'Nuf said IMO.Originally Posted by J Anderson
Is there luck in bowling?
This thread is inspired by the current "discussion" between Rob and Mike in the '10 Pin Leaves' thread.
Rob replied to the original poster, "Leaving the ten pin standing is never bad luck." He went on to explain, "It's a matter of entry angle and energy. If the angle is not correct, the result is a ringing ten. If the ball is not at it's peak in terms of energy when it enters the pocket, it's a weak ten." In other posts he has made a similar case to say the same thing about the rest of the pins in the back row. In other words, any time a bowler doesn't shoot 300, it's because he or she made a mistake in at least one frame.
Mike has rebutted this several times with this serving as a fair summary of his position:"Everything is changing from shot to shot.
Pins being off spot, even within tolerance, oil being moved or removed, are you off by 1/2 a revolution.
All kinds of things can change the results of a shot.
If the cause is not of your doing, and there wasn't a way for you to be aware of it before the shot, it's bad luck."
So is there luck in bowling?
If there isn't, does that mean those Brooklyn strikes I got Tuesday night were all skill even though I yanked the ball?
John
'Nuf said IMO.
I think if you define luck as random chance, then bowling is filled with luck. Whether it be a pin that is slightly mis-spotted or a pin bouncing wildly off the wall on a missed shot that takes out that standing ten pin, bowling is filled with luck. But I think skill in throwing the ball lessens random chance substantially.
But hey, I'll take a Brooklyn strike every chance I get.
As the old saying goes " I'd rather be lucky than good anyday" because
a lucky bowler is harder to beat than a good bowler is.
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Right handed, ex-cranker now a power tweener approx. 350 - 400 RPM's PAP 4 1/2" over 1" up high league sanctioned game 300 high league sanctioned series 788
Bill
Absolutely.
High Sanctioned Scratch Game - 300(12) Hi Sanctioned Scratch Series - 822(3)
2016/17 Book Average=221, 2017/18 Composite Average=223
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Good question/debate.
I think there's absolutely luck in bowling.
Rob talks about understanding the modern game, and I think he's correct and is a great teacher. I've never worked with him in a lesson before, but I understand his writings and what he's getting at.
Mike's points about a huge number of variables, etc also have merit, IMO. It takes skill to average 200+ (albeit less today), but it also takes a certain amount of luck to have the conditions be correct, to have the wisdom to make the correct adjustments, to have the ability to throw the exact same speed, etc.
So many times in league, I'll get a 7pin, 8pin, or some other single-pin leave and someone will say "that was a great shot, you got screwed." Well, 8 times out of 10, they're wrong--I see it hitting light, heavy, etc--there are very few "pocket shots" I make where I don't know what's wrong.
Truthfully, and I don't mean to sound cheesy here.....but I feel very lucky to have found this forum. People like Rob and Mike, with different opinions, cause one to think about the game. I've never taken a mental approach to the sport before; because of this board, I have and my average has increased significantly.
Agreed. There is obviously some luck...pulling shots and getting strikes...going through the head and getting a strike rather than a 7-10...
..last night I missed and the 4-5 were standing...but the 5 fell late and 'barely' bumped the 4 and knocked it over before the pin deck came down. That used up all my luck for July!
And then there's stone 8s and stone 9s...or 7-pins that you leave because 2 pins hit each other in mid air above the 7-pin.
But, as was mentioned and to Rob's credit....luck is very, very, very over-used by most bowlers. Very few bowlers watch where their ball exits the pin deck and have zero understanding of what it means when a ball exits closer to the 8-pin or 9-pin...and where the ball exits the pin deck....CRUCIALLY important in terms of WHY you left a certain pin(s).
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USBC#: 8259-59071; USBC Sanctioned Average = 186; Lifetime Average = 171;
Ball Speed: 14.4mph; Rev. Rate: 240rpm || High Game (sanc.) = 300 (268); High Series (sanc.) = 725 (720); Clean Games: 181
Smokey this is not 'Nam', this is bowling. There are rules. Proud two-time winner of a bowlingboards.com weekly ball give-away!
The sad thing is that when a bowler crosses over to the Brooklyn side and doesn't strike, he often thinks it's bad luck. When he crosses over and does strike it never occurs to him that it's just good luck. LOL
There is luck in every single sport. A home run shot that hooks foul at the last second in baseball. A golf ball that catches the wind and just so happens to land in the hole, to get a hole-in-one. A quarterback tripping in football to ruin the play for his team. A stubborn pin that doesn't decide to fall down in bowling. Luck is inevitable anywhere you go in every sport in the world. It's just a matter of what kind of luck, when/where it shows up, and how it affects your game.
No there is not. And no to the second question as well. You happened to throw the ball in such a way that resulted in a brooklyn strike. It wasn't luck. It was physics in action.
Can you call it getting lucky? Yes you definitely can. Luck is just a human concept to say something ended well or ended poorly.
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