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Take any two companies' entry level balls and you will have 6 in one hand and a half dozen in the other. None of them really try to outdo their competitors at that level. They just try to make an affordable ball that hooks.
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Dec 14, 2012 03:46
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Toaster Beef posted:Back-to-back 670+ series nights in my Wednesday night league. Looks like I'm going to be going on my usual second-half spree. No idea why it shakes out that way. Better than what I always seem to do. Start out gangbusters the first 5 or 6 weeks, then slowly bring my average down about 10 pins over the next 30 weeks. I am the worst kind of team mate to have in a handicapped league.
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Dec 29, 2012 06:40
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Well guys, after spending this past season doing gently caress-all in bowling (saving money, going to school, etc), I up and decided to bowl in a tournament this past weekend. Averaged 203 over 8 games on a sport shot and missed the cut by 32 pins. I'm not much on moral victories, but I felt pretty good. I was bowling against some of the best amateurs (and a handful of pros) in the area on a difficult condition after bowling very little in the past year and still nearly made the cut. I have dropped somewhere around 40 lbs since the last time I bowled regularly and I'm sure that is helping me consistently make better shots. I have to say, I am pretty excited to get back into bowling, at least at tournaments, I'm still not up for bowling leagues again. Anyway, I'm going to practice and hit it hard these next couple of months and I am planning on going to the World Series of Bowling this October. For anyone interested, I set up a gofundme page for it. http://www.gofundme.com/3mcbfo
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Jul 17, 2013 05:03
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Before you feel too bad about that 84, think about this. Tom Daugherty, a touring pro (and later a title winner), bowled a 100 game on television. Plus, he had to pick 2 out of the big 4 in the 10th frame to get 100, so he easily could have been in double digits. It's amazing how quickly your score can drop just from leaving a few splits, mentally checking out on a couple of single pins, etc.
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Jul 19, 2013 00:38
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I don't know if any of you are paying attention to the qualifying scores of the US Open, but right now Jason Belmonte is taking the competition and pushing its collective poo poo back in. After 3 rounds (24 games), he has a 381 pin lead. So he could completely sit out one game, second place could bowl a perfect game, and he would still lead by 81 pins. Keep in mind this tournament uses a 100% flat oil condition. Ridiculous, I say.
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Jul 25, 2013 04:14
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Malott stunted on pretty much everyone.
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Jul 29, 2013 03:34
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Critical posted:How a proper fitting can improve... well everything. No kidding. When I first had my hand measured about 10 years ago, I really stretched my hand across the gauge as opposed to just letting it lay relaxed since I thought that was what I was supposed to do. The pro shop guy didn't notice I was doing that and drilled my ball based on that. I bowled for about 3 months with a 5" span. Hurt my hand and thumb like crazy. I went to a different pro shop and he went from one extreme to the other and now I was using a 4 1/4" span. It felt much better, but it still wasn't right. I was oblivious and just stuck with that for 3 more years before I finally found out what my span should be: 4 9/16". So yeah, never assume your first drill is right.
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Aug 21, 2013 02:50
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Just came in to revive this thread and announce the 300 I bowled last night. That makes number 4 for me. As you were.
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Oct 11, 2013 22:51
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I've found that to start carrying solid 10s, I actually move up on the approach about 6 inches. This makes me take slightly smaller steps, thus taking off about a quarter of a mile an hour off my velocity and typically kicks out the 10. Also, though you should never blame the shot for your lovely bowling, sometimes leaving tons of 10s is a result of a bad matchup of oil conditions and lane surface. One house that I bowl in has a very slick and hard lane surface and they put a 42 foot pattern down on top of it. That lane surface will naturally delay reaction, so putting anything more than a 40 foot pattern isn't really necessary. Also the dry boards don't start until board 7 or 8, so you are forced to push your breakpoint farther outside than what is ideal for a pattern of that length. So your reaction is delayed and your breakpoint is too far outside resulting in tons of 10 pins. It is the only house I bowl in where I leave more than 3 or so 10 pins a night, and I typically leave 7 or 8 there. It's a 16 lane house and you can usually see 4 10 pins across the house at any given time. The people putting the shot down there don't really know what they're doing (their head mechanic makes a little more than minimum wage) and they only look at oil volume and side-to-side ratio. Somehow, my average there is about normal, but everyone else is averaging 10 to 15 pins lower than a couple of seasons ago.
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Nov 17, 2013 19:23
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I subbed twice this past week (I'm not a regular bowler in any league right now). Apparently I shot my wad on Tuesday with a 238-237-279 754 series because on Thursday in the house I typically do better in I went 226-179-213 618. All in all, though, I'm having my best season so far (averaging 220 in both houses) despite not bowling regular.
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Dec 9, 2013 03:38
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Capt. Sticl posted:I have another newbie question: Well, if you said you release your ball with the ball spinning perpendicular to the ball path, that is way too much side roll. If total side roll is 90 degrees and complete end over end roll is 0 degrees, then 45 is plenty for your release. The more side roll you have, the longer the ball will go before breaking and the sharper the breakpoint will be. This can be pretty hard to control. Sure, if the ball ever starts to hook, it will hook and hit like a beast, but it has to have the opportunity to hook. So if the oil is even slightly long or if there is any carry down on the back ends, your ball may never start hooking. Try working on keeping your hand more behind the ball.
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Dec 10, 2013 03:04
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Nothing wrong with your lowest game being 17 poa. The scores will come. Hell, simply practicing 3 or so games a week doing nothing but practicing repetition will help immensely.
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Dec 17, 2013 00:31
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At the risk of sounding like a lovely high school guidance counselor, don't doubt yourself. Confidence plays a HUGE part in good shot making. Throw every shot completely convinced that you are doing the right thing. If it doesn't work, adjust accordingly.
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Dec 20, 2013 00:16
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All righty. Dual angle drilling is a technique in laying out a bowling ball to get the precise reaction you want. It works on any weight block. It is usually written out as angle1 X pin to PAP X angle2. First a line is drawn from the pin to the mass bias (or the pin to CG if it is a symmetrical core). From this line you draw a second line making your first angle with the pin as the vertex. This angle can be anywhere from 10 to 90 degrees and it controls length. The smaller the angle, the earlier the reaction. Next is to decide how much flare you want your ball to have with the pin to PAP distance. Anywhere between 3-4 inches is max flare. Between 4-5.5 is medium flare and any more than that is minimal flare. Measure out your pin to PAP distance on your second line and mark is as your PAP. Now you will draw a third line to make your second angle with your PAP as the vertex. This angle can be anywhere between 20 and 70 degrees and it controls breakpoint shape. The smaller the angle, the sharper the breakpoint, the larger the angle, the smoother it is. This third line is your vertical axis line. So now you have a ball laid out with your PAP and VAL marked in relation to the pin and mass bias (or CG) to create your desired reaction. Now all you do is measure the proper distances from your PAP to find out where your holes go. If you PAP is 4.5 right and 1 up, then simply measure 1 inch down from your PAP along the VAL, draw a line perpendicular to the VAL and measure 4.5 left and this is where the center of your grip is. So if you wanted a ball to go long with little flare and a sharp breakpoint, you might want to try something like 80 X 6 X 30. If that wasn't clear enough, just let me know.
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Dec 22, 2013 00:09
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At the centers I've bowled, you just find out when the beginning of the season's league meeting is supposed to be and show up. Find out who the secretary or president is supposed to be and tell them you are looking to get on a team. Usually there is a team or two who never filled out their roster. It's a lot tougher mid-season, though.
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Dec 24, 2013 18:37
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Yeah, the length and total volume of the US open pattern varies from year to year, but it is always 100% flat. As someone who works on oil machines, there isn't really anything that can break down that would make it put out a flat pattern. The lane man is loving with you.
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Jan 3, 2014 19:50
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Well getting ready to head to a couple of tournaments this weekend. These will be the first in a long time since my part time job has been keeping me from bowling too many tournaments, but I quit that job last week so I'm good to go now. Anyway, there's a little 4 game sweeper tonight and then a big tournament the next day in the same house with 2500 going to first place. I'm pretty excited, I feel confident I can win this thing.
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Jan 17, 2014 19:03
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Well, I have a high strike percentage on light hits, so I have no problem moving a board in off of a trip 4. I suppose an alternative would be to move back on the approach. You will take bigger steps, making your body move a bit faster and thus making you throw the ball faster.
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Mar 22, 2014 23:06
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I've seen a friend of mine throw it. It seems earlier and smoother than the Marvel-S with a little less overall hook. Both balls had the same drill.
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Mar 25, 2014 23:34
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I maintained about a 220 all of last year and would like to surpass that this year, but I don't know how high would be realistic. I suppose 230 could happen, so I'll shoot for that. Also would like this to be the first season where I have multiple 300s and possibly another 800. Bowling in 2 different houses which are about as far apart as can be on the house shot spectrum, so keeping a similar average in both would be a bit of an accomplishment. So yeah, 230 average in both houses, a 300 in both houses, and an 800 in either house.
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Aug 20, 2014 04:29
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Baldrash posted:...and use my spare ball on every spare ... Generally speaking, a very good idea. However, if there are sleeper pins in the spare, don't hesitate to hook at it. Even on tough conditions you provide a larger window to pick up a spare with a sleeper if you hook at it as opposed to throwing flat. Also, as someone who has worked on and off (right now off) in bowling centers for 11 years, I can certainly relate to what Scarf was going through. Sometimes a pinsetter can be a son of a bitch and if you can't figure out what is wrong it is extremely stressful. I was even a certified B level mechanic on AMF 82-70 pinsetters and it was almost a monthly occurrence that I would come across something where I had no idea what was wrong. Hell, on top of that, almost every night provided some problem where I knew what was wrong but I couldn't really do anything until the bowlers were done and I could get in and work on it. Or maybe you had the opportunity to work on it, you knew what the problem was, but you didn't have the spare part on hand. Ugh, I do not miss being a lane man.
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Sep 17, 2014 01:28
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In my 10 or so years experience working on pinsetters (AMF 82-70) I have had tons of dings, scratches, and bruises. However, it takes straight up negligence to have any serious injury.
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Oct 31, 2014 18:38
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Dag yo. Keep it up.
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Feb 20, 2015 00:43
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Congrats on the 800 series. I kind of wish that the awards were still once per year. They change the design of the awards every year, so it kind of sucks that someone who already has 300s and 800s doesn't even have the opportunity to earn the new rings. I mean, I get why they took it down to once lifetime, what with the ridiculously easy patterns these days and the bowling balls that hit like trucks, but it still sucks. Maybe if they didn't give out all of these little piddly fart awards for every conceivable achievement, they would still be able to give out rings every year, but whatever. On another note, I just got a Storm Rocket and Storm IQ Tour Nano. Both of these balls are absolute beasts and complement each other really well. The house where I bowl has had a veritable flood of oil all year, and while I don't rip the cover off of the ball (~300 RPM, ~16 MPH), I should still be able to get a decent reaction on a house shot. However, I have been struggling all year playing straight up the 8 board with my strongest equipment. Anyway, with these two new balls I am finally able to open up the lanes a bit. Both of these balls outhook what I had previously (IQ Tour Solid and IQ Tour Pearl) by a full arrow and kick the corner pins out with great efficiency. So yeah, get these balls.
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Apr 21, 2015 04:39
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Putting in about 6 games of practice every week to develop muscle memory will go a long way towards raising your average. If you stay with it, I wouldn't be surprised to end up as a ~175-180 bowler by this time next year.
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May 1, 2015 20:20
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I'm with Thomas in saying I would go ahead and get a fingertip drill. If drilled properly, it won't put excess strain on his hand/wrist/forearms. As far as what ball, just find any ball manufacturer, find whatever entry level reactive ball they sell that you think looks cool and get it. No need to jump right into an expensive bowling ball and find out a few months down the road that you no longer can or want to bowl anymore. Every ball company makes sufficient entry level bowling balls, so you don't need someone with brand loyalty pushing a specific one on you. Once you develop a bit you can move on and see what a mid range ball can do for you. Anyway, we're getting way ahead of ourselves. Just get a cheap reactive and have a reputable driller measure your hand and drill the ball to fit your hand.
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Jun 20, 2015 01:06
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As long as you weren't tanking on purpose, there isn't a problem. The whole point of handicap competition is to bowl well in relation to your average. It's funny how butt hurt some people get when somebody does what they are supposed to do and bowl well in relation to their average.
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Jun 30, 2015 03:12
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I bowled in my summer league last night and for the most part it was a pretty humdrum night for me (226-181-208-225). However, I managed to pick up the 7-10 split in the middle of all that. Hit the 10 pin square and it popped out of the pit and tagged the 7.
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Jul 21, 2015 22:04
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Got my ball spinner delivered today. Woop woop. This is great because now I can keep up on maintaining the surface of my bowling balls myself. All of the pro shops around here are essentially part time and only available on an on call basis or 30 minutes or so before league starts, so I always felt like I was being a pain even asking for a polishing, let alone a full resurface. A couple of my bowling balls really needed this done. I'm still waiting for my polish to be delivered, so I could only do the ones with a dull finish at this point.
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Oct 7, 2015 23:55
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Just got done bowling in a couple of PBA regionals the past two weekends. Feasted on a giant plate of dicks in the first one. Started out great in the second one for the first two games (was 5th out of 59 after two games, ahead of such bowlers as Patrick Allen, Tommy Jones, Lonnie Waliczek, and Rick Steelsmith) before grinding out 4 mediocre games and then having the wheels come off in the last two games. But at least there was some positive to take from that tournament. Anyway, I saw that there were a lot of people throwing the Roto Grip Haywire. Dear god that ball is ugly. Ugly as sin. I mean, it worked great for the people throwing it, but Jesus God and Heaven was it ugly. Here's a pic for reference.  Since this thread needs a bit more activity, I say you people should chime in and post a ball you think is really god drat ugly.
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Nov 2, 2015 23:27
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I'm a big consumer whore for Storm and have been for 7 or 8 years. The Tropical Breeze is an excellent starter ball. It will hook a considerable amount once you learn to throw it, but it is very controllable. However, that was not an ugly ball. What the hell, man?
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Nov 3, 2015 03:15
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you get used to that eventually.
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Nov 3, 2015 04:50
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ah, a teal Rhino. It has definitely seen better days. Looks like it got chewed up by a pinsetter at some point.
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Nov 3, 2015 06:24
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So last night I struggled the first two games, left a bunch of ten pins, and went 188-203. Third game I started really focusing on a loose arm swing, and whaddaya know, all of a sudden I was creating so much more power. Much heavier roll with more rotation. Had the front 10 before ringing a 10-pin for a 289. Tonight I went in to get some practice to create some muscle memory out of that. Bowled 6 games and I was very pleased with how the ball was moving. I also noticed something happening that has been severely lacking this past year: messengers. Holy hell, I had the headpin flying all over the pin deck. I'm pretty excited for league tomorrow night. Anyway, here's an ugly ball: Check out that ugly motherfucker. Bowlingball.com recently dropped the price on that ball by like $100. poo poo, I'd better get a free Affliction t-shirt and a tattoo parlor gift certificate with that.
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Nov 5, 2015 04:04
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Okay, I gotta ask. What on earth kind of drill is that?
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Nov 9, 2015 23:07
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well, it seems there are only two holes, which is how balls are supposed to be drilled now for bowlers who don't use a thumb (usbc rule now states that a bowler must use all holes in the ball they throw, weight holes are used by default). When a ball is drilled without a thumb, they use a different method to determine the grip center for weighing purposes. This bowler must really track the ball funny for that to be an effective drill, though. To tell you the truth, I think the new usbc rules are dumb and they really need to get rid of static weight limits anyway. It's so archaic. No ball in the last 10 years other than entry level balls have weight blocks that are at all affected by static weight.
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Nov 9, 2015 23:30
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hockeyfrog posted:Looks like Motiv is setting up a recall of sorts to get replacement balls to those who had the Jackal/Carnage balls. Should be up and running Wednesday. http://www.motivbowling.com/motivnation/news-events/2016-03-15/jackal-and-jackal-carnage-approval-removed.html Yeah, the whole Motiv thing has me scratching my head. Honestly it's kind of sketchy how all of these balls that were produced all of a sudden exceeded the maximum differential for the USBC. Well, I looked the two balls up and saw that they are designed to have a .060" differential (the absolute maximum allowed). USBC did a spot check and found that "a significant amount" of them tested out to have a .063" differential. I'm going to assume that Motiv didn't do this on purpose and this was just some manufacturing mistake. However, why on earth did Motiv design a weight block to have the absolute maximum RG differential when they knew some variance could occur during production? Whatever, I only throw Storm anyway. Also, congrats on the scores. It will only go up from here. Thom P. Tiers posted:Nice bowling guys. It's always fun to watch new bowlers get a lot better throughout the year. One of my buddies shot his first 600 ever this year and his second just the other week. He has brought his average up from ~150 to ~175 throughout the season. What I like to see is when someone just started bowling and they get their first full year under their belts and book an average. Then all through the next year they clean up in handicap tournaments since most tournaments don't have a 10-pin rule. In other news, I shot my fifth 300 last night. It was my first one outside of the house I bowled at the first 10 years I bowled, so I was pretty excited about it.
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Mar 23, 2016 23:08
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Yeah, Motiv is the brand you want to throw if you truly want to live ON THE EDGE!!! Get MOTIVated!
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Mar 24, 2016 21:44
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Well, the fall leagues have started back up. I'm 3 weeks in on both of my leagues this season. What are your goals for this bowling season? Mine is to average 220 and get a 300 and 800 at some point. I think it is well within my abilities and the conditions seem much more scoreable this year than last.
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Sep 14, 2016 00:33
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| # ¿ Apr 26, 2024 23:45 |
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Yeah, there are definitely some no-thumb exceptions (Mike Miller, Jason Belmonte, Osku Palermaa, plus a few local bowlers you've never heard of), but generally speaking it's best to learn with the thumb. I threw thumbless for the first year or so I bowled and plateaued around 195-200 on some really easy conditions. Once I got a ball drilled for my hand and I worked out the kinks, my consistency went way up.
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Oct 29, 2016 17:40
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