zman1974's Scores

[zman1974]

I am in a Tuesday night social league (220/90% handicap). Average is currently around 165, and going up every week as I had to use a houseball for our first night (we joined several weeks in). I have only one ball right now; a DV8 Marauder drilled with the pin under the ring finger. This drilling allows me to play up 10 on fresh oil, moving progressively left as the lanes break down. I am a stroker with a ball speed at about 16 mph with average revs.

Tonight, we prebowled due to half the team being out of town next week. Shot my best series ever: 190-227-188 for a 605!

Loving the Marauder. Not loving having to duplicate these scores under league conditions lol.

[coachkapps]

Very nice! Congrats!

[zman1974]

Had an average night this week: 177-182-165 = 524 We won 6 out of 8 points so I'm happy.

I am finding the Marauder is great in the Medium to Light, but struggles in fresh and dry. My next ball purchase will likely be for heavy oil. Of course, it wasn't entirely the ball's fault; I tended to have speed consistency issues all night, and missed a couple of easy spares. Staying behind the ball and coming straight back naturally without tension have always been my worst traits. Still working on it!

My average has gone from 145 to 173 in five weeks so I must be doing something right.

[zman1974]

Good Lord. Last night was the most inconsistent I have bowled since my teens. 124-182-212 for a 518. First game was a Nightmare; pun intended because I REALLY need a heavy oil ball. The Marauder, as drilled and at out of box finish, cannot handle high volumes of oil. Had to basically play 3rd arrow with poor angles of entry that left numerous splits and 10 pins. Couldn't get a spare to save my life (my fault; got in my head). Ah, but the moment the lanes started to transition, and the Marauder starts reacting, and by 3rd game I am getting great pocket hits. Wanted to wait a couple of months for my birthday to get a second ball, but I think I will need to move that plan up STAT. I am thinking IQ Tour or Brutal Nightmare.

[zman1974]

Shot a 157-226-161 for a 544 series tonight at league. First game was a typical struggle to find a decent line. This was after I sanded the Marauder at 1000 grit to get a better reaction. It must be noted that everyone was struggling; even the low handicap bowlers on the other team. Things really clicked in the 2nd game, and I found a great line playing from 21 to 10. This game is my best in league so far. The third game I had problems with my thumb/finger release. Need to get some EZ slide for next week. I also purchased the Nuball rejuvenator on Amazon, and am anxious to try it out. Overall, not a bad series. Stayed behind the ball 95% of the time and covered nearly all makeable spares; the release was the major culprit this time.

[zman1974]

Shot crapola this week. I had a stomach flu/virus and had to prebowl after I received an injection of some very powerful drug. Bad idea. Shot a 138-167-157 for a massive 462. I'll chalk this one up to being not entirely myself that day.

[zman1974]

Bowled my best ever series tonight; league or otherwise: 190-202-257 for a 649. The 257 was also my best game ever; league or otherwise. The Marauder just killed it in the final game when the lanes really started to break down, and I hit the pocket in every shot that game. The Marauder still struggles on a fresh house shot, and I still need to get that heavy oil ball (leaning heavily towards the Brutal Nightmare or Sync).

[zman1974]

Well, so much for consistency. Worst night I have had all season: 159-112 (ugh)-215 for a 486. Through a total of 9 splits in the first two games, of which I converted one. Then in the 3rd game, as it seems always to be the case, the Marauder just starts finding the pocket every time. Lost all 8 points.

[zman1974]

Sucked for the second week in a row though we won six of eight points thanks to another team member going way above average. Bowled a 114-156-164 for a rousing 434 series. The mistakes were all mental. I just can't settle down sometimes, and I miss badly with the strike ball, and can't pick up easy spares.

[zman1974]

Pretty bad again in the first game with a 132. Next two games were much better with a 170 and 189. Took 6 out of 8 points. Next week I will open with the Marauder Madness and expect to do much better.

[zman1974]

Used the Marauder Madness for the first time in league. Had a problem with the thumb hole not being drilled out properly so I had a hard time getting a consistent release. Still, shot a 167-191-149 for a 507. Not too bad, and much better in the first game than with the regular Marauder. The Madness is much better than the Marauder on a fresh shot, and I am very happy with it's performance. I'm sure once I get the thumb hole situated it will be a great benchmark ball for our lanes.

[zman1974]

120-157-167 going into position week. Ugh. Just too many splits and easy spare misses. My thumb started to swell, and I had to bag the MM which sucked. Got it sorted it out for next week, though.

[zman1974]

Started a new summer league last night after the nightmare of a fall league. Wednesday Doubles at a new house (Pin Street in Fort Myers, FL). Sanctioned league with a team handicap. My partner is going to be gone for the first two weeks so they paired me with one of the best house bowlers as a substitute. I don't know if I was just on that night, or if it was bowling with a scratch bowler, but I had my second best night of bowling ever. 224-209-179 for a 612 (204 average; 34 over my normal 170). This house favored my strength which is straight up 10. Didn't really have to move all night; just switched to the Marauder in the 3rd game as usual, and used the same line.

[zman1974]

Back down to Earth this week. Started off slow with a 133; just couldn't find the pocket, and when I did I had carry issues. Splits also didn't help. Second game was better with a 157, but still issues with carry. Last game was a 177 for a 467 series. We were paired on the last two lanes of the center which have been out of commission for two months. Ball return jammed twice and the automatic scorer malfunctioned continuously all night. It was just hard to get in a rhythm. Footbwork and timing were off as well. Still, it looks like we won all points so I won't complain too much.

[zman1974]

Well, the last two weeks were interesting. My scores from two weeks ago were so-so, 137-157-177 for a 471, but we still managed to take 5 of 7. This week I did much better with a 188-206-169 for a 563. Again, we managed to take 5 of 7, and we are now 2nd in a league with 25 teams.

[zman1974]

What an interesting week. I have always had problems with a clean thumb release resulting in deep tears and blisters. Since I am bowling at a different house now I went to that pro shop to see if he could identify the problem. Apparently, my span was way to wide. Also, the layout of the Marauder Madness was totally wrong based on my PAP (which the other shop never measured) and weight block. Long story short, the Madness now reacts beautifully on a THS. First time in league last night and I shot a 207-225-172 for a 604. We are now in 1st place out of 30 teams taking 5 of 7 points from the first place team.

[zman1974]

Bowled well again last night. 185-202-175 for a 562. Took 5 of 7 points which I hope will keep us in first place out of 30 teams. We were evenly matched, and it came down to the wire for the overall with us winning by only 11 pins. The Marauder Madness is really shining in the 1st and 2nd game. Struggling a bit in the 3rd, and next week I might experiment with the Marauder instead.

[zman1974]

A wildly inconsistent night is the best way to describe last night. It was Position Week for our summer doubles league. We were tied for 1st going in against a couple of very good female bowlers who have been destroying teams in recent weeks. Started off with a mediocre 155; splits being the main culprit. We took the game, though, as our opponents really struggled with carry and splits, as well. My partner also bailed us out shooting 20 pins over average. 2nd game i got dialed in going up 10 board and the Madness crushed the pocket. Got lucky on a couple of pulls, and managed strikes anyway; shot a 238, and even though our opponents also bowled much better this game we still took the game, going into the final game with an 80+ pin lead for overall pin total. 3rd game I just forgot how to make a spare. Six open frames, and yet still managed a 152. Our opponents barely took the game as my partner again bowled way above his 140 average. Still, we took 5 of 7 points and claimed 1st place outright. Here is hoping the next 7 weeks go as well as the first seven ;)

Current Average: 181