Reply With QuoteNice job on the spares... big difference when you can hit those!
Tuesday Night League: Fairly new synthetics, dry THS
577 Series: 197-209-171
First game I felt good. A few bad shots and a couple bad carry frames...but spare shooting was solid.
Game 2 I was absolutely dialed in...6 strikes in the first 7 frames. THEN, my team member jinxed the whole thing and said I was gonna end up with a great score...to which I had to remind him that it's not over till it's over...many a "great game" have been ruined in the 9th and 10th frames. And I'll be damned if the next shot I threw didn't slide right, leave a bucket, and then I chopped it. Then, a missed 10-pin...wasn't even close. So...my 238 game suddenly ended as a 209 game.
Game 3 I lost carry. Only missed a couple spare conversions, but when ya can't strike...spares become 'perfect or bust'.
PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.85 pins
Strikes: 42% (1 4-bagger, 3 doubles, and 4 singles)
Spares: 61% picked up
Single Pin spares: 80% (8/10)
Most common single-pin leave: 10-pin (5x).
Also left a single 5-pin, 6-pin, and 7-pin (2x).
Multiple Pin spares: 37% (3/8)
Most common multi-pin leaves: 2-4-5, 2-4-5-8, and 3-9-10 split (2x each)
Splits: 50% (1/2)
Average over 3 games: 192.33.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 199.67.
Roller coaster ride continues.
The Track 300A is working better...even if I throw it up the middle I don't really see oil tracks...the lanes are rediculously dry. The downside to the 300A is that is just SO weak...such a "big/smooth" arc type of ball versus skid/flip...that when I try to open things up...it just doesn't come back. So every game is a battle between the line being too tight and going through the nose, the ball losing energy and rolling out and hitting weak, or the ball skidding too far and not able to come back. For these lane conditions...you almost need a ball in a urethane cover....but with some kind of strong core to help it on the backend. I'm kinda running out of ball options given anything stronger than a Cyclone seems to burn up midway down the lane....but urethane/low-hook resin balls like the 300A simply don't have the backend. So, I end up having some good frames...right up until the time I need to move left...then things get problematic.
I have a new belief, based on my last two performances, that I perform better when there is someone I'm trying to show off for....or impress...or I'm being watched...or some type of stage...or have a chip on my shoulder. It's like, the opposite of pressure. Most people get in those situations and get nervous and they struggle. I struggle if those things AREN'T there. Last Wednesday, a cute gal was nearby...I rolled a 609. Last night, a cute girl showed up...I roll a 577....5 pins higher than her anchor boyfriend. Last time I played against my old teacher (from way, way back when I bought my first ball in 2013), I had one of my best series. Even in my battles with MWhite...a far better and more experienced bowler...I always seemed to "play up to" the competition. When those things are absent...the pressure removed...which should relax me and let me do my own thing...I don't do as well. That's weird.
The guy I was subbing for is back next week so not sure when I'll be back in the line-up...usually about once a month. I'm gonna sweep with them mid-March in Vegas. A shame if I don't bowl with them in February...it's the only time I use the 300A...only got about 9 games on it.
In Bag: (: .) Zen Master Solid; (: .) Perfect Mindset; (: .) Brunswick Endeavor; (: .) Outer Limits Pearl; (: .) Ebonite Maxim
USBC#: 8259-59071; USBC Sanctioned Average = 192; Lifetime Average = 172;
Ball Speed: 14.7mph; Rev. Rate: 240rpm || High Game (sanc.) = 300 (268); High Series (sanc.) = 725 (720); Clean Games: 198
Smokey this is not 'Nam', this is bowling. There are rules. Proud two-time winner of a bowlingboards.com weekly ball give-away!
Nice job on the spares... big difference when you can hit those!
Wednesday League Night: low-medium oil synthetics, older brunswick lanes
531 Series: 185-151-195
PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 9.00 pins
Strikes: 42% (3 doubles and 8 singles)
Spares: 61% picked up
Single Pin spares: 70% (7/10)
Most common single-pin leave: 7-pin and 10-pin (3x each).
Never left a single 1-pin, 3-pin, 6-pin, nor 9-pin.
Multiple Pin spares: 50% (4/8)
Most common multi-pin leave: 4-7 (2x)
Splits: 0% (0/3)
Average over 3 games: 177.00.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 188.00.
No need for grad summaries. Like I posted earlier, if ya can't seem to carry the corner pins and/or run any strikes together...spare shooting has to be perfect. Add poor spare shooting to getting 3 splits...not gonna be a good night. Fortunately, the team did great...one guy had his high series for the season and the beginner guy shot his first 200+ game (ever, I think). Had the team knocked over 24 additional pins...we'd have taken the high team game spot.
I don't like relying on my teammates to win games...but it's appreciated when they do.
In Bag: (: .) Zen Master Solid; (: .) Perfect Mindset; (: .) Brunswick Endeavor; (: .) Outer Limits Pearl; (: .) Ebonite Maxim
USBC#: 8259-59071; USBC Sanctioned Average = 192; Lifetime Average = 172;
Ball Speed: 14.7mph; Rev. Rate: 240rpm || High Game (sanc.) = 300 (268); High Series (sanc.) = 725 (720); Clean Games: 198
Smokey this is not 'Nam', this is bowling. There are rules. Proud two-time winner of a bowlingboards.com weekly ball give-away!
So you're like the pre-Parsells era NY Giants.Originally Posted by Aslan
Many days I feel the same way.
John
Friday League Night (subbing)
Older Brunswick synthetics: low-moderate oil
674 Series: 247-209-218
PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 9.44 pins
Strikes: 67% (1 6-bagger, 4 turkeys, 2 doubles, and a single)
Spares: 45% picked up
Single Pin spares: 66% (4/6)
Most common single-pin leave: 2-pin and 6-pin (3x each).
Also left a 3-pin and a 7-pin.
Multiple Pin spares: 20% (1/5)
Most common multi-pin leaves: N/A
Splits: 50% (1/2)
Average over 3 games: 224.67.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 232.33.
Game-by-Game recap in thread: "Don't Poke the Bear: A Bowling Story"
I will say, that late into Game 1, I thought about moving right...and I remembered some of the stuff talked about on here...especially from Amyers and RobM...and I actually moved left....when instinct told me to move right...and, after some slight adjustments when I switched balls...the moves left worked.
The key to truly embracing this modern bowling concept of constantly moving left to find oil...is going to require me to get much better at seeing the ball transition from skid to hook to roll. I am just starting to be able to see it. If I can't tell...then I don't know if I'm missing because of too steep an inside angle OR because the ball is burning up. Tonight, I guessed correctly.
Last edited by Aslan; 01-15-2017 at 03:50 AM.
In Bag: (: .) Zen Master Solid; (: .) Perfect Mindset; (: .) Brunswick Endeavor; (: .) Outer Limits Pearl; (: .) Ebonite Maxim
USBC#: 8259-59071; USBC Sanctioned Average = 192; Lifetime Average = 172;
Ball Speed: 14.7mph; Rev. Rate: 240rpm || High Game (sanc.) = 300 (268); High Series (sanc.) = 725 (720); Clean Games: 198
Smokey this is not 'Nam', this is bowling. There are rules. Proud two-time winner of a bowlingboards.com weekly ball give-away!
Tuesday Night League: Fairly new synthetics, dry THS
588 Series: 181-214-193
PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 9.15 pins
Strikes: 52% (2 turkeys, 3 doubles, and 6 singles)
Spares: 68% picked up
Single Pin spares: 71% (5/7)
Most common single-pin leave: 7-pin (3x).
Also left a single 6-pin, 9-pin, and 10-pin (2x).
Multiple Pin spares: 66% (6/9)
Most common multi-pin leaves: 2-4-5 (2x)
Splits: 33% (1/3)
Average over 3 games: 196.00.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 203.00.
Got a call at the last minute to sub tonight. Now that I have the Track 300A designated for only that center and it's absurdly dry conditions...I have two bags. Well, downside to two bags...is you can forget stuff that you need...in tonight's case, my VISE inserts....ALL of them. So, I told the one guy I was gonna leave...but he asked if I had another ball...and I said the only other ball I had was a Hammer Big Blue Spare Ball...that I keep in my trunk...that I "accidentally stole"...that doesn't totally fit my hand...that is all banged up from bouncing around in my trunk. I only keep it there...in case I bowl unexpectedly.
Anyways, I warned the team that I would likely not be able to break 160 per game throwing essentially a spare ball right up the middle...but they unanimously agreed to have me bowl. The team we played beat us 3-1...they were the #2 team and had some real talent top to bottom. The whole night, everyone was complaining about the dry conditions...everyone except me. I barely made a 2:1 move left the entire night. If I could hit 11-12...and I didn't put too much speed on the shot, I found the pocket.
The bad news is, now my team will want me to use that damn ball every week. They don't understand...I had to make a LOT of really good shots with that urethane ball...very little error room. The fit was a problem...the span isn't large enough, the thumb hole is rediculously too big (and I forgot my tape with the inserts)...it's just not a good "long term" solution. Will I be more likely to grab it and use it on nights where games 1 and 2 stink? Yes. But, given how I've been throwing the ball lately...I would make a small wager that had I had my 300A and my inserts and been using my spare ball...I'd have shot over 588.
Since 1-4-17;
609-577-531-674-588 = Average: 198
Add to that, my lesson Sunday morning...even though we weren't really keeping score, it was like 3-4 games with 3 of them 230+.
Now I just need to fix the ball spinner this weekend. I ran into problems with it 2 weeks ago...I think I need a new part. But, the Innovate could use another resurface...it's starting to act 'squirrelly'.
In Bag: (: .) Zen Master Solid; (: .) Perfect Mindset; (: .) Brunswick Endeavor; (: .) Outer Limits Pearl; (: .) Ebonite Maxim
USBC#: 8259-59071; USBC Sanctioned Average = 192; Lifetime Average = 172;
Ball Speed: 14.7mph; Rev. Rate: 240rpm || High Game (sanc.) = 300 (268); High Series (sanc.) = 725 (720); Clean Games: 198
Smokey this is not 'Nam', this is bowling. There are rules. Proud two-time winner of a bowlingboards.com weekly ball give-away!
Wednesday League Night: low-medium oil synthetics, older brunswick lanes
605 Series: 192-224-189
PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 9.27 pins
Strikes: 63% (1 7-bagger, 1 4-bagger, 1 turkey, 1 double, and 5 singles)
Spares: 33% picked up
Single Pin spares: 40% (2/5)
Most common single-pin leave: 4-pin and 10-pin (2x each).
Never left a single 6-pin.
Multiple Pin spares: 28% (2/7)
Most common multi-pin leave: n/a
Splits: 0% (0/1)
Average over 3 games: 201.67.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 212.33.
We were due for a letdown match, after trouncing the team last week with the third highest team game of the season. Fortunately we played the team where the one guy has the incredibly hot girlfriend...so I quickly found my motivation. The team was all nice guys...so I couldn't use the anger/competitive factors...had to tap into the other male primal desire...impressing babes.
Game 1 was okay...nothing special. The opponents had a crazy handicap advantage and their 149 average anchor shot a 220 scratch...so we were dead in the water. Game 2 started out poo-tastic...then I closed with 7 straight.
I started drinking earlier than usual...so by the middle of Game 2...it was kicking in. Relaxed me to finish strong in Game 2...but Game 3 I was starting to feel 'tipsy'. I guess a 189, when you open 4 times...including the 10th...isn't terrible. Or, you can look it the glass as half empty and say a 189 is a pretty horrible score when you strike 6 times.
Spare shooting was just a disaster. For some reason, I was 'expecting' to strike...and I often did. But, with the spares, it was almost like I was expecting to 'miss' them...and on most of em; I did.
The team lost 3...my 224 barely got us 1. I didn't win the heart of the cute girl. Turns out bowling prowess ranks low on the list of aphrodisiacs. But, I did win both the brackets I was in which covered about 2/3 of my costs that night.
In Bag: (: .) Zen Master Solid; (: .) Perfect Mindset; (: .) Brunswick Endeavor; (: .) Outer Limits Pearl; (: .) Ebonite Maxim
USBC#: 8259-59071; USBC Sanctioned Average = 192; Lifetime Average = 172;
Ball Speed: 14.7mph; Rev. Rate: 240rpm || High Game (sanc.) = 300 (268); High Series (sanc.) = 725 (720); Clean Games: 198
Smokey this is not 'Nam', this is bowling. There are rules. Proud two-time winner of a bowlingboards.com weekly ball give-away!
Thursday Practice: older Brunswick synthetics;
185-199
PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.90 pins
Strikes: 47% (4 doubles and 2 singles)
Spares: 63% picked up
Single Pin spares: 100% (5/5)
Most common single-pin leave: 7-pin (2x)
Also left a single 4-pin, 5-pin, and 10-pin.
Multiple Pin spares: 33% (2/6)
Most common multi-pin leave: 1-2-4-10 washout (2x)
Splits: 0% (0/2)
Average over 3 games: 192.00.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: n/a.
Just bowling with a buddy this evening. Just used the Track 300A and a spare ball. My usual equipment is too strong for the lanes when they aren't freshly oiled, so I figured the 300A was the best bet. And, it's been working pretty well on Tuesdays in the other house...figured I'd give it a try.
In Bag: (: .) Zen Master Solid; (: .) Perfect Mindset; (: .) Brunswick Endeavor; (: .) Outer Limits Pearl; (: .) Ebonite Maxim
USBC#: 8259-59071; USBC Sanctioned Average = 192; Lifetime Average = 172;
Ball Speed: 14.7mph; Rev. Rate: 240rpm || High Game (sanc.) = 300 (268); High Series (sanc.) = 725 (720); Clean Games: 198
Smokey this is not 'Nam', this is bowling. There are rules. Proud two-time winner of a bowlingboards.com weekly ball give-away!
I almost think the mental factor is bigger in shooting spares than trying for strikes. There are some who take the "It's only a spare attitude" and and start their approach as they pick the ball off the rack without ever setting up and focusing on their target. Then there are those who are so worried about making the spare that they spend twice as long in their initial stance. There are the bowlers who get so mad that they didn't get a strike that they miss the spare. My favorite is the "miss right, over-correct and miss left, complete loss of confidence".
John
So if this was practice, what were you working on?
John
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