My Grand Experiment

[Mike White]

My "Past Life"...

My bowling experience ranged from 1973 to 1992. Ages 12 to 31.
I bowled 10 years in Junior Leagues with my average climbing from I think 106 to 175.
The final 10 years in Adult Leagues my average climbed from 190 to 210.

My high scores:
Sept 1989 [278 268 245 791] 245 included a 2-4-10 which I converted, then back to back solid 8, and solid 9 to eliminate the 800 possibility.
Jan 1990 [166 300 210 676] 300 was 12 quality shots.
Mar 1990 [227 245 299 771] I had 77 in the 5th frame the 1st game (completely lost) and made a huge adjustment.
Apr 1990 [178 279 289 746] This was in a most pins over average competition so I figured I was toast after the 178 game.

As you can tell by the dates these were shot on conditions probably not seen anymore.

When the reactive balls appeared I tried to use them but for me they were uncontrollable,
and trying to make adjustments had a detrimental effect on my timing.
Bottom line is I gave up the game.

Fast forward 20 years and I got the itch again. Age 51.

My "Current" Life

High Scores:
Zip - Nada - Zilch.

Today I went down to the local pro shop and purchased a ball, shoes and a bag.

The ball of choice was a Columbia White Dot. My thought process was I'll start with a "cheap" ball that will ultimately be a spare ball.

The shoes I chose were not available in my size today so I'll wait until Friday actually begin the experiment.

I need to retrain my body how to get from the approach to the foul line.

I figure my first task is to be able to roll the ball with something resembling balance, then be able to convert spares.

Once I've got that under control I'll consider another ball for striking.

Clearly I'm going to have 1001 questions about how to play todays version of this game.

Wish me luck on my grand experiment.

[TheSheibs]

In my opinion, with today's balls being able to do what they can. The hard thing is consistency. I would advise that you study the various oil patterns, the oil conditions your ball performs the best on, and also work on getting comfortable with the style you use. Figuring ut the oil conditions on the lane will help you know how to adjust to them. And don't forget,vpractice makes perfect. Welcome back to the sport and good luck.

[J Anderson]

Welcome back. As my high school chemistry teacher used to say " There are no dumb questions before the test". So go ahead and ask away, although you might want look through some of the old threads out here to see if they've already been answered.

[The German Shepherd]

Welcome back! I restarted my journey in a similar manner this past winter. Best of luck to you!

Jay

[ursus]

Welcome Mike!! Lots of knowlegeble people on here, helped me a lot

[billf]

Welcome back to the sport and wish you well with your endeavor

[martinezsam2495]

Amazing, you had such amazing scores, from what I heard, bowling wasn't as easy as it was back then. You could probably still tear up the lanes!
Good luck!

[Mike White]

Amazing, you had such amazing scores, from what I heard, bowling wasn't as easy as it was back then. You could probably still tear up the lanes!
Good luck!

First off, I think I know what you mean, but lets go with what you typed.

"bowling wasn't as easy as it was back then"

Whoever told you that, LIED!!! :)

As for still tearing up the lanes... it helped that I had a 30 year old body back then.
Now the body is not only older, but there is more of it.

My goal used to be to average my age plus my weight. At 150 lbs and 30 years that wasn't too much of a challenge.

According to my BMI calculator I need to get down to 169 lbs. So I'll have to increase my average to 220, and lose about 30 lbs.

I was reminded of another bowling "achievement" from my past life.

I once took the 6-9 only out of a full rack, then showed consistency by going through the hole again on my second ball.

[billf]

Age plus weight? Ouch! Let's see 43 years old, 210lbs. I wish I averaged 253!

[billf]

I didn't bowl back then so I can't say with any certainty but I think it was just different. You had to get more lift and be more accurate but at the same time speed and rotation were more important. Today there are crankers who throw harder than heck with a ton of revs at a general area.

[The German Shepherd]

Age plus weight puts me in the range of impossibility...though my Atkins plan is working well.

I did bowl "back then" and I can tell you that there was no such thing as throwing at a general area. An easy shot in the 70's might give you a couple boards of play area and there was a premium on getting two types of roll on your shot - arm roll then finger roll. The shot we call a Typical House Shot (THS) would have been considered to be an illegally blocked pattern that would certainly get any honor scores thrown on them to be disallowed. I bowled an 856 (300-277-279) on an oil pattern that was nowhere near the 5:1 THS we have today and there was oil from gutter to gutter that night as well. Still, my scores were thrown out, and that was the third highest score in the US that year at the time I threw it ...

Jay


I didn't bowl back then so I can't say with any certainty but I think it was just different. You had to get more lift and be more accurate but at the same time speed and rotation were more important. Today there are crankers who throw harder than heck with a ton of revs at a general area.

[Mike White]

bowling wasn't as easy as it was back then.

I think you mean bowling wasn't as easy as it is now.

The way you quoted what you heard would be an obvious contradiction which is why I called it a lie.
I make that same kind of typing mistake so I thought it was funny.

[martinezsam2495]

I think you mean bowling wasn't as easy as it is now.

The way you quoted what you heard would be an obvious contradiction which is why I called it a lie.
I make that same kind of typing mistake so I thought it was funny.

yeah that's what I meant,
:x
"Bowling wasn't as easy as it is now".
you guys knew what I meant,

[Mike White]

I didn't bowl back then so I can't say with any certainty but I think it was just different. You had to get more lift and be more accurate but at the same time speed and rotation were more important. Today there are crankers who throw harder than heck with a ton of revs at a general area.

You used to have to match things to get the ball to hook.

Too much speed compared to revolutions and the ball would slide too long.
Too much revolutions compared to speed and the ball would slide too long.

What you now call axis tilt and axis rotation were other things that needed to match the speed / revolutions for the ball to hook.

Think of it as a car tire on ice, too much power, no traction, too much braking and you skid.

In my case it was more like a bald tire. Not much traction unless you matched it well.

The lanes I played on usually had plenty of swing area, but not much hold area.

When the reactive balls arrived I had a hard time keeping one of those balls on the right side of the lane.
Meanwhile people who used to frequently leave buckets were carrying half pocket hits.

I first tried to flatten out my release to approximate the "bucket leavers" but I found no consistency throwing at 25% "power".
In hind site I probably should have stayed with what I was used to and take my artificial beatings.

[ursus]

Age plus weight? Ouch! Let's see 43 years old, 210lbs. I wish I averaged 253!

One year youger and the same weight. I have a long way to go. Not sure what is more imossible getting my weight down to match my average or getting my average up to match my weight

[GeorgiaStroker]

Age plus weight? Is it possible to average over 300? :confused:

[billf]

Age plus weight? Is it possible to average over 300? :confused:

Maybe for a week or two with handicap lol

When I left the service I was in a wheelchair or crutches for a few months. Combine that with the first time I ever ate anything with sugar, pizza, etc my weight went from a seriously muscular 268 to a flabby 315. My pants went from a 32 waist to a 42 waist. You all can guess what that did to my blood pressure. Not being able to work out or even walk at that point, I went on the Atkins diet. In about 10 weeks I was down to 240 and had energy to spare. It made rehab after the knee surgeries a breeze. When I got hurt Nov 2010 my weight went back up to 260. Started to just eat only when I was hungry and not just because it was "time" and only allowed to bowl for exercise I'm down to 210. My blood pressure is perfect and so are all the other things those blood tests check.

[backahead]

I'd like to also chime in on the postives of the Atkins diet. I dropped 40 lbs in less than 6mos. It is not that hard and you can eat as much as you want, so long as it's not bread, rice, potatoes and sugar! No beer either :( After a while, liquor with diet soda is okay. Getting used to massive amounts of vegetables took some getting used to but I'm comparing that to never eating any vegetables. There are substitutes for everything you like. Never imagined I'd eat cauliflower, but I like it now. Make sure you get the book, don't listen to me.

[panbanger]

Back in 2002 I went on the Atkins diet. I weighed 260lbs when I began and 10 months later weighed 175. Over the years since I've gained waaaaay too much of it back - carbs and me just dont get along. I started it up again a little over a month ago and have dropped about 8-10 lbs so far. The weight seems to be coming off slower this time around though. I guess a diet at 32 and a diet at 42 are two very different things lol

[Mike White]

535

This is a picture of the former me. Taken back in early 90's. If you are very observant you can see why the bowling center no longer exists.

[J Anderson]

535

This is a picture of the former me. Taken back in early 90's. If you are very observant you can see why the bowling center no longer exists.

I don't know, to my eye it looks like 8 of the ten lanes in the picture are in use, and the others could be.

[panbanger]

I don't see any lights for "cosmic bowling" and it may just be cropped out but I dont see any electronic scoring monitors. Is that why it closed?

[Mike White]

I think the center had closed before "cosmic" became common.

I guess it's hard to see on the pic I sent, but I'm on lane 53, of a 60 lane center that didn't have auto scoring.
They decided it was more reasonable to close the center than retrofit all 60 lanes.

[Mike White]

Well my experiment has officially started. I went bowling this afternoon and I learned a few things.

I have a long road back.

I felt like the guy in the video here teaching a "5" step approach.

I would slide/stick so far back from the foul line even with another whole step to catch my self, I wouldn't foul.

The only good thing I found was no matter how crappy my approach was, if I kinda got the ball headed in slightly the right direction I had a better than 50% chance of striking.

My first game was 160, that was with 70 in the 7th frame.
My timing was so bad, I could look at the 8 board, and hit 20. No those tended not to carry... anything.
When I finally got my body to let the ball go between 15 and 5, I threw the last 5 in a row.

2nd game was better, a 6 bagger gave me a score of 221.

And somewhere near the beginning of the 3rd game my tank was empty for a whopping 137 game.

All things considered, I threw a total of 0 shots that felt correct.

[billf]

When you were done, did you clean up the pile of rust you left on the approach?

[Mike White]

I woke up this morning and every muscle in my body is screaming... "What the hell did you do to us?"

[got_a_300]

I woke up this morning and every muscle in my body is screaming... "What the hell did you do to us?"

LOL!!!!!! I know what you mean that is the way I start everyday
myself and it's especially bad if I go bowling the night before as
they really scream out at me twice as bad.

[Mike White]

536

Looks like there is a slight hiccup in my path.

I don't think the slide/stick problem I mentioned above is completely my fault.

The shoes I selected are Dexter Pro Am II.
I chose them because the non-sliding shoe looked like it would have great traction.
Unfortunately the sliding shoe was not on display.

The picture is the bottom of the shoes I used for 3 games.

Notice the black area at the front of the sliding shoe.
That is the same material that the heel is made of and
when it makes contact with the approach, it's not going to slide.

So if/when my timing is off and I put too much weight forward,
the shoe will stick and instantly stop.
Not what you want to happen when you are already leaning too far forward.

I'm planning on calling Dexter on Monday and see what can be done.

[The German Shepherd]

This sounds agonizingly familiar. I started getting back into the game last October and I STILL fight my mechanics, though sometimes its worse than others. I was also surprised at how sore I was after a few games. You WILL get through this. Keep at it...

Jay

[Mike White]

I called Dexter and talked to some low level person who didn't seem to know their return policy because she said she would have to communicate with management about the situation and get back to me.

If I read the policy correctly, if I'm willing to pay the approx $7 shipping I can send them back for a full refund as long as they are less than 30 days old and not found defective. If they are found defective they waive the 30 day limit, and I wouldn't have to pay shipping.

So the question is, is it worth $7 for me to convince them it is defective. I'm thinking I'll give it a $2 effort at most.

Meanwhile I ordered a pair of Linds Classics online ($99) so my experiment is on hold until the shoes arrive.

[Mike White]

Ok, another day on the lanes.

I've discovered I'm a slow starter, a fast middle, and I run out of gas before the finish line.

This time I had games of 181, 256, 162 for a whopping 599 total.

When the tank runs out, I spray can the first ball, and tug my spare shots.

I signed up for a "Practice League" whatever that is. It's sanctioned, so it's official. All I know is for $15 per week I get 3 games of league bowling, and 3 free games per day. (I think week days only) So 18 games for $15 seemed like a good deal.

[backahead]

Ok, another day on the lanes.

I've discovered I'm a slow starter, a fast middle, and I run out of gas before the finish line.

This time I had games of 181, 256, 162 for a whopping 599 total.

When the tank runs out, I spray can the first ball, and tug my spare shots.

I signed up for a "Practice League" whatever that is. It's sanctioned, so it's official. All I know is for $15 per week I get 3 games of league bowling, and 3 free games per day. (I think week days only) So 18 games for $15 seemed like a good deal.


That is exactly the same deal for my summer league. We all add an extra $5/wk to have a payout at the end. And 3 free games/day including weekends. And I would kill for a 599 :) I don't start bowling well until the 4th game if at all. 112 low 193 high tonight. Speed all over the place, wet lanes.

[Mike White]

I finished up the "Practice League" with a 195 average.
It should have been 200+ .

After a night of just strikes and 10-pins, I decided I needed something with a little more bite than my white dot.
I purchased a Hammer Midnight Vibe hoping it would help carry some more 10 pins.
I also reduced to 14 lbs (from 15) to see if that would be a little easier on my old body.

When I tried to bowl with the Vibe, I found that I couldn't hold the ball the same. I couldn't hold the white dot the same either.
I had pulled a muscle in my arm (whatever muscle the ring finger is connected to).

I had to finish the league throwing the ball fairly straight from the right corner towards the pocket.
It seems I only have two ways to release the ball, full revs (strike shot) or completely dead (spare shot)
I guess when you throw a reactive resin ball completely dead, even in the dry outside, it hits the pocket completely dead.
Also the 14 lbs made me a spray can. I was just as likely to miss the head pin left as right.

I had a couple of weeks rest before another league started up so my arm has recovered.

Back to the white dot... i've got two weeks into a winter league with scores of:

Oct 18th 211 202 234 - 647
Oct 25th 201 204 247 - 652

I tried throwing the Vibe once in practice after getting lined up with the white dot. The ball was heading towards the 3-6 (light) and when it hit the back end, it launched left hitting the 4-7.

I figure I've got two possible paths to follow.

Either a Storm Polar Ice or Natural Pearl urethane ball to get just a little better carry,
Or get some kind of wrist device to force me to release somewhere between full, and dead. Then maybe I can roll resin balls.

So far I've ordered a wrist device (PowrKoil). I ordered it from Bowlingball.com. Hopefully it will allow me to use the HRR I won.

[billf]

Mike, after watching your vids you may end up standing on the lane to your left with the Revenge.

[Mike White]

Mike, after watching your vids you may end up standing on the lane to your left with the Revenge.

That might be a bit of a challenge since I'm more likely to drop the ball before the foul line than loft it over gutters.

The Revenge is still sitting in the box waiting patiently to be drilled.

If the wrist device method works out where I have mostly forward roll off the hand I suspect I will be able to use a wide range of resin balls, including the Revenge.

[Mike White]

A couple of good weeks, and the muscle was pulled again.

I had the Vibe sanded down in hopes that friction would put the ball into some kind of roll...... not much luck in that area. I almost left a 5-7-10.

So I decided to bite the bullet and have the HRR drilled.

Now I'm not sure which is a more "impressive" talent. The ability to hook a plastic ball, or the ability to throw the HRR dead straight.

[Mike White]

A short video of me trying to figure out how to get the HRR to roll up to the pocket. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcwa4n6pUv8)

I'm trying to throw the HRR similar to how I throw at a 10 pin, but with a less slide, and just a little side roll.

It's going to be an adventure.

[75lockwood]

Taking into account your arm issues, you did great, you didn't need to go as far left as once thought lol. that being said you do have a fair number of accuracy issues in trying to keep the hrr on the right side of the head pin. Keep practicing and recovering, the consistency will surely follow