Six Unbelievable Ways to Raise Your Average

[RobLV1]

For those of you who have followed my writing in BTM over the past decade, you know for the past year and a half, my physical condition has dictated that I have to use a plastic spare ball with a pancake weight block a great, great majority of the time. Over the time that I have been using plastic, I have learned a great deal. First, I must say that throwing plastic, I am enjoying bowling more than I have in many, many years. Obviously, my average is lower, hovering around 180, however when I am able to throw the occasional 600 series, I know for a fact that I earned every stick.

Along the way, I have learned a few things that can help most every bowler, however I realize that many of you will refuse to believe what I’m about to tell you because it goes against so many things that you’ve believed for so long. That’s okay. My hope is that a few of you will be able to open your minds enough to consider the examples that I will give you as proof, and accept that many things have changed in bowling since you first threw your first shot in the sixties, seventies, eighties, and even the early nineties.

This season I am bowling in two leagues: a recreational trios league, and a fun time no-tap league. While both leagues bowl during the day, neither is exclusively for seniors. Each league has a mix of current or former serious bowlers and purely recreational bowlers. I also practice occasionally with two or three 200+ average bowlers. This mix of league bowling with low average and high average bowlers has taught me a whole lot about myself and about lane conditions. Following are the unbelievable ways that you can raise your average. Feel free to question them at which time I will be glad to give you anecdotal proof of the events that led to my beliefs.

1 Carry percentage increases when you simply hit the pocket rather than trying to strike.
2 To stay ahead of transition, you must watch every shot thrown by every bowler on the pair.
3 You cannot over-power the lanes, so you must be aware of lane changes immediately.
4 You don’t have the luxury of waiting for a perfect shot to make an adjustment for changing lanes.
5 You must learn to differentiate between oil absorption, carry down, and lane topography.
6 The only way to gain control of your bowling is to accept the fact that you have no control.

[GrumpyCatFace]

I wish I had a lot more info about #5. That’s probably the biggest obstacle to improving as a bowler.

[RobLV1]

I wish I had a lot more info about #5. That’s probably the biggest obstacle to improving as a bowler.

You jumped right to the meat of the matter! First, let me remind you that I am currently throwing a plastic ball almost exclusively. Plastic balls cause carry down, but not in the way that most bowlers believe. Two things are necessary for carry down to become a factor in lane adjustments: volume and a ball that will react to the carry down. In the no tap league in which I bowl, I am carrying a 236 average after 33 games. I am very, very accurate and consistent. Because of my accuracy and consistency, I create a streak of carry down off of the end of the pattern which is very even. Because I am using the plastic ball that is causing the carry down, I also start seeing the need to adjust to the right as the carry down is initially created.

Now fast forward to my other league where I have been bowling with two senior women, both of whom use reactive resin balls. Our lead off bowler uses an overly aggressive reactive resin ball and insists on playing the second arrow exclusively. Unfortunately all of the her misses (she averages about 145) are to the left, into my more direct line to the pocket. The fact that about 1/3 of her shots missing left into my line has resulted in my never having to adjust to the right in that league is testimony to the fact that carry down has no effect on reactive resin bowling balls for the simple fact that those ball absorb oil off of the lane on every pass. Once you accept the fact that the notion of carry down being an issue in modern bowling is a fallacy, then you are ready to really get to the meat of the matter: is the lack of ball reaction that you are seeing a result of too much friction causing the ball to lose energy, or is a result of newly exposed topography.

To understand the concept of "newly exposed topography," imagine driving your car around an icy racetrack. The track is banked from right to left (positive topography). As you turn your car to the left to make the corner, the ice causes the rear end of the car to slide to the right until it comes out of the turn. Now imagine driving on the same racetrack and half way through the turn encountering a length of road where the ice has melted. Can you see how the car will now dive to the left as the friction in the road brings the gravity of the bank into play. The same thing happens as the oil is absorbed off of the lane by reactive resin balls. The oil on the lane is the ice on which the ball skids. When the oil goes away, gravity comes into play and topography is exposed.

Please permit me to give you an actual example. Two weeks ago in the no tap league I was bowling on a pair that was relatively even. I shot 234 the first game which was about average. In the second game I struck on the right lane in the first frame and continued to strike in every frame on that lane. After striking in the second frame on the left lane, I proceeded to throw three splits and an eight count on that lane for a 160 no tap game. Needless to say, I was ready to eat my own arm I was so angry. At the beginning of the next game, I took a moment to evaluate what had happened on the left lane. Suddenly, shots to the right weren't coming back, and shots to the left were diving through the nose. I decided to make a move that is absolutely huge for a plastic ball. I moved my feet five boards to the left, my eyes three boards to the left, and concentrated on staying more behind the ball to go more direct to the pocket. I ended up shooting 300 the last game for a series of 694, just a few pins short of my average despite an embarrassing 160 game.

Do this help? Do you have any questions?

[GrumpyCatFace]

Yes it does, actually.

I’m curious what you see in your teammates reaction though, with you throwing plastic, and her refusing to move.

Does her score tend to drop in game 2?

[RobLV1]

Yes it does, actually.

I’m curious what you see in your teammates reaction though, with you throwing plastic, and her refusing to move.

Does her score tend to drop in game 2?

She is so inconsistent that there is rarely any pattern to her scores. I can tell you though that thanks to her, my scores tend to trend downward through the set while they trend upward in the no tap league. As long as there is consistency around my line whether in reactive or plastic balls, I can find a shot and follow it. If there is inconsistency around me, I really can't create any of my own.,

[GrumpyCatFace]

She is so inconsistent that there is rarely any pattern to her scores. I can tell you though that thanks to her, my scores tend to trend downward through the set while they trend upward in the no tap league. As long as there is consistency around my line whether in reactive or plastic balls, I can find a shot and follow it. If there is inconsistency around me, I really can't create any of my own.,

I take it you’re hooking the plastic ball then, or it wouldn’t matter.

I can do it, when I shoot at a 10-pin, but not much.

[GrumpyCatFace]

That does change the “carrydown” idea though, if you’re putting revs on a plastic ball. I’d expect much more of the effect if you were rolling it end-over-end.

[J Anderson]

She is so inconsistent that there is rarely any pattern to her scores. I can tell you though that thanks to her, my scores tend to trend downward through the set while they trend upward in the no tap league. As long as there is consistency around my line whether in reactive or plastic balls, I can find a shot and follow it. If there is inconsistency around me, I really can't create any of my own.,

This is what my friends in the local sport league experience. There are about 20 bowlers who bowl both the fall/winter/spring season and the summer season. In the summer the league doubles in size with about a third of the extra bowlers having some experience with sport conditions and 2/3 just trying it out. If you were to take the average of all the summer games bowled it would be about 15 pins lower than the average winter game. Even the year round sport bowlers see their averages drop 5 to 10 pins. Since the format always entails switching pairs at least once, you usually face much different condition when you move to a different pair in summer than winter. It’s not unusual to see someone throw a pair of 200 games and then struggle to hit 150 the third game after moving.

[RobLV1]

That does change the “carrydown” idea though, if you’re putting revs on a plastic ball. I’d expect much more of the effect if you were rolling it end-over-end.

Depending on what the shot requires, I can either hook it or throw it more direct. Either way, there is carry down which I find after I've created it. More significant is that I have not seen any indication that anyone throwing a reactive resin ball is experiencing carry down, even when it is as concentrated as what I create with my consistency. It's just an idea whose time has passed, but refuses to roll over and die!

[GrumpyCatFace]

Depending on what the shot requires, I can either hook it or throw it more direct. Either way, there is carry down which I find after I've created it. More significant is that I have not seen any indication that anyone throwing a reactive resin ball is experiencing carry down, even when it is as concentrated as what I create with my consistency. It's just an idea whose time has passed, but refuses to roll over and die!

You may be right, but the idea isn’t going anywhere. It’s a convenient scapegoat for people, and there’s no real way to know with certainty.

If somebody can come up with real evidence, like a way to measure the oil pattern mid-game, it would dispel any myths.