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Thread: Planning my first tournament in about 16 years

  1. #11
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    So....what an adventure. I think this was the first time I have bowled on anything other than THS. It was a 47' Scorpion pattern. Very difficult. Scores were way low across the board. I made the eliminations with a 619 handicap series so that tells you how low scores were. My handicap was 33/game.

    The format was 3 qualifying sessions. You could enter all 3 or pick and choose. I entered the first and bowled a 135, 156, 153 (543 handicap series) and finished 23rd of 47 so didn't make it. I also entered 11 brackets and won none. After the 1st session everybody sanded there balls down (was permitted in between sessions). Took my Kingpin to 500 (from 1000) and Conspiracy to 2000 (from 3000). Not much change but was able to hone in on a better line. I tried everything from the 5 board to 15 board (at the arrows). Started hitting the 12-13 board with a pretty straight line. At the 5 board the ball would go straight and hit the 7 pin. At the 10 board I could hit the pocket but if I hit the 9 board I'd take out the 7 pin.

    2nd session rolled 219, 135, 166 (619 handicap series). Top 8 from each session made it into eliminations. I finished 7th in the 2nd session. Also entered 11 brackets and won one ($1 to enter each bracket and I won $8). Sat out the 3rd session to rest my knee and leg.

    First round of eliminations had 14. Top 7 made it on and bottom 7 were out. I had a 165 scratch (198 handicap) and finished 7th for the last spot to move on. These were 1 game eliminations. 2nd round there were 8 byes that came in so now there were 15. 2nd round wasn't too good. Top 8 moved on and bottom 7 were out. Had a 125 (158 handicap). 186 was low to move on.

    I heard quite a few were frustrated after the 1st session and left. I heard last month at this tournament they used THS and people complained scores were too high. They fixed that...lol. But hey, we were all on the same playing field.

    So all in all I sucked and only made it in because of 1 good game but it was fun. I bowled 8 games and averaged 156.75 today on a very difficult pattern (my current league average is 179). There were 4 of us from our center and I was the only one that made it. I was happy how I held up physically through 8 games. The toughest was the 1st round of eliminations. There was only 2 of us on 2 lanes so it was a hectic pace. I was sweating like crazy today.

    The lanes were tough. If you missed a board to the outside the ball went straight to the 7 (or 10 for righties). If you missed a board to the inside it went Brooklyn. Very tight line and many mentioned that. Top handicap scores were around 640's. There was 47 in the 1st session and 42 in the 2nd session. No idea how many were in the 3rd but most entered multiple so not sure how many total. Maybe 60-70? I made it until we got to the round of 15 so I'm happy with that.

    Last edited by boatman37; 03-10-2019 at 09:43 PM.
    Arsenal "15# Global Eternity Pi-45x4.5x40" "15# 900 Global Xponent-60x4.5x40" "15# 900 Global Zen Soul-60x4.5x40" "15# Roto Grip Idol Helios-90 x 2.25 x 45" "15# 900 Global Altered Reality-50x3.625x30" "15# Brunswick Uppercut-80x3.625x35" "15# Brunswick Igniter-70x5.5x35" "15# Raw Hammer Pearl 45x5.75x40" "15# Brunswick T-Zone"
    Rev Rate about 270 @ about 15.5 MPH at the pins* High Game: 290 - High Series: 733. PAP: 5 1/8"x1" up; tilt 20*, rotation 75*. YTD highs - 290-733
    Oh, and LEFTY!!!

  2. #12
    High Roller Blacksox1's Avatar
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    Thanks for sharing. 8 games and only 3 splits, nice. Maybe use urethane for spares, I believe you make 14 more spares if you do. Next time I think you finish higher.
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  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Blacksox1 View Post
    Thanks for sharing. 8 games and only 3 splits, nice. Maybe use urethane for spares, I believe you make 14 more spares if you do. Next time I think you finish higher.
    Urethene might have been a good call but I don't have one...lol. Funny though, the first set I used my Rhino for 7 pins but the rest of the day used the Conspiracy. It was rolling as straight as my Rhino was.

    The Kingpin seemed to be slightly better than the Conspiracy but not by much. And my experience and watching others today Brooklyns seemed to be the best shot. Accuracy really seemed to be the key today. There was very little room for error. Checked my stats and my more frequently left spare as the 1-3-6 (6 times). Probably 80% of my shots today were light.
    Arsenal "15# Global Eternity Pi-45x4.5x40" "15# 900 Global Xponent-60x4.5x40" "15# 900 Global Zen Soul-60x4.5x40" "15# Roto Grip Idol Helios-90 x 2.25 x 45" "15# 900 Global Altered Reality-50x3.625x30" "15# Brunswick Uppercut-80x3.625x35" "15# Brunswick Igniter-70x5.5x35" "15# Raw Hammer Pearl 45x5.75x40" "15# Brunswick T-Zone"
    Rev Rate about 270 @ about 15.5 MPH at the pins* High Game: 290 - High Series: 733. PAP: 5 1/8"x1" up; tilt 20*, rotation 75*. YTD highs - 290-733
    Oh, and LEFTY!!!

  4. #14
    Bowling Guru Amyers's Avatar
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    Not bad for a first sport shot tournament. It is an adjustment to make especially if your bowling that pattern for the first time. The sport shot patterns really make you understand how important spare shooting is.
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  5. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Amyers View Post
    Not bad for a first sport shot tournament. It is an adjustment to make especially if your bowling that pattern for the first time. The sport shot patterns really make you understand how important spare shooting is.
    Yeah and my spare shooting was horrendous. Such a tight line if you missed by a board either way you were screwed. I had to do a lot of thinking yesterday so hoping that will help my regular league bowling. Had to really focus yesterday and think about what I was doing. But after 8 games yesterday I'm a little sore today. Mainly my ring finger and a little on my thumb but legs are sore too.
    Arsenal "15# Global Eternity Pi-45x4.5x40" "15# 900 Global Xponent-60x4.5x40" "15# 900 Global Zen Soul-60x4.5x40" "15# Roto Grip Idol Helios-90 x 2.25 x 45" "15# 900 Global Altered Reality-50x3.625x30" "15# Brunswick Uppercut-80x3.625x35" "15# Brunswick Igniter-70x5.5x35" "15# Raw Hammer Pearl 45x5.75x40" "15# Brunswick T-Zone"
    Rev Rate about 270 @ about 15.5 MPH at the pins* High Game: 290 - High Series: 733. PAP: 5 1/8"x1" up; tilt 20*, rotation 75*. YTD highs - 290-733
    Oh, and LEFTY!!!

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