Aslan's Scores (of the non-lady kind)

[Mike White]

What's happening to you here happens to a lot of bowlers. When you make a 2-1 or a 4-2 adjustment your breakpoint should stay the same. I figure yours is around 8 from your setup. I would very highly guess when your making these moves your not keeping the breakpoint. You're either walking back to the right (even a board will cause this) or your closing your hips and shoulders as you move in. Watch where your ball is when you start the night as it approaches the markers down the lane (I figure you have then newer centers there). Your ball should be in the same place at the end of the night that it is at the beginning if your only making 2-1 adjustments. I bet you money yours isn't. Fix that you fix your problem.

A 2-3 move is more effective when you want to change angles, but stay in the pocket.

[Amyers]

So I took a few minutes to look up the specs on the four bowling balls you list: Reax Pearl (2.49 rg, .054 diff), Innovate (2.49 rg, .046 diff), Defiant Edge (2.59 rg, .054 diff), Scandal Pearl (2.48 rg, .054 diff). Regardless of how you decide if a ball is weak or strong, the fact of the matter is that you've got 4 balls that are virtually identical, and they are all very aggressive. If you insist on defining your A game and B game by where you play on the outside (dry) part of the lane, you should take a look at some entry level and urethane balls that will work in the desert. The Fanatic BTU (Better than Urethane) would probably be a good choice as would the Mix or the Joy Ride.

I agree with this he's still going to half to learn to open up the lanes some to be successful in bowling longer format tournaments but a weaker covered ball could help

[Amyers]

A 2-3 move is more effective when you want to change angles, but stay in the pocket.

Mike moving 2-3 for a player that plays tighter lines would ma ke the problem worse wouldn't it? Moving 2-3 would move the break point 2 boards left thus tightening the lines further not opening the lane up or am I misunderstanding something?

[Mike White]

Mike moving 2-3 for a player that plays tighter lines would ma ke the problem worse wouldn't it? Moving 2-3 would move the break point 2 boards left thus tightening the lines further not opening the lane up or am I misunderstanding something?

I think of it as eyes, feet, so by 2-3, I meant move eyes 2 left, and feet 3 left.

I'll convert to feet, eyes and explain why.

3-2 is a combination of 2-1 and 1-1.

The 2-1 move keeps the ball pointed at the same break point, and increases the angle from left to right.

That alone would make the ball miss the pocket to the right or hit too light to carry.

The additional parallel 1-1 move, would move the break point 1 left, and bring the ball back into the pocket.

[RobLV1]

I agree with this he's still going to half to learn to open up the lanes some to be successful in bowling longer format tournaments but a weaker covered ball could help

There are two schools of thought regarding lane adjustments. I agree that learning to make lateral moves left is the ideal solution, but the fact of the matter is that many bowlers do not have the confidence, or the rev rate, to do it to the degree that is often necessary, particularly on long format tournaments. The alternative is to "ball down" as much as possible to stay in their comfort zones. To do this, bowlers have to have a real understanding of bowling balls; cores, covers, and surfaces. Many coaches take this as the ideal approach and will not even attempt to teach bowlers to make any but the most minor lateral moves. Others, like myself, approach lateral moves first, but understand that some bowlers, for whatever reason, are never going to do it effectively. For these bowlers, effective ball managements is the best, in fact, the only workable approach.

[Aslan]

Well, I gave it alot of thought.

I think what happened is that I changed balls too soon. My thought process was this:

1) On a house shot, I usually change from the Reax Pearl to the Innovate after 0.4-1.2 games (approximate).
2) There WERE a few instances where I seemed to be hitting light.

Now, I've been trying NOT to move right. But if I move left and hit weak...and leave a flat 7-pin or 10-pin...thats usually my cue (on a good shot mind you) that I may want to switch balls. I "try" not to do it until I feel it's necessary on BOTH lanes...just because I hate alternating balls one lane to another; sometimes I will if I feel it's a necessity.

But...the Defiant Edge is in the pro shop and the Scandal Pearl wasn't drilled yet. I tried the Bullet Train in practice...but it was hitting like a wet noodle. I brought the Encounter with me "just in case"...but it was a 'last resort' type of move given the pitches are completely different with that ball and it's not drilled for my IT inserts.

I kept throwing the Reax Pearl...thinking that I probably should have switched already...but I was carrying and scoring well...so I just kept making small adjustments right or left or further out or closer in...very tiny 0.5:0.5 board moves...or aiming IN a foot or OUT a foot. Moves that small are almost more for "comfort" than anything given it's unlikely my aim is good enough to hit +/- 0.5 boards consistently.

By Squad Two, I figured I dodged a bullet! I figured I was overdue for a ball change and switched balls. In my head, it made sense...because I figured normally the Reax Pearl lasts me 0.4-1.2 games and I had bowled 3! But here's where I did the math wrong:

On League Night, there are 4-5 bowlers per team and 2 teams per pair. Given most of my leagues are 4-person and to account for the one person that always seems to need to be blinded out, we'll call it 4 per team; 8 per pair. During Squad One, I was with one other guy on each pair...we moved right each time.

So, in terms of the amount of 'traffic' per game compared to a typical league night:

After Game 1;
League: 8 bowlers Squad 1: 2 bowlers

After Game 2;
League: 16 bowlers Squad 1: 4 bowlers

After Game 3;
League: 24 bowlers Squad 1: 7 bowlers (the last pair had 3 instead of 2 bowlers to start)

So, by the time I started Squad 2, the lanes had < than 30% of the number of shots/wear/transition than at the end of league night.

So, if I switch from the Reax Pearl to the Innovate (on average) after 9/10ths of a game, 8 bowlers per game = just over 7 bowlers. In other words, at the start of Squad 2, I wasn't NEARLY as 'late to switch balls' as I thought I was. I figured I was 2 games overdue...but I was actually right around the point I'd normally make a ball change.

So, why wasn't the ball change successful? I believe it was a combination of these factors:
1) I bowl league on lanes that are very old. They play the same as any other Brunswick synthetics, but they just tend to transition faster. So, I probably worried about transition that simply didn't occur as quickly on these newer Brunswick lanes (a newer center (20 years) versus a center built 60 years ago).

2) I didn't trust my shot. When I mentioned it at my lesson, the response was, "why did you move?" And the only acceptable answer would have been, "because I left "X" or "because I moved left and hit weak", etc... I shouldn't have moved based on 'feeling it was time'...I should have moved only after seeing the need based on what my ball was doing/not doing.

3) My mental game was shot. It was a perfect storm of problems:
- I stepped in something wet and my shoe was sticking.
- Every guy on my pair in squad two was shooting 200+
- When I finally tried to switch to the Encounter...the thumb and finger holes were completely off. I needed to add a bunch of tape, it wasn't coming off my hand clean, and the new finger inserts I bought when my fingers were getting stuck...now they are too loose.
- once I started missing...it was a snowball rolling down a hill...I tried harder and harder and made it worse and worse.

By the end of the second squad, to put the math in perspective, the 6 pairs I bowled on had roughly (2+2+3, +4+4+5) 20 bowlers throwing shots on them. The second squad was quite a bit larger. On a 4-person league night...plus another 3 games (pre-bowl or make-up for both teams)...thats 24+24 = 48. And while 32 bowlers would usually cause the lanes to transition something terrible at my 60-year old center...that same transition at a much newer center might be the equivalent of 60 bowlers...I may have been able to play all 3 squads with the same ball and a couple moves left.

[Aslan]

There are two schools of thought regarding lane adjustments. I agree that learning to make lateral moves left is the ideal solution, but the fact of the matter is that many bowlers do not have the confidence, or the rev rate, to do it to the degree that is often necessary, particularly on long format tournaments. The alternative is to "ball down" as much as possible to stay in their comfort zones. To do this, bowlers have to have a real understanding of bowling balls; cores, covers, and surfaces. Many coaches take this as the ideal approach and will not even attempt to teach bowlers to make any but the most minor lateral moves. Others, like myself, approach lateral moves first, but understand that some bowlers, for whatever reason, are never going to do it effectively. For these bowlers, effective ball managements is the best, in fact, the only workable approach.

I agree with Rob on this. I've been taking lessons from two PBA level coaches and one bases ball changes almost entirely on what "leaves" they get on a decent shot...the other almost never moves more than 2:4 left...two moves left and then a ball down/ball change.

It is very frustrating though. I bowled against a female bowler Wednesday who threw a Danger Zone up the 6-board, up and in, like back in the day when the first Danger Zone was being used. The whole damn night...up and in. She barely made any moves, any adjustments, just kept throwing that shot. And at the tournament...once the lanes broke down a little...it was like they were Dick Allen and I was Dick Ritger...except more like Dick Ritger with Vertigo. They were all spinning the ball like crazy...didn't matter where they layed it down...it bounced off that big dry area and shredded the rack.

Here I am trying to fix every little flaw in my stance, push-away, first step, approach, balance, spine tilt, hand position, knee bend, release, and follow-through...then maintaining balance and staying focused on the ball motion and where it exits the pin deck...and if I miss by 1.5 boards either way I'll leave the headpin or get a split...yet those guys were hitting the 2-board on 7-board misses and bouncing it off that dry area like a billiard ball off a rail. They have quirky approaches, poor balance, can barely bend their knees, and some were seemingly 60% spare shooters...but I'll be dammed if they didn't score a 230 to my 130.

Oh well. If I'm right and I switched too early...thats an easy fix. If I can ever get my footwork/approach/delivery fixed...maybe I can start to work on my release and staying inside the ball...and maybe even I can start opening up the lanes a bit. It'd be nice to beat those guys at their own game someday.

[manke]

Aslan you are thinking about way too much to bowl good. Your thinking about switching balls at a certain time or ifa ball leaves a week ten or were to move your line. Go back to back to having fun bowling and when you start to have fun your bowling will get better too.

[RobLV1]

So let me tell you a little story. A friend of mine decided to bowl in the Ron Mohr's Senior Shootout. He's a 220 average bowler on a house shot. 5 days before the tournament started he told me what ball he had decided to use on each of the three oil patterns, based on the length. He averaged about 170. The first article that I wrote for BTM nine years ago was about the dangers of preconceptions in bowling. Every time you post something, there is something about some preconception that didn't work. No surprise there!

By the way, you never addressed the fact that you are bringing four versions of the same bowling ball and trying to ball down from one aggressive ball to another and then wondering why it's not working.

[Aslan]

Aslan you are thinking about way too much to bowl good. Your thinking about switching balls at a certain time or ifa ball leaves a week ten or were to move your line. Go back to back to having fun bowling and when you start to have fun your bowling will get better too.

I'd have fun bowling if I always bowled over a 600 series and had at least one 700 series every month.

So let me tell you a little story. A friend of mine decided to bowl in the Ron Mohr's Senior Shootout. He's a 220 average bowler on a house shot. 5 days before the tournament started he told me what ball he had decided to use on each of the three oil patterns, based on the length. He averaged about 170. The first article that I wrote for BTM nine years ago was about the dangers of preconceptions in bowling. Every time you post something, there is something about some preconception that didn't work. No surprise there!

Agreed. But as we've discussed many, many times before...void of preconceptions...there is little an average bowler can do to adequately 'prepare' for a day/evening/night of bowling. 10-15 minutes of warm-up...with even just 4 bowlers on a pair means you get maybe 3-5 shots per lane in practice. Subtract a couple shots per lane based on "warming up/getting your footing"...thats 1-3 shots per lane. No preconceptions, no plan...just 1-3 shots on each lane.

What if the ball isn't making the turn? Did you start with your strongest ball? Are you playing the right line? Hard to say...but what IS certain...is you have at MOST 2 shots per lane left to figure it out. And bowling is almost ALL about preconceptions. If you think I'M bad...what if we did a poll and asked how many bowlers bring 1-2 balls to league night, have played at the same house for 10+ years, the same line 10+ years, and keep expecting their average to increase despite never doing anything to improve it other than show up to league each week?

Manke thinks I'm over-thinking things (and he is SO not the only one...definitely NOT the only one). Many bowlers have shared Manke's criticism. Why do I need 4 bowling balls? Why do I practice? Why do I take lessons? Why do I keep track of my progress/statistics? Maybe you AND manke are correct. Maybe just keeping things simple...one ball, pick a random target based on a best guess from 1-3 practice shots...and just have fun. Maybe I can even learn how to make the ball spin really, really fast...throw a 6lb house ball thumbless. Hell, maybe I'll try 2-handed? God forbid.

By the way, you never addressed the fact that you are bringing four versions of the same bowling ball and trying to ball down from one aggressive ball to another and then wondering why it's not working.

Well, thats 'sort of' true...by design even...but not 100% accurate. This gets down to a very interesting discussion I know you've addressed on Modern Bowling and BTM...and something we've talked about here quite a bit.

On one hand...3-4 balls that are all very, very different in every way...would give you a great selection of balls to choose from...and this would probably be ideal for a person in a sport league, travel league or a tournament player.

On the other hand, > 90% of bowlers bowl almost all of their games in the same house on a THS. Having 3-4 balls that are very, very different...in this scenario...would lead to having no less than 3 balls that are completely useless.

But, in fairness, RobM is correct. My arsenal selection purposely chose 3 balls that would have very similar characteristics concerning cover material (pearls), RG (2.49), and surface (4000-polished). This was done intentionally to better isolate some of the variables I'm interested in comparing, such as;
- manufacturer differences (Radical vs. Rotogrip vs. Ebonite)
- technology differences (New Reax, Recent Defiant Edge, Older Innovate)
- Differential Differences (0.054, 0.052, 0.041)
- PerfectScale validity (224.8, 216.47, 189.9)

My first two arsenals were based on cover stock and surface preparation. These two are widely believed to be the most important factors in ball movement. However, I was intrigued by Rob's articles on using RG as a primary factor in arsenal selection so I've dabbled with RG as well. My current arsenal intentionally kept surface and RG constant (for the most part) so I could focus on those other 4 factors.

And before Amyers shows up to remind us (again) of this...YES...as a scientist....I realize the most effective way to study things (using the scientific method) is to limit the variables so that everything (except the one thing you're testing) is constant. Yet, as I've repeated numerous times...changing only one variable would be impractical given the multiple variables in bowling ball specifications. In other words, until Brunswick hires me and gives me an unlimited supply of bowling balls to work with...concessions must be made.

Thus far...even though it's still early...only 1-2 months in...I'm starting to think differential is more important than previously thought and I still stand by PerfectScale as a fairly reliable number when comparing multiple brands. Jury is still out on manufacturer differences and technology differences. The pre-mature retirement of the Defiant Edge kinda threw a monkey wrench (not the ball) into the whole experiment.

Some findings that "don't make sense" regarding the 3 arsenals and the cover and RG criterium:

Arsenal #1: The Bullet Train. This ball was a hybrid and had a 2.55 RG. Yet...the S79 cover seemed to make it hook earlier than the solids and earlier than the lower RG balls.

Arsenal #2: The Dark Encounter wasn't nearly as strong as it's specs indicated. It seemed like there was some truth to the manufacturer differences as the Lethal Revolver was noticeably more reactive than the Dark Encounter. The Melee Jab and Loaded Revolver were also very strong with good movement...both Brunswick.

Remember, I'm the one that bought two identical Encounters in order to test the effects of drilling layouts on ultimate ball movement. So...while I try to perfect my arsenal selection...I have to try and 'test' theories. But, I also want to have arsenals that are useful and can help me score well...so it's a fine line.