BallReviews
General Category => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: captzap on February 02, 2015, 08:05:39 AM
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Bowling in a competitive league for 4 years. This year they changed the pattern without consulting the league members. Shot was setup by a bowler on the league in conjunction with the house. Now almost everyone is averaging 5 to 20 pins less than last year. Your pro bowlers and lower average (straight ball) bowlers have almost no change in average. Only your average to slightly above average bowlers are struggling. My question is should the league have voted on a pattern change? If a change was needed should we have not been given a choice in patterns to vote on? Example. Red, White or Blue patterns. Should a bowler bowling in the league set the pattern up? To me this is more like bowling on a sport pattern than a modified house shot! The averages reflect that. 177 this league 193 all other leagues. Just doing a little venting. ;)
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Your "average" is relative to the condition that you are bowling on. You said it was a "competitive" league. I'd figure out a way to get better so you can compete or bowl something less competitive.
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If the league is going to bowl on something other than what is normally put out the other 6 nights a week in the house they should be notified before the league starts. No one from the league should be involved with the process of determining what the lane conditions will be unless it is something that is voted on by team captains. It's all or nothing, either vote or the center does it.
The problem being most people know absolutely nothing about how to condition a lane, including most mechanics.
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As long as the shot is USBC USBC compliant and the shot was not changed to favor a team or player, then I do not feel any one has a complaint.
If the league bylaws stipulate a given condition then you may have a leg to stand on.
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I only bowl this league in this house. Their other leagues have different shots (THS). House and proshop (pro) set the shot. It's just the fact that the shot changed so radically from last year. From Modified THS to Modified THS long heavy oil and very flat. Pro has told many bowlers to adjust their surfaces to 360 even on high end balls. Just drilled up a Radical Guru just for this shot and had a 608 1st night. Maybe this is going to work. :D
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This was a pretty good quote from a letter from a house that changed the lane conditions, explaining why they changed.
"The sport of bowling is about who is able to adjust, and then how accurately they can execute their shot. The team across from you has the same has the same condition as you. If you want to win; learn, practice, and adjust, otherwise rolling the ball is like rolling the dice."
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Pro has told many bowlers to adjust their surfaces to 360 even on high end balls.
360!!!
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It sounds a little like the proshop guy is setting up the lanes to get more business.
Like that's never happened before !!!!!
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Back in the stone age when I started bowling, I can still remember 170 average league bowlers complaining that "I don't care whether they are slick or dry, they should just be the same every night". We can debate forever what the proper approach by the house is. You can never please everyone, but with the modern lane machines and technology we have today, it seems only good business to try to keep as many customers happy as possible. I think every house should have a sport league available to the growing segment of customers who want to be challenged. The rest of the leagues should be given a so called easy scoring condition that the house does its best to maintain consistently. That is not entirely possible because machines do screw up, the balls chew up conditions differently depending on the style of players on the pair, and sometimes things like climate and humidity changes do impact the condition.
In addition, any bowler who desires to be at all competitive should understand that developing some diversity is a necessity as important as consistency in release, to compete in the modern game.
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I see two things going on:
1) You have already mentioned that the expectation was a "modified" THS pattern. It seems you have an issue because this year they "modified" more then in the past. Oh well. When you sign up for a league using a modified THS pattern you leave the door open for a variety of things, inlcuding what you are seeing this year. You need to adjust your surfaces, adjust your line, and bowl your best. All these people whose averages are down so much, has anyone tried pointing the ball off the corner a little...getting the ball heading towards the pocket right from the start? I have finished as high as 2nd place in a very prestigious tournament throwing that line....do what you must to score better.
2) That being said, it seems like the pro shop operator, whether or not he bowls in the league, is trying to create a market for the newer releases from a lot of companies. You purchased a Guru, I bet he has sold a lot of Storm's Crux, of Roto Grip's Hyper Cell, DV8's Thug Unruly and/or Ruckus Feud, etc..
I would look at it like this: It is a learning for you. You can learn to be a better bowler on a shot like this versus a typical THS. Think of it as such and use it as such and you will be better for it.
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Guru purchased online and drilled by my ball driller at another house. I don't think that the proshop did this to increase sales.
? Would you think at if 90% of the league dropped significantly in average this could be a problem? If this was the only league you bowled then your average in Tournaments would be affected. I would love this average for tournament use. If you bowl in a sport shot league your average is adjusted for tournaments by several pins up. I see that this could be a problem. The only tournament that I have bowled in that I could not average my book average was nationals (2012 pattern) and sometimes I think that is how this shot plays.
Also bowling this does make other leagues seem a lot easier. :) :) :)
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I guess this was directed at me. I would think there are too many bowlers who averages were inflated over their actual skill level by easy THS.
How can it be a problem if, as you claim, you hit your average in every tournament but Nationals, if they raise your average using the sports shot adjustment? Is it a problem because you won't get extra handicap?
Lastly, you are getting my point. If you focus on bowling this league, it will help you get better and make the other leagues seem easier. So instead of complaining, try different things....different surfaces, different lines, different balls, etc., until you find something that works.
Guru purchased online and drilled by my ball driller at another house. I don't think that the proshop did this to increase sales.
? Would you think at if 90% of the league dropped significantly in average this could be a problem? If this was the only league you bowled then your average in Tournaments would be affected. I would love this average for tournament use. If you bowl in a sport shot league your average is adjusted for tournaments by several pins up. I see that this could be a problem. The only tournament that I have bowled in that I could not average my book average was nationals (2012 pattern) and sometimes I think that is how this shot plays.
Also bowling this does make other leagues seem a lot easier. :) :) :)
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the house i bowled in last year changed their house shot for our league becuase our league was so competitive. handicap league field average was about 210 in 2013......2014 field average was 202. it seemed like everyone was down 10-15pins in average and the same sort of thing happened were the above average bowlers dropped in average but the "fluffers" that go up 10 raised their average. the new pattern seemed to cater to the house bowlers as a "condition handicap." fair condition? thats debateable but in the end everyone bowled on the same condition and everyone got handicap so how unfair was the league?
i think the original question should be how can i combat this condition or get better to raise my average and compete OR what type of bowling ball and layout will help me compete on this pattern.
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Sorry to take a cheap shot at you Cheech, but as a 67 year old fluffer I would be glad to take on your "above average" guys for a few bucks on any two conditions so long as both of us get to pick one.
On a serious note, I think the vast majority of league bowlers are way too caught up in trying to hook the lane to the max. This idea got lost in the era of " crank to the bank", but the most effective ball is the one that can maximize hit with the least amount of hook. It is rotational energy matched up to ball speed that maximizes carry, not the number of boards crossed or entry angle. During the short oil urethane era the best way to maximize carry was through creating a lot of side roll, but the amount of hook was a by product of this type of delivery
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If there is that much volume it is time to work as a unit with your teammates open the lanes up and move in from there.
Don't worry about your average it is only a number. Is their a difference leading the league with 240 or 220? Leading the league is leading the league.
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To answer one of your questions, no the house probably doesn't need to inform leagues of changes to the shot unless it's pretty drastic. If it's still a house shot, it's still a house shot. The house probably makes a lot of tweaks to the shot over the course of a season to keep it playing about the same. I know my house will add/subtract a foot from the pattern, or add or subtract a little head oil to keep the hold area and backends playing about the same as the weather changes, and I wouldn't expect that my league be notified.
That being said, if the shot is significantly more difficult, maybe an advance notice is in order.
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You would be what we call a house bowler!!! ;D A killer in leagues as long as you play on the shot that you've grown accustomed to but as soon as they change the shot..........whaaaaaaa!!!! This is the reason why averages are sky rocketing in typical house shots. Whiney league bowlers with all this great equipment love the shot the can just bang the outside all day and get great carry even on bad shots. Throw a little oil at them and the skill level goes out the window. Bowling is about being versatile not getting that shot that you like. If you really want to improve your skill then take this opportunity to elevate your game.
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We use to call them one house wonders 40 years ago. The only difference today is that with mostly synthetic lanes, sophisticated lane machines, and a lot more knowledge about lane conditioning ( not from local lane men, but from Kegel ) a very one dimensional bowler can usually take his game to almost any house that puts out the standard 10 to 10 or 8 to 8 wall.
By the way, I have said this many times, but what makes a house shot so easy is that the pattern pretty much takes the length of the oil out of play since there is so little oil outside of the wall on any part of the lane. It is changes in the length of the oil on flatter patterns that impacts bowlers more than any other variable. I have seen house bowlers totally whack a sport pattern at one buff length, only to look like a total hack on a similar pattern 3 feet longer or shorter.
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We use to call them one house wonders 40 years ago. The only difference today is that with mostly synthetic lanes, sophisticated lane machines, and a lot more knowledge about lane conditioning ( not from local lane men, but from Kegel ) a very one dimensional bowler can usually take his game to almost any house that puts out the standard 10 to 10 or 8 to 8 wall.
By the way, I have said this many times, but what makes a house shot so easy is that the pattern pretty much takes the length of the oil out of play since there is so little oil outside of the wall on any part of the lane. It is changes in the length of the oil on flatter patterns that impacts bowlers more than any other variable. I have seen house bowlers totally whack a sport pattern at one buff length, only to look like a total hack on a similar pattern 3 feet longer or shorter.
One of the local houses I bowl in months ago had received a new oil machine, also during that time USBC came in to certify the lanes and found that even though they were putting down the proper shot they were not putting enough volume of oil down. I guess many centers do this sometimes to save money and to bump scores. Man!!! you should have heard all the whining about the shot from the leagues so called "elite" bowlers for the next couple of weeks. I actually liked it with more oil it allows me to let the ball work and not have to muscle the ball so much so I get better carry instead of blowing the rack. Anyhow it wasn't long before they tweaked the shot back to how the whiners liked it. You see, bowling center like to make money and in order to make money they need to inflate scores and ego's. Why does the center have any obligation to get any input from the bowlers as to what kind of shot they like? A shot that's good for you may not be good for someone else.
I bowled in a 6 game marathon with a long and a short sport pattern and you should have seen these guys that average 220 only bowl 130's and 150's. Couldn't make it to the pocket to save their lives and damn sure couldn't make a spare. I on the other hand average right at 196-200 at least averaged 175's - 180's over 6 games. So whenever they walk around puffing their chest out I tell them to lay down a long pattern and put your money up.
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Interesting about the volume of oil. No real rule on this. USBC rules don't even require you to use any oil on a lane. Biggest reasons for ever increasing higher volumes of oil is to protect the lanes from the high amounts of friction created by modern balls. Also, I cannot understand how anyone can complain about a THS ( by definition there is little oil outside 10 board ) being too slick. The biggest problem with the THS is the wet dry effect of the top hat pattern. Now, I am not saying all house shots are what we call THS. Maybe the house shots are much flatter some places than others.
I do know that I cannot remember the last time I saw a house shot that didn't have all the free swing I could possibly want if I lined up anywhere near correctly.