dropping average..

[BowlingTracker]

I've discovered the source of my frustration with bowling the past few weeks.. After the fall season, my average has suddenly dropped about 20 pins.. And i'm not the only one. One of my team mates who finished the fall with a 198 average has dropped to about 150 average this summer.

Turns out, the guy oiling the lanes has been "experimenting" with their new oiling machine. I was talking with the league secretary tonight and she told me he's trying different programs on the machine to fine just the right shot before the Fall season...

So.. for the past 4 weeks, we've been seeing a completely different oiling pattern every week. Tonight was the first time we've had any backends to speak of since the summer leagues began.. I shot 201, 168, 264 tonight.. Kinda got lost in the 2rd game and had to stay behind the ball in the 3rd to get it to roll good before it got to the pocket.

I hope they get this straightened out soon.. however, on the plus side, with my lower average, i'm winning handicap brackets and high pots.. lol

.

[BigDawg70]

I'm sure they are trying to fine tune the shot for the masters league this fall. They are trying to make a good impression so that league sticks around.

[BowlingTracker]

If they keep it like tonight.. that would be pretty sweet.. I could get used to that shot..

[litefrozen]

Look at it this way, you are getting a chance to test your skills out.
You can find the weakness in your game and your arsenal.

Thats something you cant do just shooting the THS week after week.
And look you didnt even have to go to another house to find a differentt shot.

[BowlingTracker]

lol.. very true.. but I don't really want to alter the surfaces of my current equipment for a shot that's not gonna be there the next week. So instead, i'm just taking some of my older balls with me so I have some options..

[BigDawg70]

Its just too bad its not going in the book. You could enter every handicap event you could find and make a killing.

[presence1960]

I hear this stuff all the time. I don't want you to think I am putting you down or trying to mock you because I am not.

Welcome to the world of bowling. Too many bowlers today have the notion that they are entitled to have the house shot week after week. When the house shot isn't there they are lost & can't score. Then the reason is the "poor" condition.

I used to think the same exact things. Until a PBA member whom I know & respect set me straight. He told me bowling IS a game of adjustments. From frame to frame, game to game, week to week & center to center. Until I was able to adjust to the lane conditions and be able to score on them all I could not call myself "good."

Besides the playing field is level because the competition is bowling on the same condition also. There is always a shot, the question is will I find a way to score or will I continue to force my comfort shot (my A game) even though the condition is not conducive to that line.

This is what makes the sport of bowling so that I love it so much. If I had to shoot on the same shot week after week, center to center, month after month I would literally be able to bowl blindfolded. There is no sense of accomplishment or challenge in that. I feel the shot should be different from week to week so that I can test my ability and become a better shot maker.

I bowl in a 3 man league on Sunday morning. They laid out a sport condition last Sunday. You should have heard the crying then. Most just continued to try the same old thing frame after frame with the same result: low scores. I threw 4 balls in practice and immediately recognized the oil pattern ratio was more like 3:1 instead of the usual 10:1 house shot. I tightened up my feet and line and played more direct. I was a little under my average. Most didn't adjust and continued to play the same line they do on the walled up forgiving house shot. You should have heard them whining that day.

I would rather bowl on a tougher condition and average 185 rather than on an easy, give me condition and average 210-220. I averaged 223 in a center 2 years ago and haven't been back since. Why? it was too easy for me and I developed bad habits because bad shots carried and I was able to get away with it. muscle memory is hard to overcome. Most centers have a wall but I try to stay away from those that are super easy or join a league with a tougher pattern(s) laid down just for that league.

presence1960

[TenPin]

You're right, a lot of house shots are/can be easy to moderately hard and for good reason. To bring people back to the bowling alley. If the shot were to hard many of your "Average players," who are not elite or pro, would not return. How many people would be willing to pay for a game that only gives you added frustration or stress of an outside activity thats suppose to be fun competition? If anyone wants a tougher shot, I'm sure many houses will be more than willing to put one out there if they can get enough interest from others. I myself, would love to see one, but my house pro won't at this time. Not enough people have shown interest in a sport shot, they're to hard for the average bowler he said.

[presence1960]

Re: TenPin

I don't agree with the idea that a tougher shot is too hard for the average bowler more than it is foreign to them. if even the average bowler would have the fortitude to stick it out and learn how to play the lanes on those conditions they would eventually be almost or just as good as they were on the house shot. And in the long run would also be a more skilled bowler for doing so!

But most people today (not just bowlers but people in general) are more concerned with instant gratification that comes with as little effort on their part as possible.

But then again that's why professional golf has purses in the millions and professional bowling has peanuts for prize funds. There is no integrity to the sport of bowling because of the people who play it. We bowlers are like a hunter who goes hunting and expects a ten point buck to be laying right in front of his tree stand already gutted. We don't want to put forth the effort necessary to become truly skilled at the game we claim to love. We all want to claim to be good, but as soon as we are confronted with a condition that will take some adjustments in our habits all of a sudden we are bowling for "fun" and throw a tantrum until we get our gimme walled up house shot back. Once we get it back then we claim to be good again and suddenly are bowling for the competition. This is the basic scenario that I have observed over 20 years both as a bowler and as a manager of several bowling centers. Bowlers are a strange breed indeed!

presence1960

[TenPin]

I'll make one more comment then I'm done. Your absolutley correct in the fact that a tougher shot is not foreign to most bowlers. I also agree that there needs to be a tougher shot overall out there to decrease over inflated averages. The bottom line though is the bowling center mangers, they put a shot out that will atract the $$$$$, not a shot that will increase skills. You should know this, being a bowling center manger of several houses over 20 years. Also, the strange bowler breed you speak of, bowling center mangers such as yourself created them. So I guess you get what you breed as you say.

[presence1960]

Re: THS

I have had this discussion many times with people and what it amounts to is a discussion of what came first: the chicken or the egg. True some center managers do lay an easy shot out because they don't want people to leave. But could it possibly be that way because the bowlers are crybabies and want an easier condition so they can have overinflated scores to boost their egos? Really it doesn't matter because answering either question will not solve the problem and amounts to finger pointing and blame finding.

What needs to be done is for both parties to accept the fact that bowling as a sport is fighting for it's own survival. This means both parties must make concessions and do some things that maybe they really don't want to do. It will take an effort from both managers (or proprietors) and bowlers to restore integrity to the game.

I have been out of the bowling business for 10 years now. The main reason I left was the hours, but a close second was the fact that no matter what shot was laid out bowlers would always complain. Most bowlers think they like oil and complain they want more oil. So when you do give them a shot with more oil (such as a sport shot) then they find out that they really don't like oil. But they got what they wanted then complain about it and threaten not to come back.

On the other side of the coin you have managers (or proprietors ) who put out a gimme shot because they are afraid of losing business or running into the situation I just described above.

So what came first? The chicken or the egg? It is irrelevant if we are to fix this problem. As I said earlier both parties are going to have to make concessions if we are to restore integrity to the sport we all claim to love.

By the way I include myself in the statement that bowlers are a strange breed indeed. For many a year I was one of the crybabies. But for the last 10 years I have the knowledge and understanding that it is NEVER the lane conditions which are responsible for my poor performance on the lanes. It is my inability or refusal to adjust to the lane conditions that are the root cause of my poor performances. I just wish a lot of others would have this awakening. But I know it is far more easier to assign blame away from oneself than it is to take responsibility for one's shortcomings. That is human nature.

presence1960

[explorer05]

I think anybody who is average, better, or even if someone wants challenge and try to improve can bowl on tougher conditions. Tougher conditions can make you a better bowler even if the scores aren't their as long as you are learning from the shot and making decisions based on what the ball is doing on the lane. Plus this can help your swing, ball speed, and hand position better so when you go a house shot you have a good rythem and be much more consistent. Remember be patient and don't get frustrated.