Aslan's Scores (of the non-lady kind)

[Aslan]

Tuesday League Night: medium oil synthetics

First game with the new arsenal.

612 Series: 204 (clean)-174-234 (clean)

Game 1 was clean. I was struggling a bit with timing and ball speed consistency...but I'll take clean any day. Game 2 was more of the same, but I opened on a single 7-pin miss in the 6th and then left a weird split in the 9th (a 4-6-7-9 I think) that I couldn't convert...so 2 opens kinda killed me. Game 3 I was pounding the pocket pretty good...left a couple 10-pins...but really only made one "bad" shot and that was just a little too much speed resulting in a 2-4-5 in the 8th which I converted. Struck out in the 10th to complete my highest sanctioned series ever at this house (over 4 seasons).

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 9.00 pins
Strikes: 47% (2 turkeys, 3 doubles and 4 singles)
Spares: 88% picked up

Single Pin spares: 90% (9/10)
Most common single-pin leaves: 4-pin, 6-pin, 8-pin, and 10-pin (2x each).
Never left a single 1-pin, 2-pin, 5-pin, nor 9-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 85% (6/7)
Most common multi-pin leaves: 6-10 (2x).

Splits: 0% (0/1)

Average over 3 games: 204.00.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 207.33.

The previous arsenal has been retired:
Game Count/Statistics/Comments:
Hammer Rhythm: 429+ Games, 167 average, 33% strike rate, High Game: 300 (non-sanctioned).
Probably my favorite of the 5 different strike balls I've thrown. Not a lot of 'snap'...but the smoothest and most predictable reaction by far.

Brunswick Slingshot: 171+ Games. 167 average, 34% strike rate, High Game: 243 (non-sanctioned).
Originally purchased to be my spare ball...easily the most under-rated ball I've ever thrown. I paid $57 for the ball (w/shipping) and it had more backend 'snap' than any other ball I've used. But, it wasn't ENOUGH movement nor 'snap' to consistently carry 10-pins and was practically useless on long patterns.

Columbia Encounter(s): Games: 151+(N)/134+(A), Average: 167(A)/162(N), 30-31% strike rate, High Games: 252(A)/234(N) (both non-sanctioned).
I bought two of the same balls to do an experiment on the effects of drilling on identical balls. The experiment did not bear fruit and the result were two balls that I could never really figure out. The more aggressively drilled and surfaced Encounter (A) seemed to lack the 'bite' because of it's Pearl cover....but was surfaced so much...that it had no energy downlane. The less aggressively drilled, polished ball performed a lot like the Slingshot...but that was disappointing given it 'should' perform much better given the Slingshot is an entry level ball and the Encounter was pro-performance. I must say, this is the worst ball I've ever thrown. But, in their defense...I probably could have had more luck had I not intentionally tried to make them opposites of one another...AND...they were victim to a large gap in my arsenal....so once I balled down to the Encounter....I usually had to spend at LEAST a couple frames to completely re-adjust my line(s) since the difference from the solid cover Rhythm and Pearl Encounter was too large a gap.

900Global Bullet Train: 251+ Games, 173 average, 36% strike rate, High Game: 247 (x2) (both sanctioned).
This was originally bought as a Hybrid cover replacement to my retired Storm Frantic, to be a ball down option to either the Rhythm or the Encounters...but the S79 cover was just way stronger than the Frantic's R2S and the Bullet Train became the 1st ball out of my bag on fresh conditions. It performed well, as the statistics show, but never really up to my expectations. I think I "over-surfaced" it trying to make up for my lack of rpms. By the end, it had a 500 abralon finish and I just don't think it had much energy by the time it reached the pins.

As to last night's performance, I was worried the Le. Revolver would be far weaker than the Bullet Train....and that my line would need a complete re-adjustment. I was hoping the additional revs of moving to 15lbs would counter it...but at the end of the day the Le. Revolver is about 2.5 boards weaker than the Bullet Train. The original plan was to use the Le. Revolver as a ball down option to the Dark Encounter (c300)...but the coach believed Brunswick balls to be a bit sooner to hook than Columbia...so they swapped spots in the order. I was able to play nearly the same line all night...just outside the 2nd arrow. I had 3 mixed drinks....so I was worried I might get a little "too loose"...but it wasn't a factor.

I left a couple 8-pins...and that worries me since I don't leave those very often. It makes me think I may be seeing the "deflection" negative of dropping to 15lbs. I'm getting good energy and revs down lane...but I gotta think that my 16lb balls would carry those 8-pins.

As to the drilling, I don't really understand that stuff in detail and I'm sure a picture would be better...but in general it's drilled with the pin down, about midway between the 2 fingers, just below the two fingers. The other "mark" (CG?? on a symmetric core ball) is above and a little off to the right of the thumb hole. This may be the first ball I've ever thrown with the pin below the finger holes.

Hopefully the strong performance wasn't a byproduct of the ball being 'new'. I hate to thing that in a couple weeks the ball is suddenly going to lose it's potency. But...if I can ever get my apartment unpacked and unpack my ball dehydrator....I might be able to at least combat that a bit.

[fortheloveofbowling]

Nice bowling.

[NYMIKE]

Awesome spare making!

[Aslan]

Wednesday League Night: medium oil synthetics

594 Series: 199-211-184

Was kinda high for Game 1. Didn't come down as fast as I thought I would. But, once I got through practice I felt better. I anticipated a 2.5 board difference in the line with the new arsenal but ended up moving too far inside the oil line Only had one open frame and that was a 1-2-4-10 washout in the 5th.

Game 2 was clean except for a missed single 7-pin in the 2nd frame.

Game 3 I got off to a rough start with another missed single 7-pin and then a chopped 9-10 split. But frames 3 through 10 were clean.

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 9.06 pins
Strikes: 44% (3 turkeys, 1 double, and 4 singles)
Spares: 77% picked up

Single Pin spares: 81% (9/11)
Most common single-pin leave: 7-pin (3x)
Never left a single 1-pin, 4-pin, 6-pin, 8-pin, nor 9-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 71% (5/7)
Most common multi-pin leaves: 3-10 split (2x).

Splits: 66% (2/3)

Average over 3 games: 198.00.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 205.00.

Didn't 'feel' great; but the stats seem to paint a decent picture. Kinda upset about the missed 7-pins. I think I must have squared up my shoulders at the line. But, man….this new ball has quite a bit of pop down lane. I wouldn't figure a solid cover would be able to retain that energy but it might also be an increased rev rate at 15lbs…not sure right now.

[Aslan]

Tuesday League Night: medium oil synthetics

498 Series: 147-174-177

I struck on almost every shot in practice…but it didn't feel quite right. Game 1; 3 chopped make-able spares and a split…harder to score high when you're not striking…especially when the spare shooting goes into the toilet. Game 2 I just was firing the ball too fast…complete lack of speed control. By Game 3 I had balled down to the Dark Encounter and it was the first time throwing it. It wasn't a terrible game, missed a 6-pin in the 4th and then opened in the 10th on a 6-9-10.

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.55 pins
Strikes: 29% (2 doubles and 5 singles)
Spares: 61% picked up

Single Pin spares: 77% (7/9)
Most common single-pin leaves: 2-pin (4x).
Never left a single 1-pin, 4-pin, 7-pin, 8-pin, nor 9-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 50% (6/12)
Most common multi-pin leaves: 6-10 and 2-4-5 (2x each).

Splits: 0% (0/1)

Average over 3 games: 166.00.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 173.33.

Release poor. Speed control non-existent. And on top of that the spare shooting was horrible. I thought my series in the < 500 range were behind me…guess not.

[Amyers]

We all have one of those flame out games every now and then. You've been bowling well and the other two games were ok so take it easy.

[Aslan]

Wednesday League Night: shorter pattern/medium oil synthetics

589 Series: 150-217-222

First shot of game 1, I stick on the approach and fall over the foul line. I reset the pins and struck to give me a - /. But, for the rest of the game I was unable to really get near the foul line.

Game 2 I was starting to get over the fall/incident and had the front 5, but then lost my strike line and chopped a 1-3-6-8-10 in the 10th…so that kinda ruined that game after a promising start.

Game 3 I found my strike line again and had the front 4, then two bad shots led to two open frames…but I strung a few more strikes together and ended up finishing okay.

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.68 pins
Strikes: 45% (1 5-bagger, 1 4-bagger, 1 turkey, and 2 singles)
Spares: 56% picked up

Single Pin spares: 83% (5/6)
Most common single-pin leave: 7-pin (2x)
Never left a single 1-pin, 2-pin, 6-pin, 8-pin, nor 9-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 40% (4/10)
Most common multi-pin leaves: n/a (all 10 were different spare leaves

Splits: 0% (0/3)

Average over 3 games: 196.33.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 199.33.

Mentally, I struggle recovering from falling over the line, falling in general, ball sticking on my thumb, or sliding past the foul buzzer (when it's actually turned on which is rarely). I was striking well in practice….seemed like I had a good line to the pocket…then I walked over to the desk to grab a league sheet, came back, and first shot I ended up in the push-up position laying on the lane.

And here's what makes this story MORE horrible….as I inspected my shoe…there was a brown glob, as if I stepped in chocolate or something, so I started trying to get it off the shoe with my finger and towel and then a teammate lent me their brush…so I got it off the shoe…but realized…it "stunk"! After a few seconds I realized…"This is dog ***t!" Yup. Some hillbilly dum*a** tracked either horse or dog POO into the alley and just happened to step in it. So obviously, multiple hand washings were then involved. So when someone sticks and you ask them what happened and they say, "I stuck on some shi*"….I LITERALLY stuck on some **** (poo)!!

Due to the stick, I couldn't get comfortable at the line. Unbalanced…unbalanced…unbalanced. The lanes are easier on Wednesday than at the other house on Tuesday…so the shots don't have to be 'elite' in order to get the job done…but just not a great night overall. I try to pace the best player on the other team…and I only finished a pin behind him scratch…but he had awful luck and bad breaks where as I benefited more than once for some questionable hits.

I need to practice tonight…try to keep working on my form/balance at the line…keep working on FOCUS, specifically not LOSING focus, and I still need to work on my release to get me some axis rotation.

The Lethal Revolver drilled pin down…with OOB finish….has been great thus far. I've never had a ball with this much "snap" on the back end. Many shots look like they're missing right….and at the last second it makes what seems like a 45 degree dart to the pocket. Very unexpected from a solid cover, symmetric core, mid-level ball. It also probably has to do with a slightly increased rev rate switching from 16lbs to 15lbs…but still…I was worried about this arsenal because it's overall weaker than my last one…so it's exciting to see the first ball out of the bag actually behave the way I've been wanting my bowling balls to perform.

[Amyers]

Almost 600 with a bad first game nice recovery. Glad to hear the new arsenal is working out for you. I've been wondering what you've thought of the new balls.

[mc_runner]

You might be getting a little more hand into the ball? If it's making a late snap you might have some side roll going in there... And rev rates overall can and do change over time. Either way, nice bowling and nice recovery after that rough start.

[Aslan]

You might be getting a little more hand into the ball? If it's making a late snap you might have some side roll going in there... And rev rates overall can and do change over time. Either way, nice bowling and nice recovery after that rough start.

Yes. Despite focusing much of my recent effort over the past 9 months on my stance and approach...I've been working on my release recently and my axis rotation is improving. I also think it has something to do with the drilling (see dirty ball thread for a picture). It's (Lethal Revolver) the only ball I've ever thrown drilled pin down (below the finger holes).

Almost 600 with a bad first game nice recovery. Glad to hear the new arsenal is working out for you. I've been wondering what you've thought of the new balls.

Lethal Revolver has been surprisingly strong the way it's drilled (see above). It certainly is exceeding what I thought I'd get out of it.

The Dark Encounter has been a disappointment. Much like the Encounter I used to throw...it just doesn't have any snap on the backend...almost just a straight ball with a tiny move to the pocket. I mean, I was getting better backend reaction from my old Slingshot than I get from this ball. I'm tempted to add a 1500 surface to it...but I really want to stay away from surfacing if I can after over-doing it on the last arsenal.

The Asylum I just threw for the first time last night (scores coming tonight or this weekend). It's certainly weaker than the first two, but actually has a nice bite at the end. I wouldn't trust it on fresh conditions...but it seems to be a very nice option for when the lanes really start drying up. Much better than the Encounters were; that's for sure. A picture of my layout is in the ball winners thread.

The Loaded Revolver is still at the pro shop. The guy was in a hurry and really busy and drilled the span wrong.

Definitely not impressed with the ball drilling. I like the advice and the drill layouts seem to be better than they were on my old arsenal, but the drilling itself seems sloppy. At least two of the balls, the finger inserts aren't really flush with the ball...just sloppy stuff like that. I mean, listen, it was a bad night...he was super busy...then I dropped 4 balls in his lap at one time...not to mention he was in the league that was playing that night and a couple people bowling in that league were also waiting for their stuff. And it wasn't cheap. $60/ball for 4 balls = $240. I got it for $220 because he screwed up the Loaded Revolver. And that's not outrageous...most places it runs around $50/ball...and I had them all drilled for the VISE IT inserts and add in two finger inserts...it's not outrageous.