Analysis Of The Perfect Pocket Hit In Bowling

Here are some facts surrounding the "PERFECT pocket strike" hit:

(Facts researched, tested, and released in technical papers from the USBC.)

(1) The ball enters the 1-3 pocket on the 17-1/2 board;

(2) The entry angle of the ball is 6 degrees; and,

(3) The ball only contacts four pins: 1, 3, 5, and 9.

In my simplistic mathematical statement:

"The Perfect pocket strike" = (1) + (2) + (3).

IT IS NOT:

(1) + (3), nor is it (2) + (3), and neither is it (1) + (2); it absolutely must be (1) + (2) + (3), no ifs, ands, or buts.

For those of you who complain constantly about leaving solid single pins when you hit the pocket, think again.

Before you go on and on and on about being "tapped," remind yourself that at least one of the aforementioned factors caused that single pin to remain standing.

Now, let's quickly mention a few other factors that haven't been studied (not that I could find, anyway), which probably contributes to a "supposedly perfect pocket hit" to go awry:

(1) The speed of the ball when it hit the pocket,

(2) The axis tilt of the ball (is it "wibbling" when it should be "wobbling") and,

(3) Is the ball picking up momentum when it hits the pocket or is it running out of steam and "rolling out?"

Also remember these are just three out of so many factors that could cause the pins not to fall.

What's my point?

We're not perfect.

We all know it.

We all admit it.

So why do we believe that when we hit what we think is a perfect pocket in bowling and leave a single pin, that it was a "perfectly thrown ball?"

And, we spend countless minutes and wasted energy after that attempting to prove that it was, in fact, a perfect hit, don't we?

How foolish is that, really?

I'm going to leave you with three things on my "Choc-List" to think about if you insist on complaining about that single pin you left when you hit the pocket so perfectly:

1) What do you have to do to pick up the 4 pin spare? Hit the 4 pin, correct? What happens if you don't make contact with the 4 pin, you miss it, isn't that so? In summary, if you hit the pin, you get a spare conversion, if you miss it you get an error or blow, right?

2) In a 5-person team game, in order to win the game total, what does the team have to get? Their five person total has to be higher than the other team's five person total, correct? In summary, if your team's total is higher than the total of the opponent's, you get the win, if not, you lose, right?

3) In order to get a perfect pocket strike, the ball must enter the pocket on the 17-1/2 board, have a 6-degree entry angle into the pocket, and the ball must contact only the 1, 3, 5, and 8 pins. In summary, if these three parameters are met, we strike; if they aren't met, we don't get a strike.

Let's summarize the "perfect pocket strike" again ----

"If all the pins fall down, that's the proof that all the factors for throwing a perfect pocket strike were met; if pins remain standing, that's the proof all the factors were NOT met."