 151, 157

The second game of the first series was plagued with splits that I could not convert and some spares that I did not pick up. This day of practice seemed like it helped in some areas, but other areas still need a lot of work.

[SouthpawTRK]

The one big plus about league tonight was to see the rest of the team do well and bring us to victory on a clean sweep. I guess I might have contributed a bit; but that would be stretching it to say the least. My biggest problem tonight was losing faith in the fact that I could throw a decent shot due to all the open frames I had. The ability to shake off a bad shot is tough for me; I'm not exactly sure why it is, but it is. It's also a little disheartening to see how poorly I bowled, even though I've practicing three of the past four days. Hopefully, I can learn from my mistakes from this week and correct them for next week. Here's what I shot tonight:

128, 146, 158

Tonight's series makes me feel like my goal of increasing my average is going in reverse.

[SouthpawTRK]

Tonight at league I was an open frame machine; the inability to convert splits and single pins were killing me. I probably had at least 4-5 open frames per game during the series. I tried to stay positive and shake off the bad shots; I guess it worked since I did not nearly feel as frustrated as I did at my other league. My goal this week was to practice a lot and do well in both leagues prior to the tournament this weekend. Maybe I'm putting too much pressure on myself and too worried about bowling well in the tournament and trying to raise my average. I'm just going to take it one shot at a time tomorrow; hopefully things will work out. Here's what I shot for the night:

138, 139, 142

Yikes!!!

[SouthpawTRK]

Played in a tournament today on a four person team at my home lanes. It was a memorial tournament for the person that founded the bowling center many years ago. Instead of having the standard house shot, the house used the Abbey Lane pattern; it was a tough pattern to say the least if you did not have a ball that matched up well. The series was definitely a rough one to say the least; some people shot well and some did not. I was in the group that did not. I ended up shooting one game above my average; the other two were a disaster in progress. Once again, the old open frame machine was turned on. I had more open frames than I would rather have; my last game I only had two open frames. Here's what I shot for the day:

103, 145, 174

[SouthpawTRK]

Last night at league was a lot of fun; good scores, good people and one important throw at the end of the night. The team we played against last night is my favorite team in the league; they are funny, chill, mellow and damn good bowlers. Both teams bowled well, but their team bowled lights out and crushed us on the first two games and the total pin count. What about the third game? One of our team mates bowled really well in the third game; he basically carried the team for the last game. Our opponents were finished and I was the last to bowl; the scores were exceptionally close. My throw in the tenth felt so good; thought for sure that it was going to be ten in the pit. However, the pin deflection was not quite there and a lonely four pin was staring back at me. At this point it got interesting. The nine pin count set us into a tie for the final point of the night; we did not want to get swept; even though we were having a good time. To all those that have read my posts, they know that picking up spares is definitely my Achilles heel. At first I contemplated throwing my Misfit down the twig and have it hook into the 4 pin; but after having failed at that attempt a couple of times earlier in the series; I opted for my spare ball. As I stood on the approach, I could hear members from other teams making choking sounds; trying to rattle me a bit. Took my time setting up on the approach and tried to keep my timing and release consistent. The throw was a success and we won the only point for the night. By far the biggest (for me) spare that I've picked up in the eleven months of bowling. Here's what I shot for the night:

159, 179, 129

[SouthpawTRK]

I always have a good time bowling league at my home lanes; great people, great times and a great bowling center. My bowling has been spotty for the past two weeks; a combination of poor releases and too many open frames. Since I'm around such good people, who are supportive and don't stress on my bad bowling; it's a lot easier to shake off the bad shots. The first game was a bit under my average, the second game a train wreck and the last game was over my average. Here's what I shot for the night:

148, 128, 163

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to practice at my home lanes with some tips that I learned from a recently purchased Norm Duke dvd. Worked on things like shooting spares, footwork, release and form. Still have a problem with the semi frequent chicken wing and pulling the ball across my body. There were moments where when I was throwing that felt really good; definitely felt like I was heading in the right direction. Here's what I shot for the day; I used mainly a Sync and a IQ Tour Pear:

Sync: 152, 158, 170, 142, 132

Tour IQ Pearl: 142, 146, 147, 174, 152

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to practice at my home lanes today to work on things like form, release, timing and composure. I had a good practice in the sense that I did not leave too many spares and it felt like I was not forcing the ball/nor doing my usual chicken wing. In the second game, I thought I might have a clean game; but over thought things and left an open frame. Here's what I shot for the day:

151, 197, 156

Today I had a lot of fun at practice; felt like I'm back on track to raising my average.

[SouthpawTRK]

Bowled a little better in league the other night; having a positive practice earlier in the day definitely helped. Here's what I shot for the night:

168, 134, 176

[SouthpawTRK]

Even though I've been at work since 4:30am, there was nothing holding me back from league at my home lanes tonight. I have awesome team mates that are both super positive and damn good bowlers. I also got to bowl with another great bowler; a lefty like me; which is always a treat. I had a great first game, a less than desirable game for the second and a good last game. Here is what I shot for the night:

203, 139, 171

[SouthpawTRK]

Last night as the anchor for our team, I was there for 66% of the time. I blew an opportunity to win the first game in the series, but made amends for games two and three. We ended up taking three of four points and moved up in the standings; definitely a good feeling. Here's what I shot for the night:

142, 171, 185

I thought my last game was going to be a clean game; nothing but strikes and spares (mostly spares) up until the tenth frame. In the tenth frame, I threw my first ball and left the 1, 3, 7. I was trying to slide my second ball into the 1, 3 to take out the 7, but ended up missing all three.

[SouthpawTRK]

League at the home lanes is what I look forward to each and every week; good people and good times. It's been a while since I can remember having a clean game; it might have been sometime last season that I bowled a clean game. Tonight I started out the series with a clean game, followed by a horrible game and finished up with a good third game. Here's what I shot for the night:

196, 138, 189

[SouthpawTRK]

League the other night was monumental for the fact that our team mate bowled his first 200+ game in league as an adult! He's an original team member that I started bowling with a couple of seasons ago. He seems to be taking the game more seriously (while still having fun) and making shots that count (especially picking up spares). The other highlight of the night was that we picked up 3 of the 4 points and are making our way to the top of the standings. Here's what I shot for the night:

166, 136, 152

[SouthpawTRK]

So roughly a week after getting my flu shot, I ended up getting sick with some kind of flu/bug. I ended up missing both league nights and had not touched a ball in 7-8 days. Tonight was the first night back and it was pretty much a train wreck of a series. I ended up shooting a sub 400 game (395 to be exact); it was pretty painful to say the least. It felt good to be back bowling, but my timing, hitting my mark and picking up spares were not feeling very good. Here's what I shot:

124, 148, 123

[SouthpawTRK]

The following day after a funky night at league, I bowled in a fund raising tournament. The format was Scotch Doubles and I ended up bowling with two different friends. My problems from the day before were still present at the tournament, but not as abundant :)

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to practice at my home lanes today. After 5 hours of doing chores around the house, I needed a break and bowling was at the top of my list (especially on my day off). I ended up putting an S6 slide sole to replace my S8 sole; I forgot to put on my shoe cover and stepped into something sticky. The S6 sole did not have nearly the slide as the S8, but it still worked. Here's what I shot for the day: 133, 154, 178

[SouthpawTRK]

Tonight in league was a milestone for one our team mates; he shot a high game of 232 and a 600 series!!! That's the great thing about league; being able to see your team mates do well and set some honor scores for themselves. I did not fair so well, but I was stoked for my team mate more than anything else. Here's what I shot: 188, 159, 107 :P

[SouthpawTRK]

Bowling league at my home lanes is always the best, it's just a good time had by everyone. Tonight at league was even more special since a friend who has been seriously sick came by the lanes to watch. She told me just to have fun and not to worry about if things don't go well. I took what she said to heart and just had a good time and enjoyed the company of those at league. I definitely bowled a lot better than the week before and shot the following: 171, 154, 147.

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to my home lanes for some practice; first day off in a while and it felt good to be bowling. My main goal of practice today was to keep my composure; hitting my mark, staying balanced and keeping an even tempo. Overall I feel that the practice went well; I was mindful of my tempo and made adjustments when I felt like I was throwing the ball too fast. Still had issues with hitting my mark. Here's what I shot for the day:

152, 199, 129

189, 139, 140

[SouthpawTRK]

Thought about not bowling league the other night; mainly for the fact that we usually don't get done until midnight and I had to be at work at 5:00 am. However, I knew the importance of this game to one of our team mates; so I decided that bowling was more important than getting some solid sleep. Our team took all four points from the team in first place; we bowled well overall. Another highlight from league was that I finally broke my league single game score and won the side pot for game one. Here's what I shot for the night:

256, 147, 152

The first game was the only clean game for the night and everything seemed to be working well. At the start of the second game, I started to have thumb issues and never got the issue resolved for the rest of the night. After the first game, i started to think about the possibility of bowling a 600 series, but alas that was not going to be happening.

[SouthpawTRK]

League at my home lanes tonight was interesting since both teams were missing two people per squad. It was interesting how fast the pace went and how forgetful both of us were. I only had time to throw two shots in practice; both were gutter balls. There were at least two times where we almost bowled on the wrong lane; things just seemed out of sync. In the beginning of the series, I felt like I was throwing the ball well. Then it progressed into missing my mark and not being able to pick up needed spares. Then I noticed that my new Disturbed had some nicks in it which was a little distracting. Here's what I shot for the night:

162, 156, 137

[SouthpawTRK]

Bowled in a tournament last night at my home lanes; had a great time and bowled above my average. I've never bowled so fast in my life; we literally bowled four games in less than two hours. I ended up bowling the following numbers: 143, 185, 165, 187. I figured that I did not stand a chance against the others that I was bowling with, but luckily I had a pretty high handicap. I missed the cut by 23 pins; it was nice to come close; next time I'll still have fun, but be a bit more focused.

[SouthpawTRK]

What a train wreck of a night at league. Bowled bad, really bad. Kept on pushing the ball and chicken winging the hell out of my arm. Not only did I bowl poorly, but we ended up losing all the points and had to hear the unsportsmanlike comments from the other team. Here's what I shot: 124, 154, 133. :(

[SouthpawTRK]

Today I had the distinct pleasure of getting a bowling lesson by Mark Baker; it was an awesome experience to say the least. The things he taught me to work on and improve will eventually bring my bowling to the next level in regards of being more consistent and raising my average. I highly recommend to one and all that want to improve their game to take a lesson from Mark; you will not be disappointed.

I took what I learned from him and put it to use at league tonight; which definitely helped out in the third game. The first two games were not so good; too many open frames and trying to break the bad habits of my old swing. By the third game, things were clicking and I was being more mindful of the things that I learned from Mark. I figure after a year of learning bad habits, it's going to take me some time to break a good chunk of my bad habits. I now have things to practice at during the week and apply them in the leagues that I bowl in. Here's what I shot for the night: 135, 147, 197

[SouthpawTRK]

League at my home lanes is always something I look forward to each and every week. It's always a good time and it's unlike the other league I bowl in; level heads and no egos. I am implementing what I learned from the lesson I received from Mark Baker the other day; it's coming along; it's just going to take time to forget my bad habits and be mindful of what he taught me. First two games of the series was a bit rough, but I had a good third game. By the third game, it feels like I'm actually warmed up and my technique has found it's groove. Here's what I shot for the night: 131, 133, 178.

[SouthpawTRK]

Bowled in a tournament today at my home lanes; more so for the learning experience and for the fun. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to bowl with my cousin's wife. The pattern for the day was Bourbon Street; which played very fair and produced some high scores; there were a couple of 300's shot over the course of the weekend. As a team, I feel that we bowled well; both of us had two games above our average and one game that we would both like to forget. Even though we did not win any raffle money, side pot money or bracket money; I had a great time. Here's what I shot for the day: 174, 126, 190.

[SouthpawTRK]

Tonight at league we had positioning rounds; a few teams in a tie for third; us being one of them. We bowled fair, but the other team bowled better; so we took one of the four points. First two games felt like they had potential, but missed more spares than I would like. The last game was a brain fart and I was missing my target, head pin and also not picking up spares. Here's what I shot for the night: 169, 163, 144

[SouthpawTRK]

League tonight was awesome to say the least for a number of reasons. First, a friend shot a 299, one pin away from the perfect game. Second, everyone from our team was present; lots of laughs and it was good to see everyone together. Finally, my cousin game me some great technical advice on my game. I applied some of the things he taught me and it really seemed to make a difference. So for the night, I shot above my average on games two and three, but really under on the first game; here's what I shot: 136, 163, 174

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to practice at my home lanes in the early part of the week; I want to get better and bowling only at league is not the way I'm going to get better. With the holidays nearing, work has been really busy and I'm not practicing as much as I should. I had talked to my cousin at league last week and he gave me some pointers on improving my release to create more hook. The practice went all right, but I felt that perhaps I was trying to work on too many things and thus the practice did not feel as rewarding. Here are the numbers that I put up for practice:

131, 134, 144, 192, 138, 132,138

[SouthpawTRK]

Final night of league tonight, then a two week hiatus until the start of January. Ended up winning some money for the team coming in middle of the pack, a team high score and an individual high scratch for the season. Did not bowl well enough to win any money on brackets or side pot, but we took 3 of the 4 points (not that the points mattered). The first game was ugly, lost my composure and was a head case. The second and third game were better, but could not convert on some needed spares. Here's what I shot for the night:

134, 179, 161

[SouthpawTRK]

Pot luck and league at my home lanes tonight; good food and good times. It's always a good feeling when you team mates and the bowlers from the other team that offer some help and advice. My first two games were my average and the last game fell short of it; just trying to think about too many things while trying to roll the rock. I think moving forward I just need to keep it simple and not try to get too technical when I'm bowling. Here's what I shot for the night:

156, 158, 149

[SouthpawTRK]

After cooking a family breakfast, spending time with loved ones and opening presents; I decided to enter a 6 gamer tournament at a local center that has their annual Christmas night tournament. There were a lot of people that showed up and a lot of good talent rolling the rock. I felt completely out of my element, but I wanted to gain the experience of bowling a 6 gamer under non league conditions. I still had the usual problems of missing my mark, throwing out my chicken wing, and not converting spares, but I got a good sense on trying to keep my head in the game and not totally lose it. Here's what I shot for the night:

135, 153, 159, 166, 167, 163

The first game was a lot of nerves and a lot of open frames, but things got progressively better as I learned to relax. There were some moments where I actually felt like I threw it pure; overall a good time was had.

[SouthpawTRK]

League at my home lanes had a lot of things going on. I ended up bowling one decent game, one good game and one poor game; here are the numbers for the night:

152, 188, 132

I decided to bowl after league was over; just wanted to practice on trying to hit the pocket and work on my spares. One of the league members that coaches junior bowlers worked with me for over an hour on some of the basics; it was really appreciated and I definitely learned some valuable tips.

[SouthpawTRK]

I took a lesson today from a USBC instructor at my home lanes. I really enjoyed the lesson; he provided excellent feedback, ways to improve my technique and a game plan for shooting spares. I ended up bowling a total of 9 games; the first 3 or 4 were part of the lesson; so score was not really being monitored. After the lesson, I bowled some more and ended up shooing a six hundred series in the last three games (201, 216, 190).

[SouthpawTRK]

Ended up getting sick before the start of the New Year, so today's practice was the first time I rolled the rock in 2014. I ended up going to my home lanes and bowled with some guys from work; just for fun and some bragging rights. We bowled one practice game and then a series. Here's what I shot:

139, 168, 156, 160

[SouthpawTRK]

First night at league with a new member on our team and we had a great night! Took all four points and everyone bowled above their average. My consistency is getting better, but still need to convert more spares. I was pretty stoked to bowl a 500 series! Here's what I shot for the night:

158, 194, 161

[SouthpawTRK]

League at my home lanes is the best because of all the great people that I get to bowl with on a weekly basis. Having a large group of people that are like family, try to help you out when possible and compliment you on your progress. They are my family away from my family and I look forward to bowling with them each and every week. While I love bowling with them, I am even more concerned for them. I took off one week from league since I was sick and did not want to get anyone on my team or in the league sick; they mean that much to me. I struggled tonight in the first game, but did somewhat better in games two and three; still too many open frames. Here's what I shot for the night:

148, 170, 174

One highlight of the night is that one of the other league members complimented me on how my game has improved; the words were both kind and encouraging. There are times when I feel that my bowling is not progressing, but at many times I'm my own worst critic. On a lesser note, I was 8 pins away from a 500 series. My goal for 2014 is to raise my average, shoot nothing lower than a 500 series each league game, bowl a few 600 series and have more clean games.

[SouthpawTRK]

I'm glad that I made a point to make it to my home lanes for some practice; wanted to work on getting comfortable/repeatable on timing, ball speed, release and spares. During the seven games that I played, I could feel my timing and ball speed overall better, but still had some brain farts and got too out of time. The spare game is improving, but still needs much work. Here's what I shot for the day:

157, 169, 148, 165, 168, 151, 213

[SouthpawTRK]

Second week of the midweek league was filled with highs and lows; we ended up walking away with wins in game one and game three; lost the second game and the total pin count. My goal this season is to bowl no game under 500 and to shoot for some 600 series games. I ended up being 19 pins shy of a 500 series; once again open frames hurt my scores. Here's what I shot for the night: 157, 146, 178

[SouthpawTRK]

This year my goals for bowling are to raise my average, bowl some 600 series and to have more clean games. I'm taking advantage of any free time that I have between leagues to work on all the basics that are causing me woes; mainly spares, hitting my mark, hitting the pocket, timing, swing speed and rev rates. Took some time to head to my home lanes for some practice; even though I had the entire day off, I only wanted to bowl a small amount of games. I'm trying to avoid bowling a ton of games where I usually get fatigued, sloppy and start forcing the throw. Here's what I shot for the day: 167, 218, 169

[SouthpawTRK]

Something was missing at league at my home lanes; my scores and my timing. I was definitely off for the night and could not wrap my head around it until it was too late. On a positive note, my team mate bowled like a champ and we had an awesome bowler sub in for our other team mate. Here's what I shot for the night: 147, 155, 169.

[SouthpawTRK]

Entered in a mixed doubles tournament today at a center that I've heard of, but have never bowled before. The house is the biggest that I've ever been in and the tournament took up all the lanes in the first half of the day. Bowled two different squads on two different pairs of lanes; the first pair felt like my home lanes and the second pair was really dry. The first series I shot above my average for the series by 16 pins; not a ton, but overall above my average. The last game was looking like it was going to be a clean game, but an untimely split in the 8th frame disallowed the clean game. The second series, the lanes were so dry it was hard to hit the pocket. Most of my shots went brooklyn or missed the pocket way left (I'm left handed). The second series was like open frame-o-rama; my scores were well below my average and I did not even break four hundred. Here are my numbers:

Series one: 146, 163, 216

Series two: 136, 127, 126

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to practice at my home lanes today to work on the basics; release, staying behind the ball, spares and trying to increase my revs. I had new grips installed into two of my bowling balls last night; the grips have the built in lifts. I decided to try the grips with lifts to help hold onto the ball a bit longer to help create some more revs. I shot two different series; here are the numbers:

Series #1: 152, 155, 195

Series #2: 190, 179, 147

I also bowled a game just trying to shoot the 7 pin and to shoot the 10 pin; two different throws; that game I shot a 60.

[SouthpawTRK]

I was hoping that my practice earlier in the day would have carried over to league; but that was not the case. Way too many open frames in the first two games; finally shot above my average in the third game. The positive point of the night is that our team took 3 of the 4 points; many thanks to my team mates for holding me up. Here's what I shot for the night:

140, 144, 160

We lost the first game and game two was looking to be pretty close. I finally had a turkey in the 10th frame and the rest of our team did well at the end to secure the win for game two.

[SouthpawTRK]

Although I did not bowl so well in league at my home lanes; I had a good time talking and laughing with my team mates and other league members. Had timing issues all night; more so in the first game; but the second and third game it got better. Did not meet my goal of at least a 500 series game; I shot a 452. Here's the breakdown of the series:

134, 159, 159

Plagued with bad timing, missing my mark and too many open frames; I felt a little fatigued and my knee was feeling it. Cannot wait until next week to put up some better numbers; but more importantly to be more consistent.

[SouthpawTRK]

I was thinking of way too many things during the first game of league; should have just kept it simple. The jumbled thoughts made themselves known in the second and third game; but fortunately I was able to string together some strikes in the second and third. Here's what I shot tonight:

157, 180, 169

[SouthpawTRK]

Had a lot of fun league tonight; bowled above my average and shot a 500 series; two of many goals that I have for 2014. My timing seemed to be off tonight and could not hold my balance as I should. This lead to some errant rolls and missed some much needed spares. But, my team mates held me up and the other team we were bowling against always make bowling a good time. Here's what I shot for the night: 164, 164, 172

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to my home lanes for some practice; the main focus was to post every single shot. I started off with the one step drill; did an entire series of it; and for the most part I posted a majority of shots. I then bowled a series using my standard four step and posted a majority of my shots. It was a really good feeling to post on a majority of each roll. Here's what I shot for:

1 step drill: 156, 182, 202

4 step: 183, 165, 157

I actually had a higher pin count in the one step drill; so I deduced that my timing was off a bit during my four step approach.

[SouthpawTRK]

With a pretty positive practice earlier in the day, I was feeling pretty good prior to league. Our team has been in first place since the season started; so we definitely wanted to keep our spot and win as many points each week. Unfortunately, the practice that I put in earlier in the day did not transfer to league. Our team did even bowl our collective average; so we lost all of the points; luckily we only dropped to second. Here's what I shot:

145, 158, 164

[SouthpawTRK]

I'm so fortunate to have two awesome team mates to keep me feeling positive when I don't bowl well. They both held me up on the first game; where I literally bowled one of my worst games at my home lanes. The second and third game in the series got progressively better, but the first game really hurt. I have to learn to be less stubborn and know when to make a ball change. The first game I was using a ball that I probably should have used in the third game and should have gone to my primary ball to begin with. I had such a good time with it at practice during the week; I figured that I would use it out of the gate; but unfortunately I was hoping that it would work out. Next time I'll know better and not be so stubborn. Here's what I shot for the night:

111, 155, 181

The 111 is not a typo :( Yikes!!!

[SouthpawTRK]

Went to practice at my home lanes yesterday and had a lot of fun. Practiced an entire series of the one step drill and then bowled a series with a friend from league. Here's what I shot:

One step drill: 118, 189, 148

4 step series: 156, 225, 144

[SouthpawTRK]

On my day off today I was planning on going to my home lanes to get some practice in prior to league. However, things came up and I decided to stay home and get some things done around the house. I started reviewing the DYDS basics and told myself that I would incorporate them into league; I did not care what the score was; I just wanted to incorporate the technique and see if I could do it for the entire series. I was able to maintain (or at least I felt like I was) for the entire series; with the errant timing issue raising it's head from time to time. I ended up shooting my average; would have been better, but chopping pins and whiffing single pin spares did not help. Here's what I shot:

162, 169, 158

On a side note, our reign of being in first place ended in week 6 of our season; it felt good to be in first for the initial five weeks.

[SouthpawTRK]

I got the invite to sub in a league that I bowled in a season ago; had a lot of fun to say the least; met some new people and got to see people that I have not seen in a while. The last game in the series was the best; went clean; which is not very common for me. Here's what I shot for the night:

154, 157, 187

[SouthpawTRK]

I was practically falling asleep on the couch prior to going to league; but was determined to go and bowl my best and have some fun. I was aiming for clean game(s); was not looking for a 300; but rather just clean game(s) and grind it out. Overall, I still had open frames, but felt more consistent and relaxed. Here's what I shot for the night:

179, 171, 174

[SouthpawTRK]

Thanks to my co-worker for letting me out of work an hour early, I was able to sub tonight. I had a lot of fun and felt like I rolled the ball fairly well and only felt like I chicken winged maybe one to three times over the entire series. Met one of my goals which is to shoot over 500; eventually I want to shoot 600 series regularly; gotta take baby steps. Here's what I shot for the night:

154, 208, 170

[SouthpawTRK]

League at the home lanes tonight was a lot of tough love :) My inconsistent release and the pair we played on being very different was tough, fun and a little frustrating. Here's what I shot for the night:

164, 148, 156

[SouthpawTRK]

Mid week league has been interesting so far this season; new team member and the team as a whole is bowling well. Took 3 of the 4 points; would have take all four; but a couple of key spares missed by the team proved to be costly. Here's what I ended up shooting:

165, 171, 207

[SouthpawTRK]

Subbed tonight in preparation for a tournament that I'm going to next week; had a good time and met some new people. It started out with a good first game, but then the second game was a let down. The third game I made a comeback and posted up a decent number. It was a little weird, but I shot the same number of pins tonight as I did in our mid-week league. Here's what I shot:

214, 149, 180

[SouthpawTRK]

League at the home lanes proved to another tough night of scoring. Started to have some thumb issues in the first game and they continued until the end of the second game. The thumb issues were resolved by the third game and I finally relaxed. Here's what I shot for the night:

145, 120, 181

[SouthpawTRK]

Just got back from a week long tournament that was held a couple of hours away from where I live. The tournament consisted of a different event each day; 6 gamer, Team, Doubles, Singles, etc... I had an awesome time; met a lot of great people, got to bowl with good friends and bowled better than expected for the most part. Here's what I shot for each event:

6 Gamer: 167, 179, 139, 196, 190, 190
Team: 181, 182, 152
Doubles: 172, 136, 183
Singles: 149, 195, 129

I was able to bowl above my average (for series) for the first three events; unfortunately I fell a few pins short of my average on the series for the Singles event.

[SouthpawTRK]

Back to the reality of league; it was a big change from the week long tournament that I was at the previous week. Started out with an sub par first game and decided to make a ball change. Second and third game were much better and our team took all four points. Here's what I shot:

145, 170, 195

Missed way too many 7 pins; which still just proves that I need to work on my spares.

[SouthpawTRK]

First night at league at my home lanes since before going to the tournament; oh how I miss my home lanes! I used the same arsenal for tonight that I used a couple of nights before. Made a ball change at the beginning of the second game and stuck with it for the third game as well. Still had a couple of open frames per game, but less than usual. Pin carry seemed to be good tonight and the hit 'em thin and let them spin worked out for everyone on our pair. Here's what I shot for the night:

177, 186, 177

[SouthpawTRK]

With a handful of weeks left in the season, we unfortunately lost one of our team mates; his work schedule changed unfortunately. Luckily, we were able to get a team mate that bowled with us a couple of seasons ago to fill in for the rest of the season. As a team we bowled well; just not as good as the other team we were facing; we won one point of the four. Here's what I shot for the night:

180, 193, 181

Still had about 2 open frames per game; had a good series overall.

[SouthpawTRK]

I think tonight I set the expectation to bowl really well ahead of just making good shots. The night started out with a clean game, but the second game was night and day different from the first. The third game was fair, but still disappointing from the first game. Here's what I shot:

203, 145, 169

After the second game, I made a ball change thinking that would be the answer. In the first 8 frames, I had 6 spares and 2 open frames; did not strike until the 9th frame. In hindsight, I should have stayed with the first ball for the third series since carry was practically non-existent.

[SouthpawTRK]

One of the highlights of my week is bowling at my home center; I look forward to it each and every week. I took some advice in regards to trying to shake off a bad shot; seemed like it worked; more consistent tonight and less open frames. Here's what I shot for the night:

180, 183, 160

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to my home center to practice; usually I don't have Mondays off; but I wanted to get some practice in. I worked on trying to post every shot, hit my mark and keep a free swinging arm. Still had open frames and missed some spares that I should have missed; still having mental issues with the game. Here's what I shot for the day:

Series 1: 169, 139, 222

Series 2: 192, 188, 169

[SouthpawTRK]

Tonight at league was triple goodness; good scores, good bowling and awesome people on our pair. I've definitely struggled at this house; but over the seasons bowling there; I've had my best scores to say the least. It has been more than a year ago that I rolled a 600 series at this house; tonight marks the second time only that I have shot a 600 series at this house (or at any other house). Here's what I shot for the series:

235, 180, 203

[SouthpawTRK]

League at my home lanes is always a good time; whether I bowl well or not; it's about good people and good times. I was feeling somewhat confident from rolling a 618 a couple of days prior; but I knew that my home center lanes are much more challenging. My timing felt a little off; I felt a little anxious since I was bowling with some top notch bowlers. The first two games were consistent, but I managed to pull out a decent last game in the series. Here's what I shot for the night:

160, 161, 202

[SouthpawTRK]

Final week of bowling for the midweek league and ended up keeping our first place spot; just got to bowl well for position round next week. Overall I bowled well; just had too many open frames. Should have had a 600 series, but the open frames did not help the cause. Here's what I shot for the night:

187, 212, 178

[SouthpawTRK]

League at my home lanes tonight; good people, good times and some good bowling. One of many things that is awesome about this league is that people have fun and cheer each other on no matter how good or bad everyone is bowling. Had a good first game and a pretty good second game. At the end of the second game, I was thinking that a 600 series could be obtainable. Unfortunately I over thought the process and had too many open frames and not enough strikes to shoot a good number. Here's what I shot for the night:

197, 187, 162

[SouthpawTRK]

We had our position round tonight; it was definitely make or break. There was chance we could get enough points to keep our first place spot or at worst get relegated to third place. We battled through the season; albeit a short season; and we definitely wanted to take first place. Overall we bowled well enough; nothing really stellar; but we all added something to the series. Ended up getting two of the four points and guaranteed us first place. Here's what I shot for the night:

172, 248, 187

The extra bonus was that I shot another 600 series and won some cash in the side pot.

[SouthpawTRK]

For the past month and a half, I've been bowling better than usual. The last time I had a series that was in the 150's was in the first week of March. I was definitely on a "high" of bowling above my average; it felt good to be bowling better. Tonight was a humbling experience at league at my home lanes. Luckily the people in league are very supportive; whether a person is bowling well or not; everyone there is to have a good time. I had a good first game, a horrible second game and the last game was fair. Too many open frames from either missing makeable spares or odd leaves due to poor releases. Here's what I shot for the night:

172, 126, 166

[SouthpawTRK]

After being sick for over a week, I finally got better and made it to the last night of league at my home lanes. Had a lot of fun tonight; pot luck dinner and bowling with the best team mates I could ever wish for. I'm sad that I won't be seeing a lot of them for the next four months or so, but I look forward to the next season. We ended up having a roll off tonight; could have bowled better; but still had fun. Here's what I shot for the night:

162, 154, 168

[SouthpawTRK]

Practice at the home lanes today; mainly wanted to work on balance and attempting to increase my revs. It's always great to bowl at my home lanes on Monday since it's pretty quiet at the lanes and they have an awesome league rate special; only $1.50 per game. Started out with the Disturbed for the first series, but then decided to make a ball change for the second series with the Wrecker. I've always had a hard time not trying to have a favorite ball; I realize that a "favorite" ball should be the one that is giving you the reaction/looks that you need. Here's what I shot for the day:

Series 1: 152, 134, 185

Series 2: 213, 164, 210

[SouthpawTRK]

First night of summer league and lots of new faces at the lanes. Got the old team back together and we have the opportunity of defending our title from last season. Was definitely not our night; the team shot sporadically; and basically we got swept. I let myself get too frustrated after the first game and never really recovered mentally. Here's what I shot for the night:

206, 136, 127

[SouthpawTRK]

Went out to practice at the home lanes today to work on posting each shot, spare shooting, trying to hit my mark and initially playing shallow and then moving in. Definitely struggled with hitting my mark, posting on shots and missed my mark a lot; lots of stuff to work on as always. Here's what I shot for the day:

Wrecker: 140, 158, 163, 158

Disturbed: 235, 150, 156, 126

[SouthpawTRK]

I was feeling a little uneasy going to league tonight; stomach was grumbling, trying to not lose another series and I was a little uncomfortable with the less than stellar practice I had earlier in the week. After everything was said and done, our team bowled better than last week; took all four points tonight, bowled above my average and chalked up another 600 series. Here's what I shot tonight:

202, 214, 187

[SouthpawTRK]

First night of a short summer league was a lot of fun; met some great people, won some cash and bowled above my average. I made the mistake of counting pins; hoping to possible chalk up another 600 hundred series. Here's what I shot for the night:

228, 164, 150

[SouthpawTRK]

Mid week league the other night; wish I would have bowled better; but was plagued with inconsistency and missing spares. The awesome part of last night was that our anchor carried the team and allowed us to take two of the four points. The part of the night that was better than winning two points, was that our anchor also bowled his first 700 series! Here's what I shot for the night:

184, 158, 158

[SouthpawTRK]

Second week of a short summer league was a tough night; lane conditions were wet and dry. I did not understand the concept, but one of the guys on my team kindly explained it to me. So after having a horrible first game, I made a ball change and took the advice from my team mate (I had not asked him about the lane condition until the break between the first and second game. The second game was better and the third game was my best of the night; even won a handful of dollars on a side pot. Here's what I shot for the night:

146, 178, 208

[SouthpawTRK]

Midweek league was another night of missing marks and missing spares. I also realized that I was over thinking things and should just keep it simple. First two games were horrible and the last game was not too bad. I think that the other part of the problem is that I'm thinking too much about my scores and just being a head case when it comes to bowling bad. Here's what I shot for the night:

152, 159, 187

[SouthpawTRK]

Third week of a short summer league; had a lot of fun and bowled better than the night before. Still had way too many open frames and although I told myself to keep it simple; I managed to muck it up. It was not until the fifth frame of the the third game that I decided to move my feet and target to the left. I proceeded to go with a six bagger, but unfortunately could not punch out to win some cash. Here's what I shot for the night:

176, 178, 202

[SouthpawTRK]

Midweek league started out poor and ended even worse. Bad decisions, missing marks, bad timing, the list goes on and on. Lucky for us our anchor carried the team and we took all four points. I gotta start practicing, keeping my head in the game and learn to have fun while doing so. Here's what I shot for the night:

159, 168, 123

[SouthpawTRK]

Fourth week of the short summer league; always a good time; especially since I got to bowl with my auntie. The pair we were on was night and day; made it very challenging to say the least. I started the night with my current benchmark ball, but decided to make a ball change for the third game. Here's what I shot for the night:

196, 149, 213

[SouthpawTRK]

Mid week league is getting a little worse each week; lots of basic malfunctions and I honestly don't feel comfortable. Here's what I shot:

117, 180, 147

[SouthpawTRK]

Fifth week of short summer league; had a great time seeing friends and laughed a lot; bowling was better than the night before. I still struggled with hitting my mark and having a consistent release. The lane conditions have varied a bit over the handful of weeks; so I decided to change up what bowling balls I brought to the lanes. Here's what I shot for the night:

170, 160, 161

[SouthpawTRK]

First time in a few weeks that I felt like I actually rolled the ball well. Opened the first game with a few open frames. Made a ball change and finished up all right for the first game and had a lot better second and third game. Here's what I shot:

155, 200, 186

[SouthpawTRK]

Sixth week of the short summer leauge; awesome night and lots of fun. I definitely bowled better than the previous week; and actually bowled the exact same pin count as the night before; kinda weird. It was awesome to see my team mate from another league have the front 10; unfortunately he was not able to finish with a perfect game. Here's what I shot for the night:

157, 188, 196

[SouthpawTRK]

Mid week league has been tough; mainly due to my inconsistencies; at least I bowled a 500 series (barely). Here's what I shot:

148, 180, 177

[SouthpawTRK]

The seventh week of the short summer league was fun tonight. Was rolling the rock fair on the first two games. Started to count pins at the beginning of the third; definitely not a wise decision. Did not finish strong, but bowled well above my average. Here's what I shot for the night:

202, 212, 167