What is it about taking time off bowling then coming back and shooting good?  It had been about 3 months since I picked up a bowling ball.  I decided to go practice this last Sunday.  First game I shoot 255.  I didn't stretch good enough and my knee was bothering me a little the second game but I still shoot 215.  Third game I move a couple boards to play a different line and shoot 236.  If it wasn't for carry on a few of those shots, that 236 game could have been 279.  I move back to my previous mark, move up 4" and shoot 266.  Last game I leave a few 10 pins and miss them, knee is bothering me again but still shoot 215.
What is it about taking time off bowling, then start up again and shoot great that first time or couple times back?  Then after that, seems like you struggle just to shoot average.  Do we revert back to some bad habits we had?  Do we just not try as hard?  Are we less accurate but since lane conditions are more forgiving, we miss just enough to carry the strike?

"Practice? Practice? I'm talking about the game, not practice!"

Actually, after a layoff we are probably concentrating a little better about our body mechanics and so we tend to throw with better form. After a while we assume that all that stuff is "grooved in", even if it isn't, and we may get a little sloppy.

Also, we tend to bowl on VERY FORGIVING conditions that don't require precise shotmaking very often. In my opinion it's more of an issue of relaxing too much on the mental side of the game. If one can get adequate practice AND stay sharp mentally for every frame, I'd have to believe that good scores are likely to follow.


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Lane Carter, Strike Zone Pro Shops - Salt Lake City, Utah
Brunswick Amateur Staff
www.brunswickbowling.com

Edited on 12/9/2008 12:12 PM