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Thread: A few practice games tonight after summer off

  1. #11
    Bowling God Aslan's Avatar
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    @boomer

    See...I don't disagree with your concept...if you're practicing for a purpose...you don't NEED oil.

    I USUALLY practice spare shooting...because I SUCK at shooting spares. Do I CARE if they oiled the lanes today, yesterday, last month? Nope. Couldn't care less. Don't give a flying rat's poo. It doesn't affect what I'm practicing. I'm there to throw my spare ball straight at a target. If I miss...it's because I'm doing something wrong...not because of the oil.

    AND...if I'm there to practice my footwork...or my slide...I probably don't even need to rent the lane...ot throw a ball. I can just put my shoes on and go practice taking steps and sliding.

    But...whether a ball carries a 10-pin...is THE MYSTERY OF BOWLING. Nobody can explain why it does or does not occur. Somewhere on a lonely mountain top in Tibet...there's an old man with a long beard and he doesn't even know why. Don't get me wrong...there's all kinds of theories! Every bowling ball company will claim "if you just buy THEIR ball...you'll carry those 10-pins!" Coaches will talk about creating angle...other coaches will talk about retaining ball energy...and some coaches will conflict what the other coach says. One will say ya need to throw harder and the other throw softer and one will say move right and the other move left.

    At the end of the day...the 10-pin still stands. It mocks you. It laughs in your face. It knows...that even if you're a good spare shooter...it doesn't matter. Because in today's game...if it stands...you lose. Convert it, don't convert it...it doesn't matter. If you can't run strikes together, you're nothing.

    So, how do you "practice" to get you ball to convert 10-pins? How do you throw that ball and watch it move on the lane...and watch it go from one phase to another...and watch as it moves through the pin deck...and see the deflection or the lack of deflection...and where it exits...and the axis tilt and the axis rotation? How do you see all that...and COMPARE IT...to what you are going to see come Thursday or Tuesday...when it MATTERS...if you're bowling in your neighbor's shed, on a 60ft tarp that he set up on some plywood that his cousin Earl found out back in the woods?

    This is a game of inches. A game of physics. A game of terminology and science that 99.997% of the people playing it don't even understand...and we don't even have the ability to walk into a center...the 4% of us devoted enough to spend the time and money to "practice"...to walk in to a center and have lane conditions similar to what we'd see on the night we bowl. It's "too much to ask". It's "too expensive". It's "not necessary".

    It costs about 65 cents worth of oil to oil a THS on a pair. It takes 5 minutes...maybe 10 to get the machine and put it away....so thats another $2.50 in labor. I'd GLADLY round it up and pay $4.00 for a freshly oiled pair.

    This is another reason I advocate coaching over practice.

    1. Coaches usually get freshly oiled lanes to give lessons on...at least most of my lessons have.
    2. If you're going to "practice" on burnt conditions and practice "physical" stuff...don't bother. Save the money and invest in training aids you can use at home. There are some quality training aids that can help with your swing and you don't need to wast money with renting lanes and throwing your balls at a center. Just clear out a spot in your basement or dining room. Put your money to better use and buy a training DVD, get a tripod and video camera and don't bother with the lanes at all. If you're working on things that happen prior to the foul line...all you need is a slippery surface and a piece of tape.
    In Bag: (: .) Motiv Trident Odyssey; (: .) Hammer Scorpion Sting; (: .) Pyramid Force Pearl; (: .) Brunswick Rhino Gold; (: .) Ebonite Maxim
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    Ball Speed: 15.5mph; 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!

  2. #12
    Bowling God Aslan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by boomer View Post
    (btw - I think C is a cool option. We already have robotic lane conditioners (not at my center, unfortunately - OOOOLD machines. . . but at a Bowlero nearby, yep) that require little to no supervision (theoretically) - that could happen. Maybe not 1 per lane but . . . hmmmmmmmm)
    Another possibility, is one robotic oil machine that travels horizontally beneath the pin decks...the entire length of the center. So, it would 'pop up', clean the lane, go under the pin deck, move to the next lane, 'pop up', clean the lane, go under the pin deck, move to the next lane, etc...

    Technologically, it's not very sophisticated. The oiling machine would just need wheels like on a suitcase...that allow it to travel in two directions. It wouldn't slow down the oiling process...of matter of fact, it would speed it up...because you wouldn't have to wait for the person to go get the oil machine from "the back" or wherever it's kept. And it frees up space because the oil machine is kept beneath the lanes.

    Like a wireless printer, it would alert you when the oil level is low and it would come to the front of whatever lane it was on to be filled.

    The biggest advantage is that it could resurface lanes prior to any pair being bowled on by simply the counter pressing a button at the desk. So, if I were to go to the desk and say I was there to practice and would like a THS shot applied...they'd just put be on 17 and 18 and hit the button. The oil machine would travel beneath the lanes to 17/18, pop up, oil the pair, then go back down below the pin deck.

    You could even specify whatever pattern you wanted. I could specify the USBC White pattern and it could apply that.

    And when leagues were about to start, the desk would simply order the machine to start oiling lanes 1 through 24...but the machine would know that 17 and 18 were still in use so it would skip that pair and alert the desk that all lanes are oiled except 17 and 18. Once 17 and 18 games are completed...the machine would immediately go to those lanes and oil them for league play for the pattern specified for that league.

    The initial cost would be a little higher for the machine and software. Much higher for the lanes to install the hydraulics and track underneath. And, obviously there would be upkeep. And, you'd still need a back-up machine should the robot 'break' or 'get stuck' somewhere.

    The BIGGEST problem with the concept is making sure that the pin deck is flush with the lane. You'd almost have to extend the lane and have the machine pop up from where the pins fall in the back...otherwise you'd have to make sure that the place where the lane meets the 'trap door' where the oil machine comes out is completely and perfectly flush...otherwise you'd mess with the integrity of the game because the ball would hit the lip right at the point before it hits the pocket.
    In Bag: (: .) Motiv Trident Odyssey; (: .) Hammer Scorpion Sting; (: .) Pyramid Force Pearl; (: .) Brunswick Rhino Gold; (: .) Ebonite Maxim
    USBC#: 8259-59071; USBC Sanctioned Average = 185; Lifetime Average = 171;
    Ball Speed: 15.5mph; 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!

  3. #13
    High Roller Phonetek's Avatar
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    You know... Instead of whining about practicing on dry lanes if it means that much to you. There is a100% solution for that you can literally do anywhere you are at any moment....

    Call the bowling center and say "Hi, could you tell me about what time and day that you oil your lanes?" When they answer you then say "Okay thanks... may I schedule a lane reservation for that day and time? Great thanks, I'll see you then. Have a nice day!"

    TADA! Now you can practice both your 75% ability and 25% equipment and be 100% ready. Problem solved. See... That wasn't so hard was it? Of course that will do nothing to help you do better on dry lanes if the challenge should ever present itself during competition. Of course that never happens.

  4. #14
    High Roller Phonetek's Avatar
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    Oh and before I hear the tired argument that they only oil before certified play, let me tell you how it really works in the real world.

    Again, oil is to protect the lanes NOT to satisfy bowlers needs. However a constant barrage of house balls going down constant during open play as we all know creates carry down. That carry down gets all over the pin decks. Oily pin decks cause pins to slide more across the deck instead of falling.

    Pins that slide out of spot causes "Out of ranges". Those out of ranges become very frequent. Also, that oil gets dragged into the carpet, the balls get covered in it. The balls get stuck slipping in the ball lift, not coming back. Both of those things annoy the crap out of mechanics when they become a constant thing. I know I don't like my mechanic annoyed so there is one solution. TO OIL!

    It doesn't matter what time of day or what is on the schedule league, tournament, a kids birthday party or whatever. I don't want my mechanic running his butt off taking out of range calls, and balls getting stuck in the lift getting him angry. You HAVE to oil.

    No mechanic is going to tolerate that for very long if the center is trying to cut costs by not oiling. Good mechanics are so difficult to find. So yeah, as an open bowlers you may think the lanes get oiled once a week or go all summer without it blah blah blah whatever. You're wrong or you have an extremely poorly run center.
    Unless your center is so dead that two people bowl a day then sure you can go without oiling longer. You can't just not oil or only do it only for certified play unless you have it at least twice a day.

    Yes there are centers that will oil specifically for one person. Those centers likely have the remote control automatic machines. Good for them and good for you bowlers that can enjoy that luxury. They aren't all that common just yet. I know at my center there is no way we would do it.

    We're not dragging out the heavy machine, unwinding a 200ft cord oiling one lane, rerolling the cord, emptying the waste in the machine, cleaning the squeegy on the bottom, topping off the fluids, dragging it back in place to put it away because of one guy whining that his practice needs to be a 100% fulfilling and to make $10 off his games. That's a fantasy! And that folks is how it works in the real world and how it should work.

  5. #15
    Member Cdolcejr's Avatar
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    Just a random thought after first night of league concerning practice (or the lack thereof).

    Couple of guys showed up to league not having bowled since May, not even to practice. They are both serious bowlers and get angry when they don't shoot well. Needless to say, they both struggled and blamed it on their mechanics. They thought they were just going to walk in after not throwing a shot in around 4 months and bowl great. That is astonishing to me. I've never gone into any league without at least one practice session, and I bowl summer leagues too.

  6. #16
    High Roller Phonetek's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cdolcejr View Post
    Just a random thought after first night of league concerning practice (or the lack thereof).

    Couple of guys showed up to league not having bowled since May, not even to practice. They are both serious bowlers and get angry when they don't shoot well. Needless to say, they both struggled and blamed it on their mechanics. They thought they were just going to walk in after not throwing a shot in around 4 months and bowl great. That is astonishing to me. I've never gone into any league without at least one practice session, and I bowl summer leagues too.
    Meh… no need to blame the mechanics, just blame Covid. It works for everything else and it’s just as true. Gas prices are high? Covid. Your favorite sporting event got rained out? Covid. Lane 3 keeps breaking down? Covid. So they bowl poorly after a long summer off? Why not? Heck with it… Covid. LOL It takes the blame off of everyone including the ones complaining. It’s the perfect excuse for everything and people believe it. Tell them to use that one next time, it’s free and they won’t sound like jerks

  7. #17
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    LOL - not THE mechanics . . . THEIR mechanics (which is good, that's what they should blame)

  8. #18
    High Roller Phonetek's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by boomer View Post
    LOL - not THE mechanics . . . THEIR mechanics (which is good, that's what they should blame)
    In having no evidence to the contrary in this case I’m forced to give the benefit of doubt. =)

  9. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by boomer View Post
    LOL - not THE mechanics . . . THEIR mechanics (which is good, that's what they should blame)
    I don’t know. We love to blame everything on the youngest mechanic at our bowling center, especially in the sport league😉. Well maybe not everything. About half the complaints target the owner. Over the summer a lot of bowlers were under performing and looking for some one or something to blame. It can’t be us, can it Pogo?
    John

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