getting back into bowling after 20 years

[threeripmin]

hello, bowling people on the internets! this is my first bowling post ever.

let me start by saying that this game has change a lot since 87. there was only a hand full of true 200 average bowlers in san diego at that time. i was lucky enough to become best friends with a pro that owned the pro shop where i bowled and he happened to be about the best bowler in san diego. i was 12 and he was 22 and it was the coolest thing ever to me. i quit bowling at 15 and now im kicking myself! i was averaging 196 in a travel league and was by far the youngest bowler in the league. there was no good junior program and i got kicked out because i bowled for money, i was an adult bowler at age 14.


im 36 now so its been about 21 years since my last league and i have bowled less than 15 times through out the years, 3 of those came from last week. lol now ive got the bug again and ordered a new ball yesterday so ill have it drill up today. i cant wait, im throwing a 22 year old 16lbs yellow dot. im getting a new 15 lbs reign and im hoping to be in for a treat! i also ordered a pair of black linds because my old ones are 3 sizes too small.lol

anyways, thats about all for now. ill let you know how the new ball works out. cool site you guys have here and i hope to start posting more.

3

[DanielMareina]

Welcome to Bowling Boards and back to the sport of bowling! Everything about the sport from lane conditions to bowling ball technology is different, so be prepared to have a lot of learning to do. The Reign is a wonderful ball! You will like it when you get the hang of it. Best of luck to you in your bowling!

[mrbill]

Welcome to the Bowling Boards threeripman.
Sounds like me last year when I came back to bowling after a very long time away.
I think I will be bowling for a long time to come, Hope to see ya there =)

[threeripmin]

thanks, guys. im just waiting for the guy at the pro shop to call me when my ball gets there. im dying here!lol

[randwool]

Let us know how that new ball works for you. Glad to see you stopped by.

[threeripmin]

well, i went to get my ball and the dude had ordered me the wrong ball. he ordered me a 15 lbs reign of fire and i bought it anyways because i was thinking about either one. i dont think the reign would have hooked enough for me on the lanes im bowling on after throwing the reign of fire.

i have a lot to work on. its a lot harder on my mind and body then i thought it was going to be.lol my release is not what it used to be. my ring finger is killing but it was killing me from my old ball. my new balls ring finger it way too tight and im going to have it opened up or replace the grip today.

i think ill get a mongoose to try and work out my release problems.

[Stormed1]

Welcome to the "family". One of the things that has changes drastically is if there is NOT enough oil for your ball it will not hook because it burned off it's energy too quick. The Reign of Fire is a very aggressive ball so you may want to have the pro shop person watch you throw it to make sure it's not burning up. If it is they can adjust the surface to help it store more energy

[threeripmin]

thanks, stormed1. the reign of fire is going to be fine for where i bowl. i shot 6 games yesterday with it fitting like crap, and averaged 190 which im not proud of but i cant cry about it either. i dont get any roll out if thats what youre talking about. i plan on getting a ball for dryer lanes soon, maybe the reign. im going bowling tomorrow, ill post my scores when i get home.

[threeripmin]

i think my span is too long on my new ball and thats why im having a problem releasing it. im going to take it in and have a thumb slug put in to shorten my span if thats possible. im just not sure if it will be enough. im going to be pissed if it has to be plugged.

i pretty much worked in a pro shop when i was 12-15 and my buddy would measure your hand in a much better way than this dude. i dont know if i was holding the ball wrong when he did my span or wtf happened but its too long. i think you should just put your hand in the thumb hole with a relaxed hand and read where your span should be on the measuring ball. maybe im wrong but my span is too long.

[DanielMareina]

I use a device that you insert your thumb into and then it is basically a curved ruler. It is very accurate. Most pro shop guys aim to have your span a little short, because most people aren't bothered by it being a little short. Unless he messed up bad, putting in a large thumb slug should be able to shorten it about an 1/8 of an inch. Good luck!

[threeripmin]

i think its off by more than an 1/8. im going to take it to another pro shop real fast and see what they say.

[DanielMareina]

If they say that the span is too long to fix with a slug, depending on the core, I would suggest moving the fingers instead of the thumb. Thumb holes are deeper and in a lot of balls, will hit the core. If you have to plug it and redrill it, you hit the core a second time. Fingers usually don't go deep enough to hit the core, and if they do it isn't too deep into it. Just a suggestion. Once again, GOOD LUCK!

[threeripmin]

well, at least now i have a ball that fits my hand nicely. i took it to another pro shop and he put in 2 thumb slugs and was able to shorten my span. it feels so much better, i cant wait to bowl tomorrow!

i left my old ball to plug the thumb hole to make it the same as my new ball. this guy seem to know what he is talking about unlike the other guy. i also bought a mongoose for 45 bucks, other places sell it for 59.

now i can stop bitching about how my ball fits, my wife will be happy.lol

[threeripmin]

i didnt see your post before i posted, daniel. i hope it didnt go into the core and we didnt talk about it. lol maybe my ball is going to be screwed now? lets hope not. im sure your going to tell me that the double slug is a bad idea. lol

[DanielMareina]

First of all, the average person wouldn't notice the difference of the core being drilled into twice. Not a big deal, but I don't recommend drilling into a core more than necessary. I have drilled a ball 4 seperate places and had it be fine, and have drilled a ball 2 times and had it roll funny. Mostly the high performance balls with the large cores are the ones that you would see a change (Invasion, cell, shift, etc.) As for the double slug............I personally am not a fan, but it isn't bad either. It is a quick way to solve the problem, but I wouldn't have recommended it. Although, I would trust a pro shop guy that would know how to do the double slug more than the last guy. Missing a person's span by 1/8 is easy to do if you are careless. Any more than that and you are just bad at what you do. I hope he doesn't keep that job long. I will give him a good recommendation in Oregon to any of my competitors though :)

[threeripmin]

well, the ball feels great! i havent had a ball that fits my hand in 20 years and its really nice to have one again. i only averaged 189 for 4 games but im throwing the ball much better. now i just need to figure out how to line myself up.lol im going bowling again tonight at an0ther bowling alley that i hear is a lot drier and all i have is a reign of fire and a 23 year old yellow dot that i just got the thumb hole plugged and drilled to match my other ball.

my new linds just came in and im very happy to not have to rent shoes ever again.lol

[threeripmin]

went bowling again yesterday, this was the first time in over 20 years that i had a lane to myself and it felt great. after 2 games trying to get lined up i went 206 169 215 238. i filmed the last game and a half and im pretty happy with what i see. the reign of fire is too much ball for these dry lanes, i left a lot of ringing ten pins and im sure its from coming in at such a sharp angle. luckily im a pretty good spare shooter and the last two games i had no open frames.

bowling with my new ball with the long span took a little out of me but now im back and more pumped to bowl than ever! now i just need to figure out what i should buy for an all around ball.

[DanielMareina]

If you want a good utility ball, I would recommend the Storm Hy-Road. It is the only ball I have ever owned two of. It has a hybrid coverstock, so it reads the mid lane but gets through the heads clean. It has a fairly small weight block, so it isn't a sharp reaction, but it is plenty of ball to carry. I have one of mine drilled with a 5" pin and it has a very smooth reaction and can be used on dry or oily lanes. My other one is a 3 3/8" pin, which is a high flare layout. It is much cleaner through the heads with a small amount of mid lane read and a beautiful reaction down lane. Norm Duke won 3 majors in a row with that ball. It is loved by everyone I know that owns one, and I even sold and drilled one for my own Dad. And I sold my grandpa the T Road solid, which is the same core, but the matte finish coverstock. Just a suggestion. Glad to hear that your ball is working out for you though! The Reign of fire is a great ball. I have had mine for a month and a half or so and have a sanctioned 718,736,and a 750 with it.

[threeripmin]

thanks, daniel, ive been thinking about the hy-road. looks like a good ball.

my main problem im running into now is reading the lanes and just getting lined up from the start. when i bowled i had the best bowler in san diego telling me where to throw the ball and now im pretty lost. i mean i know how to do everything its just that its coming back real slowly. i think it would be best if i took a lesson from a good bowler but finding a good coach isnt going to be easy. there is a guy close by that gives lessons and i guess he is good friends with bill hall and teaches his style or something, do you know about him? the guy owns the pro shop at pinole valley lanes. http://home.comcast.net/~pinolevalleyproshop/site/?/page/Staff/&PHPSESSID=541d2b691109c487ef876cb930ef1d88

[DanielMareina]

I don't know Al, but he has quite the impressive Bio. I would say that he would be a good person to start with. Coaches are tough, mostly because you need to find a coach that doesn't want to teach you how to bowl the way they do. A good coach will improve your bowling without trying to make you change everything about your current style. For most begginers, there is a lot of things that need changing, but there is not only one way to bowl. The coach you asked about has been around long enough that he should be a great source of information and tips. Hopefully he doesn't charge an arm and a leg!
As for reading the lanes, it is a challenge for lots of people. The key is to not force the shot you want to throw. Lots of people get stuck saying " I stood at the 20 board and threw up ten and it just wouldn't work". Different conditions call for very different angles. There was a great article in US bowler magazine (pretty sure) that talked about throwing 8 different shots and you could find your mark. I can't find it online for you, but maybe someone will read this and have the link. Basically, you need to find out where your ball is reacting and how much. If it reacts too soon on the lane, you need to move your mark and feet to find more oil. If it reacts too much in the back end, you need to move your feet to change the angle. And if you are lost, don't be afraid to make a big move and start over, because it is always better than trying to force a square peg through a round hole. I hope all that helps a little.

[threeripmin]

thanks, daniel! he is the guy that fixed my ball. he charges $40 an hour and it includes bowling which i dont think is too bad. i paid $20 an hour not including bowling 22 years ago. my wife is going to take a lesson for sure, starting from scratch. she doesnt want to learn from me.lol

reading the lanes is really just going to take some time and a lot of practice. i need to just bowl and not keep score, im not even sure if i can do that, ill ask next time.

[DanielMareina]

$40 an hour is a good price when it includes the bowling. I definately think it is a good idea. Even as a coach myself, I have a fellow coach watch me every once in awhile to make sure I am not doing something weird that I can't see or feel. Third party perspective does help a lot. Good luck with your lessons, and your wife's lessons too!

[threeripmin]

i thought 40 sounded fair. ill give him a shot and see what i think. im not worried about him trying to change the way i bowl, i think im pretty soild and just need a refresher lesson. im not looking to make any big changes in my game. im going to bowl a few more times before i take a lesson and see how i feel. im sure he will do a good job teaching my wife and if she is willing to buy a pair of linds without even having an approach yet then im sure 40 is just fine.lol


those are some sick scores that you posted, nice work! just straight up sick!

[DanielMareina]

Thank you very much! I worked from 7:30 am till 6:30 pm on the night that I bowled league and started league at 6:35. I didn't get a lot of practice throughout the week, and found it hard to get in the right mind set that quickly. My average dropped 5 pins from last year and 12 from practice during the summer! Now that my league is done, I have been practicing 4 to 5 days a week getting ready for nationals. I found my groove again and am ready. I bowl Sunday night and Monday morning in Reno, so hopefully all this work will translate to big scores. Last year I had a 706 in team event with a 277. I would like to improve on that if I can. And not bomb during doubles, that would be nice too :)

[threeripmin]

youre going to do great! plus all the karma messengers youre going to get for helping me out on the internet!lol ill be wishing you the best of luck!

talking with you on here really makes me wish i had a good bowler friend to bowl with and learn from. everytime i talk to my old buddy i tell him how much i regret quitting bowling and how cool it was that we became such good friends.(i was 12 he was 22 and owned the pro shop) he would take me with him when he bowled in the best league ever at kearny mesa bowl, it was open doubles. my buddy and jes stayrook would fight for high average and my buddy ended with the best at 224.(i could be wrong but thats how i remember it) i remember walking in every week feeling so proud of my bud.

anyways, it sound like youre putting in the work and you know its going to pay off.

[threeripmin]

went out and bowled without keeping score and im happy with how i did. i just threw strike balls and at one point i threw 7 in a row. it feels so good to just crush the pocket, i love it! the way these new balls turn over on the back end is awesome. i cant wait to buy the hy-road and see how it rolls. when i was leaving the manager came over and introduced himself and told me i throw a nice ball, that made my day!

[DanielMareina]

Well I am very glad to hear it! That is very cool of the manager to come talk to you. I bowled yesterday and averaged 224 for 5. I had six 10 pins left in the 2nd game alone. I only have one strike ball and one spare ball here though. I made my dad pack my stuff for nationals in his trunk since he is driving and I am flying. When you keep score next, I want to hear about some 250 games and 700 series' ;)

[threeripmin]

well, for the past 10 games ive averaged 211. yesterday i shot 201 213 205 257 and im very happy with how im coming along. the 257 i had an open in the first frame and then 8 in a row. only 4 open frames in 4 games and 3 were splits. its really crazy to me that i can quit bowling for over 20 years and within a month i can be bowling better than ever. lol i know i throw the ball a few mph faster, with more revs and a lot more control. i love this game!

daniel, i hope you did well at nationals.

[DanielMareina]

well, for the past 10 games ive averaged 211. yesterday i shot 201 213 205 257 and im very happy with how im coming along. the 257 i had an open in the first frame and then 8 in a row. only 4 open frames in 4 games and 3 were splits. its really crazy to me that i can quit bowling for over 20 years and within a month i can be bowling better than ever. lol i know i throw the ball a few mph faster, with more revs and a lot more control. i love this game!

daniel, i hope you did well at nationals.

I am very happy to hear that you bowled well! I knew you would have a 250 game in no time. As for me and nationals. I shot a 604 during team event. Singles didn't go as well and doubles was a catastrophe. They oil in the morning and we are the third squad on that oil! The pattern this year is almost all forward oil and I couldn't move left far enough. Not to mention my ring finger swelled up huge and I couldn't get it out of the ball. Needless to say, I am not happy with my performance, but my team event was just fine. I will have a full blog about my results at nationals up in a day or two.

[threeripmin]

thanks, daniel! i really thought it was going to be a much tougher struggle to get back to my peak. i guess its like riding a bike.

sorry to hear that you didnt do as well as you would have liked to at nationals, youll get um next year. maybe ill even be there. lol pretty lame about the oil, you would think that they would take better care of the lanes.

check out what i made for someone at the bowling alley to try to get league rates for the next 2 months. lol if you cant tell what it is its a bowling ball keychain made out of glass. im a glass blower when im not talking bowling. lol http://img442.imageshack.us/i/imga0297s.jpg/

[DanielMareina]

That is quite impressive! It looks just like a bowling ball. How do you put finger holes in glass? Won't keys and the contents of your pocket break the glass? Either way, it is very cool! Did you get the league rates?

[threeripmin]

thanks! its made of pyrex so its pretty strong. ive had a glass key chain for a few years now and they hold up pretty good. this is only the 2nd one i have made, the first went to my old bowling buddy. this ones loop isnt as thick as most of the loops i put on key chains but i like the way it looks a lot more. i can fix it if it breaks too. to make the holes i just heated up the area and pushed them with a metal rod. im a lamp worker which means i use a torch and glass rods or tubing. ill make one for you one of these days.

i havent asked about better rates yet but tomorrow im going bowling when its 1.25 a game and im going to say something. all id really like is one extra day a week to practice without paying full price. league starts in less than a month. what would you say?lol i also have no problem making them presents out of glass which would be worth 10x what bowling would cost me. i just cant pay full price for bowling, i used to bowl for free all the time.

[DanielMareina]

We give all kinds of discounts to different bowlers. If you are signed up to bowl their league, and tell them that financially you can't practice the extra day at full price, they would be stupid to not give you some kind of deal. It really doesn't cost us as a center to turn the lane on for you. We just don't want to discount bowling if you are going to come whether you are paying full price or not. If it is between having you come in and pay $6 for 3 games instead of $12, but if it costs $12 you won't come at all, it is a simple decision. Good luck!

[threeripmin]

i hear ya. just to be clear, i can afford to bowl as much as i want, i just refuse to pay full price. i dont think i have ever paid more than $3 a game and i think that is too much. where i bowl, league bowlers pay $1 a game, at least during the summer. if they give me $1 a game ill bowl an extra 20 games a week. either way im sure they will like the glass i bring them.

[URETHANEKID]

The Yellow dot was about the best ball ever made (especially if it was a bleeder), I just got one off eBay awhile back & I love it!, The Storm Reign is a pretty good ball too, threw it at a demo the other day and boy it snapped on the back end alot but if you throw that on heavy oil that ball will do wonders! Let us know how you did
--
Michael Gallagher

[Drano]

i hear ya. just to be clear, i can afford to bowl as much as i want, i just refuse to pay full price. i dont think i have ever paid more than $3 a game and i think that is too much. where i bowl, league bowlers pay $1 a game, at least during the summer. if they give me $1 a game ill bowl an extra 20 games a week. either way im sure they will like the glass i bring them.

At my center, it's normally $2.50/game, bowlers on one league get $1.50 a game, two leagues $1.00 a game, and 3+ leagues get free practice. I've been on 3 leagues ever since I found that out, haha

[DanielMareina]

During the summer an adult pays between $3-$4. League bowlers bowl for 50 cents per game. If they bowl 2 leagues, we offer them 5 free games per day. Summer business is hard to find in a bowling center, so I am sure that they will be glad to give you the deal. As for saying you aren't financially able to pay, I didn't mean that you wouldn't be able to. I was giving a hypothetical situation. Either way, they get the choice between no business or discounted business, there is an obvious choice.

[threeripmin]

The Yellow dot was about the best ball ever made (especially if it was a bleeder), I just got one off eBay awhile back & I love it!, The Storm Reign is a pretty good ball too, threw it at a demo the other day and boy it snapped on the back end alot but if you throw that on heavy oil that ball will do wonders! Let us know how you did
--
Michael Gallagher

im pretty sure that bleeders were from before my time, either real early 80's or late 70's. mine is a bonanza yellow dot which were like the cheap yellow dots made in the 80's. my buddy had one that he just loved.

i ordered a reign but the dumb dude ordered me a reign of fire and i bought it anyway. im very happy with it. luckily i throw the ball 18.5 and the house i bowl at is med to heavy oil.

[threeripmin]

During the summer an adult pays between $3-$4. League bowlers bowl for 50 cents per game. If they bowl 2 leagues, we offer them 5 free games per day. Summer business is hard to find in a bowling center, so I am sure that they will be glad to give you the deal. As for saying you aren't financially able to pay, I didn't mean that you wouldn't be able to. I was giving a hypothetical situation. Either way, they get the choice between no business or discounted business, there is an obvious choice.

i understand 100% what youre saying. im going to do some work and them go bowl at around 11. ill let you know how it goes. :)

[threeripmin]

i shot 202 207 202 217 182 223 which is an average of 205. at this point im happy with anything over 200. once i get my release up to par ill be hoping to be 220.

i talked to the manager when i was leaving and asked him about cheap rates and he kind of looked at me like wtf. lol then i told him i really just want one extra day of practice and that me and my wife are joining summer league for sure, he then told me to come talk to him on monday. lol then i asked him if there was anyone that could teach my wife how to bowl and he said that he would, so thats cool. ive been thinking that 40 an hour to teach someone the basics is too much.

[DanielMareina]

Personally, I give free lessons to league bowlers. Most centers won't do that, but the way I figure it, if you don't get better at bowling you quit. Beginners especially! If she just needs the basics, he should be able to give them to her in about 1/2 an hour. If you pay for an hour, the guy spends half the time watching and saying meaningless things to you as you learn things that take time to get used to. If she plans on getting her own ball, sometimes you can get some free lessons out of the pro shop guy by buying the ball if you mention it before hand. Then spend the $40 an hour to get her from the basics to a 130 average.

[threeripmin]

we think alike, daniel. she has her own ball(white dot) and a brand new pair of pink and white linds. i told him that id pay him but he seemed to wave it off so we'll see. he is a good bowler, i watched him in league a little, he is averaging 221.

right now im throwing my 15 lbs reign of fire for strikes and my 16 lbs yellow dot at spares, is this bad? last week i was using my reign of fire for most spares but the lanes were not so dry. my timing felt off today and i'm wondering if that could have something to do with it.

i'm thinking about getting a 15 lbs WD for spares anyways. i'm not really liking my thumb hole on either balls so i'm thinking about trying out the guy here at my local place, ill ask the manager about him and where he gets his balls drilled.

[DanielMareina]

I know a decent amount of people that throw a lighter spare ball to gain control. Not many use a heavier one. I think that it is better to have all your equipment weigh the same so it doesn't throw your timing off. If you don't feel comfortable with either thumb, get them fixed for sure. The thumb is very important. Personally, I recommend the Ice storm over the white dot ;) although for some reason they are both made in China. Anything polyester with bowling equipment is made there. I am not sure why they are the masters of polyester, but that is another conversation. As for your wife, I am glad that you found someone to give her some pointers for free. That is very nice of him! Make sure to let his manager know that he is going beyond the call of duty to please the customers. I always like to hear when one of my employees does things like that.

[threeripmin]

i just went bowling and im very happy with my scores. they didnt oil until the 5th frame of the first game and i was pretty lost for the rest of the game and some. so, the first game was a 158 which should just get thrown out. lol then i went 233 225 268 with an open in the 1st and ended with a 230.

i really hate that you dont get a few practice shots before you start keeping score. i really need to get a new spare ball, i missed a 10 pin because i hung up so bad then i missed a 4 pin spare(as in i left 4 pins) because i didnt want to hang up and used my strike ball and threw at it all wrong, full mental mistake.


the manager didnt get there until we were leaving so no lesson today, maybe on sunday.

[threeripmin]

sunday bowling, 242 233 264 247 with 5 opens, so sick.

[DanielMareina]

Holy crap! Very well done!!! I think you got it all figured out now. Congratulations and good luck keeping up with that average.

[threeripmin]

thanks. i had the first 5 in all 4 games and the first 7 in the 3rd game. im averaging 221 over the last 19 games and that includes a 158 game. i missed the easiest spares, it was unreal. i left 7 spares and only picked up 2, omg.

i bowled at another bowling alley the other day and shot 234 200. in my 3rd game i hung up in my ball at the foul line at full speed, that wasnt cool at all. im just glad i did throw out my back, it felt like i could have pulled something real bad but i feel pretty good today.

[threeripmin]

on thursday im going to bowl in some sort of pot game scratch league where they team 2 people together every game and you either win or lose money each game? these dudes told me that i can just walk in and bowl in it, i just have to get my usbc card.

[DanielMareina]

Well good luck with that! There are many different formats and many different sets of rules for pot games. Definately find out the rules and format ahead of time, but most are legit and quite a bit of fun. During the summer we have pot games after closing between my employees and our friends, and it is always a good time.

My brother has a finger that won't straighten fully because of hanging up the ball. He flew almost to the arrows and had the 15lb ball land on his finger while it was still in the ball. It tore his tenden and the physical therapist was bad at his job. It makes it very hard to drill his equipment for him! So be glad that you didn't end up like him!

[threeripmin]

that sucks about your brother. i feel like i dodged a bullet. my back isnt the best to start with and ive thrown it out before by doing nothing so i thought i was going to be messed up from it.

the pot game league thing is a HI low something. they match up the high average and the low average each game i guess. sounds fun and its worth a shot. if the guys that told me about it are like the average bowler over there then i dont think it will be too tough.

im bowling in a no tap tournament on saturday and i have to bowl scratch since i dont have any sort of book average. it should be fun though, im looking forward to it. it sure would suck to shoot 300 and lose to a 310. lol

[DanielMareina]

I once bowled in a no tap tournament that was doubles. My partner bowled terrible and I shot a 298,278,290 and not a single person asked me to bowl with them on either of the next two tournaments! I still don't understand to this day! Ever since then, I decided that no tap tournaments are for low average bowlers to feel good, not for great bowlers to be appreciated. LOL! I wish you the best of luck though!

[threeripmin]

maybe people just thought that you were out of their league?LOL maybe youre right, im just dying to bowl against anyone. if there are'nt a lot of good bowlers im not bowling in it.

i just ordered a new storm ice for spares and i found out that the guy that owns the pro shop right down the street is an old touring pro form the early 70's, i like that a lot! im going to be bugging him for stories.

[DanielMareina]

The Ice Storm is a great spare ball. You will like it! That is the one thing that all the pros do the same, throw straight spares. It has increased my spare shooting accuracy by a ton in the last year. I used to use a spare ball that didn't hook much, but would flatten out still. Once I went to a ball that goes perfectly straight, I feel tons more confident that I know exactly what it is going to do. I am sure you will be happy with it too!

[threeripmin]

im sure it will work out great. when i was a kid every saturday night at 6 there was a no tap tournament and then at 9 there was moonlight bowling. moonlight bowling was where they turned the lights off and put a few colored pins in each rack, if you got a strike with a colored head pin you got a dollar. you would get paid for all sorts of things, good bowlers could pretty much bowl for free. it was fun and its why i got kicked out of juniors. lol ive looked for things like it but all there is is this lame cosmic bowling crap.

[threeripmin]

well, the pot game league can only have 24 people and there was 24 people there today so i didnt get to bowl. they say that only 12 showed up last week. hopefully i can bowl next week. it looked really cool to me, there was a few older dudes that look like they were really good in their day. its 11 for the linage and 1 dollar a game for high game pot and 1 dollar a game for the hi low doubles. they draw for the doubles each game putting a high average with a low average.

[JAnderson]

Threeripmin – welcome back to the game. You’re absolutely right about the game and technology changing so much in 20 years. One of the challenges you may need to evaluate is the need to adjust to the lane vertically (front-to-back). Plastic and urethane (20 years ago) didn’t hook much, if at all, in the oil. Today’s reactive and proactive equipment with cores that allow the ball to flare, hook in the oil much more than the plastic and urethane of days gone by. Today, it isn’t always a question if the ball hooked enough, but did it hook early enough? Too early?

Couple of things to note from some previous posts – please remember the lurkers!

The UBBC Open Championships (aka "nationals") is as about as fair as it gets as far as lane conditions. They do an excellent job at maintaining the lanes, but the pattern is challenging. It’s in Reno this year. Why they chose to reduce the reverse oil so much on a surface that typically hooks more than the other venues is a bit odd, but nationals at the stadium is nationals at the stadium. Everyone that enters is bowling on the same thing.

A “small” core does not necessary equate to a tame backend reaction any more than a “large” core equates to a sharp backend reaction. Cover stock composition and preparation (all other things being equal) will have a bigger influence on ball reaction than core shape. The Hy-Road is a great piece which is why Storm brought it back 10-years after its first inception with a new cover stock. It’s the cover-core combination that makes the ball a generally reliable “control” piece.


Personally, I give free lessons to league bowlers.

Absolutely awesome. Hour versus half-hour lessons really depends on the student’s ability to focus on a single thing. Many student’s will get bored working on one thing for more than 30 minutes. Heck, many of them get bored after 10 minutes! Half-hour lessons aren’t bad at all.

[threeripmin]

thanks, jay!

my wife bought me a new ball the other day. i got the reign and im hoping it will work well with my reign of fire. so i now have 3 new balls but im still working on getting the right fit. today ill throw the reign for the 3rd time but the other two times i dont really count. im going to try and bowl in the pot game league again today and its at an amf house.

i threw my reign for the 1st time in the no tap tournament and it was a big mistake, shot 223 230 then switched to the reign of fire and shot 277 194. its not too bad for the first time bowling with good bowlers in 23 years.

[DanielMareina]

Those aren't bad scores at all. Especially since you are just getting used to new equipment. Just as an aside, you are much better off starting off with your Reign of Fire and then going to your Reign. I love my Reign, but it has a little over/under problem on fresh oil. I usually wait atleast till half way through game 2 to throw it. Once a little oil gets pushed down the lane, the Reign is awesome! Good luck in your pot game tonight!

[threeripmin]

ive been thinking the same thing, daniel. im still trying to work out my span problem. this new guy drilling my stuff thinks that my reign of fire is drilled like a simi finger tip and has my span a little longer in my reign and spare ball. i really like the feel of my new reign so im going to give it a shot today. if it works out im going to change my fire to match it. i think this is one of the reasons ive stayed out of bowling, i knew i was going to have these problems getting a good ball and that it would cost a lot of money. its all going to be worth it in the long run and like ive said im having fun doing it all.

some dude bowled 900 with the reign of fire the other day.

[threeripmin]

bowled in league for the first time yesterday and averaged 193. i was a bit nervous and missed a few early easy spares. i plan on doing much better next week. it was fun and everyone was very cool to me.

[DanielMareina]

Glad to hear you had a good time! It is tough to focus when you are in a new environment. I am sure you will do better next time! Did the guy shoot a sanctioned 900 or in practice?

[threeripmin]

i had just read about the 900 the other day. i didnt mean i saw it or that it was around here.

i just shot 645 and i bowled 624 last night with my reign(practice). it doesnt turn over nearly as much as my reign of fire but its still a really nice ball. im getting my thumb hole redone on my reign of fire for the 3rd time, ill get it back tomorrow.

[StriKING]

Hey there threeripmin. We've got a couple of things in common. I'm back to the sport after 30+ years and I also picked up a new Storm ball recently (end of April). I got the Virtual Energy. Best $200 I've spent. The ball is awesome. I've done some of my best bowling in the last couple of weeks. Sorry to hear about your drilling/fitting issues. I was very fortunate I guess. My house pro does an excellent job with the layout & fitting. Hope that all gets worked out for you. Best of luck and I hope you're having as good a time as I am bowling again! :D

[threeripmin]

thanks, striking! ive done some of the best bowling of my life too, its crazy and so much fun. the funny thing is that my house pro is awesome too but i was dumb and went to two other places first. now i have 3 balls that fit my hand like a glove.

i was having problems with my new reign not hooking but after about 10 games the thing started breaking nicely. i have heard that they have a break in period but this was crazy. i went out on sunday and averaged 228 for 6 games. i had bowled with it in my league and averaged only 193 a few days before when it wasnt hooking so im hoping to do better in league this week.

[threeripmin]

well, i ended up my first summer league at 214. in sweepers last night i shot 744 and only got 3rd for 75 bucks. im very happy with how i bowled. i had 3 700's and a 699 but i also had 3 weeks under 600.

next week i start in a 800 scratch league and im bowling with some really good bowlers. it should be fun and im really looking forward to bowling with better bowlers.

i cant tell you how glad i am that i started bowling again.

[gparks]

good progress! i to took a long break(14yrs). and glad to be back.

i've been back about 2 yrs and having good/bad nights.thing for me is not getting much practice as of late(been a hella summer@ work).hope this fall/winter will bring me some extra frames.

something that helped me out was rolling in the pba experiance league this summer,if you have one in your area i'd look into it.it's amazing that the pros roll like they do on these patterns!!

good luck and keep rolling!