Welcome to my yearly PBA log.  Once again, I'm at a different center.  I've never even bowled at this house before, so I don't know any general characteristics.  This is a singles league, using a progressive point system.  There are 45 (I think) bowlers in the league.  If you bowl a 200 game and that beats 30 other bowler's scores, you get 30 points.  We bowl four games and they count series as well, so you can win 225 points (45x5) each week.  There are usually 4 bowlers to a pair, and we skip a pair of lanes after each game.  I had to post bowl for the first two weeks since I was still bowling my winter scratch league when this started.


Week #1: Chameleon (post bowl)

Equipment:

Global 900 Creature, 2000 abralon
Brunswick Absolute Inferno, 220 + rough buff
Hammer Black Widow Bite, 2000 abralon
Lane #1 XXXL

I only got 5 minutes of practice, so I didn't get much time to really fish around.  Outside was pretty slick, so I could play direct out there, but couldn't miss right at all.  Outside of 5 on Chameleon was a favorite of mine in the past if it was there.  Creature didn't have a good look.  Not enough ball outside, and not enough back end inside.  Started off with the Absolute crossing 15 at the arrows out to 8/9.  The shot was there, but missing in had no hold at all.  Could miss a tough right if my speed wasn't too firm.

First game I couldn't hit the right lane until late and ended up with a 206.  Second game had a lot of strikes, but completely missing a 3-6-10 and a pocket 7-10 in the 10th left me at 204.  The third game I flat out didn't execute well.  After a few nose dives I tried moving right with the Bite had a double then missed right and flagged the head pin and missed the spare.  With no miss room and me not throwing it sharp, I gave up on that quickly.  Went back to the Absolute and moved a few right with my feet and eyes and firmed up my speed.  Threw a few good shots by the end to salvage a 182.  Last game started strike, split, split (two opens).  Moved left 7 or 8 and softened my speed a bit.  I was able to execute this much better and finished at 200 after a bad start.

Ended up at 792 (198 average) which isn't bad for my first time in a new house and poor shot making for a game and a half.

Week #2: Chameleon (post bowl)

Equipment:

Lane #1 Tsunami, 1000 grit
Brunswick Absolute Inferno, 220 + rough buff
Hammer Black Widow Bite, 2000 abralon
Lane #1 XXXL

More of the same.  Started the first game with the Tsunami with about a 2 board swing hitting 12 at the arrows.  Felt kind of trapped.  A little wide wouldn't recover, a little tug wouldn't hold.  Add in some horrendous spare shooting.  169 out of the gate.  Switched back to the Absolute Inferno and shot a pair of 204's.  The last game I think I just wore out.  Couldn't throw the ball the same way twice.  Threw it all over the place.  Paid big penalties for most, and my spare shooting went back down hill for a 149.

Week #3: Chameleon

Equipment:


Roto Grip Silver Streak SE, 1500 grit polished
Brunswick Absolute Inferno, 220 + rough buff
Hammer Black Widow Bite, 2000 abralon
Lane #1 XXXL

Threw the SE a little in practice hoping to get more back end on the fresh.  It did if I threw it well which wasn't often, plus I wasn't getting out of the thumb clean.  Started with the Absolute Inferno again crossing 12/13 at the arrows out to 8/9.  Timing stunk early and more bad spare shooting had me at 158 to start.  I did hit my ankle in practice, so maybe that was part of it.  Watched others move to that pair and they all struggled too.  It started OK, but then the left lane just lost all reaction.  I even threw the Bite in the 10th, made a good shot (moving in 2 from where I was with the AI) and flagged the head pin.

The second and third games were pretty pedestrian.  Some strikes, one open per game finishing 202, 200.  Just never throwing the ball quite sharp enough to put anything together.  The last game I moved in a few boards and started with a stone 8 pin, then 7 in a row.  Flagged the head pin in the 9th, but covered the spare.  Added some tape since the ball dropped off my thumb.  The shot in the 10th looked really good, maybe a hair left which gave me a 4-9 with both pins rocking.  Decided to go for it and just missed the 4 for a 242.  Nice game, but 240 and open the 10th....

Chameleon average (12 games) = 193.3


Week #4: Cheetah

Equipment:

Global 900 Creature, 2000 abralon
Lane #1 Tsunami, 1000 grit
Brunswick Absolute Inferno, 220 + rough buff
Lane #1 XXXL

Practiced with the above balls plus a Brunswick Sidewinder (little reaction) and a Visionary B/G Centaur over the weekend.  I was terrible on Cheetah last year and wanted as many options as possible.  With the “stronger” equipment, I could play a small swing hitting 7-9 at the arrows.  With the weaker stuff, I had to play pretty direct outside of 5.  For league I used the Absolute Inferno with a flat release hitting 4/5 at the arrows trying to hit 3/2 at the break point.  Each pair I had to move a board or so with my feet but never changed my eyes.  Threw it really good for two and a half games (clean the first 3!).  The last game I got a little tired and came around the ball early too many times.  Carry was excellent overall.  Just feed it to the break point and watch the ball walk to the pocket.  It actually felt easier than league.  I definitely had a look that few others could match.  Shame the last game wasn't better, but I'm very happy with 258-258-218-179 = 913.

Week #5: Cheetah

Equipment:

Global 900 Creature, 2000 abralon
Lane #1 Tsunami, 1000 grit
Brunswick Absolute Inferno, 220 + rough buff
Lane #1 XXXL

Pretty much more of the same.  I wasn't throwing it quite as sharp, so I didn't string strikes like last week.  It was funny to see how many people played much more direct and much closer to the gutter after my good series last week.  First and Third games were all Absolute Inferno.  Most of games two and four were with the Creature.  Game two in particular had some serious hang.  The surface on the Creature allowed me to not pick 3 off the corner like I saw many do on this pair.  Game four saw the heavy handers have a lot of success, but I could not find a solid look.  Keeping the ball in play and good spare shooting kept every game above 200.  213-202-208-213 = 836.

Week #6: Cheetah

Equipment:

Global 900 Creature, 2000 abralon
Lane #1 Tsunami, 1000 grit
Brunswick Absolute Inferno, 220 + rough buff
Lane #1 XXXL

The outside had a little more spark than in week's past.  The AI wanted to flip when going straight down the gutter.  I could move in about 5 and swing it to the gutter, but the only guys who made this work reliably had a lot of hand and strong equipment to even out the over/under.  I decided on the Creature down the outside, figuring the surface would even out the reaction.  I was still about 3 boards left of where I had started the other two weeks.  I was probably closer to 7/8 at the arrows out to 2/3 at the break point.  The first two games just weren't that sharp.  Either my release or my angle through the heads wasn't quite right.  I managed to make most all of my spares and mixed in a double or two.  The last two games, I got a little more comfortable, letting the ball drop into my swing and keeping my eyes locked on my target better.  I did start gutter spare and had a really bad open in the 9th frame of game three, but the 4th game was clean.  202-208-219-234 = 863.

Cheetah average (12 games) = 217.7, league average = 205.5, Scorpion is next.  With how well my equipment read the lanes on Cheetah, I may have to try my flat release with something strong straight down 12 or so on Scorpion.  Hopefully they'll have it out to practice this weekend.  I know one guy needs to post bowl since he was in Reno this week.
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Week #8: Scorpion

Equipment:

Brunswick Absolute Inferno, 220 + rough buff
Hammer Black Widow Bite: 2000 abralon
MoRich Weapon Of Mass Bias: 1000 grit
Lane #1 XXXL

Wow, the lanes were even tighter this week.  Fumbled around outside near the first arrow for the first two games since that's where I played last week plus a majority of people were playing there.  Started off with the WMB for about half a game then switched back to the Bite.  Game 3 was a transition, trying a few different lines looking for something that was both effective and something I could repeat.  Towards the end of the game, I found a nice line with the Bite hitting 12/13 at the arrows out to 9/10.  Threw that line the 4th game with better execution (except for the super washout - open in the 10th) and carry for one “decent” game.  167-180-177-206 = 730.  This is definitely working out to a bad pattern for me.  On Cheetah and Chameleon, if I missed a bit, I would at least leave something simple.  Not only are my counts worse on Scorpion, they tend to be much tougher as well, leading to excessively low scores.

In addition to the half dozen or so regional bowlers in the league, now Tom Baker will be taking over a spot full time.  I thought I'd seen him sub once or twice, but didn't know he lived in the area, so I assumed it was someone else.
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Ron Clifton's Bowling Tip Archive

Week #10: Shark

Equipment:

Brunswick Absolute Inferno, 220 + rough buff
Hammer Black Widow Bite: 2000 abralon
AMF Angle Evolution Tour: 1000 grit
Lane #1 XXXL

Once again, the league plays tighter than the practice session.  I certainly didn't have a lot of swing room (with my rev rate) on Sunday, but I had a nice reaction with my BW Bite if I executed properly.  During league, I could play firm straight down 12 with the AE Tour, or slow down and hit 17/18 at the arrows out to 12/13 with the Bite.

The Bite looked like trouble on the fresh.  Basically no miss room on either side.  Even a little firm provided a big flat 10.  The AE Tour stayed pretty light, but that was scattering pins around, plus I was bound to dry up a spot at least a little.  The first game was all AE Tour.  My execution was poor, tugs far more often than missing right.  I thought about switching balls/lines just to see if I could execute better, but decided against it.  173 isn't terrible, but it certainly wasn't good.  191 was the cut for the eliminator board, so I knew I was losing ground.  After a bad first game, I decided to make the switch for the second game.  Guess what I still had a hard time finding my butt with both hands.  Just to show my versatility, I missed wide much more often than left.  Part way I switched back to the AE Tour in an attempt to stay out of (or at least in less) trouble.  180 was a slight improvement, but my shot making was still pretty awful.

Game three was a bit better (189), but I still wasn't setting the world on fire.  Improving every game is nice, but at that pace, it would have taken another 4 to get up to respectable.  The last game, I was going back inside a bit with the Bite, for better or worse.  Instead of worrying about my foot work for the first two steps (trying to stop drifting right 5-7 boards), I watched my mark from start to finish.  Started with the front four, but 3 wide at the arrows brought me back to earth with 3 off the corner.  Thanks Shark!  At least I made the spare.  I threw it well, but didn't carry especially good after that.  The 7th frame jumped on me (lucky to leave just a 4), so I moved in a few for the 9th.  Unfortunately I missed wide and left a wash out.  Wrapped the head pin around the 10 for my only open of the game.  Filled 29 in the 10th for a solid 218.  With how I threw the ball, I guess I'm OK with a 760.  Maybe this weekend I'll practice with a weaker ball on the Bite's line, so I'll get used to having so little room on the fresh.
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