So I go into the lanes yesterday after work to get some boxes to ship some balls.  The lane guy tells me he's put out a new shot. 27 feet, buffed to 37, flat, moderately heavy in the heads.  He says the shot is the twig - not first arrow but first board at the arrows, one of my own personal favorites.  Later when I'm bowling I find that this is indeed the shot.  I tell my teammates where to play, come out with the first 8 and shoot 266.  Where are they playing?  JUST WHERE THEY ALWAYS PLAY, BETWEEN 10 and 15 BOARD!!!!!!!!!!! AND SHOOTING LOUSY SCORES!!!!!!  I mean, I tell them where to play, they see what I'm doing, and they CAN"T CHANGE!!!!  One guy, the team captain, throws one at 10 at the arrows out to about 4 and washes out.  Says he "I don't understand,I threw that one exactly where you said I should."  CAN THESE PEOPLE NOT SEE??  AARGH!!!!!!

I also don't get myself.  Rich said that the transitions would be "different" and they were.  Second game I felt that I needed to move, but never quite figured out where, so I shot 210.  Third game I start about the same as game 2, then, suddenly, Ron Clifton appeared to me, surrounded by his halo and a choir, and said "finger dancing."  So I changed my grip slightly (moved index finger all the way in) and suddenly, standing where I started the night, I was back in the pocket.  DOH!! Why can't I get this sort of thing sooner?

Incidently, it felt like bowling in the early '80s again - throw hard at the gutter and watch the ball hit the pocket.
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"Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,"
I'm Ragnar Floggurass, and I approve this message

Edited on 9/29/2004 10:53 AM

Strider, it's definately a twig shot.  In fact, if you hit 1st board without speed it's going left.  The machine is a 2 year old state of the art something or other (maybe a Kustodian?) - I don't remember the name, but it will oil all the way across - we had a shot for a while that if you hit 4 board or out it was sliding into the ditch.  I was crossing the arrows on the 2 or 3 board (I know that many people are actually 2 or 3 boards left of where they think - I used to be that way myself, but not any longer.  I've trained myself to actually see what happens).  I agree, this is an uncommon shot; I learned it in college where, for a couple of years, everyone was hanging their ball over the ditch at the arrows.  I think that, for some reason, Rich has decided to force people out of their 2d arrow comfort zone this year.  Won't surprise me a bit if at some point he puts out a 3d or even 4th arrow shot.
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"Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,"
I'm Ragnar Floggurass, and I approve this message

Edited on 9/29/2004 11:28 AM

just a side note, If indeed it is a kegal kustodian then yes the machine can get out to the outside boards.. HOWEVER most house shots do not have oil out that far. For instance the shot we used to run at a house i worked in had a shot that was out to the 3 board and in, some ppl loved it others hated it. This year they ran the oil all the way out to tame down the angle from the outside, results are less 10 pins for me when I break out the TooHot and go up the boards, TBA for others. BTW with that machine if he decides to screw all of you guys then have fun! It has potential to put out the worst case shots, but thats nice b/c it lets the operator choose.

P.S. most bowlers don't have a clue where their real ball path is.. they think they do but don't, I suggest using a dollar bill on the lane, put it at you target areaS I like putting one at the arrows and one at the break point. You can hit the 10 board in 45098710951 different ways but you have to hit that break point somewhat close to score, I think thats something ppl miss.  O and i agree to the fact that most bowlers can't really adjust to anything different. thats the difference between a guy who avgs 180-195 on a house shot to a guy that can avg 200+ on ANY (with in reason) shot.

Edited on 9/29/2004 11:44 AM

I need to start praying to Humbaba that they hire your lane man for the ABCs. Can you imagine?

I bowl with a guy like that on Tuesday nights.

He'd leave a weak 10. Then a weak 7. Then a ring 10. Then another 7, or a 4 pin. "I can't carry tonight. I've tried everything. No matter what I do, I can't carry."

I say "Have you tried playing inside 10? Seems to be something real nice around 14-15. Great backend reaction, and I'm carrying ok tonight!"

His response - "I can't carry from in there. So I don't even try. Gee, I wish I could carry tonight."

Sigh.
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If winning isn't important,
why do they keep score?
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Vince Lombardi