fresh surface?

[boatman37]

So I had been using my Uppercut with OOB then after about 27 or so games rolled a 416 (wasn't the balls fault). Brought it home and put it on the spinner and started at 1000 and went up to 3000. Following week rolled a 725. I know it was mostly coincidence but got me wondering. I have 8 games on it since I last freshened it. Struggled a little last night and have a tournament this Sunday. Think I'm gonna throw it on the spinner and just touch it up real quick with a 3000 again.

But my question is how often do you guys do a 'touch-up'? FWIW we were on 37-38 last night and that seems to be my worst pair. Always seem to struggle there.

[J Anderson]

So I had been using my Uppercut with OOB then after about 27 or so games rolled a 416 (wasn't the balls fault). Brought it home and put it on the spinner and started at 1000 and went up to 3000. Following week rolled a 725. I know it was mostly coincidence but got me wondering. I have 8 games on it since I last freshened it. Struggled a little last night and have a tournament this Sunday. Think I'm gonna throw it on the spinner and just touch it up real quick with a 3000 again.

But my question is how often do you guys do a 'touch-up'? FWIW we were on 37-38 last night and that seems to be my worst pair. Always seem to struggle there.

I don’t remember the exact results but studies have shown that after a relatively few games the lane friction measurably changes the surface of the ball. This is part of the reason the pros Seem to drill new balls for every tournament.

I think what may be happening with you is that having sanded the ball, you expect it to work better and throw with more confidence. Conversely, having kept track of your scores, you “ know “ that 37-38 is your bad pair and you go in expecting to struggle. Just my two cents as someone who probably spend way too much time trying to find the line with one ball rather than figuring out which ball will work best on a given lane.

[boatman37]

I don’t remember the exact results but studies have shown that after a relatively few games the lane friction measurably changes the surface of the ball. This is part of the reason the pros Seem to drill new balls for every tournament.

I think what may be happening with you is that having sanded the ball, you expect it to work better and throw with more confidence. Conversely, having kept track of your scores, you “ know “ that 37-38 is your bad pair and you go in expecting to struggle. Just my two cents as someone who probably spend way too much time trying to find the line with one ball rather than figuring out which ball will work best on a given lane.

I would agree with your assessment. I do believe alot of my issues are psychological. I struggle with 7 pins more on the left lane than the right because of the ball return but I know it isn't in my way. I just think about it on my approach and it affects me. Tuesday night I wasn't in the right mindset and didn't even want to be there that night so not surprised that I struggled.

[boatman37]

well scratch that. tournament cancelled due to COVID. oh well

[RobLV1]

When I first moved to Vegas in 2004, it was my first time bowling in a large, 2 sided center. I decided to keep track of my scores on each pair. I did this for a couple of years, and then stopped for the simple reason that my knowledge of which pairs were bad for me led to self-fulfilling prophecies. I knew it was a bad pair, so I would bowl a bad score.

[boatman37]

When I first moved to Vegas in 2004, it was my first time bowling in a large, 2 sided center. I decided to keep track of my scores on each pair. I did this for a couple of years, and then stopped for the simple reason that my knowledge of which pairs were bad for me led to self-fulfilling prophecies. I knew it was a bad pair, so I would bowl a bad score.

lol. i agree with you. i don't track results for specific pairs just know that most hate 39-40 where i usually do pretty good there but struggle on 37-38...lol. At first it was probably coincidence but now it's probably in my head. I'm not good enough to tell the difference between pairs so it has to be mental

[Aslan]

When I first moved to Vegas in 2004, it was my first time bowling in a large, 2 sided center. I decided to keep track of my scores on each pair. I did this for a couple of years, and then stopped for the simple reason that my knowledge of which pairs were bad for me led to self-fulfilling prophecies. I knew it was a bad pair, so I would bowl a bad score.

I used to keep track of where I started (feet/eye target) on each lane at the house I bowled at 2-3 times a week when I was in Cali. It was a 2-sided center and one side played different than the other side...as is often the case in those type of centers. Keeping track of scores I can't really see the need for...I agree, that can be a self fulfilling prophecy. But, keeping track of where I started at least gave me a spot to "start" in practice. I let the ball and lanes tell me where to go from there...sometimes it was a good place to stay...sometimes (most of the time) I needed to make a move right or left or even get out a different ball. But everyone has to start somewhere when they throw that first ball in practice. The closer you can get to where you're gonna start once the scoring starts...the more time you'll have in practice for maybe trying a different ball or looking at where the other bowlers are playing.

[boatman37]

I always start at the 17ish board and target the 10 board at the arrows. Fairly straight down the 10 board then will adjust from there. I usually throw one there then move in a little and throw another. I see what feels best and start from there. Last week the 7 board was working but after 4 or 5 frames it went away so I moved in. The week I rolled my 725 I threw the 10 board all night and used the same ball all 3 games and only moved 1/2 board all night

[boatman37]

So just went and picked up my refund for the tournament and was told they guys that run the tournament tested positive

[Stormed1]

When I was still bowling (before my amputation) the Friday league I bowled required balls with surface for at least the first game. I used to touch up the surface every 9 games. This was a 40 lane center and the low end played significantly tighter than the high end. For my other center the lane surface had a lot more friction. I would repolish my equipment every 9-12 games