View Full Version : Possible 300 game courtesy
What are you thoughts on possible 300 game courtesy? What would you want done if it was you with the front 9 or more? There are two things I have heard and I have my thoughts based on those. This is based on being on the same pair or next to the pair of a guy on a run. It happened to me last night in league. Guy on the pair next to me has the front 11. His ball is still in the pit and I was up on the lane next to him. What would you do in my position or what would you want me to do if you were in his position.
A:WAIT!! Don't go even if there is plenty of time. Everyone should wait and let him go at his own pace and stay away.
B:Continue as if it were the third frame. You have time and its your turn so make your shot. This is to not draw attention to what is happening, just like you would with a pitcher and a no hitter. Proceed as if it were a normal inning/frame.
I made my shot and then went back to my team. It was our first frame and to be honest I had no clue the guy was on the run until I sat back down. He still had plenty of time and made the shot to finish off his 300. Even though I would want option B done for me I still went over and congratulated him and said I was sorry if my move distracted him. I told him I had no idea he was in the position. He was fine but I want to hear everyones thoughts.
NewToBowling
09-30-2015, 05:45 PM
Play as you normally would. I know if I bowled the front 9 or 10 I wouldn't expect anything different
JasonNJ
09-30-2015, 05:45 PM
I've been in both scenarios but both times they were only practice games. One time a young kid, maybe 17-18 threw a 300 game and my buddies and I went about our business and he was able to get it. Another time, a woman bowler was practicing before her league games and she had the front 11. My brother-in-law waited to let her finish and I think that made her rush her final shot and she threw a bad shot and got an 7 count.
So I think you should just go about your normal thing and just observe the standard lane courtesy so not to put extra pressure on the person.
vdubtx
09-30-2015, 06:11 PM
Depends on the league or situation I think.
Competitive league, I see bowlers just go about their normal bowling. Fun league, I see the whole house stop to watch.
I watch and notice the lanes around me and if I see a guy on a 9+ run, I wait for him to complete his 10th frame if I am due up at the same time.
fortheloveofbowling
09-30-2015, 06:35 PM
A lot of guys prefer you to continue normally. If it is on my pair or the pair just left or right of me, i try to continue normally only if my pace does not delay them. It comes down to knowing the people on your league as well. I have bowled on leagues where guys are looking for pba courtesy always and even more room when trying to shoot 300. Respect, courtesy, and sportsmanship.
This guy was new so I have no idea what he wants. My shot in now way delayed him. I was worried that I did but the rest of my team assured me that I in no way delayed the guy.
bowl1820
09-30-2015, 06:45 PM
There's no right or wrong answer, it all depends on the situation and the bowler.
If I was shooting one i would want everyone to keep going, everyone stopping and getting quite just adds pressure.
Others would want everyone beside them to stay back and wait.
We had two 300's shot last night on league, one beside us and we kept bowling.
There's no right or wrong answer, it all depends on the situation and the bowler.
If I was shooting one i would want everyone to keep going, everyone stopping and getting quite just adds pressure.
Others would want everyone beside them to stay back and wait.
We had two 300's shot last night on league, one beside us and we kept bowling.
I agree, keep going with the normal routine. My old man has had 30 some 300 games and he says the same thing. He is the one who taught me everything I know as he was a professional in his younger years. He is my benchmark.
Cajun
09-30-2015, 09:26 PM
Im on my first session ever bowling house league... I was told by my Captian if there is a bowler thats possibly gona roll a 300 in the next couple lanes left or right of us to let them have the courtesy. I dont mind waiting as I think it would be awesome to watch. But I would feel like Im possibly making them nervous or even rush.
billf
10-01-2015, 12:13 AM
I blew three of them in the tenth frame last year. I rushed the first one. Partly because my opponent would not take his turn despite me asking him to, partly because I had been holding my bladder since the third frame. Went light leaving the 2-8 for a 298.
The second time I started getting anxious, not nervous, around the seventh frame. I was on and knew it, I couldn't wait for my turn. When I nailed the first in the tenth I thought I had it locked up. I was so amped up when the ball came back i grabbed it, gripped it and ripped it.....to much hand snapped off the break point like it hit a wall and went brooklyn. When the ball came back I just walked over and dropped it in the gutter for a 284.
The thrid time I left a stone 9 in the ninth. Missed it, struck out for a 26something (268 I think). Posiiton round so I was just glad we won.
Watched one guy last season. The tenth was like any other frame except everyone telling him it was the tenth. He finally yelled "I know but I'm not changing anything". He walked back to his seat and drank some beer just as with every other frame. He said if he did things differently it would have messed him up and made him think about it.
I would want things to continue as normal. For others, I wait and always congratulate them.
*funny side note...seems some places have as many 300s in a night as we have all season. We have 1 this year. 18 last season which was an all-time record for that center. Our house record is 843 and that was without a 300 game.
Aslan
10-01-2015, 02:13 PM
Generally people working on a 300 are usually (not always) bowling anchor. And generally they will wait until everyone else on the opposing team has bowled. So it's usually not an issue. If I get up there when a person is on 10 or 11 in a row...I kinda treat it like a spare. I'll let the other person go...unless he/she asks me to go or tells me to "go ahead".
jab5325
10-01-2015, 02:29 PM
During my junior year of high school, we had a pretty good bowling team. We were in the top 3 in our conference, and ended up finishing 14th at the state championship.
At our end-of-year conference tournament, I started out extremely rough--I had a freakin' 116. The lowest score in the house. I was totally out of it, angry, etc. The next game, I had a 170-something. I actually threw very well, but had a Greek Church and some other odd leaves in the middle of the game.
The last game, I throw the front 9. My teammates were joking with me like we normally did. I get up to throw the 10th, and it's oddly quiet........and I noticed that literally the entire house had stopped bowling. All teams, parents and coaches were gathered around our pair. That felt GREAT (yeah, not quite). So, I totally rushed the 10th ball, tugged it, and threw a 2-4-7.....which I had missed twice previously in the first game. Nervous as hell, I did convert and strike on the 12th ball to finish. So, during a series with a near 300, I was nowhere close to throwing a 600.
Moral of the story: Act normal. Ignore all else.
fordman1
10-01-2015, 03:53 PM
It is much better to give the person some room and time than be the dummy who they blame for not waiting. More times than not they don't get it and need a goat. Don't be a goat wait.
ChuckR
10-01-2015, 06:58 PM
We started the year against a team whose anchor threw a 300. We waited after he shot the first 10. He also drew a crowd, which happens whenever someone is on a roll. The consensus here, and I agree, it is up to the bowler as to what he or she wants to opposition to do.
fordman1
10-01-2015, 09:43 PM
We started the year against a team whose anchor threw a 300. We waited after he shot the first 10. He also drew a crowd, which happens whenever someone is on a roll. The consensus here, and I agree, it is up to the bowler as to what he or she wants to opposition to do.
What does that mean? Do you ask him "I see you got the 1st 10 you want us to wait or ignore you?"
J Anderson
10-01-2015, 10:40 PM
What does that mean? Do you ask him "I see you got the 1st 10 you want us to wait or ignore you?"
I think it's more like seeing if he or she indicates that you should go ahead and bowl
We have bowled next to, or against a guy going for a 300 many times and the way it usually works is everything is normal until the 2nd ball in the 10th and normally the adjacent pairs of lanes stop and let the guy throw the last one or two balls. For the most part everyone else continues but the bowlers a couple of lanes away are watching but mostly stay in their area and don't crowd around. We have seen a lot of big games as we have had several guys with multiple 300's bowling in the league, one guy was over 100 and another was at 50 or something crazy like that.
mc_runner
10-02-2015, 09:52 AM
Works both ways on the leagues I'm on. As someone mentioned, the more competitive leagues tend to go about on business as usual until the end of the 10th. Definitely my preference... I got to frame 8ish? a few times in the social league and the whole league gathers around. Its a bit ridiculous and the change in flow frequently messes with my concentration. A couple other guys in the league have said the same thing.
TonyInPortland
10-02-2015, 10:10 AM
Years ago, everyone would stop and watch. More recently, people, if they notice will stop bowling and watch, but others either don't notice, or keep bowling as they are watching. With so many 300s shot these days, it is not as big of a deal for most bowlers.
Mark O
10-02-2015, 03:41 PM
Years ago, everyone would stop and watch. More recently, people, if they notice will stop bowling and watch, but others either don't notice, or keep bowling as they are watching. With so many 300s shot these days, it is not as big of a deal for most bowlers.
Can't emphasize how true this is! My dad used to bowl in the 80s and he said back then the entire house would stop and watch if someone was on the front 9. Now on my Tuesday night league I feel a 300 is shot every single week and a lot of bowlers are averaging 230+ and shoot multiple a year. With them it's pretty much business as usual, a few high fives and handshakes, and it's on to the next game. When it's not one of the usuals though people actually start to stop and take notice and a bigger deal is made once the 300 is shot, especially if it's the guys 1st one. As most everyone has said though, I feel it's situational and it really depends on the type of league and the bowler.
Jessiewoodard57
10-02-2015, 04:22 PM
I have stopped and quietly watched from a distance. But I can say this, since I bowl from a wheel chair it attacks attention when I start stringing strikes. I was on the 7th frame when I noticed behind me was a group watching me I got nervous and went light and left the 10 pin finished with a 233 was not use to being the center of attention. I will say a bunch came over and high fived me for a good game but I still wonder what it would have been had I not noticed them.
epiepenburg
10-02-2015, 08:58 PM
There really is no right answer or wrong answer. I personally would like to maintain the same atmosphere as all the other frames. We had one guy throw a 300 on the pair next to us on Wednesday night, my teammate was on the right lane of our pair and the guy throwing the 300 was on the lane next to him (left of his pair), my teammate waited and our opponent who was bowling on the left side of our pair kept bowling.
As luck would have it one of the guys on the next pair threw a 300 in my Friday morning league today. It was the last game and everything was normal for the first 9 frames then he waited and let the guys on either side finish out and then he went up and nailed the last 3 strikes.
foreverincamo
10-06-2015, 11:45 AM
In my league, they are pretty rare. Three bowled in our league last season, and I don't know of any others shot during any of the other leagues. If you bowl one they post your name on a sign and hang it up for years.
I had the first one of the season last year. The whole house stopped to watch all three shots. One big cheer, then back to bowling. I would have preferred everyone else to keep bowling but they wouldn't. Glad I didn't disappoint.
Ishkabibble
10-09-2015, 03:28 PM
I think a lot depends on the bowler. I know people who want everything to continue as normal and others who don't want anyone within 5 lanes to even breath. Easier decision if you know the bowler but if not I give a 2 lane courtesy if not already doing so(some people expect this all the time) and if the bowler asks you to bowl your turn then please do.
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