RyanP's bowling scores

[RyanP]

I'm new to bowling and going to join a league soon, which I am very excited about. Yesterday when I was bowling with a friend I bowled 186-172-180 the next three i bowled 175-201-169. These are not near where I want to be when joining a league. I want average of 200+ before joining one, because I want to be competitive.

[mc_runner]

No worries about joining a league with a lower average, unless you are doing a scratch league you'll end up helping yourself and team if you come in with a lower average and get better as the league goes :)

Those are pretty nice scores for a new bowler, by the way. It takes a lot of people a long time to get just that good consistently.

[vdubtx]

Pretty good for a beginning bowler. Aslan would be envious of those scores and consistency. :p:cool:

[bubba809]

That's because Ryan probably just goes and bowls. He doesn't over analyze and obsess with every nuance in the sport.






....or he's just got the "gift".

[fortheloveofbowling]

I'm new to bowling and going to join a league soon, which I am very excited about. Yesterday when I was bowling with a friend I bowled 186-172-180 the next three i bowled 175-201-169. These are not near where I want to be when joining a league. I want average of 200+ before joining one, because I want to be competitive.

I would say that is pretty dang good for a beginner. You have your own equipment and shoes right? Good luck with your game. Just saw the other thread about having the black widow.

[Mark O]

Those scores are awesome for someone who is brand new to bowling and a league will only help you continue to improve. Trust me if you're averaging 175 to start you're going to be better than a portion of league bowlers already. If you join a handicap league you're actually more valuable with a lower average that slowly improves than you would be with a higher average that you can't reach as frequently.

[RyanP]

Wow thanks a lot guys for all of the positive feedback :o. I really am working pretty hard trying to get that average up. I've never heard of a handicap league before if someone could explain that would be great. The Black Widow I bought helped my game average about 20-30 pins so it is definitely making a difference as I was just throwing house balls before then. I have a pretty good background with baseball in the past and though the two sports aren't very similar I kind of believe the arm strength developed from baseball is helping me with bowling. I'm 20 years old at the moment so I'm just hoping to improve more and more. Thanks guys, updates on future scores to come!

[mc_runner]

I'd say that the vast majority of leagues out there are handicap, even without mentioning it. In fact from what I've seen the only ones that AREN'T handicapped will say they are scratch in the league name.

Handicap will basically take whatever average you're at and add x pins to it - it evens the playing field a bit. A common handicap is 90% of 220. So you'd subtract your average (say it's 175) from 220. You'd then take 90% of the 45, so you'd get 41 pins of handicap.

if you hit your 175, your handicap game would be a 216. Doing this makes leagues more fair and open to almost any skill level - while still giving the better bowlers a little bit of an edge.

[RyanP]

That makes complete sense. Thanks a lot for clearing that up for me mc runner!

[Aslan]

That's because Ryan probably just goes and bowls. He doesn't over analyze and obsess with every nuance in the sport.






....or he's just got the "gift".

1) Lets withhold senate confirmation until he bowls in a sanctioned league. I've come across a fair amount of "weekend warriors" that talk about always bowling in the 190s during open bowling and then they quit their first league 1/3 of the way through because their average is 137. Remember...if it ain't sanctioned...it didn't happen.

Kinda like my "High Series" in my signature. I've never, ever bowled a 600+ series in a sanctioned league nor tournament. I bowled a 593 in the sanctioned tournament in January. The night I bowled my high game (256), I bowled a 575. Lots of series in the 540s and 550s....but never over 593. LOTS of 600+ series in practice though!!!

And yes, well played, the Gift is always a possibility. I have no "gift". Iceman...100% gift. The "gift"...really hard to beat.

But yeah, waiting to join a league until you're a 220 bowler is stupid (no offense).

1) 90% of leagues (if not more) are handicap. You want to have a low average and get better over the course of the season.
2) I'm in a 172 person league...and nobody averages 220+. There are two guys 200+...out of 172.
3) As I've tried to coax/peer pressure/council our beloved VDubtx...once you're averaging 220+....it "might" be time to think about challenging yourself a bit and start bowling PBA Regional events. A 220+ bowler in a handicap house league, to be totally honest, is kinda lame. You simply have nothing left to prove. I'm not saying it isn't common. Our beloved, gifted, and easily offended Iceman will probably average 264 for the rest of life and will never step outside of his bowling center. Lots of bowlers are like that. They would rather just pile up 300-games and hope for that magical 800 series night...they love to see their name on that print out!!...but the idea of REAL competition...scares the POO out of them!! Excluding fashion models, bowlers have the most fragile egos in the world. The thought of rolling a 135 game!!! Their world would end...mass hysteria...frogs falling from the heavens...locusts...the whole 9 yards.

So, my advice...JOIN a house league...SANCTIONED...and see where you're at. If you're consistently in the 160-190 range...great. You're an average bowler....maybe above average. If you find that you have the gift....OR are willing to work harder than everyone else...maybe you get that average up near the 200s? And THEN...you're a "good" bowler...and maybe you start to think about things like scratch leagues, sport shots, tournaments, etc... And if you ever get to that VDubtx/God status...of 220+...THEN it might be time to aim a little higher? Maybe?

Mudpuppy Cliff Notes: New guy = better than Aslan. He has "The Gift".

[RyanP]

Very well said Aslan, extremely comedic as well! In a good way! Lol I'm definitely going to join a league soon. I never knew what a handicap league was nor did I know that was an actual thing. I hope to get my average up and could not agree more with everything you have said! Gotta prove it in the midst of when it matters. Thanks for the words of wisdom Aslan!

[Amyers]

Very well said Aslan, extremely comedic as well! In a good way! Lol I'm definitely going to join a league soon. I never knew what a handicap league was nor did I know that was an actual thing. I hope to get my average up and could not agree more with everything you have said! Gotta prove it in the midst of when it matters. Thanks for the words of wisdom Aslan!

Be careful his ego inflates easily

[Aslan]

Be careful his ego inflates easily

I'm sorry...but I'm far too comedic and wise to even acknowledge such a hater comment.

[RyanP]

Just betting with a couple friends of mine.

202-198-193

First game felt like i got a little lucky with a few of the strikes I picked up as one was standing and another pin would come out of nowhere and slide into it to knock it down

2nd game would have been the high game of the night but I blew it in the tenth missing on the 10 pin. Game felt pretty good.

[fortheloveofbowling]

Just betting with a couple friends of mine.

202-198-193

First game felt like i got a little lucky with a few of the strikes I picked up as one was standing and another pin would come out of nowhere and slide into it to knock it down

2nd game would have been the high game of the night but I blew it in the tenth missing on the 10 pin. Game felt pretty good.

He has the dare i say.....GIFT!!! Nice bowling man. I think you mentioned something before about being a good baseball player right? Some people like to make fun of bowling that don't really know about the game. They see someone who is good and doesn't really fit the definition of a model athlete. Sure, to be a good bowler you don't need to be at 8% body fat but if you have good hand eye coordination developed from other sports it sure helps. look forward to hearing about your game as you progress.

[RyanP]

Thanks for the kind words ForTheLove. I like to think of myself as a pretty good athlete. I played football basketball and baseball in high school. And made all-state in football and basketball. Being 6'5 does help with that though lol. For anyone who happens to see this and knows about it, what is the point of sanding your ball? I have seen quite a few things mentioning this but I have no clue what it means

[Bradski9]

Sanding the ball creates an earlier hook. Polishing it will allow it to skid in the oil and snap when it hits the dry at the end of the lane.

[Bradski9]

There's a good amount of YouTube videos on the subject .

[epiepenburg]

Sanding the ball creates an earlier hook. Polishing it will allow it to skid in the oil and snap when it hits the dry at the end of the lane.

Correct, you alter the surface to change the ball reaction. I've been experimenting with surface changes on my Thug and my plastic spare ball.

[RyanP]

Tried out a different house than my normal two and didn't have the greatest day of bowling Sunday when I bowled a 183-156-166. Lanes were a little more oily than I was used too and had a hard time adjusting to them as they seemed pretty inconsistent.