A funny thing happened on the way to 300...

[Mudpuppy]

If you watch the pros they always confirm the strike before celebrating

[MICHAEL]

talk about getting robbed! I started bowling appx 3 1/2 years ago! My first non sanctioned seniors league I just about bowled that 300 my first year. Had some other good ones 279,,, 290,,, but no 300!

Didn't make me want to quit, IN FACT, made me want to go sanctioned leagues so that when it did happen, I would get a ring.

[J Anderson]

If you watch the pros they always confirm the strike before celebrating

Unless it's the last ball of the day they're not just waiting to make sure it's a strike, they're watching how the ball goes through the pins to see if they will need to adjust to keep striking on that lane.

[CaptainXeroid]

Back in 1988, I had just graduated high school & saw watched one of my buddies shoot the number with his Grey Rhino. Normally he threw a Red Hammer, but forgot to bring the second bag that day. A few weeks later on some seriously burned up lanes, my Blue Dot was all I could get through the heads. The first 4 strikes weren't pretty, but they all look flush on the score sheet...or screen....showing my age.

The shot in the fifth frame finished strong so I started to turn around when the 6 snapped the 10 out when I some devil pin bounce out of the pit and stand near the 5-8 spot! To add insult to injury, the pin setter went 180 & I had to wait for the mechanic to cycle it. I covered & took it off the sheet for 279.

I've bowled at dozens of houses & pins bouncing out or spinning wobbly without falling is normally rare. Where I'm bowling league this season, pins getting hit & not falling over seems to happen often. It must be something about the pin decks and/or the way the pinsetters are calibrated because the number of swishing 7-10 splits there seems above normal as well.

[Mike White]

Just thought I'd start a thread for you "good" bowlers that were robbed of a 300 game for some crazy reason.

I'll start with what I witnessed (because I can't possibly bowl a 300) tonight at league:

This guy had 9 strikes…he was their anchor. Their second bowler goes up (their only female bowler), and she knocks down 7 pins. But her ball doesn't come back. Our 2nd bowler throws her ball (hoping it'll cause the other gals ball to come back)…nothing happens. Center is notified. They spend about 5-10 minutes trying to fix the problem…get the lady's ball back. But…they can't fix the problem and move us to the lane to our right where that group of league players was just getting done on.

Finally, it gets to their anchor…he throws it…leaves a couple pins. Spare. Leaves a single 10. Finishes with a 277. Afterwards, he was saying that he hit his mark…but the ball didn't react the way it had on the other lane.

So no 300 game. Not even an 11-in a row!!

Assuming it was just a ball return problem.

The mechanic ( if informed of the potential perfect game, and of the short amount of shots left to complete)
should have turned the lanes next to you on, then manually retrieved the balls and returned them on the next pair.

Walking a pair over to pick up your ball is much better than changing to a different lane.

[swingset]

I've got 6 300's to my credit, but sadly not a single one is sanctioned...3 of them during practice, and 3 were in unsanctioned leagues.

In sanctioned play, I had 11 in a row twice and the first time I just threw a bad ball and went through the nose, left the 3-6-9 for a 297.

The other time was brutal...I had the first 11 and the 2 pin and 4 pin bounced across the lane, and one hit the 10 pin starting to knock it over but one of the messengers that had hit the gutter in front of came around and bounced the 10 back up on the deck.

I saw the 10 start to fall and jumped in celebration....too early....I heard everyone go "awwwww" and looked back at the deck to see that pin still up.

I don't get too down about that game tho, because every ball was picture perfect....I know in my heart I couldn't have thrown a better game.

[kakcpa]

My buddy had the front 11 once. On his final shot, the ball stuck to his hand, did a little pop up, landed at the arrows, rolled into the gutter....290. He was pissed. He grabbed his gear and was out of the bowling alley faster than Del Ballard was after his famous gutterball.