Well .. I'm having an odd season so far.  I am actually averaging higher in my challenge/sport league than I am in my house shot league. 

I am TOTALLY embarrassed to say what I am averaging but let's say I have always averaged in the 21X area and I am WAY off right now.  I'm not throwing the ball bad but I just can't carry.  I had 1 double last night until the end of the second game.  Combine that with a missed 10 pin and you have a crowd pleasing 185 ! 

I am combating dreaded over/under.  I have a great look until the transition which can happen as soon as the 3rd frame of the first game due to the 15 minutes of practice we are given.    My teammates tend to start further inside with more aggressive equipment and smoke the area I must move into.  Then it all goes downhill from there.  The rest of the team find themselves in the same boat later in the set as they have given themselves nowhere to move to. 

I ball down, move into their starting area, and that will last for a few frames but its really touchy.  In the past years I have just stayed out right and started taking hand out of the ball.  Jumping further left isn't really an option since the center is nuked too from the 1000 grit snowtires going down the lane.  You must get WAY in and slow hook it to have a chance but a miss right is a trainwreck .... like a buzzsaw 4 count.

What do you do when you feel closed out?  I have a Tropical Storm I am going to try, and I plan to try to straighten up and throw heaters off the corner... I'm just baffled.   I'm curious to hear what others say.

Righty
400 RPM
20' tilt
@16.5 mph downlane

1. Welcome to tweener hell.

2. Get new teammates.

Ok, now for actual advice. I'd really like to see an After Dark Solid with a short pin to pap (2 inches?) And minor surface adjustments. A long time ago, I had your problem, and drilled a Stinger 2 piece pearl with a 5.5 inch pin to pap and killed the cover with control it. Ball was a godsend. I could stay in the track all night. Almost felt like cheating lol.

Doom - I seen Daria running with a 2” pin-pap boost playing way right. Granted this is sport shot she was on. But what’s your thoughts on the Boost vs After Dark Solid for this situation?

OP - you may want to try a middle of the road solid symmetric that will slow down appropriately as you fade it across 4th arrow. My best look for over under is a cover that blends it out and slows down with a symmetric core to carry with some energy left.

Quote from: Impending Doom on November 09, 2018, 09:17:23 AM

1. Welcome to tweener hell.

2. Get new teammates.

Ok, now for actual advice. I'd really like to see an After Dark Solid with a short pin to pap (2 inches?) And minor surface adjustments. A long time ago, I had your problem, and drilled a Stinger 2 piece pearl with a 5.5 inch pin to pap and killed the cover with control it. Ball was a godsend. I could stay in the track all night. Almost felt like cheating lol.

Doom - I seen Daria running with a 2” pin-pap boost playing way right. Granted this is sport shot she was on. But what’s your thoughts on the Boost vs After Dark Solid for this situation?

OP - you may want to try a middle of the road solid symmetric that will slow down appropriately as you fade it across 4th arrow. My best look for over under is a cover that blends it out and slows down with a symmetric core to carry with some energy left.

A very good staffer friend of mine just asked me the same thing. He's having problems going left to right without the ball jack knifing. Slower ball speed, really rolls his wrist behind it. Recommended a Boost Hybrid with something close to 2*50 and a coat of a Polish with a slip agent. Reason I chose a Boost is because of the higher diff. If he needs a bit of flare, he can at least cut the heads a little bit.

Now, if you're just looking to play the track and jam it all night, the core shape of the After Dark will get it to be more stable and roll better from friction to pin deck, imo. S30 is going to get thru the fronts. With the closer pin to pap, you don't have to worry about the ball jumping on you, and you can make much more minor adjustments.

Haven't thrown an Ink (I know, shocking, right??) But the After darks are going to be a ball down due to the shell being weaker.

I feel you.  My averages in my Challenge league and THS are almost the same.  When I get a bad cross (plastic or major rev rate + surface) my play usually ends up being low response equipment along with keeping my angles more parallel.
Balls like my Edge Solid (symmetric solid, no polish) come into play along with softer speed and more forward roll where I can lean on the oil line to stay out of trouble.  Does this strategy sacrifice carry?  Absolutely, but grinding out a 1 open 650 is better than overthinking a cliffed league pattern.

I would think the 22* of tilt would make things difficult.

I am going to try my Tropical and play in the dirt. If that is a bust, which well could be as the ball is great on wood but I have NEVER put it to work on AMF synthetics.

If that sucks then I may drill an INK or After Dark with 2” pin.