Is it necessary to have a good average on ths before going to a sport pattern?

[e-tank]

Ive heard many stories about how gods on ths will try out a sport pattern and and struggle to break 170. From what i understand a sport pattern is about accuracy as there is a smaller margin of error. My current league average is somewhat falsified as i started the league averaging 130ish and now im confident that my real average is 180ish. I still have holes in my game but 9/10 times i can hit the mark i want to so i was thinking about trying a sport pattern for fun. How good on ths were you guys before you bowled on a sport pattern?

[J Anderson]

Ive heard many stories about how gods on ths will try out a sport pattern and and struggle to break 170. From what i understand a sport pattern is about accuracy as there is a smaller margin of error. My current league average is somewhat falsified as i started the league averaging 130ish and now im confident that my real average is 180ish. I still have holes in my game but 9/10 times i can hit the mark i want to so i was thinking about trying a sport pattern for fun. How good on ths were you guys before you bowled on a sport pattern?

Disclaimer: I love bowling on sport patterns! Therefore take anything else I say with a grain of salt.

Do not wait until you're "good enough". Join a sport league as soon as you can. If you wait until your average is 200+ the shock of realizing how lousy you really are will be too much and your ego will be torn to shreds and left to be vacuumed up off the concourse carpet.

When I tried the sport league, I was making the transition from conventional grip/rubber to fingertip grip/reactive resin. I had been averaging about 170 throwing conventional right-handed. I had just finished the winter season bowling left handed due to an injury. In the summer sport league I averaged 174 right handed so my ego came through unscathed!

[Greenday]

I have a 172 average, though I've known for awhile I can definitely bowl better than that. My first time on a sports pattern, I was just BSing with my coach, but I bowled a game by myself before he got there and shot a 179. I've gotten a lot better since then too and when I get my Sync today, I'll be able to shoot even higher. Shoot as many sports patterns as you can. Maybe you'll get lower scores, but it'll make you improve a lot more. You'll become more accurate, you'll get better at making the same shot over and over. Then when you go back to a THS, you'll be amazed at how much it really does help you find the pocket.

[e-tank]

sounds like i should just go for it. I wonder if i pay extra i can get the bowling alley to lay down a sport pattern for me to play with. Going cosmic bowling tonight with my friends so ill ask then

[Zothen]

Last yr I avg 130 on Sport patterns and this yr I avg 150 and 180 on THS! I find Sport patterns very helpful as I am constantly learning how to adjust to ever changing lane conditions.

Zothen

[Vince805]

on THS i average 205 and sport pattern well i havent bowled on one in a long time!!! but just today i used my new brutal nightmare for the first time and it was on a sport pattern bowled 201-235-211. Just practicing.

[slmrcs]

The change in avg from one person on TSH to Sport may vary alot from bowler to bowler. You can have someone with a huge avg, because they are lined up on their house shot, with big hook, and ball for that house, and miss target a lot but still strick, so they go on sport shot and loose 50 pins or more on ave.

Not everyone.

It's better to learn on sport shot. THS is nonsense and really isn't good to practice on.

[unclemantis]

It all comes down to how fast you can adjust to change!

[Greenday]

It all comes down to how fast you can adjust to change!

I find crankers usually have the most trouble. Since they rely so much on their hook, the extra oil hurts them too much. The straighter you throw, the easier the transition.

[unclemantis]

I find crankers usually have the most trouble. Since they rely so much on their hook, the extra oil hurts them too much. The straighter you throw, the easier the transition.

I am not a cranker. I just have trouble adjusting :(

I really need to hire a coach for an hour or 2.

[Greenday]

I am not a cranker. I just have trouble adjusting :(

I really need to hire a coach for an hour or 2.

I get coaching once a week for about an hour and a half a session. I take what I learn, practice it about three days, then use it in league. It really makes a difference.

My suggestion to someone trying to play a sports pattern: don't try anything fancy. Find a nice easy line to the pocket and stick to it. The less oil dependent that line is, the better.

[J Anderson]

I get coaching once a week for about an hour and a half a session. I take what I learn, practice it about three days, then use it in league. It really makes a difference.

My suggestion to someone trying to play a sports pattern: don't try anything fancy. Find a nice easy line to the pocket and stick to it. The less oil dependent that line is, the better.

One other suggestion is to pay attention to the other bowlers in the sport league. Who's playing well? What line are they playing? What kind of ball are they using? Then see if you can emulate them.

[unclemantis]

One other suggestion is to pay attention to the other bowlers in the sport league. Who's playing well? What line are they playing? What kind of ball are they using? Then see if you can emulate them.

I have a feeling my line would be 25 over 10 board

[ecub]

sounds like i should just go for it. I wonder if i pay extra i can get the bowling alley to lay down a sport pattern for me to play with. Going cosmic bowling tonight with my friends so ill ask then

Call your local houses to see if they lay down sports shots during open bowling. My main house sets up sport shot for a couple of lanes during the summer. There's no extra charge, in our house, to bowl on a regular or sports shot pattern.

[ecub]

Ive heard many stories about how gods on ths will try out a sport pattern and and struggle to break 170. From what i understand a sport pattern is about accuracy as there is a smaller margin of error. My current league average is somewhat falsified as i started the league averaging 130ish and now im confident that my real average is 180ish. I still have holes in my game but 9/10 times i can hit the mark i want to so i was thinking about trying a sport pattern for fun. How good on ths were you guys before you bowled on a sport pattern?

It's not necessary to have a good average to bowl in a sport shot, but it helps that you're confident in your shot and somewhat accurate. Most aggressive balls are somewhat forgiving. You can throw the ball with a bad ball release, missing your mark, and still get a strike. It also helps to understand how the oil moves and determining the proper movement with the feet/eyes. The sports shot is a good shot to test your skills on.

[unclemantis]

My house can lay down patterning no charge? I gotta call them up tomorrow

[ecub]

have a feeling my line would be 25 over 10 board .

It may or may not work. I play your line when it's dry. I'm usually playing more outside, almost a down and in shot, when playing a sports shot.

[e-tank]

Call your local houses to see if they lay down sports shots during open bowling. My main house sets up sport shot for a couple of lanes during the summer. There's no extra charge, in our house, to bowl on a regular or sports shot pattern.

ill have to see if my alley does something like that


It's not necessary to have a good average to bowl in a sport shot, but it helps that you're confident in your shot and somewhat accurate. Most aggressive balls are somewhat forgiving. You can throw the ball with a bad ball release, missing your mark, and still get a strike. It also helps to understand how the oil moves and determining the proper movement with the feet/eyes. The sports shot is a good shot to test your skills on.

yea im usually pretty good at hitting my mark which is why i wanted to give it a try

[ecub]

Get to know the employees at your favorite house. It could help as well. I know the owners, most of the staff behind the counter, most of the bartenders, as well as the mechanics who work at the pins on lay down the oil. I sometimes hang out and drink with them. So they will let me days with special patterns, discounts, oil machine issues, etc. And of course, give me discounts on open bowling as well.

[Greenday]

Now that the high school leagues are over, my practice alley will be oiling the lanes around 4pm each day. I'm going to go when they are oiling and ask if they can lay a sports pattern down on one lane for me.

[mxjosh]

I started bowling in aug. 2011. Started in a fun league with house shot. Avg'd around 165 for 1st 6mths. I took about 4 lessons in 2 months an avg went over 170. That summer, after only 1 year on THS, I joined a sport league. They used middle road, route 66 and the beaten path. That summer, while my scores were low, was the best time I had bowling. I ended that league with a 174 and new confidence. I also was motivated to improve my game. I went to my coach weekly for 2 months.

The start of fall league put up the hardest shot I had ever bowled on. the league cap was 810 but the highest team avg was 640. This league had current and former PBA champions. I bowled a 168 for that quarter. while below my expectations, I had to learn a whole new style of play. Like already said above, get into a sport league as soon as you can. expect to struggle and keep an open mind. If u get frustrated, dont panic. get help. You wont regret it. Elevates your game considerably if you work at it.

I ended my first year at 174 avg. I now carry a ths shot avg of 203 and 201 in 2 leagues. My sport league I am at 186, up from the 1st quarter of 168. Im glad I put my fears aside and stepped up to a more dificult shot.

[billf]

E-tank, do the sport shot. Every bowler that wants to truly improve should at a minimum attempt them. I've been the oddity the past three seasons as my sport shot average was higher than my THS average. Given what my average has been this season for THS I don't expect that trend to continue this summer during our PBA league.

What line you use will be dependent on volume, length and width and will vary from not only lane to lane but day to day on the same pair. @unclemantis: I keep detailed notes of every game I play and have three years worth of sport/PBA patterns played documented. Knowing the lines I played before for a particular pattern will help give me a clue where to start but that's it, just a clue. So if you think you can play any PBA/sport pattern from 25 over 10, go ahead and when you can't break a score of 100 then you will really know.

[panbanger]

Great thread! There's a "PBA Experience" summer league starting at my alley in June, I think I will give it a shot! I may have to get something besides my Misfit to throw though lol

[unclemantis]

Will the pattern change each week? That Shark pattern is brutal!

[panbanger]

Not sure how it works yet. I just saw it on the list of summer leagues on the Brunswick webpage for my local alley.

[billf]

Will the pattern change each week? That Shark pattern is brutal!


How often the pattern is changed is up to who is running the league/alley. Some change is weekly while others change it every other week.
BTW, Shark is a *****cat compared to the US Open

[Greenday]

How often the pattern is changed is up to who is running the league/alley. Some change is weekly while others change it every other week.
BTW, Shark is a *****cat compared to the US Open

I see two ways to play the Shark. Play the outside with a strong hook, avoiding the heavy oil, but take a straighter angle in. OR play through the oil, near the middle so very little hook is needed to move into the pocket. A very aggressive ball is a must for that pattern.

I bowled on the Scorpion on Sunday. It's basically like a longer THS. Not nearly as hard as other sports patterns I've been on. Shot ten games on it. 243 my high game. Clearly a pattern where a gradual hooking ball (Or banana-shaped hook as I call it) is best. A skid-snap hook (Or hockey stick-shaped hook), just doesn't provide the right reaction for it.