This is an observation and not a complaint. I'm just wondering if anyone else sees this or am I alone.

I bowl on a team of 5 older bowlers (4 are in our 60's) and we have been together over 20 years. We are all good bowlers but we do not hook the ball a lot. I hook the ball more than the others but compared to some of the kids it's pretty puny. But our team has the second high team average in the league, generally around 1075.

We tend to play pretty much the same line on a THS.

It seems to me that we open up the lane for the bigger handed kids. The don't average a much over the course of the season but against us they shoot bigger numbers.

We have to get ours early before the lane really opens up or we are toast.

We've all been bowling for over 40 years and we are not going to suddenly become crankers and/or start throwing 20 mph.

But I noticed last week we were 2nd in total pins with handicap in the league and we were in 9th place of 18 teams. 

If most of you are strokers, burning up the 5-10 board area, leaving it even drier than when it is fresh, I agree, that you are probably providing an even larger "bumper" for the stand-left/throw-right crowd. I don't see that you have any choice, unless you counter the advantage of their release by throwing a 360/500 grit NANO down the 4th arrow in warm-ups (a PBA defense move?) . Personally, for me, that voids the spirit of the competition.

Have had something similar happen to me before before. We had a bunch of tweeners on my team and had gotten to playing the team game pretty well. All of us played close to the same line with the same revs and speed. Broke our line down pretty well, and after the first few frames we got into a nice scoring groove. So did everyone we bowled again. They were mainly the guys that bowl collegiately and come sandbag leagues. These guys would come in, warm up throwing plastic, then piggyback off of our breakpoint to score out of their minds. It's kind of a bitch move to play defense in bowling, but it happens anyway.

maybe you guys should go old school on them and all get some urethane pieces to push the oil instead of fry it, and make their big hooking pieces slide right into the 6 pin.

I have seen bowlers play defense and their entire team will pull out plastic and shoot nothing but 10 pins every shot during practice.

This of course drags oil away from the pocket.

Once the game starts, the crankers cannot get around the carry down until they move out, and then they get extreme over under.  While the team of strokers move a little further out and can get around the carry down ok.

And most of the younger guys get frustrated because they have no idea why their normal reaction is not there and start talking about the laneman screwing with the shot.

Sounds like the higher rev rates are carrying just a bit better than you guys and leaving you a bit short.  You're also getting most teams best game as they get excited to beat your team and can see potential honor scores with how the lanes set up. 

Seems to be the trend on PBA now too.  Most guys at top have higher rev rates. 

I sure don't have a short term answer for the problem.  Just seems that this is where the game has gone.  Premium placed on power since accuracy isn't needed as much.  In a short 3 game league set on a THS, the lanes don't fry enough for the power to become uncontrollable.  The only things I've seen slow down the power bowlers is 2nd shift where a wet dry can come into play.

Sure glad to hear you guys have basically stayed together for such a long time.