Many of you have been asking me through e-mail and messaging about my experience this last weekend at the Greater Ozarks Tournament in Springfield, MO. Instead of replying to everyone individually, I thought it would be easier to post here, so here it goes:
Singles and Doubles, Enterprise Park Lanes, Saturday the 17th, 5:30
We bowl this squad intentionally every year because the lanes are completely transitioned and they are extremely dry by this point in the day. After the 10:00 and 2:00 squads (6 bowlers on a pair), the tournament re-oils the heads only, and the 5:30 squad is the last of the day. In the past, I've had incredible success at this center on this squad. We checked in and I noticed that we were bowling on the two pairs that I won the 6-game event (Singles and Doubles combined) on two years ago (37-38 & 39-40).
But I also noticed something else after finding out our lane assignment. The group scheduled to bowl the 2:00 squad on our pairs was a no show. Lanes 1-37 were in full use, but our two pairs were dark during the second squad of the day. This means that they lanes were dressed and the first squad bowled. Enterprise Park is using more oil than years before to begin with. Nobody bowled on our lanes the 2nd squad, and then they re-oiled the heads on top of the morning leftover. I knew of course that this meant we would see slicker lane conditions than normal, with more transition to fight during our squad.
The amount of that oil on our pair was pretty unbelievable. I've not bowled on lanes this slick for at least a few years. Out of our group of 6 people, the first 5 balls went into the right gutter. I took my one practice ball on each lane, and had left a 2-pin combination on both lanes.
I typically enter all of the brackets for all 3 of my events at this tournament, but I just haven't been executing shots very well lately. My work schedule has taken me away from practice more than I like. I decided to get into 30 scratch brackets during singles and wait on doubles.
I threw my blue NV, laying the ball down at 18, crossing the arros at 16. I also moved up on the approach approximately 2 feet to slow my footwork and ball speed down. 186 the first game with two opens, only missed the pocket one time. I won 12 of the 30 brackets on this score. Next game the lanes transitioned quite a bit, and I was able to open up my launch angles. By the end of game 2, I was laying the ball down at 28, crossing the arrows at 22. Game two was a clean 236, and I won 10 of 12 semi-finals. Game three the lanes transitioned even further, and they never really settled in at any point during the set. After game 3, I was laying the ball down at 33, crossing the arrows at 24. A 210 with one split earned me 10 winners in brackets for a $100 profit. 632 in singles will typically cash in this tournament for about a $5 check. It was pretty lackluster, but I felt that I grinded it out the best I could.
We switched to 39 and 40 for doubles, and once again I entered 30 scratch brackets. The group we crossed with were lower average league players that never moved inside to play the lane pattern properly. I had noticed that all of them stayed between 5 and 10 at the arrows while they were on 39 and 40. I knew this meant a few things. The front of the lane where we were crossing would be slicker. The midlane we were going through would be slicker. And I anticipated that there could be a problem getting any reaction downlane, as this group carried down lane oil into our intended breakpoint.
Anticipation is only one step to succeeding, and unfortunately I didn't react quickly enough. I attempted to stay inside, where Enterprise Park rewards good shot making with excellent carry from inside angles. But it just wasn't possible for me to get the ball to read consistently downlane. After opening 3 of the first 5 frames, and making a washout, I moved back to my original starting point in the evening with a 2000 grit Total NV (ball #2 in my video). I used a lower rotation release to get the ball to read earlier and smoother downlane. Immediately I found some ball reaction and cleaned up game 1 for another 186 start. The scoring pace was incredibly low after the move, and I cleared 18 of 30 scratch brackets on the 186. Game 2 brought a lot of change again, but our pair didn't transition the same as before. I couldn't decide when to go away from my "B" game release and when to go back to my natural game. I got caught in the middle and shot a 180 something. I got 8 winners out of 18 on this number. Game 3 was a total grind, as our group started pushing oil in all directions, searching for any viable ball reaction. I fought through it and finished with 176 including a couple of splits. Two winners and six seconds in brackets certainly wasn't going to console my worst doubles performance ever in this tournament. I cashed out for $110, a $40 loser. $60 net profit on the day.
I went back to the hotel and examined my shotmaking and determined that I had really made some quality shots. The circumstance of the second shift not bowling on our pairs was obviously unexpected, and I had prepared my mind for something different than what we saw. I went into Sunshine confident in the team event on Sunday.
Team Event, Sunshine Lanes, Sunday the 18th, 12:00
I never can figure out why someone would want to bowl the early squad at Sunshine? Maybe it's to get home sooner. But this place transitions so much early on that it simply isn't worth it. I saw a very talented player on the first squad, bowling on the pair we drew, start with 166, find a ball reaction and shoot 279 with the front 8, and then finish up with 172. I was convinced that we had something to work with if we could move fast enough, so I entered 40 scratch brackets. I was wishing I had done better the day before so that I could load up in all 90 of them, but I just wasn't in a position to do it.
We started practice, and I threw two balls. I tried my 5 1/2" pin Total NV (Ball #3 in my video), along with a brand new Angular One that I've just drilled (5 1/2" pin x 45 degrees). Both balls gave me a great look in practice, and I ended up never missing throughout the 10 minutes of practice. The arrows came up and I left the Angular One on the ball return. By the time our third bowler had thrown his first shot, I had switched the Angular One for the Total NV. I decided that I might be better off using something that I had a few more games with and knew a little more about.
I started the day sliding at 41, which means that I'm laying the ball down at 37, crossing the arrows at 26. The first game I went front five, four pin, turkey, 10 pin, strike on the fill ball for 258. I won 40 out of 40 brackets and was high game in the field. By the end of game one I had moved 3 with my feet and two with my eyes. Game two brought a little move early on, as I started with strike, 4 pin and 10 pin. I moved in a little deeper, now laying the ball down at 43, crossing the arrows at 29. I finished that game up with a six bagger, a stuff 9 pin in the tenth, and another stuff 9 pin on the fill ball for 247. 247 got me 38 out of 40 winners, as I lost to a 258 in two of the brackets. I immediately went to the bag to prepare two balls in case I needed them (tape and stuff). I got a One and a Big Time Pearl that have identical layouts to this ball ready in case they were needed.
Game 3 brought another small move. By the end of the game I was sliding at 48, crossing the arrows at 32. I went strike, 2-5 (worst shot of the day), four bagger, stuff 9 pin, turkey, 4 pin in the eleventh for a 248. So I finished up with a clean 753. 247 won all 38 bracket finals I was in, for a cashout of $950. So I was up $750 on this squad, plus $60 from the day before, for a net total of $810.
My all-events score was 1942, which will earn a small check. My team did quite well also, and we nearly got to 3300. The Powerhouse Training Clinics team had 3259 scratch, with another 38 pins of handicap from our lower average players. A total of 3297 puts us in 2nd for now, but we expect to finish around 25th-35th.
I was very pleased with my execution at the tournament. I really wish that someone would have bowled our 2nd shift at Enterprise. The part of the lane that I played at Sunshine is very scoreable at Enterprise, and this is usually where I can play the lanes on that 3rd squad. It just wasn't possible without the extra lineage.
Overall, it was another great experience at Springfield. This is my favorite tournament of the year, and the people there run the tournament aboslutely as smooth as possible. The prize fund is great, the brackets are soft, and the lane conditions are usually very predictable. We're signed up for next year already, and here's to hoping that somebody bowls our 2nd shift at Enterprise!
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Jeff Ussery
Powerhouse Training Clinics
www.proshoptraining.comPro Shop Help Desk Hotline - 785-843-2658
Ball Videos at
www.putfile.com/jeffussery
