Amyers Road To The Venture Lanes Christmas Tournament

**Amyers** · 12-01-2014, 11:55 AM

I will be bowling my first tournament in many years on Sunday December 7th. So I thought I would start a thread about my journey. The tournament will be a singles / doubles tournament 4 games counting towards both. I really don't expect to win but my bowling has been progressing to where I feel comfortable at least being a donator. I have bowled on these lanes a few times over the last couple of years but don't really have much experience with them.

**Amyers** · 12-01-2014, 12:22 PM

Saturday Pre-tournament Practice

I wanted to go and check out the conditions and was told they would have lanes available with a fresh shot on Saturday morning. The oil pattern here seems to go out much farther than what I'm used too. there seem to be plenty of oil even out as far as the five board and the pattern plays longer than I'm used too also. I was about ten boards right with the feet and playing just outside the second arrow on these lanes which is quite a bit farther right than I typically play. This pattern does have a wall in the middle but it appears to be a flatter almost sport like pattern on the outsides.

Game 1- 135 I was starting cold and it always takes me a while to get warmed up started off with a gutter ball the heavier oil also seemed to effect my spare shooting even with the plastic ball. It just took a while to find my line 5 spares, one strike finally in the tenth, and 5 open frames for a really bad game.

Game 2- 253 Finally found my line threw the first 7 strikes left a 6-10 and chopped the 10 doubled and 7/ to finish the game. Finished game with 9 strikes, 1 spare and 1 open.

Game 3- 157 Started off with a pocket 7-10 and just lost my line and was kind of lost I think I messed up my release and made a bad adjustment here just couldn't seem to get anything to work. Still struggling on spares also. Finished game with 2 strikes, 4 spares and 3 opens

Game 4- 160 More of the same above maybe a little better had two splits in this game. Finished with 5 strikes, 3 spares and three opens

Game 5- 185 Seamed to get my groove back a little started off /x/x/ hit weak left a bucket that I chopped x and then from nowhere a gutter ball and five count just not sure what happened recovered to throw the final 4 strikes in a row. finished with 7 strikes, 3 spares and 2 opens. Would have been a really food game if not for the weird gutter ball in the 8th frame.

Game 6- 232 Started off with 6 strikes in a row for the game (ten total maybe first time I ever did that) left a 10 pin that I missed

double and then threw a bad shot in the 10th to mess up a really nice game came in way weak leaving the 2-4-10 split that I missed other than the missed spare and the tenth one of the better games I've had. Finished with 8 strikes no spares and 2 opens.

Well game 1 was a mess, game 3 was a disaster I think caused by a bad adjustment, the rest I actually felt like I bowled pretty well. The 160 and 185 games would both had been better with proper spare shooting. I'm going to have to adjust my spare shooting system some with all the oil on the outside edges of the lanes. I do use a plastic ball but apparently I am used to getting a little hook with my plastic ball that I just don't get here and it's throwing me off. I will be getting in at least 1 more practice session on these lanes maybe 2 before the tournament.

**vdubtx** · 12-01-2014, 01:18 PM

Good luck to you. For the most part, I have been a donator as well in tournaments. Haven't bowled that many to get my chances at winning up anyway.

**Aslan** · 12-01-2014, 03:16 PM

I will also be bowling my 3rd tournament of 2014 (not counting the 1ABHMAVZSCI, the VBT, and AVI Challenge) on December 7th. Citrus Belt BVL Roll-Off. The goal is to finish 1st and represent the Citrus Belt USBC at the California State BVL Tournament in 2015. Actually, it's just a warm-up for the Orange County BVL early in 2015. But, if I win the Citrus Belt BVL I won't need to even worry about the Orange County BVL. I like the BVL tournaments because it's broken into division based on average. So my 165-166 book average will allow me to bowl scratch against other 151-169 average bowlers rather than the usual handicap tournament where I still gotta beat VDub level scratch players (but have a little handicap to help).

Remember what Chris Barnes said, "Good spare shooting won't win you tournaments. But bad spare shooting will cost you tournaments."

It's why thumbless bowlers tend to be rare on the tournament scene. When they are on...they roll 240 games with EASE. But when they can't find that strike line...they could just as easily roll a game in the 140-160s.

And it's hard. Because when the spare shooting is "ON"...it feels very easy. But when it's "OFF"...it's almost a mental thing where you just know you're gonna miss. If you make it, you're like "phew". And thats a BAD mindset to be in when you start leaving a string of spares.

He're's hoping we both have a good December 7th!!!

**J Anderson** · 12-01-2014, 03:49 PM

Originally Posted by Aslan

Because when the spare shooting is "ON"...it feels very easy. But when it's "OFF"...it's almost a mental thing where you just know you're gonna miss. If you make it, you're like "phew". And thats a BAD mindset to be in when you start leaving a string of spares.

First, lest I be accused of hijacking the thread, Good luck Amyers!

Aslan, you are so right about spare shooting. Once you have a spare shooting system, making spares should be almost automatic, particularly if the system takes the lane condition out of play. Most misses are a result of mental lapses; lining up on the wrong board, thinking it's a different pin than what it really is, sighting the wrong target, rushing the shot because your mind is already planning an adjustment for the next frame. Once you miss a couple in a row it's very easy to go into a death spiral where you have no confidence in your system and start changing things that don't need to be changed.

**Amyers** · 12-09-2014, 12:38 PM

Venture Lanes Christmas Tournament 12/7/14

This was a doubles tournament that I was bowling with my wife it was a handicap tournament. 4 games with payouts for high game each game and for the combined score.

Game 1- 187 Started off slow but got going and salvaged a decent game

Game 2- 259 Couldn't miss and carried well for this one Won the high game pot of $75

Game 3- 201 Couple of splits and a missed 10 pin cost me in this one great game otherwise One split bad shot the other bad reaction not sure what happened on it left a 8-10

Game 4- 212 Missed a 7 pin other wise was clean

859 scratch 64 pins handicap =923 for me.
482 scratch 368 pins handicap =850 for wife

Total was 1773 good for 6th and a 5th place finish out of 38 teams. We won $175+$75 for my high game = $250. I wasn't expecting anything at all so I was very pleasantly surprised the wife and I both were above average for every game except 2 and well above on a couple. We were only 31 pins from 1st which paid $1000. Very happy after my first tournament.