This whole winter league, the lane conditions have been awful! It is not that the league has a hard shot, it is just awful with carry down. Not burnt up lanes, actual carry down left over from prior leagues and open bowling. The lanes are stripped completely for the Tuesday league, the back ends are stripped for Thursday, and then more oil is just squirted on the lane for the rest of the leagues. By the time Sunday rolls around, the lanes are shot. I can't get a ball to roll through the pocket. I can get a ball to hook, but with no drive or hit. I watched a friend bowl on another pair last night, and his ball didn't even read any dry part of the lane. The rotation was the same from his hand all the way to the end of the pin deck. I am not asking for an easy THS, just a shot where I can be rewarded with a strike on a perfectly thrown ball

I agree with anyone complaining about league conditions.  I bowl in an easy house for the rev challenge and the people think its the next best thing to a miracle like changing water into wine.  I have revs and relegated to having to use urethane or in most case a plastic taboo spare.  The house in question is Plano Super bowl.  I remember the old days when the league got a condition across the house.  In my league the oil the lanes and its open play until league shows up and then they ask for the lanes to be turned in 10 minutes prior.  We have had bowlers bowl 3 four games one one or both lanes.  Tell me hows this is a fair representation of the league shot.  The typical house shot there is 10 out little to no oil.  So what you have is really adult bumper bowling.  Would be nice if the Secretary stand up for us or god forbid that the USBC come in and tell the proprietor that they were going to decertify the lanes for non compliance of a standard league shot.  Oh yeah no such thing anymore. Then you have the ball companies make balls so strong that they eat up lanes (i.e. Storm Crux). WHEN will the madness stop???  The fun thing is to watch these inflated averages go to nationals and complain about how hard it was (just got to laugh).   

Guys, I am sorry I have been a whiny a$$ for the last few days. I have had a lot of stress lately, and I finally broke. I had a heart to heart talk I really needed with my best friend last night, and I finally am thinking clearly again. I have been fighting this shot for the whole year, whereas I have only seen the lanes at this house get like this once every few months. I have honestly tried every trick in my arsenal, except lofting the right gutter lol. I am using this shot to get better. I don't like a super easy shot. I bowled on one shot at a house I visited where I was off my game, and still shot well over 600. Realistically, I am a 200 average bowler when I focus. I average 190's on every other league because I goof around too much with everyone instead of bowling for real. That 366? I made all of my single pin spares, but chopped every one of my multiple pin spares. I can count every strike I threw that night on one hand, and still have enough fingers left to scratch my head. And I was in the pocket all night except for one shot, where I stuck and tried to kiss the lane. Now that I am thinking clearly, I realize that the only shots I have seen where the ball actually rolls have been when the ball gets outside the 5 board, which is outside my normal shot range. I have leaked a ball out there from time to time. Sometimes it will ride the rail and hit the 6-10 area. Last Sunday, it recovered and struck. I should have learned from that, but I was ignorant and not thinking clearly. I admit, I do like to throw the big scores as much as anyone, but I do not expect it out of the shot. I guess I am also just aggravated that everyone is fighting the shot except for the straight bowlers just because of the lanes being awful by the time it gets around to our league, and also that my team keeps getting the short end of the stick and bowling a team that is on fire almost every week, while my team almost always has one or two of us having a terrible night. Yes we do win and lose as a team. Again, I am sorry I have been such a whiny a$$.

If you have friction outside, seek to exploit it!   

Yes, it may be outside your comfort zone, but see it as an OPPORTUNITY to develop this part of your game.

lilpossum,
     No need to apologize. You have seen the light, metaphorically speaking, that's all that matters. I am glad you were able to get over whatever the issue was and put it behind you.
 
     And don't knock lofting the right gutter, we finished 3rd at that tournament with 2-3 of us playing that line, lol. The others were a bit better at playing fallback shot then us so they went deep inside. I know sometimes we don't think of things like that or even pointing the ball towards the pocket, because we think we should be able to throwing up or out. Sometimes all it takes is someone to mention it to give us the kick in the pants we need to open up to new ideas again.

Well that does provide a unique problem, lol. Unless the bowler on the other lane of your pair is willing to wait, lol.

Hey, I'm not knocking lofting the right gutter. I think it would work, except I have an above ground ball return that will give me hell lol.

Ouch!!!

I can imagine....I remember the smell of a ball just getting lightly rubbed by the belts, and it wasn't pleasant.

I have not had to bowl with above ground ball returns in years, and my ankles are thanking me for that...at 6'4, unless the lanes were flooded, I usually hit my ankle on the return every shot on the right lane. Just adds to the fun though right?!?

Last time I saw someone try to loft gutters there, he was playing really deep for fun. The ball bounced off the corner of the gutter, landed on the ball return, and rode the ball return up into the back with the pin machines. When the lane man went back to get the ball, the ball was resting against be belt of a machine, and the belt was eating a hole through his ball. He said the smell back there was awful