My best/worst league game in a while.

[tumblebug1949]

Well, I started my Senior Winter League yesterday and did good/lousy. Let me explain. This is my second ever league bowling event. The last one was the Fall Senior League, just last fall with the same people as in this one.

I am definitely new at this so there are a lot of things I don't understand but lets go into my games first. I went in with a 131 (no snickering) average. If you think 131 is bad, that was at the end of 12 weeks and I was getting better the entire time.

We are on three man teams and last fall, I joined an existing team that needed a player and was made up of two older brothers. I might say it was a good place to start. Last week, I got a call from the league secretary that one of the brothers had gotten shoulder surgery and so we were looking for a new team member for the Winter league coming up. Me being brand new or close myself, I told her I didn't know of anyone that could join.

Went to the first league day and found out that since the one brother couldn't bowl, the other brother wasn't going to bowl either. Well, there I was with no team. I was asked to sub for a team and after excepting, immediately offered my condolences because of my extremely poor ability to get pins to fall over. I did tell them that with my 131 average, I would have a decent handicap though. They informed me that this was a new league and we all started from scratch. Then, their missing team member arrived and I was back on the streets you might say.

A second team was short a member and asked if I would join them. (God Bless Them).

Turned out to be a guy and gal that are good friends that I golf with every Wednesday during the summer. Their other team member went to Florida for the winter and so I was asked to be a permanent member. I quickly accepted and life was good.

We bowled and had a great time but lost all three rounds and of course the overall to boot. I was carrying a 131 average and bowled a 131, 174 and 143. I was happy but did find out that we were all starting from scratch.

I am not sure what the purpose of even having a handicap is if you are going to start from scratch each time. Since my team is made up of great people and not great bowlers, since we were bowling from scratch, we might as well sent the other team a "Happy You Won" card from the house and saved the trip.

Still, I have a good team made up of good friends and enjoyed the bowling.

It got really hard to stand up after a while. All the good bowlers were sandbagging so much there was sand everywhere. The 200 bowlers were just bowling a couple of pins over the 140 bowler opponents. That way, they would start with a low average since we were starting from scratch. They could make it to where a bowler trying to do his best would have little or no chance of beating them later when they were bowling their true game.

I don't understand why they start over and don't use their average since it is the same teams as in the fall. I am not sure why we send 15 dollars to USBC when we could keep our averages on a 50 cent calculator. It also took them nine weeks to send a membership card. There has to be a reason but I can't see what we get from paying that fee.

Anyway, I enjoy the game and have a good team. Not sure what happens next fall when the prior team member isn't in Florida. I may be homeless again.

I don't mean to be too critical of the USBC because I don't know much about them. Maybe you could tell me what the fee is for.

[bdpeters]

I appreciate you telling this story. reason being is that I am thinking about joining a league. It will be interesting to hear what other members take on your situation is.

Bri

[tumblebug1949]

Well, it probably sounds like I am just complaining and I guess I am a little. Just got out of bed on the wrong side I guess.

I learned a long time ago that I wasn't going to be a super star in any sport. I also learned it is the little things i life that are the most enjoyable. Me rolling a better game that the one before is very satisfying. Me just doing the best I can each time is something my mom taught me a long time ago and a person can get a great amount of pleasure just from that. I will leave the sandbagging to those that are more worried about winning a friendly game than just doing their best all the time. Our prizes are setup to go the everyone. Not just the winning bowlers.

I will be interested in the comments also. I might get slapped around a little but at 62 with 23years in the military and 18 years as a federal cop, it won't bother me too much.

[littlelegs]

Thankfully we get very few if any sandbaggers in the couple of leagues I play in. Handicaps do start from scratch though each season which I'm presuming is what happened with yours?

As for the USBC. They provide consistency with many of the rules across leagues, the ability to bowl in tournaments by having a certified handicap, various member services and discounts via their site, an informative and often instructional newsletter, consistency and quality of bowling equipment, some excellent training for a reasonable price and a bag full of magnets and badges each season for achievements (included in your fee). I've probably missed other stuff too, but I've always figured the fee is fairly modest all things considered. That said they are VERY slow with cards, especially so this season although they have posted an apology for that.

[littlelegs]

Oh and I love watching bowl TV which covers many events you wouldn't otherwise see and is produced by the USBC.

[got_a_300]

I guess it all depends on the league rules about how the handicap works out a couple of our leagues
uses last years averages and handicap for the first 3 weeks of bowling I believe it is. That way you
do not have anyone sandbagging to try and get a higher handicap and after the 3 weeks are up then
you use your then current average.

Of coarse for someone like myself that didn't bowl last year and already have a average and handicap
established I have to establish my average and handicap from scratch. So for someone like myself just
getting back started bowling again sandbagging could be an option or as my teammate calls it handicap
management. I personally do not believe in sandbagging as I always want to do my best at bowling but
the bowlers that remembered me from my old days of bowling swore up and down I was sandbagging
when I first started back this year but like I told them what can you expect after a 12 year layoff from
bowling and not throwing a ball in that time frame.

[littlelegs]

Unfortunately I tend to be a sort of anti-sandbagger. I can't not try 100% (even if it doesn't always look like it) and the last 3 leagues, the first 3 games have seen some of my highest scoring. This makes the next 8 or so weeks tough until the scoring 'settles down' :p

[J Anderson]

Hi Tom, in addition to the benefits mentioned by Tony, USBC membership entitles you to discounts at a number of national companies. USBC will also bond the League officers, meaning if the treasurer gets mugged somewhere between the bowling center and the bank USBC will reimburse the league for the amount stolen.
Also, US Bowler, the newsletter/magazine, is only published on line now.

About the handicaps, most new leagues make everyone establish an average. Established leagues will generally use last years average for the first 3 or 4 weeks.

[tumblebug1949]

Hi Guys,

My league which is a mixed senior league has two league sessions a year. Fall - 12 week and Winter -12 week. Each session is the same people on the same teams at the same lanes and it is more for exercise and enjoyment than competition to most.

For what ever reason, they start new each time and nothing counts from any other session. I don't think I will ever understand why but it isn't that big a deal. I, because of practicing between fall league and this one have brought my handicap from 131 to 145. I was a little erratic but I like the increase because it indicates my practice did some good. I also say a five string turkey on the board that really looked good.

I do know the USBC bonds the secretary/treasurer and that is important.

Anyway, I am over the frustration and back bowling for enjoyment and having good friends on the team is a bonus.

Good Bowling

[littlelegs]

I'm with you on the enjoyment thing. I bowl in leagues for a few reasons. I enjoy competing, so get a chance every week but if we have a bad week it really doesn't really matter, as it has still (usually - can depend who we're bowling) been fun and we have next week to do better. It also gives me access to various USBC sanctified tournaments which I enjoy competing in (managed a poor 5th in the handicap standings in the last one. 5th was OK but poor because I could have done so much better)

[Grimthrow]

Excuse my french, but I figure if I'm going to be here for the long haul, everyone you will hear my french a lot.

Handicaps are for pussies, and so is sandbagging. I feel sorry for anyone that has to deal with them.

[vgw]

You comment is not appropriate at all. With that kind of attitude, I doubt you will provide much help to Bowling Boards.

[Grimthrow]

With that kind of assumption I'd say you really don't know much about me at all. Pete Weber has a far worse mouth then I do and there's NO WAY he could help out a bowler. :rolleyes:

Facts are I'm a hardcore competitor and researcher. I may have just gotten into bowling but what I bring in to the sport and this forum is intensity. Sounds a little stupid I know, but I'm just trying to show you what kind of a poster I'll be. If you don't like it I'm sure their might be a "block" me button.

[J Anderson]

Handicaps are large part of bowling and they aren't going away. Personally I think that if you're bowling for money, as most leagues seem to be run these days you should bowl scratch. Handicaps should be for social leagues.

As for Pete Weber, with thirty-some years as a pro, I certain he could help another bowler. Whether he would or not is a different question.

[Grimthrow]

Yeah the Pete Weber thing was just sarcasm on my part. Of course he could help another bowler, I just thought it was silly that because I said something a little risquè that the other poster figures I wouldn't bring anything to these forums. Give me a break.

He'll be happy to know I got a warning though :p

[littlelegs]

Handicaps are large part of bowling and they aren't going away. Personally I think that if you're bowling for money, as most leagues seem to be run these days you should bowl scratch. Handicaps should be for social leagues.

The prize money for handicap leagues seems odd to me but many seem to like it. I've been on the 'committee' a couple of times now to decide the prize distribution. Without fail the format that wins has the smallest difference between first and last which in my mind negates the object a little. I always tend to vote for one of the higher differences and invariably find few voting with me. That said handicap placement is a bit of a crap shoot I suppose.

I tend to look on it as a piggy bank to get some money back end of season for a new ball or somesuch. For more serious (but still low stakes) competitive bowling there's always the scratch eliminator and blind doubles that are run each night :)

[littlelegs]

Oh and...back to the original subject of best/worst league game, I bowled my worst ever last night. 2nd game I missed a couple of easy spares at the start and suddenly started to over-think and second guess every shot to continue missing everything. This carried on for the whole game until finally I managed to sit down between games and laugh about it (as opposed to getting pissed during the game) and reset my mindset. The 3rd was much better. I won't post the score as it was truly embarrassing :p

[billf]

Each league has it's own rules regarding establishing averages. At the next league meeting ask about changing the rules to using the last established league average. I bowl in three leagues. I practiced real seriously all summer. Found out when I was 40 pins over last year's average that my Saturday night league doesn't even look at last season's averages. I suppose being the league President I should have remembered that but that's besides the point. My other two leagues are a bit more serious and they start with the average we finished the previous season with.
As for sandbagging....I did that once a few years back. Karma has got even as I haven't been able to reach the average I had before my head got so big.