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

[Aslan]

Friday League Night (subbing)
Older Brunswick synthetics: low oil synthetics

643 Series: 176 - 257 - 210

Game 1 I only had one mis-step...a missed single 10-pin in the 5th...but I couldn't really run the strikes together.

Game 2 I opened with a 2-8-10 split...then it was a strike in every frame except the 4th...including a rare 8-bagger...which is either a personal best or tie for my personal best.

Game 3 started with a 4-6 split...but I was clean the rest of the way until my only other mis-step of the series...a missed 2-5 conversion on the 3rd shot of the 10th frame.

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 9.29 pins
Strikes: 55% (1 8-bagger, 1 turkey, 2 doubles, and 4 singles)
Spares: 66% picked up

Single Pin spares: 87% (7/8)
Most common single-pin leaves: 10-pin (4x).
Also left a single 4-pin, 6-pin, 7-pin, and 9-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 42% (3/7)
Most common multi-pin leaves: n/a

Splits: 25% (1/4)

Average over 3 games: 214.33.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 218.00.

First solid series since early February and finally a good series, subbing in this league, in March. I missed two weeks due to Vegas sweeps for a couple different leagues...and the other two weeks I failed to even hit 500.

Sort have had my line to myself....which appears to be a big advantage in this league where the lanes are older and transition quickly. I was able to stay within 3 boards of my original target, within 6 boards of my starting position (feet), and was able to use the Reax Pearl for all 3 games.

Also a good night financially...

Expenses:
$5 sub fee
$1 mystery score
$5 card game
$24 brackets
$6 beverages
$6.75 in tips
$20 VISE IT insert

= $67.75

Winnings:
$60 in brackets

So...almost one of those rare nights ya come home with more money than you left with....but one of my VISE inserts broke and I decided to get a new one as I've been bowling quite a bit and the broken one is the next size up that I may need as temperatures are rising, etc... But, $7.75 for 3 games of bowling and a new VISE insert is a pretty good bargain, so I'll take it.

[Aslan]

Saturday Weekly Color-Pin Tournament: Older Brunswick Synthetics/dry

519 Series: 172-177-170

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.66 pins
Strikes: 40% (1 turkey, 2 doubles, and 7 singles)
Spares: 57% picked up

Single Pin spares: 60% (3/5)
Most common single-pin leave: 2-pin (2x)
Also left a single 7-pin, 8-pin, and 10-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 57% (8/14)
Most common multi-pin leaves: 1-2-8 and 3-6 (2x each)

Splits: 0% (0/3).

Average over 3 games: 173.00.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 179.00.

Could never get dialed in...couldn't seem to run any strikes together...and I was bowling with some of the most annoying folks in recent memory. So, overall, a waste of time. Bowling lesson this morning (Sunday) couldn't have come early enough.

[J Anderson]

Could never get dialed in...couldn't seem to run any strikes together...and I was bowling with some of the most annoying folks in recent memory. So, overall, a waste of time. Bowling lesson this morning (Sunday) couldn't have come early enough.

I usually enjoy having one or two annoying bowlers on the pair. It takes a lot to get me riled up so most of the time these pests don't bother me, but the other bowlers will get thrown off their game

Then again, I might be one of those really annoying people

[Aslan]

Wednesday League Night: low-oil synthetics, older brunswick lanes

589 Series: 187 - 211 - 195

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.74 pins
Strikes: 44% (2 turkeys, 3 doubles, and 3 singles)
Spares: 64% picked up

Single Pin spares: 87% (7/8)
Most common single-pin leave: 2-pin (3x).
Also left a single 3-pin, 4-pin, 7-pin (2x), and 10-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 44% (4/9)
Most common multi-pin leave: 6-10 (3x)

Splits: 0% (0/4)

Average over 3 games: 197.67.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 201.33.

Last week I struck a ton, but couldn't make my spares. Tonight, I couldn't run anything together...but made my spares.

I've been scoring consistently in the first 4 weeks....216, 199, 167, 181, 189, 201, 200, 189, 196, 187, 211, 195...but I'm still a bit frustrated that I'm sort of on the "edge" of maybe getting my game to the next level...and I can't seem to quite get over the top.

[Aslan]

Friday League Night (subbing)
Older Brunswick synthetics: low oil synthetics

574 Series: 218 - 172 - 184

Chopped a 2-5-8 in the 2nd frame of Game 1...otherwise a solid game.

Game 2 I switched to the Innovate...and as usual...it was squirrelly and jumped around. Add in some sub-par spare shooting = recipe for disaster.

Game 3 I switched to the Scandal Pearl...but spare shooting was still suspect.

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.58 pins
Strikes: 45% (1 5-bagger, 4 doubles, and 2 singles)
Spares: 58% picked up

Single Pin spares: 60% (3/5)
Most common single-pin leaves: 10-pin (2x).
Also left a single 2-pin, 7-pin, and 9-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 58% (7/12)
Most common multi-pin leaves: 2-4-5-8 (2x)

Splits: 66% (2/3)

Average over 3 games: 191.33.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 197.67.

Won enough in brackets to cover my brackets entries and card game and didn't affect my average...plus the team I subbed for needs a sub for the next 5 weeks due to a bowler on their team having surgery...so now I got a spot locked up every Friday.

Gotta figure out the Innovate though. It was fairly reliable early on...but most recently it's been erratic and disappointing. I only have the Bullet Train and Track 300A as other options...hate to drill the Ebonite Warning Sign at this point...the 706A cracked...and the Thug Life won't help in that position in the progression...ughhhh....

[Aslan]

Practice: 247 (clean)-202

Low-Ball (spare shooting practice): 60 (+ about 74 if you add in the penalties for guttering and the spare penalties)

The purpose of practice was to see if I should continue using the Ebonite Innovate as my #2 ball...or maybe give the previously retired Columbia Encounter a try. The Innovate performed very well...standing with my left foot around 23-28 and targeting 11-15. The Encounter also did well, but wasn't quite as smooth. I think I'll stick with the Innovate.

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 9.35 pins
Strikes: 60% (2 4-baggers, 1 turkey, 1 double, and 1 single)
Spares: 66% picked up

Single Pin spares: 80% (4/5)
Most common single pin leave: 2-pin (2x)
Also left a single 5-pin, 9-pin, and 10-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 50% (2/4)
Most common multi-pin leaves: n/a

Splits: 0% (0/2)

Average over 2 games: 224.50.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 225.00.

I must be doing something right. Whenever I practice, there's at least one nearby bowler that stops bowling and watches me practice. Spare shooting wasn't great though. I don't strike enough to be a bad spare shooter...so that needs to get better.

[Amyers]

Have you resurface the innovate? My suggestion has always been just to move to the Scandal as your second ball if it's working in the third game it should work just a well or better in the 2nd.

[Aslan]

Have you resurface the innovate? My suggestion has always been just to move to the Scandal as your second ball if it's working in the third game it should work just a well or better in the 2nd.

The current strategy (Rob, close your eyes...it involves some degree of preconceptions)...is to start out with the strongest ball...all be it a Pearl....but a ball with a low RG, a very strong core and cover, and a higher differential. On fresh conditions...this finds the pocket and carries.

As the lanes break down, the Innovate is a ball with a low RG and strong core...but it's a weaker cover, lower differential...and it allows me to stay in that general area as the lanes transition.

The 3rd ball, is designed to combat carrydown. As plastic and urethane balls push oil down to the breakpoint...I need a STRONGER ball to battle that carrydown. The Scandal Pearl is very similar to the Reax Pearl I start with...just a slightly weaker cover and a lower differential...but much stronger than the Innovate.

IF I decided to skip the Innovate in this process...it's "possible" that the Scandal Pearl...with a slightly weaker cover and slightly lower differential...would allow me to stay in the same area and still carry. BUT...I have a feeling it'll be too strong if there isn't enough carrydown at the breakpoint.

As Rob has sort of criticized in the past...the downside to having an arsenal designed to play in one area of the lane...is it doesn't give me the option to really change my line. If I move outside of 9...all 3 of these low-RG balls will react too early. If I try to play Rob's favorite "inside line"...the balls just don't have the surface to pull that off. And to change the surfaces...would make them impossible to use in the 11-14 board area that gives me the best shot at this house.

I'm going to bring my entire arsenal with me to Concourse tonight...rather than try to use the 300A all night. Maybe I can move inside a little...add a little loft...and use the arsenal as it's designed. I probably won't get 21 games in this league before I move...but it'd be nice to get a decent series in at this house which I haven't really had since early December 2016 when I managed a 605 series. That's not a 'great' series...but 'decent' given I rolled it with a Track 300A...released in 2012 with a sub-160 PerfectScale....a ball that might be stronger than a Scout Reactive, Storm Mix, or Tropical Breeze...maybe a little weaker than an Ebonite Cyclone.

[Amyers]

Well first off of all your balls the Scandal has by far the strongest cover. Not really even close. The Reax may have a little stronger core and has more surface so it maybe a little earlier than the Scandal Pearl but the scandal most likely still covers more total boards.

I bowled in the days when carry down actually existed. Carry down was small areas of the lane where oil had been tracked down by plastic and urethane balls. The ball would enter it's hook phase slide a tiny amount then hook again often causing the ball not to finish well and sometime hit very light. This was avoided by moving farther out and hooking around the area or moving farther in and staying out of it. if you've ever seen carry down it's strips of oil less than the width of your index finger and maybe 2 to 3 inches long even back then when everyone was throwing balls that caused it never was it a uniform area you could target trying to get additional length it was an area of the lane you avoided.

In modern bowling where at most you have 3-4 people using that kind of equipment who are most likely spraying ever where from 15-5 are going to create an area that you can use is completely laughable. Carry down was never at the break point anyway on most THS shots the break point is at 6-10 area a plastic ball isn't going to be in that area at 45 feet or so anyway. If it existed in the first place it would be an area your ball hit as the ball hooked to the pocket. It also wouldn't matter which ball you threw if you hit it the ball is going to slide thus messing the shot up if there happened to be enough oil to effect the roll of the ball in the first place which is unlikely at best.

[Aslan]

Well first off of all your balls the Scandal has by far the strongest cover. Not really even close. The Reax may have a little stronger core and has more surface so it maybe a little earlier than the Scandal Pearl but the scandal most likely still covers more total boards.

The Scandal Pearl is the newest ball (and cost me a bu**load of money)...BUT...it's a Hammer (i.e. EBI)...and the Reax Pearl is a Radical. On the hierarchy of strength...Radical is #1...EBI is toward the bottom. Now, Hammer is the stronger of the four EBI brands...but generally Radical is always going to have the stronger, earlier reaction.

Now, that's my "theory"...but to add creedence to your theory...the Scandal Pearl has the highest PerfectScale score and has thus far been a "monster" for me. Would it be a "monster" if I pulled it out on fresh? Probably not. The Reax is a really powerful ball...the Radical cover and high differential core quickly allow you to 'forget' that it's a Pearl ball. The biggest deficiency in the Scandal Pearl isn't the cover...which is a great cover and a strong cover...but it's the 0.047 differential...which is 0.007 lower than the Reax Pearl. Many 'ignore' differential as a "minor thing"...but thus far...it's probably the one spec that I can point to that can really give good insight into how strong a ball is or will be.

And, that's why in the Motiv incident...I disagreed with the Motiv supporters that said, "Oh...who cares about differential...it doesn't really mean anything." If you want damning evidence...watch the two Motiv guys in the competitions where they won (with a major asterisk in my book) those two titles. Watch the ball motion as it enters the pin deck compared to the other competitors. It was NOTICEABLE that the Motiv balls were doing something that the other balls weren't.

So, how do you define cover strength? You claim the Scandal Pearl has the strongest cover...what do you base that on.

I bowled in the days when carry down actually existed. Carry down was small areas of the lane where oil had been tracked down by plastic and urethane balls. The ball would enter it's hook phase slide a tiny amount then hook again often causing the ball not to finish well and sometime hit very light.

I've noticed that same type of reaction...not just from carrydown...but from a ball that develops a track. My Innovate is HORRIBLE concerning the development of a track. 1-2 games...and there's a noticeable track. Once that track is on the ball...it does the same thing you described for carrydown...it looks like it's going to hook...then skids a little...then starts hooking again. So, a lot of my troubles right now...is I'm battling two problems with the Innovate...carrydown...and the ball developing a track. It's no surprise...than when I switch to the Scandal Pearl...I usually do much better. But, like I said, switching from the Reax to the Scandal when the lanes transition...especially at the house I bowl at...where the lanes transition quickly...I don't see that working...the Scandal and Reax are just too close in strength...if one is rolling out...the other will likely roll out as well.

In modern bowling where at most you have 3-4 people using that kind of equipment who are most likely spraying ever where from 15-5 are going to create an area that you can use is completely laughable. Carry down was never at the break point anyway on most THS shots the break point is at 6-10 area a plastic ball isn't going to be in that area at 45 feet or so anyway. If it existed in the first place it would be an area your ball hit as the ball hooked to the pocket. It also wouldn't matter which ball you threw if you hit it the ball is going to slide thus messing the shot up if there happened to be enough oil to effect the roll of the ball in the first place which is unlikely at best.

That makes sense. But remember, the issue of "carrydown" is controversial because it highly, highly depends on the bowlers you are bowling against. If I'm bowling in a scratch league...you're right...the only "carrydown" is on the lines of plastic balls heading towards corner pins....and won't likely affect ball motion at the breakpoint. In that respect, Rob's data he referenced in the carrydown thread...is completely accurate and carrydown is a minimal factor. But...in a standard mixed, handicap league...there are times you'll face bowlers with one guy using an oil soaked, older resin ball, one gal using a snap lock up the middle, and two gals throwing Columbia WDs all over hell's half acre. If those WDs are taking out the 6-9-10 on their firs shot...then the 4-7-8 on their second shot (which I see a LOT)...carrydown is absolutely going to be a factor.

But...back to the original issue....

If I skip the Innovate...I'm essentially going to run out of options by sometime in Game 2...because the lanes transition so fast. The Scandal Pearl is too strong (which you agree) for it to be a realistic "ball down" option from the Reax Pearl. Surfacing won't help...these balls are already polished pearls.

The lanes are far too dry and the pattern too narrow and the lanes too old...to move outside...nor do I have a RG, weak option to pull that off. I have a 900 Global Bullet Train with a 2.55 RG...but it's an S79 cover...and I think it's "spent" based on ho many games it has on it and how it behaved in Vegas last month. I have the ultra-weak Track 300A...but all that does is give me a weaker version of the Innovate...I still can't move outside of 10 with it. And if I go with the Track 300A, urethane, or plastic up the outside...there's no "pop" and no power and no carry.

I'd love to take Rob's advice and move "inside"...but the shot just isn't there on the THSs I bowl on. If it IS there...I need an arsenal with different specs to take advantage of it...because as strong as the Reax Pearl and Scandal Pearl are...they are ultimately still polished pearls...and they aren't going to hook in the oil....unless I sand them. Rob has said in the past that "pearl, hybrid, solid" doesn't mean much...and I think there's some truth to that...especially when you start sanding the balls. If you sand a pearl and hybrid to 800 abralon with no buff nor polish...I think you'll see the same reaction...or very similar. If I "sand" the balls...and try to move inside...I don't have a ton of "hand"...and ultimately I'm trying to "force my will" on the lanes, rather than let the lanes dictate where I need to play them.

Sorry for the length...ball technology is a very complicated subject...and a subject where there are really no "experts" that can off 'hard' facts regarding balls. I like Rob's work with the Bowling Journal...he's done some interesting studies himself. But, bowling technology is just so complicated and every manufacturer seems to put their priority on "marketing"...so it's hard to get any real hard comparative data from the sources. Which...is why we're left with these boring, long-winded, ramblings about arsenals...because we're just grasping for straws in the dark.

It's kinda like cars...does a bigger engine make a car go faster? Yes....and No.
Because, a "bigger" engine is heavier...so now the weight impacts the speed.
So, "lighter" cars are faster? Yes, and No.
Because, a "lighter" car with a smaller engine isn't going to automatically be faster than a heavier car with a bigger engine.
And then you get into all the factors like suspension, fuel input, aerodynamics, and tires. Every time you "tweek" something...it can have a net effect that is positive, neutral, or negative.

Just like the healthcare negotiations in Congress. You give one group their cookie and they agree to vote Yes...then another group changes their vote from Yes to No. You go back to the second group and offer them a cookie, they go back to a "Yes" vote...then the initial group changes their vote back to "No".