Dry lane kept me puzzled on correct technique at practice.....

[Hammer]

This was while using my urethane Blue Hammer. First game warmup was a 126. YIKES! Well actually I was getting use to balance arm in front of me at pushaway. Also concentrating on straight wrist and fingers gripping the ball and index finger and little finger pressing into the ball also before making approach. So first game was a sacrificial game. I had trouble finding the line in second game which was a 167. The Blue was hooking like a resin. I would hit the pocket but kept leaving 7 and 10 pins and also a 4 or a 5 every now and then. My speed was slow at about 12mph. Third game of 139 was me missing some spares because I never used this ball on a lane that hadn't been oiled since yesterday. I was the only one at the bowling alley. Fourth game was a 175 because I added more speed and moved my sliding foot to the center dot and started bellying the ball over the second arrow. Still kept leaving 7 and 10 pins but that was okay for spare practice. Fifth game was a 178. Still trying to find pocket for strikes. Had 3 and only one open. Sixth game was a 193. I was getting use to my grip of the ball and balance arm in front of me and my toe staying on the ground when my balance leg went behind me. Seventh game was a 178. I was probably getting tired by now. I found out by then that even a urethane ball like my Blue needs speed and using two or three boards to the right of center dot to belly the ball out over the second arrow so it will hit the pocket. A urethane can do some serious hooking on a dry lane. Last but not least was the eighth game which was a 186 wuth 5 strikes. By that time I was four boards to the right of the center dot and bellying the ball out towards the gutter to see if it would go to the pocket and by golly it did. So the games weren't great but they were practice games. I accomplished keeping my balance arm in front of me on my pushaway, my rear leg on it's toe when I went into my slide and my wrist not breaking down in my swing and my fingers gripping the ball through the release and my thumb not in a death grip on any shot and coming out nicely through the release. So in the end my Blue Hammer urethane ball will hook especially when the lane hasn't been oiled since the day before. THE END.

[billf]

That's why I despise practicing on bone dry lanes. Makes it real hard to gauge what your equipment will do when the conditions are so unrealistic. That's why I usually practice targeting and spares rather than bowling games. Now when I'm allowed to oil a lane, that's a different story.

[Zothen]

Then again if you bowl at 9pm like I do on Wed nights where the lanes can be dry after 6pm(5 man teams)leagues are done,practicing on dry lanes is a benefit!

Zothen

[Hammer]

That's why I despise practicing on bone dry lanes. Makes it real hard to gauge what your equipment will do when the conditions are so unrealistic. That's why I usually practice targeting and spares rather than bowling games. Now when I'm allowed to oil a lane, that's a different story.

That is what I was doing mostly was targeting and spare pickup. I was leaving a lot of single pins on pocket hits so in a way that was a good thing. I couldn't believe how much I could hook that urethane ball. So the games weren't great but it has been a while since I have bowled on dry as dust lanes with a new ball. I ended up accomplishing different phases of my game as far as technique goes in my approach and release. So all was not lost.

[Tampabaybob]

And that's why they call it practice. Good practice for using the hammer, so you'll know what to expect of it next time you pull it out of your bag. Getting practice on your spares is also a huge benefit. Just remember, "Spares are for MONEY, and strikes are for show".

Bob

[GoodGorilla]

That is what I was doing mostly was targeting and spare pickup. I was leaving a lot of single pins on pocket hits so in a way that was a good thing. I couldn't believe how much I could hook that urethane ball. So the games weren't great but it has been a while since I have bowled on dry as dust lanes with a new ball. I ended up accomplishing different phases of my game as far as technique goes in my approach and release. So all was not lost.

I almost was going to make a topic identical to this one today. I've played on burnt out lanes so many times, and I have yet to find a good reason to do it.
When the lane is a mystery, the ball reactions are varied depending on what the lane is doing. So I wonder why is this a way to measure the ball reaction, when the ball reaction is unique to the lane condition which is unknown. Only thing I can think of that has helped me with this situation is that I have become very skeptical of every lane that I play on. There was one time that the ally put down the pro tour shot, and nobody told me. I concluded that the oil pattern was behaving that way if it was put down or not. But this took 3 games to come to that conclusion, when if I was to play in a league they would have told me that right off the bat?
I think when I experience a burnt out lane, I think I will just shoot out the corner pins for spare practice. It seems like horrible strike practice.

[Cochese]

I am guessing a lot of us struggle with this then. I was thinking about the same thing last night when I went and threw a few games after work. The lanes were pretty dry and I couldn't find the pocket. I would throw two balls on what I felt were damn near identical, same line, speed, etc. One would find a dry spec and go brooklyn, next one doesn't hook up and finds a bunch of carry down and splits. Love it!

I found myself throwing the ball a lot faster than normal to compensate. Not exactly what I was looking to accomplish.

Anyway, I finally gave up on trying to strike and score score and just focused on my technique. All I really watched was to make sure my ball hit my mark I was aiming for after release. Then it was up to the bowling gods what happened after that. It was a good learning experience to work on spares too.

[Tampabaybob]

The main reason that bowling on these various "crappy" conditions is important, is, if you shoot in tournaments, you will 'usually' never know what's out there and what to expect. At least having some experience with a dried out shot should give you an idea of where you "might" be able to play. Don't get disgusted when you come upon a shot like that. Think of it as a challenge, and try to beat the condition, just as you would an opponent. It is, after all, somewhat of an opponent, right ? So next time challenge it.....learn from what you can do with it, and store that info for future outings in a league or tournament. Use it to your advantage.

Bob