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

[Aslan]

Sunday Sport League: PBA Wolf Pattern

601 Series: 167-135-151-148
Started off with some **** poor spare shooting…but put together a 4-bagger which kept the score respectable. After that game, I put the Slingshot spare ball in "timeout" and decided I'd just flatten my wrist with the strike ball since apparently the Slingshot had a little too much movement for my liking.

Game 2, the spare shooting returned, but 3 splits and an open 10th pretty much ruined things.

Game 3 I was clean through 5 before a split and washout in the 6th/7th…then clean the rest of the way. But, the only strike was in the 1st.

Game 4 I left a split and 4 washouts, so despite my strike rate returning a bit…just couldn't stay clean with the difficult multi-pin spares.

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.17 pins
Strikes: 28% (1 4-bagger and 8 singles)
Spares: 41% picked up

Single Pin spares: 60% (3/5)
Most common single-pin leave: 7-pin (2x).
Never left a single 1-pin, 3-pin, 5-pin, 6-pin, 8-pin, nor 9-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 37% (9/24)
Most common multi-pin leaves: 1-2 (4x).

Splits: 0% (0/5)

Average over 4 games: 150.25.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 155.75.

Not much improvement over last week. After game 1, I just couldn't find an adjustment, line, release, vertical target change, nor ball that would help me strike.

[Bunny]

Challenging pattern today. Not many 200's. Even RPI guy with a 205 sport pattern average had a 120 game!

[Aslan]

Tuesday Practice: low oil synthetics

557 Series: 191-166-200 (clean)
Played the middle line using the less aggressive Encounter in game 1. Other than a washout in the 2nd and a 5-6 split in the 8th; I was clean. And 5 strikes to boot! In Game 2, I balled down to the Rhythm but struggled finding a line/target that would keep the more aggressive coverstock right of the headpin. A chopped 3-6 in the 2nd and and a washout in the 9th, otherwise clean...but this time I only struck twice. : ( Game 3 I continued struggling finding a good line/target combination; but was clean. Again, only 2 strikes though. : (

517 Series: 177-161-179
Game 4 was clean except for TWO (back-to-back) chopped 6-10s in the 4th and 5th frames. Left the 6-10 FOUR times that game..still coming in just a little too far left. More struggles with adjustments in Game 5 but missed a single 4-pin in the 3rd, chopped a 3-6 in the 4th, then missed a single 9-pin in the 10th. In Game 3, I started off with a 4-5 split and then a 4-7-10...but was able to pull off a turkey after that. But it seemed apparent that I might need to ball down again and go with the Frantic. Unfortunately, in the process of establishing my strike line/targets, a 4-6-7 split in the 6th followed by a 3-10 in the 7th. Then clean to finish and salvage at least a semi-resepctable score (given 4 splits).

123-166
I had time for 2 more games to get some rare work in with the Frantic. But the Frantic in Game 7 was just going in 2 straight. I left a personal high 6 splits in that game and only converted the 3-6-7-10 in the 9th. Just a really rough game to try and keep the Frantic right of the headpin. Out of frustration more than anything, in the final game I went back to my AMyers/Old Aslan style of higher speed/high loft/higher rev rate. It helped me strike more (5x), but the accuracy was erratic and I only picked up one spare in addition to the occasional weird split (like the 7-9-10) which is a result of the higher speed.

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.64 pins
Strikes: 34% (2 turkeys, 6 doubles and 13 singles)
Spares: 58% picked up

Single Pin spares: 83% (20/24)
Most common single-pin leaves: 10-pin (9x).
Never left a single 1-pin, 2-pin, nor 8-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 38% (12/31)
Most common multi-pin spare leave: 6-10 (4x).

Splits: 14% (2/14)

Average over 8 games: 170.38.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 175.88.

Still very aggravating that I have to practice during 9:30PM-12:00AM cosmic bowling. There was a young lady jumping up and down on the couches at one point and a lesbian couple making out in the couch on the other side. Not to mention I had to wait 20 minutes for a lane even though I was there 5 minutes before the 9:30PM bowling started.

I worked a lot on the forward and backward targeting rather than automatically moving my feet left or right. I have always targeted the arrows and moved my feet...so this idea of targeting further downlane or closer to the foul line is a new concept...but one that seems to have some merit.

Hopefully I didn't damage the Rhythm too badly in the homemade de-oiler incident last night. The Rhythm is a key ball in my new arsenal system as it is the ball I "ball down" to on middle and outside lines and it's my initial/primary ball for playing the inside line. If it is damaged, it should be an easy repair though.

[Amyers]

Tuesday Practice: low oil synthetics

557 Series: 191-166-200 (clean)
Played the middle line using the less aggressive Encounter in game 1. Other than a washout in the 2nd and a 5-6 split in the 8th; I was clean. And 5 strikes to boot! In Game 2, I balled down to the Rhythm but struggled finding a line/target that would keep the more aggressive coverstock right of the headpin. A chopped 3-6 in the 2nd and and a washout in the 9th, otherwise clean...but this time I only struck twice. : ( Game 3 I continued struggling finding a good line/target combination; but was clean. Again, only 2 strikes though. : (

517 Series: 177-161-179
Game 4 was clean except for TWO (back-to-back) chopped 6-10s in the 4th and 5th frames. Left the 6-10 FOUR times that game..still coming in just a little too far left. More struggles with adjustments in Game 5 but missed a single 4-pin in the 3rd, chopped a 3-6 in the 4th, then missed a single 9-pin in the 10th. In Game 3, I started off with a 4-5 split and then a 4-7-10...but was able to pull off a turkey after that. But it seemed apparent that I might need to ball down again and go with the Frantic. Unfortunately, in the process of establishing my strike line/targets, a 4-6-7 split in the 6th followed by a 3-10 in the 7th. Then clean to finish and salvage at least a semi-resepctable score (given 4 splits).

123-166
I had time for 2 more games to get some rare work in with the Frantic. But the Frantic in Game 7 was just going in 2 straight. I left a personal high 6 splits in that game and only converted the 3-6-7-10 in the 9th. Just a really rough game to try and keep the Frantic right of the headpin. Out of frustration more than anything, in the final game I went back to my AMyers/Old Aslan style of higher speed/high loft/higher rev rate. It helped me strike more (5x), but the accuracy was erratic and I only picked up one spare in addition to the occasional weird split (like the 7-9-10) which is a result of the higher speed.

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.64 pins
Strikes: 34% (2 turkeys, 6 doubles and 13 singles)
Spares: 58% picked up

Single Pin spares: 83% (20/24)
Most common single-pin leaves: 10-pin (9x).
Never left a single 1-pin, 2-pin, nor 8-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 38% (12/31)
Most common multi-pin spare leave: 6-10 (4x).

Splits: 14% (2/14)

Average over 8 games: 170.38.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 175.88.

Still very aggravating that I have to practice during 9:30PM-12:00AM cosmic bowling. There was a young lady jumping up and down on the couches at one point and a lesbian couple making out in the couch on the other side. Not to mention I had to wait 20 minutes for a lane even though I was there 5 minutes before the 9:30PM bowling started.

I worked a lot on the forward and backward targeting rather than automatically moving my feet left or right. I have always targeted the arrows and moved my feet...so this idea of targeting further downlane or closer to the foul line is a new concept...but one that seems to have some merit.

Hopefully I didn't damage the Rhythm too badly in the homemade de-oiler incident last night. The Rhythm is a key ball in my new arsenal system as it is the ball I "ball down" to on middle and outside lines and it's my initial/primary ball for playing the inside line. If it is damaged, it should be an easy repair though.

Some decent score there sounds like they were pretty dry on you from the beginning. Good to know the Amyers style is still alive and ticking. I think you loft more than I do with that though.

[Aslan]

Wednesday Practice: low oil synthetics

AMF Carter Lanes: 129
Tried to practice earlier in the evening but my usual house was full so we tried a nearby AMF house. What a POO-hole!! It was dead, like 3 other people bowling. Our first 3 balls got stuck in the ball return so a guy had to take it apart to find them. Then my buddy threw an errant shot that richocheted out of the left gutter into the pinsetter arm...so he's gonna probably be buying a new ball tonight. And the MOST aggravating thing!?? This house...RENOWNED for being in the TOP 3 in terms of oil volume (probably 3rd behind Irvine Lanes and AMF Riverside)...had OBVIOUSLY not oiled their lanes in at LEAST 3-4 days. Either that, or the machine is broken. Because EVERY shot...EVERY line...EVERY ball...hooked into the left gutter midway down the lane. This made spare shooting nearly impossible.

I'll "count" this game...but other than "counting" it; there's no value whatsoever in analyzing it. If I end up having to play at this house for league play in Fall/Winter...I sure hope this issue is fixed...or else it'll be the last time I ever bowl there.

Wednesday Practice: Concourse Bowling Center:
low oil synthetics

507 Series: 138-166-203 (clean)
Started out playing the middle line with the less aggressive Encounter. But just kept coming in right. I should have switched to something more aggressive, but didn't. Then in Game 2 I actually balled down to the Rhythm and was still coming in right. I finally found a strike line in the 7th frame but it was still not optimal so I balled down again (should have balled up) to the Frantic for Game 3. With the Frantic, I was able to strike quite well, but when I didn't, I came in light but left make-able spares. So Game 3 was the best of the night and clean.

507 Series: 194-172-141
Talk about consistency!! TWO 507 series BACK-TO-BACK!

Since the middle wasn't "ideal", I thought maybe I'd try something much more aggressive on the outside line. I mean, at that point, with the Frantic, I had practically moved to the outside line anyways. So I switched back to the less aggressive Encounter and played the outside (8-board). This took some adjusting...the lanes were drying up and it wanted to go left...but other than a chopped 1-2-4 in the 1st; I wasn clean in Game 1. Game 2 was much of the same, struggling to keep the ball from hooking too much...but I still was weary about going with my C-Game inside. But Game 3 I was so far right that I threw the first 2 shots in the gutter and the rest of the game didn't go well...so I finally had no choice but to move to the inside.

130-194
I had time for 2 more games so I started using the less aggressive Encounter for a few frames outside...but then moved inside with the Rhythm. However, I think some of my struggles "inside" is that my line is too aggressive. The Rhythm just couldn't make the turn at the extreme angle I was playing. It wanted to turn earlier..and if it did...I'd get a split. If I tried to push it out (using target and/or speed)...couldn't make the turn. So for the 2nd game, back to the less aggressive Encounter...but moved my line from laying down at 23 and targeting 18...and went to sort of an inside/middle hybrid where I was laying down 20 and targeting 15. Same board coverage, just a line that would hopefully allow the ball to come back at a slower speed and closer target. So, in game 2 it started off rough and I had to be careful not to put too much speed into it or it was still missing right...but it gave me 5 strikes and a decent (although not clean) score.

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.41 pins
Strikes: 30% (1 turkey, 6 doubles and 11 singles)
Spares: 61% picked up

Single Pin spares: 80% (17/21)
Most common single-pin leaves: 10-pin (8x).
Never left a single 1-pin, 7-pin, nor 9-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 50% (18/36)
Most common multi-pin spare leave: 1-2-4 (7x).

Splits: 0% (0/5)

Average over 8 games: 167.25.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 172.88.

Another similar night in terms of results...but not "bad". I think my big learning experience tonight was that I was simply using my arsenal incorrectly. I was missing right, moving right, then balling DOWN and starting back at the starting point. I think that method works GREAT if you're striking and about to burn up your line. BUT...if you're not striking because you're coming in weak...you need to move back to the starting point and ball UP...not DOWN.

I also had a good learning experience in terms of my "C-Game"...the INSIDE line. I think I was able to figure out that a LOT of my struggles is trying to play too aggressive and inside line. I need to play more like what Rob M. plays where the "inside" is standing just left of center and throwing center. NOT the Tommy Jones or Bill O'Neill inside line...where you're standing 6 boards right of the left gutter and throwing just right of center.

And THATs what practice is for! Too many league bowlers DON'T practice. Practice isn't about scoring...but those that practice and don't keep score...then it's sometimes hard to see trends. PinPal has been a GREAT tool because it allows me to look back at every frame and see trends. And those trends lead me to re-think how I approach things.

Hopefully all this work pays off because I have a VERY KEY game Thursday night against the top DAWG in our league. We win, we're in 1st or 2nd place with about 4 weeks to go before sweeps. If we lose, we're probably 4th-6th and will have little chance short of a miracle of taking the trophy. And Friday I'm subbing for my old Friday night team...so I always want to do well for them. And Sunday is I think the last week of the PBA Wolf pattern so I need to finally get a good series on that pattern after 2 weeks of sub-par performance on it.

[Amyers]

I think you may have figured a few things out. I've been trying to tell you that about your inside line for a while but maybe I wasn't explaining it well. For lower rev guys just put the ball out to wher it's just looking like it's going past the pocket and let it snap back in. I have more revs than you and I can't play that around the world line either.

[Aslan]

Thursday League: medium oil synthetics

438 Series: 154-143-141
Game 1 was pretty much just a lot of shots coming in light or right. Made all the "make-able" spares except for somehow chopping the 2-4-5 in the 10th. Game 2 was more of the same, light/right, but missed 2 "make-able" spares instead of just 1. Game 3 I started hitting more center and left, made adjustments, then started hitting right again...just couldn't find the right shot to strike.

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 7.94 pins
Strikes: 12% (4 singles)
Spares: 55% picked up

Single Pin spares: 77% (7/9)
Most common single-pin leave: 10-pin (3x).
Never left a single 1-pin, 2-pin, 4-pin, 6-pin, nor 8-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 44% (8/18)
Most common multi-pin leaves: 6-10 (3x each).

Splits: 0% (0/6)

Average over 3 games: 146.00.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 153.33.

Just horrible. Worst series I've thrown in this league. In practice, none of my lines were really working, but it seemed like the outside line (8-board) was going to be the best course of action on both lanes. Used the Frantic the whole time...trying to get that midway point between the pearls going too long and not coming back...and the Rhythm (solid) that tends to read too early and go through the head. I figured if it was a bad ball choice, the lanes would tell me rather quickly and I could pull out the more aggressively drilled/surfaced Encounter and perhaps that would give me the angle I was looking for. But, the Frantic seemed to be "right there"...a minor adjustment away...but no.

So, this is a bummer. I've been on a downward spiral since throwing my season high series of 575 back in week 9. Thats 7 straight weeks of decline; watching my average fall from 174 to 167 and at this rate I'll be a 158 bowler in time for Vegas and Laughlin. I practice 20 games a week...and throw in the low 170s. Then I try to bowl with the lights on, no music blaring, no drunk teenagers running around on the approach, with league oil conditions...and I'm a high 150s bowler. The oil volume or pattern is just unbearable. I spend 3-4 frames hitting right/light, make the necessary adjustments, then go through the head...adjust...then spend 3-4 more frames of hitting light/right. And I can't actually practice on these conditions...I get the fortune of practicing in the middle of the night on dry lanes...which is a BIG help (NOT!).

But from a TEAM standpoint…a truly GREAT night as we took 3 points from the team in 2nd place which will give us either a share or sole possession of 2nd place; only 1 point back of the leader with about 3-5 weeks left in the regular season.

So...I don't know what to do at this point. I sub tonight for my old team...I guess I gotta adjust all my angles. And I guess I gotta look at some more lessons from the experts. Barry Asher had me working on my elbow and shoulder at the clinic last week...maybe I gotta focus more on that. Maybe take a look at my schedule and see if I can schedule a lesson with Missy and Mark in the next couple months. Then I got the lesson with Rob in Vegas. But...at this point...I'm in one of those "places" where quitting altogether is starting to float around inside the skull as an option.

[Amyers]

Thursday League: medium oil synthetics

438 Series: 154-143-141
Game 1 was pretty much just a lot of shots coming in light or right. Made all the "make-able" spares except for somehow chopping the 2-4-5 in the 10th. Game 2 was more of the same, light/right, but missed 2 "make-able" spares instead of just 1. Game 3 I started hitting more center and left, made adjustments, then started hitting right again...just couldn't find the right shot to strike.

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 7.94 pins
Strikes: 12% (4 singles)
Spares: 55% picked up

Single Pin spares: 77% (7/9)
Most common single-pin leave: 10-pin (3x).
Never left a single 1-pin, 2-pin, 4-pin, 6-pin, nor 8-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 44% (8/18)
Most common multi-pin leaves: 6-10 (3x each).

Splits: 0% (0/6)

Average over 3 games: 146.00.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 153.33.

Just horrible. Worst series I've thrown in this league. In practice, none of my lines were really working, but it seemed like the outside line (8-board) was going to be the best course of action on both lanes. Used the Frantic the whole time...trying to get that midway point between the pearls going too long and not coming back...and the Rhythm (solid) that tends to read too early and go through the head. I figured if it was a bad ball choice, the lanes would tell me rather quickly and I could pull out the more aggressively drilled/surfaced Encounter and perhaps that would give me the angle I was looking for. But, the Frantic seemed to be "right there"...a minor adjustment away...but no.

So, this is a bummer. I've been on a downward spiral since throwing my season high series of 575 back in week 9. Thats 7 straight weeks of decline; watching my average fall from 174 to 167 and at this rate I'll be a 158 bowler in time for Vegas and Laughlin. I practice 20 games a week...and throw in the low 170s. Then I try to bowl with the lights on, no music blaring, no drunk teenagers running around on the approach, with league oil conditions...and I'm a high 150s bowler. The oil volume or pattern is just unbearable. I spend 3-4 frames hitting right/light, make the necessary adjustments, then go through the head...adjust...then spend 3-4 more frames of hitting light/right. And I can't actually practice on these conditions...I get the fortune of practicing in the middle of the night on dry lanes...which is a BIG help (NOT!).

But from a TEAM standpoint…a truly GREAT night as we took 3 points from the team in 2nd place which will give us either a share or sole possession of 2nd place; only 1 point back of the leader with about 3-5 weeks left in the regular season.

So...I don't know what to do at this point. I sub tonight for my old team...I guess I gotta adjust all my angles. And I guess I gotta look at some more lessons from the experts. Barry Asher had me working on my elbow and shoulder at the clinic last week...maybe I gotta focus more on that. Maybe take a look at my schedule and see if I can schedule a lesson with Missy and Mark in the next couple months. Then I got the lesson with Rob in Vegas. But...at this point...I'm in one of those "places" where quitting altogether is starting to float around inside the skull as an option.

I struggled with the same thing at the beginning of my summer leagues the coming in light bad angle thing. I added some surface to my polished Euphoria and it helped. Maybe adding a little polish or higher grit finish to the rhythm would help. I'm not sure what all helped the problem. Me getting more on the ball, a/c fixed, or the surface change.

Maybe you need to look into your local centers more and see if you can find some that have heavier patterns during open bowling.

Keep your head up the road forward is more often than not a road with many turns.

[Mike White]

Thursday League: medium oil synthetics

438 Series: 154-143-141
Game 1 was pretty much just a lot of shots coming in light or right. Made all the "make-able" spares except for somehow chopping the 2-4-5 in the 10th. Game 2 was more of the same, light/right, but missed 2 "make-able" spares instead of just 1. Game 3 I started hitting more center and left, made adjustments, then started hitting right again...just couldn't find the right shot to strike.

So, this is a bummer. I've been on a downward spiral since throwing my season high series of 575 back in week 9. Thats 7 straight weeks of decline; watching my average fall from 174 to 167 and at this rate I'll be a 158 bowler in time for Vegas and Laughlin. I practice 20 games a week...and throw in the low 170s. Then I try to bowl with the lights on, no music blaring, no drunk teenagers running around on the approach, with league oil conditions...and I'm a high 150s bowler. The oil volume or pattern is just unbearable. I spend 3-4 frames hitting right/light, make the necessary adjustments, then go through the head...adjust...then spend 3-4 more frames of hitting light/right. And I can't actually practice on these conditions...I get the fortune of practicing in the middle of the night on dry lanes...which is a BIG help (NOT!).

So...I don't know what to do at this point. I sub tonight for my old team...I guess I gotta adjust all my angles. And I guess I gotta look at some more lessons from the experts. Barry Asher had me working on my elbow and shoulder at the clinic last week...maybe I gotta focus more on that. Maybe take a look at my schedule and see if I can schedule a lesson with Missy and Mark in the next couple months. Then I got the lesson with Rob in Vegas. But...at this point...I'm in one of those "places" where quitting altogether is starting to float around inside the skull as an option.

Aslan, go back to the video of when you got those two balls drilled, and look at your hand position as you release the ball.

You are completely on top of the ball, which mean you are applying almost no roll on the ball.

Almost all of the roll on your ball comes from friction with the lane.

When the lanes are what you call "slick", you get less help from the lane.

Until you get that hand back behind, and under the ball, so you can roll it, all of the adjusting with your feet is meaningless.

As for not being able to practice on "slick" lanes. Well, if you had a plastic ball, you could practice with that to make the late night lanes feel slick to you.

I have a 16lb orphaned (undrilled) plastic ball I could let go of for just the price of drilling.

It even does a bit of glow in the dark (black light).

[Aslan]

Aslan, go back to the video of when you got those two balls drilled, and look at your hand position as you release the ball.

You are completely on top of the ball, which mean you are applying almost no roll on the ball.

Almost all of the roll on your ball comes from friction with the lane.

When the lanes are what you call "slick", you get less help from the lane.

Until you get that hand back behind, and under the ball, so you can roll it, all of the adjusting with your feet is meaningless.

That IS a possibility. Absolutely. And both Rob and Barry have been stearing me in that direction. Thus far, it just hasn't worked. If I leave my hand behind the ball, it rolls end over end over the thumb/finger holes. I just haven't been able to master that inside to outside release. I can "sort of" do it when I throw a back-up ball. Granted, my back-up ball accuracy is similar to throwing a beachball at a squirrel...but I am able to at least stay behind it without going end over end.

I have a 16lb orphaned (undrilled) plastic ball I could let go of for just the price of drilling.

That IS tempting. But I don't have room for another ball right now. I got the 4-bag roller so I could stop lugging that stupid 2-ball shoulder bag around...which was KILLING my shoulder. If I add a plastic ball, then I'd have SIX balls with me. I "could" just use it for practice on the drier lanes...but if I'm gonna get one...then I'd also want to transition to using it for spares. And I'm not ready to retire the Frantic nor Slingshot yet. We'll see. No for now...but, we'll see. Last night was so bad I can't think straight much less make more arsenal decisions.

Maybe I should get ahead of the sport and learn to bowl 2-handed.