Planning my first tournament in about 16 years

[boatman37]

So guys were talking about a tourney the other night so I told them I'd go too. It's a singles tourney so I'm on my own...lol. The last tourney I was in was about 2002 right before I quit bowling. It was a father/son tourney that I entered with my 8 year old son. We finished well enough to get a trophy but I know we didn't win it. Before that my last tourney was in high school about 1986 so I have never been in a tourney with cash prizes...lol.

Wish me luck and I'll let everyone know how it goes. The tourney in March 10th so I have a couple weeks to get a little better. My average is slowly creeping up and since I bought the Conspiracy I have been averaging about 10 pins higher than I was when I bought it 21 games ago so with the handicap that should help me. I don't have any expectations going in. Just going to do my best and have fun.

[got_a_300]

Just going to do my best and have fun.

Well you're in the right frame of mind that is what it is all about having
fun and just trying to do your best.

Good luck and just have fun.

[vdubtx]

Like you said, just go and have fun. Doing well will be a bonus. :cool:

[JasonNJ]

Its still just bowling, it's meant to be fun. So have fun and learn from it for the next tournaments.

[Stormed1]

Exactly!! When you have fun your arm swing is looser and you will not press which just tightens everything up. ENJOY!!

[boatman37]

So in a typical tournament would they start with a normal oiling or extra oil due to the amount of traffic? No idea what the pattern will be. A teammate was telling me he has entered several tournaments. He is a low rev bowler with a mild hook and says by the end of the tournament the lanes are perfect for him. Being a speed dominant bowler myself I'm just curious as to what to expect. I'm a lefty that mainly plays right up the 7 board very similar to Norm Duke (only from the opposite side...lol).

So here is my dilemma. Bought a ball spinner and yesterday before league I put all my balls back to OOB but last night I couldn't get any of them to hook. The lanes seemed a little more oily but not sure if that was the problem or not. Was thinking about taking the Conspiracy down to 2000 from 3000 and the Kingpin down to 500 from 1000 for the tournament this Sunday. Just afraid after a long day it dries up enough that I will regret it. The BWG was the strongest ball I had last night but even that wasn't coming in much.

From my understanding the format is at 9:00 the first round will consist of 3 games. If you make it through theat round then you sit until the tournament starts. There is a 2nd chance round at 11:00 then a last chance at 1:00. So quite a few games on the lanes.

[JasonNJ]

So in a typical tournament would they start with a normal oiling or extra oil due to the amount of traffic? No idea what the pattern will be. A teammate was telling me he has entered several tournaments. He is a low rev bowler with a mild hook and says by the end of the tournament the lanes are perfect for him. Being a speed dominant bowler myself I'm just curious as to what to expect. I'm a lefty that mainly plays right up the 7 board very similar to Norm Duke (only from the opposite side...lol).

So here is my dilemma. Bought a ball spinner and yesterday before league I put all my balls back to OOB but last night I couldn't get any of them to hook. The lanes seemed a little more oily but not sure if that was the problem or not. Was thinking about taking the Conspiracy down to 2000 from 3000 and the Kingpin down to 500 from 1000 for the tournament this Sunday. Just afraid after a long day it dries up enough that I will regret it. The BWG was the strongest ball I had last night but even that wasn't coming in much.

From my understanding the format is at 9:00 the first round will consist of 3 games. If you make it through theat round then you sit until the tournament starts. There is a 2nd chance round at 11:00 then a last chance at 1:00. So quite a few games on the lanes.

I've never heard of anyone laying down extra volume just for a tournament. I would think the volume of oil is dependent on the characteristics of house and what oil pattern the tournament is using. Like if that house is known to lay down a heavy oil house pattern then I would expect the same for the tournament. Of course a sport shot pattern would have it's own ways to play it, so you could use the rule of 31 to start.

[Amyers]

It's impossible to say without knowing what their plans are for the shot. Even if it's typically a oily house maybe they are putting down a short pattern how do you know unless they announce it. Here at least the house usually notifies bowlers of the type of shot being used. By that I mean is it a house shot, recreational shot, or sport shot. Each level that goes up the more unpredictable it is likely to be. If it's a house shot it should be close to league although there are plenty of difference between league shots here, if it's sport god only knows.

[boatman37]

Yeah. thinking I'll hit the Kingpin with 500 (now at 1000) and the Conspiracy with 2000 (now at 3000) and leave the BWG at 1000 polished as it is now. That should give me options. Tuesday night the Kingpin and Conspiracy were very close to each other and the BWG about 1-2 boards lighter. So if it is a little too slick I have the Kingpin, medium I have the Conspiracy and near the end of the day if it really dries up I have the BWG. Like I said before, not setting expectations too high here but don't want to look like a fool either...lol

[ALazySavage]

In regards to volume of oil being greater or less than normal due to tournaments, I could see adjustments based on the pattern or if the house shot is grossly dry to start. That being said, typically when I have heard the comment of there is a lot more oil on the lanes it hasn't been the volume, but the pattern of the oil. Think of it this way, taking the typical house shot with a 9:1 ratio and changing it to a 3:1 ratio (with the oil volume remaining the same) deeper inside lines are going to feel as though they are drier and outside lines are going to feel wetter. For the tournament to make the shot harder, but not more expensive with more oil, this would likely happen.

[boatman37]

So....what an adventure. I think this was the first time I have bowled on anything other than THS. It was a 47' Scorpion pattern. Very difficult. Scores were way low across the board. I made the eliminations with a 619 handicap series so that tells you how low scores were. My handicap was 33/game.

The format was 3 qualifying sessions. You could enter all 3 or pick and choose. I entered the first and bowled a 135, 156, 153 (543 handicap series) and finished 23rd of 47 so didn't make it. I also entered 11 brackets and won none. After the 1st session everybody sanded there balls down (was permitted in between sessions). Took my Kingpin to 500 (from 1000) and Conspiracy to 2000 (from 3000). Not much change but was able to hone in on a better line. I tried everything from the 5 board to 15 board (at the arrows). Started hitting the 12-13 board with a pretty straight line. At the 5 board the ball would go straight and hit the 7 pin. At the 10 board I could hit the pocket but if I hit the 9 board I'd take out the 7 pin.

2nd session rolled 219, 135, 166 (619 handicap series). Top 8 from each session made it into eliminations. I finished 7th in the 2nd session. Also entered 11 brackets and won one ($1 to enter each bracket and I won $8). Sat out the 3rd session to rest my knee and leg.

First round of eliminations had 14. Top 7 made it on and bottom 7 were out. I had a 165 scratch (198 handicap) and finished 7th for the last spot to move on. These were 1 game eliminations. 2nd round there were 8 byes that came in so now there were 15. 2nd round wasn't too good. Top 8 moved on and bottom 7 were out. Had a 125 (158 handicap). 186 was low to move on.

I heard quite a few were frustrated after the 1st session and left. I heard last month at this tournament they used THS and people complained scores were too high. They fixed that...lol. But hey, we were all on the same playing field.

So all in all I sucked and only made it in because of 1 good game but it was fun. I bowled 8 games and averaged 156.75 today on a very difficult pattern (my current league average is 179). There were 4 of us from our center and I was the only one that made it. I was happy how I held up physically through 8 games. The toughest was the 1st round of eliminations. There was only 2 of us on 2 lanes so it was a hectic pace. I was sweating like crazy today.

The lanes were tough. If you missed a board to the outside the ball went straight to the 7 (or 10 for righties). If you missed a board to the inside it went Brooklyn. Very tight line and many mentioned that. Top handicap scores were around 640's. There was 47 in the 1st session and 42 in the 2nd session. No idea how many were in the 3rd but most entered multiple so not sure how many total. Maybe 60-70? I made it until we got to the round of 15 so I'm happy with that.

https://i.postimg.cc/L5pjvN6T/2019-03-10-tournament.png (https://postimg.cc/FdTfHbSd)

[Blacksox1]

Thanks for sharing. 8 games and only 3 splits, nice. Maybe use urethane for spares, I believe you make 14 more spares if you do. Next time I think you finish higher.

[boatman37]

Thanks for sharing. 8 games and only 3 splits, nice. Maybe use urethane for spares, I believe you make 14 more spares if you do. Next time I think you finish higher.

Urethene might have been a good call but I don't have one...lol. Funny though, the first set I used my Rhino for 7 pins but the rest of the day used the Conspiracy. It was rolling as straight as my Rhino was.

The Kingpin seemed to be slightly better than the Conspiracy but not by much. And my experience and watching others today Brooklyns seemed to be the best shot. Accuracy really seemed to be the key today. There was very little room for error. Checked my stats and my more frequently left spare as the 1-3-6 (6 times). Probably 80% of my shots today were light.

[Amyers]

Not bad for a first sport shot tournament. It is an adjustment to make especially if your bowling that pattern for the first time. The sport shot patterns really make you understand how important spare shooting is.

[boatman37]

Not bad for a first sport shot tournament. It is an adjustment to make especially if your bowling that pattern for the first time. The sport shot patterns really make you understand how important spare shooting is.

Yeah and my spare shooting was horrendous. Such a tight line if you missed by a board either way you were screwed. I had to do a lot of thinking yesterday so hoping that will help my regular league bowling. Had to really focus yesterday and think about what I was doing. But after 8 games yesterday I'm a little sore today. Mainly my ring finger and a little on my thumb but legs are sore too.