Author Topic: Going Sport (Read 1126 times)

Glayskers · « **on:** April 11, 2005, 10:24:49 AM »

I was talking to our proshop guy a few weeks ago and he told me of a Summer Sport league the alley runs that I want to join, but I'm kind of lost on what to pick for equipment. I've currently only had my Roto Grip Silver Streak Solid that I've been using since November 2003 when I actually started working on my form and release. I've worked out enough kinks in my release to bring my average up from about a 160 to a 187 at the end of this season. Definitly still soeme flaws in my release, but mentally I think I'm prepared can take on the sport shot and really find out what is wrong with it yet. Though I think it would be wise to get a heavy oil ball, and plastic ball.

Where do I start for looking at balls for oil conditions that I have pretty much no experience with? The lanes that the league will be in is synthetic, and with the roto and my stroker release, I usually have to play starting at about board 12 and throwing over 7 at the arrows to get to the pocket on these lanes with the house shot.

So, what kind of advice can you give me without not knowing my RPMs, ball speed, or having seen me throw a few? I seem to sometimes have difficulty getting my current ball to come in on the house shot, so I fear it would be very hard for me on the sport shot.

janderson · « **Reply #1 on:** April 11, 2005, 06:29:03 PM »

If you're averaging 187 on a house shot and you're going to be bowling on sport patterns, the best advice I can give you is to learn how to convert every spare (yes 2-8 and 3-9 combinations too) by going straight at them.

You'll see more of a score improvement on sport shots by solidifying your spare game than you will shopping for strike-in-a-box.

On Edit...
By the way, congratulations for taking the challenge of bowling on sport conditions. I wish you the best of luck. Try to have fun with it, and view it as a challenge, a puzzle to be solved. Forget your ego for awhile and learn from your experiences.
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Kill the back row (or maybe this should read "make your spares, dummy")

Edited on 4/11/2005 6:24 PM

Glayskers · « **Reply #2 on:** April 11, 2005, 07:29:53 PM »

Well, the majority of my current average is from excellent spare covering. I've impressed myself lately on how few open frames I've had this year. I do change up my grip a bit to throw the ball a bit straiter, but as is there is still a small amount of hook will most likely dissapear when I get a plastic ball on the harder conditions. But I'm confident I can adapt.

MI 2 AZ · « **Reply #3 on:** April 11, 2005, 09:34:58 PM »

Like janderson said, spare shooting will be more important on a sport shot than almost anything else. The next thing would be to be consistant. Accuracy is a must (you know the rest).

Depending on what type of shot is put out for your sport shot, your Silver Streak Solid would probably be a good ball to use. There are many different patterns that fall into the sport shot definition - some long, some short, some with heavier volumes of oil, and some with lighter, but I always liked balls that were more mellow or predictable on a sport shot because you wont have the 'help' in getting to the pocket like there is on the THS. With a mellower or controllable ball/drilling, any mistake you make will not be magnified and the name of the game is to keep the ball in play, leaving easy convertable spares, avoiding those nasty wash-outs or splits that result from balls going too wide and not recovering enough.

I liked what I saw with my Silver Streak Solid, Blueberry C2, Army Green Carbide, Amulet Glow, Blue Warlock and Granite Gargoyle on the sport leagues I tried the last two summers. Try your SS Solid and see how it reacts first before you go out and buy a new ball.

Modified to add quote and move last sentence:

quote:
I seem to sometimes have difficulty getting my current ball to come in on the house shot, so I fear it would be very hard for me on the sport shot.

Oh, and since you have had it for about 18 months, have you ever had it cleaned to get the oil out or had it resurfaced?

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I just want 2C was'zzub.
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I am the SGT Schultz of bowling.
"I know nothing! I see nothing! NOTHING!"
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Edited on 4/11/2005 9:49 PM

SirAshley · « **Reply #4 on:** April 11, 2005, 09:39:28 PM »

I completely agree with the spares first idea... The sport shot is nice because it keeps you guessing... I bowled one about 5 years ago and love it.. Averaged 11 pins lower but that's the challenge... I only had 1 open in my 3 game series last week on a house shot, that would never happen in the sport shot...LOL
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Bowling is 85% mental 10% luck and 5% skill

janderson · « **Reply #5 on:** April 12, 2005, 11:34:57 AM »

Aside from the spares, I agree with MI 2 AZ. You'll likely have the best of success with equipment that is setup to give you a smooth, predictable breakpoint. Leave anything that snaps at home, it will get you in a trouble on a sport pattern faster than wearing cement shoes in quicksand. For the bulk of patterns, low-rg, low-med differential, solids drilled to arc.

Why straight at spares?

Just to expand on the spares point - it isn't just making them, but making them by taking lane conditions out of play. We see bowlers who are new to sport bowling with high spare conversion rate in their leagues miss a large number of easy spares on sport patterns. For example, most right-handed house bowlers consider the 7-pin an easy pickup, but they hook the ball at it. What they don't realize is that on an easy pattern (most house shots) they have probably 10 boards of area to shoot the 7-pin. As such, they don't realize that their spare conversion percentage is also inflated by the easy pattern. You will not have that on a sport pattern. On tough sport patterns, most of the time you will have more area when throwing straight at your spares than you will hooking the ball at your spares. However, if you're not comfortable throwing straight at every spare, your spare conversion rate is going to be low.

I know I'm harping on the spares, but it is the best advice I can give you when hoping you'll do well in your endeavors.
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Kill the back row (or maybe this should read "make your spares, dummy")

Glayskers · « **Reply #6 on:** April 12, 2005, 06:05:09 PM »

Thanks for the advice so far. Think I'll grab up a plastic ball with the next paycheck and start practicing on converting strait with it, and wait until I actually get to throw a few on the pattern before deciding on a different strike ball. I've never thrown a big lane crossing hook, and don't plan on making an attempt to start doing so now. It just seems that on these synthetic lanes, the ball doesn't have nearly the bite that I'm used to from wood lanes. And am just worred with heavier oil it will just slide right past the pocket, so aquiring a ball with a different coverstock that is better suited for the lanes/oil would help a bit.

Course, it is still hard to really say much without actually being able to throw on the condition to see how it will react.

Edited on 4/12/2005 6:02 PM

Author Topic: Going Sport (Read 1126 times)

Glayskers

Going Sport

janderson

Re: Going Sport

Glayskers

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MI 2 AZ

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SirAshley

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janderson

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Glayskers

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