It was only in training, but I had some trouble with a fried lane some time ago. Team mates and me went for a training session after a youth tournament. Lanes were not refreshed, and the condition, well, horrible. The right half of the lane was completely ruined between the righ gutter and probably 18th board. Anything we tried (Power Grooves, TPC Shooter) either ran dead or hooked after 25'. No fun. From spare shooting I knew that the left half of the lane was quite virgin.
In my frustration I took the strongest ball I had with me, my Shock & Awe, and tried to play deep. 4th arrow at first (with feet at 45th board or so), later even 5th arrow with feet at 52nd board, left to the gutter. Only worked because there was a service walkway to the left of the lane... This worked to my surprise, but only because the S&A created so much angle to get back to the pocket and still carry, and I would not recommend doing so. But it was a interesting experience to exploit equipment to the maximum while anyone around struggled with the low end balls to score.
Anything that gets the pins down finally counts... and if desperate conditions call for desperate measures (or at least, unconventional) and you have them in store - good for you!
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DizzyFugu - Reporting from Germany
Team "X" website & more about me: http://web.mac.com/timlinked/iWeb/X/Thomas.html
"All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream..." - Edgar Allen Poe
Edited on 7/26/2006 7:12 AM