BallReviews
General Category => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: bowler100 on March 31, 2018, 06:23:29 PM
-
League night is quite an adventure. First off all, the apparent volume of oil varies dramatically from week to week on the fresh (It can get pretty heavy up front sometimes). The backends are always CRAZY strong on the fresh (no hold at all inside 10 board) plus the outsides have very little free hook outside 7 (even as a 400+ RPM bowler squaring up with a dull ball haha). Many sport patterns I have bowled on were actually easier IMO.
Being that the pattern plays pretty flat, I tend to start outside five straight up (very small belly) with a pretty early rolling, but relatively mild particle ball (Morich Labyrinth with green scotch brite) and hand almost completely up the back. I have no trouble getting to the pocket but my carry is just horrific. Ringing 10s and swisher 7s almost every other shot. A lot of these shots had the pins dancing around so my roll was pretty solid. I make a 1/2 board move right with my feet keeping the same target and I start getting early hook and leaving 4 pins; sometimes with the 9 accompanying it. So what about moving in and increasing my axis rotation? When I do that, my Labyrinth absolutely refuses to read the mids and it twitches off the end of the pattern which results in ugly leaves such as the 3-4-6-7-9-10 split.
Next, I tried my DV8 Maurader at 2000 and the ball never even thought about getting into a roll. I figured that I might try out my Gauntlet with a green scotch brite. I had to make a 7 board board move with my feet from the Labyrinth and stay up the back. This ball actually read the mids easily but the entry angle was questionable with my lower axis rotation which once again resulted in being in the flat/ringing 10 zone. If I increased the axis rotation on the Gauntlet even slightly, the ball would still read the mids but would go run away brooklyn.
Normally, I use axis rotation in order to get the proper shape off the end of the pattern. Since I use this type of adjustment a lot, I tend to use equipment that is on the earlier rolling side to control the motion off the spot while increase entry angle into the pocket. The problem with doing that on this pattern is that it forces me to take a big step to the left and give the pocket away too much due to the hook at the end of the pattern. The other problem is that the pattern is so slick up front that missing to the outside by even a couple of boards could result in a gutter ball.
The funny thing is that I recently practiced on the 2016 Open Championships pattern that was laid out at another center and had no problems with entry angle and carry from my dulled up Gauntlet. I could use my normal axis rotation and play out around three board (dangerous I know) with almost no belly and watch it angle into the pocket beautifully. The pattern was very flat and heavy but I found a great look. At my home center, the Gauntlet would hook like mad unless I serious cut down on my axis rotation and even then I had to give the pocket away more than I did on the OC pattern.
I will admit, it is frustrating bowling a mid-to-high 500s every week in league when I could walk into another an unfamiliar center and easily shoot a high 600 series. The good news is that I always get plenty of practice at my spares and it challenges me to make good shots even with a less than ideal ball reaction. If I always shot at least 225 per game than I would probably quit bowling out of boredom. The fact I am struggling will make it more rewarding when I do score well because I felt like I EARNED IT.
I know, it is a long-winded post. I am still a college kid so any feedback or suggestions from more experienced bowlers is welcomed!
Just FYI, they use a Brunswick oil machine and have a newer generation of Anvilanes.
-
SHUT UP AND BOWL!!!!!!!!!!
-
Where are the 225+ bowlers playing? Start there and adjust off that to fit the attributes of your game.
-
The way you describe the pattern it sounds like you are doing good just getting to the pocket regularly. Is anyone really scoring on this shot.
-
I've had a lot if 300, and averaged over 230 many times when I was younger. Never got bored
-
The way you describe the pattern it sounds like you are doing good just getting to the pocket regularly. Is anyone really scoring on this shot.
Nobody. One guy who averages 220 at another center averages under 180 on this shot!
-
If you're hitting the pocket and not carrying, it's because of how your ball is going thru the pins. Look at the higher average bowlers. Is their ball setting up at the pocket, or looking like it's rolling out? Ball is slowing down too fast or too slow?
What kind of carry issues are you having (specific leaves) that the higher average bowlers aren't experiencing?
-
I appreciate your level of detail in how you're attacking this pattern, however I believe you are over thinking this thing!
Most of the balls you are using are close to the same RG of 2.50 or higher. Differential is in the .047-.050 range. You said you're getting a lot of ringing tens and swisher 7's. To me....your balls are inherently too strong!
Ball down a bit, add some surface and then add hand as needed based on how weak the piece is that you're using. Just my opinion.
-
I'm thinking it's a combination of the wrong surface and the wrong line for the pattern.
The Labyrinth with the current surface you have is likely hooking so early that it's causing a loss of energy in back. Doing some research on that ball, the box surface is 500. Taking a green Scotch Brite to it added even more surface which probably brought it to 250-400. That is overkill on many patterns, especially with a 400+ rev rate and squaring up. It's going to cause the ball to hit like a marshmallow and be DOA when it hits the 1-3.
First, I would likely ball down to something that has a cleaner cover if you want to square up and stay direct. That can allow you to keep your hand up the back and allow the ball to conserve energy for making a move downlane.
Second, If you want to take a jump inside and use the axis rotation/rev rate to create angle and the shape downlane, you can as you have that ability. Only then would I likely use a stronger solid or hybrid with some surface as you'll be keeping it in the oil longer to react properly. You also may need to adjust to your speed as the conditions allow. But something like that should not need the amount of surface you are currently using.
Third, definitely watch what the better bowlers are doing on that pattern. Impending Doom mentioned this and it's a good piece of advice. Maybe there is a zone they are playing or a certain area (think of it as boundaries) where they're consistently scoring well. Use that information to your advantage.
-
If you're hitting the pocket and not carrying, it's because of how your ball is going thru the pins. Look at the higher average bowlers. Is their ball setting up at the pocket, or looking like it's rolling out? Ball is slowing down too fast or too slow?
What kind of carry issues are you having (specific leaves) that the higher average bowlers aren't experiencing?
Carry issues effect most of the good bowlers in that league except an speed-dominant (normally 215+ average) spinner throwing a Sure Lock and another guy who is a two-hander piping a Pitch Black up the 4 board. Otherwise, everybody else's bowling balls lack a good midlane read and are very skid/flip. The carry issues I have come from the ball either skidding too long or standing up and puking.
-
I appreciate your level of detail in how you're attacking this pattern, however I believe you are over thinking this thing!
Most of the balls you are using are close to the same RG of 2.50 or higher. Differential is in the .047-.050 range. You said you're getting a lot of ringing tens and swisher 7's. To me....your balls are inherently too strong!
Ball down a bit, add some surface and then add hand as needed based on how weak the piece is that you're using. Just my opinion.
I get you on the overthinking part. I am a math and science major after all! On the flipside, shiny balls do not read the mids at all and seriously peel like crazy (if you have slow enough ball speed). Even my Labyrinth at a low grit skids far more than you would probably think through the front. There is a LOT of oil up front.
-
I show up..throw and then thank the house manager at the end of the set for making me one of the more dangerous handicap bowlers in my state.
Reverse block unintentional.
Blessings in disguise! I go to the next tourney and smile 😃.
Center manager, Thank you for not having a clue!
Regards,
Luckylefty
-
I'm thinking it's a combination of the wrong surface and the wrong line for the pattern.
The Labyrinth with the current surface you have is likely hooking so early that it's causing a loss of energy in back. Doing some research on that ball, the box surface is 500. Taking a green Scotch Brite to it added even more surface which probably brought it to 250-400. That is overkill on many patterns, especially with a 400+ rev rate and squaring up. It's going to cause the ball to hit like a marshmallow and be DOA when it hits the 1-3.
First, I would likely ball down to something that has a cleaner cover if you want to square up and stay direct. That can allow you to keep your hand up the back and allow the ball to conserve energy for making a move downlane.
Second, If you want to take a jump inside and use the axis rotation/rev rate to create angle and the shape downlane, you can as you have that ability. Only then would I likely use a stronger solid or hybrid with some surface as you'll be keeping it in the oil longer to react properly. You also may need to adjust to your speed as the conditions allow. But something like that should not need the amount of surface you are currently using.
Third, definitely watch what the better bowlers are doing on that pattern. Impending Doom mentioned this and it's a good piece of advice. Maybe there is a zone they are playing or a certain area (think of it as boundaries) where they're consistently scoring well. Use that information to your advantage.
Now that I think about it, it is really a case of me trying too hard to get to get mismatched balls to work. So far I have seen shiny reactives skid and/or flip too much for me while dull reactives/particles would stand up and puke at the backend.
I have an idea... I will pull out my black hammer so I can keep my angles closed, control the skid up front, and slow the response at the back of the pattern. That way I don't have to try so hard to manipulate a bad ball reaction plus I would likely get better continuation through the pins.
-
I show up..throw and then thank the house manager at the end of the set for making me one of the more dangerous handicap bowlers in my state.
Reverse block unintentional.
Blessings in disguise! I go to the next tourney and smile 😃.
Center manager, Thank you for not having a clue!
Regards,
Luckylefty
Seriously, the bowling center I bowl at has employees (including the owner and mechanic) who are NOT bowlers. They are nice but there is always a disconnect when they talk to the bowlers. Plus the oil machine constantly malfunctions and does not oil consistently from week to week. The good news is that when I bowl at other centers, I clean up! Every other house feels like a giant wall compared to this center.
-
Our shot differs some every night. Factors in Florida are heat, humidity, who bowled on them before, amount of stripper used....you get the picture. I like to swing the ball, but outside the 10 is a desert, making it very over under. A lot of hacks and seniors that force me left to stay out of their tracks as much as possible. When the back ends are not as clean as normal, and carry is poor, I just close up my angles, come up the back of the ball and really focus on my spares. Lets me shoot 190-200 vs 160-170. Simple bowling adjustments.
-
Our shot differs some every night. Factors in Florida are heat, humidity, who bowled on them before, amount of stripper used....you get the picture. I like to swing the ball, but outside the 10 is a desert, making it very over under. A lot of hacks and seniors that force me left to stay out of their tracks as much as possible. When the back ends are not as clean as normal, and carry is poor, I just close up my angles, come up the back of the ball and really focus on my spares. Lets me shoot 190-200 vs 160-170. Simple bowling adjustments.
Hacks & seniors? So, instead of "other bowlers" you have the audacity to offend others who are not hot dog bowlers like yourself. As a silver rated coach I would expect more and better comments from you, but then that's just me. Carry on and good bowling to you.
-
Our shot differs some every night. Factors in Florida are heat, humidity, who bowled on them before, amount of stripper used....you get the picture. I like to swing the ball, but outside the 10 is a desert, making it very over under. A lot of hacks and seniors that force me left to stay out of their tracks as much as possible. When the back ends are not as clean as normal, and carry is poor, I just close up my angles, come up the back of the ball and really focus on my spares. Lets me shoot 190-200 vs 160-170. Simple bowling adjustments.
Hacks & seniors? So, instead of "other bowlers" you have the audacity to offend others who are not hot dog bowlers like yourself. As a silver rated coach I would expect more and better comments from you, but then that's just me. Carry on and good bowling to you.
my, my, my, I have struck a nerve. Hacks, yes, guys who think they are great because they can spin a super soaker up the 10 and it hooks on the back end. Seniors, like me, but in their 70’s and 80’s who cannot throw the ball very hard and usually throw a plastic ball down the middle. As a Silver coach, I could help them, but most won’t bowl more than 3 games in league once a week and don’t want any help from an old guy like me. Most of the guys I consider as hacks are guys who come in once a week, drink, bowl and drink more. There are better bowlers than me in our house, but most bowlers recognize Hacks as what they are. Seniors are seniors and do what they can. No complaints, they change the pattern by the way they throw the ball. Hacks are usually all over the lane and don’t know why the lane changes for them. Higher speed and crankers play havoc with my line also, because I have to cross their line twice. If I have offended you by my definition of hacker, oh well. I never said anything bad about hackers and seniors, only their styles affect the lanes
-
Some centers need me to use different responses downlane. Same "strength" but longer or shorter transition. I have 2 houses near me. 1 I get the best look with fast response equipment (Dream On and Drift are 2 of my best looks there), but at another house, I like my X and Night Hawk SE. I can struggle to throw the wrong equipment at the wrong house, but why? Try something drastically different. Move way left with less surface and try to get it back. If you're not scoring on a house shot, you're not playing them right.
-
Some centers need me to use different responses downlane. Same "strength" but longer or shorter transition. I have 2 houses near me. 1 I get the best look with fast response equipment (Dream On and Drift are 2 of my best looks there), but at another house, I like my X and Night Hawk SE. I can struggle to throw the wrong equipment at the wrong house, but why? Try something drastically different. Move way left with less surface and try to get it back. If you're not scoring on a house shot, you're not playing them right.
Covering more boards with less surface is NOT ideal at all on the fresh. There is no side to side friction at all on the fresh and the backends hook way too much for any misses inside to hold. Next league night, I will start out with a black hammer at 1000 controlling the skid/flip ball reaction on the fresh.
-
Some centers need me to use different responses downlane. Same "strength" but longer or shorter transition. I have 2 houses near me. 1 I get the best look with fast response equipment (Dream On and Drift are 2 of my best looks there), but at another house, I like my X and Night Hawk SE. I can struggle to throw the wrong equipment at the wrong house, but why? Try something drastically different. Move way left with less surface and try to get it back. If you're not scoring on a house shot, you're not playing them right.
Covering more boards with less surface is NOT ideal at all on the fresh. There is no side to side friction at all on the fresh and the backends hook way too much for any misses inside to hold. Next league night, I will start out with a black hammer at 1000 controlling the skid/flip ball reaction on the fresh.
Your statement has confused me. No side to side friction but a lot of backend? Maybe our terminology is different.
One thing that has helped me a lot at tournaments with plenty of backend is actually going up to my strongest cover to burn energy and control the backend which has been my Absolute Nirvana at 2000.
I bowled the Storm Utah Open in January which used a 39 ft pattern and a large volume of oil. You were forced to play middle of the lane to track area around 10. Missing outside resulted in an easy pick of the 6-9-10 or 4-7-8 but at the same time you couldn't miss inside or use a ball that reacted to the dry too much.
It sounds like you have a good idea of the breakpoint being around the 7 board. Why not try going up in grit slightly with the Labyrinth? If I remember correctly, green scotch brite is 600 grit which is generally overkill
-
Drink more beer.
Or drill a ball to hook / set. This means something closer to your axis in the 1-1/2" range and use enough surface.
-
Some centers need me to use different responses downlane. Same "strength" but longer or shorter transition. I have 2 houses near me. 1 I get the best look with fast response equipment (Dream On and Drift are 2 of my best looks there), but at another house, I like my X and Night Hawk SE. I can struggle to throw the wrong equipment at the wrong house, but why? Try something drastically different. Move way left with less surface and try to get it back. If you're not scoring on a house shot, you're not playing them right.
Covering more boards with less surface is NOT ideal at all on the fresh. There is no side to side friction at all on the fresh and the backends hook way too much for any misses inside to hold. Next league night, I will start out with a black hammer at 1000 controlling the skid/flip ball reaction on the fresh.
Every so-called THS shot is not easy! For years I bowled in a house that routinely had a reverse block as its "House shot". This shot was so difficult that whenever a tournament was held there, you could count the number of Virginia entries on one hand! Folks were terrified of it! Most bowlers who considered themselves good, struggled mightily and usually shot a good 20+ pins under their averages.
I like your idea of taking the cover to 1000 to control the backend. I recently did the very same thing in my house with good results. I shot 222-219-233 for the night as my teammates struggled with over/under reactions all night.
Also, your description of your house almost sounds a little like the USBC conditions from last year, with a heavy amount of oil up front.......forcing angles to close, keeping the ball in front of you, but still dealing with flying backends. I had success there with a ball that pushed inherently, however I had lowered the differential with a rico drilling for the fresh shot. As the lanes opened up I went to a mild particle ball that had surface. I'd scuffed it with green scotchbrite, to control the backend. That really worked well! Just an idea to consider.
-
Flying backends is the only thing there to pay attention to. If you've got the head oil or the volume period, go with early chuggy stuff, all you need to do is blend the wet/dry so the ball isn't burning so much on the turn, that's what's killing your carry.
-
Just an update, I pulled out my old 600 grit Pro Zone Azure for league and it blended out the pattern beautifully in league. Thankfully, I did not need to take my hand out of it to control the reaction. I played the same outside 5 shot with little belly and whacked them in the first game for a 258 and a 673 series overall. There was little free hook outside of 5 but my ball never over-skidded in the fronts nor over hooked in the backend despite heavy oil upfront. With my pin down and 5.5 pin-to-PAP distance, it was very urethane-like reading the pattern. That tells me that my Labyrinth even at 600 grit was skidding too much up front and not burning off enough energy coming off the end of the pattern.
-
Flying backends is the only thing there to pay attention to. If you've got the head oil or the volume period, go with early chuggy stuff, all you need to do is blend the wet/dry so the ball isn't burning so much on the turn, that's what's killing your carry.
If you do not have head oil, flat ten city. We have this problem in our old wood house. Wednesday the top bowler in the house averaging 214 shot 460. The house is super tough any way, but the last few weeks the shot has been unplayable outside 10 and over under hades inside 10 after game one. About all you can do is keep your angles tight, make your spares and bowl 180 -200. Or do like I did last week 225 134 204. The 134 came from me not willing to accept that the wall was not there and the lanes were not giving up big scores.