RobLV1's Plastic Pilgrimage

[RobLV1]

9/10/17

As I posted a few weeks ago, my health problems have made me stop bowling competitively. I have started bowling recreationally in two leagues. In my Sunday's Doubles League (my wife is my doubles partner), I have decided just to use plastic balls. Today I used 2 Brunswick T Zones: one for strikes and most spares with a 500 abralon surface, and one with polish for right corner spares.

Today, in the first day of league, I shot 193-180-189=562 for a 187 average. I learned some valuable lessons. First, half pocket hits with plastic do not carry. The same holds true of light hits. High flush, however, carry every bit as well as reactive resin. In three games, I failed to get at least a nine count only four times. Two were splits and one was intentional as this bowling center gives out free game or free drink tickets for 111 in the seventh frame, and we were sixty pins ahead at the time, so I moved my feet three boards left and left a 2-4-5 in the eighth for the ticket (free drink, of course!). I also learned that my biggest bugaboo in picking up ten pins is when I got pissed that I left it and got fast feet to the line. Once I slowed my feet down for tens, I never missed another one.

I also considered that I should have joined a no-tap league where I could easily average 275! LOL

[bowl1820]

Did you layout the strike ball any special way, like with the pba plastic ball layout or just punch it straight up?

[RobLV1]

Did you layout the strike ball any special way, like with the pba plastic ball layout or just punch it straight up?

Nothing special. It's just an old spare ball to which I added some surface.

[Amyers]

If you decide to do this regularly Rob I would highly recommend one of the Track Spare + balls or something of the ilk. One of the guys I bowl with is using one as his primary ball with great success in one of my houses.

[fokai73]

over a decade ago, an old teammate had been battling cancer for a couple of years. Looking at him though, you wouldn't think he was sick. The last season he bowled, he struggled with his ball not staying right long enough to get to the pocket. Long story short, since he had a similar span to mine, I let him use my clear spare tire. He was averaging 178 with his strike ball in the first half. The second half he averaged a high deuce to finish his last season 190's. We bowled that following summer and I let him borrow the ball. He did well and finished with 200 even.

I've had success with clear balls and spare balls with cores when things got too rough with my urethane and/or reactive balls for dry. My first night of second shift league last week we were at the end pair due to lane break down. It was dry as the approach it seemed. My spare ball with a big diamond core came into play in the third game. I scored higher than my first two games.

1st game I shot a buck 90's playing just inside the 4th arrow, but not enough to push down the lane, shot two brooks and bad shots that carried. 2 splits.
2nd game, ball down to a reactive pearl. I got trapped and it was over under. I shot <170.
3rd game, old spare ball with a core and I played the track, shot 221.

I agree with Amyers, spare ball with cores are much better than traditional spare balls.

[RobLV1]

You guys are missing the point. I can hook a spare ball with no core. I don't want to see the ball hook. I simply want to keep the ball in the one-three pocket, and get a strike when I hit my target (at the tracers) and roll the ball correctly. In three games, as I said, I only failed to get a nine count or better four times. The main thing is the I HAD FUN! I had fun because I made bowling simple again. Plastic with cores is not simple. You have to worry about layouts. Plastic without cores is simple. What is so important about seeing more hook? What I did see was that the guys throwing aggressive reactive balls averaged higher than I did for the first two games, and shot 140-150 the last game. In the end, I had one of the highest series scores without ever shooting 200!

[Amyers]

You guys are missing the point. I can hook a spare ball with no core. I don't want to see the ball hook. I simply want to keep the ball in the one-three pocket, and get a strike when I hit my target (at the tracers) and roll the ball correctly. In three games, as I said, I only failed to get a nine count or better four times. The main thing is the I HAD FUN! I had fun because I made bowling simple again. Plastic with cores is not simple. You have to worry about layouts. Plastic without cores is simple. What is so important about seeing more hook? What I did see was that the guys throwing aggressive reactive balls averaged higher than I did for the first two games, and shot 140-150 the last game. In the end, I had one of the highest series scores without ever shooting 200!

I wasn't suggesting a core for additional hook but increased carry. Personally I don't care if a ball hooks 3" or 3' as long as it carries. I don't worry much about layout on my reactive equipment more less a plastic ball in a fun league but if I can shoot 1 less ten pin every game or even every other game I'm having more fun.

[RobLV1]

If I use plastic with a core for more carry, then I am defeating one of my main purposes (aside from having fun) which is to improve the way I roll the ball. When I roll it rather than throw it, it carries. While I have limited my lessons and writing, I still coach the junior gold bowlers, and learning how rolling the ball feels myself, helps me to teach them what it feels like.

[RobLV1]

Wk 2 of the Plastic Pilgrimage... 191-216-164 = 570. First game, one split in the second, then clean. Didn't have as much room as last week, but better carry on flush hits. Second game clean for 216. Third game was a learning experience. My wife was using reactive, playing just outside the third arrow. We bowled against a single bowler who made full use of his rev rate, shooting a low six covering 5 boards at the arrows and 7-8 boards at the tracers. My problem came when my line started to change. I tried to move right figuring that using plastic, I was creating carry down which my plastic ball would "see". That didn't work, so I tried moving left, and hit the dry that the other two bowlers had created. I left three splits in that last game, ending up at 164. I think that the next time I run into this situation, I'll change to my polished spare ball (that I use for right corner spares) and move a little right. Hopefully, the polish will actually allow the ball to utilize the carry down... the ball with surface certainly doesn't!

[manke]

Keep up the good work.