Changing My Bowling Game, Part 3

Continuing with my game changing, I move into Wednesday night league with things feeling good. During practice, I hit the pocket consistently and struck each time (many guys don’t like that because they say it portends a bad start once the score keepers come on for the actual game).

I shoot a clean 1^st game for a 228, then shoot a 222 with one blown 10-pin. Not being able to pick up that pin consistently is probably the biggest cause of my averaging dropping.

Not making those spares works on my mind and I start pushing myself to catch up because of needing to string strikes to make up for the missed spares. (The “compounding effect,” where mistakes build upon mistakes and you very rarely catch up.)

In the 3^rd game, the dreaded transition gets me frustrated and I make some bad changes (not being patient, really) and end up with zero doubles, only a couple of strikes, and four open frames for a 156. I go stone-7 (blow it), 10-pin, fast-8, then I change balls to my Total NV.

The NV goes strike, then a 4-5-7 split. I had suspected this ball of being “dead” because whenever I brought it back into my arsenal, I left a lot of 8-10 splits with it. I then switch to a Brunswick Absolute Inferno and leave a solid 4-7-9 split. Another bad choice as this ball has never performed good for me. Somehow Brunswick cover stocks and weight blocks don’t agree with me.

(Also, note that the NV and Inferno are really old bowling balls that I brought out of retirement “just to try” since I’ve been bowling so badly.)

I go back to my Roto Hy-Wire and finish out the series with a 170+ for a dismal 770+ after a 450 two game start.

Looking back at the 3^rd and 4^th games, I surmise that with the reduced ball speed, the lane changes will affect my bowling ball much more than with my previous style. Although there doesn’t seem to be that much less ball speed, the oil changes will require me to make larger changes – 5 and 3, rather than 2 and 1. It may even require a Zone Change.

Still, Whenever I execute properly, pins are flying so I’ll continue working on this latest change in my game.

Bowling Balls & Accessories