BallReviews
General Category => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: machine189 on June 26, 2016, 05:48:43 PM
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OK so Just bowled a tournament on Kegel's winding road. Had a less than spectacular outing avg 182 for the 6 games. Now what's frustrating is I saw the correct line and when executed results were phenomenal. Problem is i would miss my target down lane almost every shot. I knew what to do but couldn't do it! I can see my avg 227 on house conditions hides the imperfections in one's game but how do I practice when there isn't much access to tougher shots. >:(
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that's me too!
tougher shots are reality checks....the more you frequent them the better
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Similar deal happened to me from changing houses for league. 25 pin avg drop going from a house with a lighter shot in wood to a heavier shot on synthetics. That and it is a challenge league so we change pairs every game.
It's definitely helping me improve my game. I feel we get too complacent and changing patterns, lane surface, and houses helps keep us on our game.
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I have this same exact problem every week it seems...I always think I'm lined up and hitting great but I have trouble with carry it seems...I see people striking on way worse shots than I'm throwing stone 10s on...it does get frustrating after awhile
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On house shots I look downlane to see where my ball picks up in the back. On tougher shots, I move my target closer to me. I worry more about getting my ball through the correct line in its entirety, not just to the spot downlane
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OK so Just bowled a tournament on Kegel's winding road. Had a less than spectacular outing avg 182 for the 6 games. Now what's frustrating is I saw the correct line and when executed results were phenomenal. Problem is i would miss my target down lane almost every shot. I knew what to do but couldn't do it! I can see my avg 227 on house conditions hides the imperfections in one's game but how do I practice when there isn't much access to tougher shots. >:(
The simple bottom line is that unless you have access to a flat oil pattern, your ball reaction is never going to provide the visual feedback you seem to need.
That said, you need to practice better. You need to see when you hit your target and, if you hit your target, then if you are hitting your chosen breakpoint. Then if you do all that, you need to know, from feel (or from video), whether you did two other things correctly: 1, did you throw it with the same ball speed, and 2, did you throw it with the same release.
To my mind, those are the 4 major parts essential for correct bowling execution on hard, PBA-type of patterns.
You have to be able to see or know when you hit your two target: actual target at the arrows (or wherever) and the breakpoint, 40 - 45 feet down lane.
You must be able to feel and know when you've thrown the ball with the same consistent ball speed and to feel when you've thrown it with the same starting hand position (same swing plane and same swing height also enter the picture here) and ending hand position.
If you don't know those from the feel, you need to have someone take pictures of your bowling; so you can recognize how it feels as you execute.
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Yes it is hard to find an alley to put down tougher shots just for people to come practice on. Only alleys I see do that are in Vegas. One of the alleys there (can't remember which one) put down 4 different patterns at the same time (one week night) for bowlers to practice on. It was awesome for the 1 week I was there.
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There are 2 places in the Buffalo area that I know will do it. 1 of them being a place my PSO owns. But finding a place to do it is tough.
I will second the advice that charlest mentioned. He nailed it.
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To add on to charlest's excellent post, you have two distinct areas of being competitive on sport shots. 1. Being able to throw the ball accurately and consistently (like charlest said), and 2. being knowledgeable of the shot at hand and knowing how to score on said shot.
It sounds like you had number 2 down. You knew where to throw the ball and when you did everything right, you scored. And if you didn't know how to score on the shot, then practicing on sport shots (or competing on them) is really the only way to improve.
You are having problems with number 1. Good news is you don't have to bowl on sport shots to be a more accurate and consistent bowler. I would suggest working on your approach and arm swing to become more accurate. Use a plastic ball and target your expected part of the lane in the process. Then, when you actually bowl on sport shots, you will hopefully be more accurate and be able to score. And of course, good coaching and video analysis is very helpful.
Now, if you aren't scoring when you throw the ball correctly or where you want to, then you will need to practice on or compete on sport shots to improve your knowledge of how to attack them. This includes knowledge of how each of your balls reacts on each differing shot.
And one last thing. Every ball in your bag can strike on any shot laid out on the lane. The real challenge is picking the ball that gives you the best chance to score your highest. For some, that will be the ball that strikes the most. For others, it could be the ball that leaves a flat ten every ball leading to a 190 all spare game. Don't get caught up on only getting strikes. I would hate to have a situation where I get 6-7 strikes a game and have opens the other frames because if I miss by a fraction I get horrific results. Being able to leave makeable spares is also important.
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Some good advice on targeting but there is more to bowling than hitting your target. You need to be able to repeat speed and release otherwise hitting your target still won't get you results. For instance, I get anxious on some patterns and turn the ball early. If I turn the ball early, it will read early and never reach the intended target down lane.
You also need to be aware of launch angle at release and make sure you end up in a spot at the foul line that allows you to hit your target consistently.
As for practicing with plastic or Urethane. Do so only if you have the discipline to not try to hit it harder to get it to react like your other equipment. I prefer to play with balls that have lost reaction and play away from the funnel so that I get better feedback on my shots.
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You also need to be aware of launch angle at release and make sure you end up in a spot at the foul line that allows you to hit your target consistently.
Just adding a little bit more to this. We tend to forget about foot work and think we step the same way every time. Unfortunately it is real easy to start drifting a direction and not even know it.
Keep track of your end foot results at the foul line during practice. Not saying you have to be exact on the same spot, but as we all know closer is better.
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Some good advice on targeting but there is more to bowling than hitting your target. You need to be able to repeat speed and release otherwise hitting your target still won't get you results. For instance, I get anxious on some patterns and turn the ball early. If I turn the ball early, it will read early and never reach the intended target down lane.
Agree and I should have been clearer when I stated accurate and consistent where being consistent to me also includes the physical side of the game.
As for practicing with plastic or Urethane. Do so only if you have the discipline to not try to hit it harder to get it to react like your other equipment. I prefer to play with balls that have lost reaction and play away from the funnel so that I get better feedback on my shots.
However, as the OP stated, he is having trouble getting sport shot conditions to practice on. We all know there is a significant difference between THS and sport conditions. Practicing on THS or beat up THS is not the same as practicing on sport. Whatever reaction you are seeing in your used up equipment will not translate properly when you move to sport. My contention to using plastic on a line one would use for sport has no chance of getting to the pocket. Yes, some bowlers will still try, but if you are playing away from the pocket with plastic, you will not be close to the pocket. It is a drill. Not bowling. Hopefully bowlers understand that.
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My point is bowling is not darts. It isn't about hitting a target alone. For most people, plastic/urethane isn't going to provide the visual feedback a player would expect. Also, a ball that isn't grabbing the lane at all is pretty easy to get to target compared to a ball that is going to get into a roll much sooner. That is why I think it is more useful to use older/dead balls than plastic. But that's me...
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I understand your philosophy. For me personally, I don't view what the ball does after it hits the lane as any justification of how well or how accurately I threw the ball. I can only control the physical aspect of throwing the ball and plastic provides that feedback quite well.
Now if you are considering how the ball gets to the end of the lane, then I can see your point more. I realize that if I am looking at some spot at 40 feet plus down the lane, then yes, plastic will not provide the same feedback as a ball with more reaction. But if I am trying to practice playing outside 5 for short sport patterns, then using plastic is as good as any. Also, I can practice the launch angle needed to play deep with plastic with the understanding the ball will most likely go in the gutter.
Agree to say nothing can prepare a bowler to bowl on sport shots more than actually bowling on sport shots?
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All this feedback is great and very insightful. And I put this too the test in league last night. The shot was easily scoreable however I decided to play a part of the lane that gave me a very small margin of error (shots far right it hangs and tugs inside ran) so Game 1 had potential for an easy 240 but fanned 2 shots right leaving nasty washouts shot 214. Game 2 the execution was there great leverage hitting targets 227 a few blow out 10 pins. Now game 3 all hell breaks loose missed in and every time left some multi pin combination followed up with misses right. Now I could of fix this real easy with a ball change but I wanted to know how often I'm missing or releasing the ball different. Last night showed a lot. Mental game is solid and I a read a lane with no problem. The execution needs work. Thanks for all the tips everyone!
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Lots of good advice in this thread, although I disagree with using plastic. One thing I think should be brought up is that it is not just about execution and accuracy. Many good league bowlers have a release that simply requires too much swing area due to high axis rotation. The key to success on flatter patterns requires you to be able to play straighter, and get comfortable playing straighter. Many flat patterns can be played from different zones on the lane, but you cant cross zones effectively. For example I can often find something out around 5 board going fairly straight alla Norm Duke. I might also find something around 15, but I can let it drift out to 8 board. This is where good house shooters get in trouble. they simply cant get comfortable without swing area.
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avabob,
What I am getting from your comment is the bowler needs to use a reactive ball on a THS or open play shot to verify a release (physical characteristic)? Explain to me how using plastic with the PAP marked cannot achieve the same thing. If a bowler needs to develop a release with less axis rotation he can do that with plastic, or any ball. But at least with plastic there will be less enticement to try and score. Plus the bowler won't be depleting the longevity of his/her reactive equipment.
But if the bowler has sport shots to work on then I am definitely in favor of using equipment other than plastic.
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this me: If everything physically is okay, there are a few things I think about depending if it's THS or flat.
on THS I think "1 and 1".
1.With the ball - I'm aware of my release. keeping the same release. More off the back or side, whatever it is that night.
1. Without the ball - I spot bowl
On Flat I think "2 and 2"
With the ball - Speed and release, the two things I'm aware of. well try to be aware of.
without the ball - lay down point/at the arrows and spot down lane. but keeping ahead of the pattern is tough.
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I don't like practicing with plastic because it gives different feedback than a resin ball on less than optimal shots. For example plastic can give you hold area from outside that would not be available with resin. More important it will often not give positive feedback on well thrown shots. There really is no advantage to throwing plastic on a house shot to try to simulate a sport pattern. Better to try and recognize what you want to do with your release using tournament caliber equipment no matter what pattern have available to practice on. In addition the most difficult thing on sport patterns is handling transitions, something that plastic on a house shot wont help with.
I do agree with not using my best equipment to practice with, just to save the shell. Another thing I suggest is get in the habit of using your spare ball, be it urethane or polyester on all spares that are not double wood. Do this on house shots and in practice. More guys get done in by bad spare shooting on flat patterns than anything else.
Bottom line, work on lowering your axis rotation, try to play straighter, and use a spare ball for most everyithing. Doing this on house shots will better prepare you for tournament conditions. However nothing replaces experience.
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Again, avabob, you are recommending trying to score on THS as practice. I am suggesting eliminating the scoring aspect and work on rotation and tilt and footwork. You can do that with plastic and not beat up your other equipment.
We just have different ways of practicing.
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The only thing plastic can do on a house shot is help you with squaring up your body alignment. However, this is of no benefit unless you can adopt a release that will allow you to play less out angle with resin equipment. The point is learning a release that will carry and adjust to the pattern not just over power it from your comfort zone. Bowling is about feedback and I just don't think plastic gives the best feedback when you are trying to make changes in your game. Unfortunately house shots don't either unless you are very attuned your own feel and can analyze your ball reaction regardless of score
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I think you misunderstand my use of plastic. I am not trying to get plastic to react. What I do is put a strip of tape from my PAP to above my fingers and use that to provide feedback. If I know I will need to be playing up the boards on a particular sport shot, then I will practice that line on whatever shot the center has out. Use the tape to tell me if my rotation and tilt are where I want them to be. Work on footwork and balance. Ultimately I do not need to see the ball react to know if I am accomplishing what I want to accomplish. The only time I need to see the ball react during practice is if I am bowling on what I expect to see during competition.
You simply cannot get better at bowling on sport shots by trying to score on THS. If you could, then all these bowlers who bowl 4 leagues a week on THS averaging 230+ would be the best sport shot bowlers in the world.
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I am not talking about trying to score, however you cannot separate accuracy and execution from throwing an effective ball that has a chance to carry. I think you and I have more experience playing multiple angles and developing a roll that will keep balls in play when there is OB, or little hold area. The worst thing about house shots today is not how much margin of error it gives, but how it takes no versatility going from one house to another. When I was young we had several high scoring houses in town. However one was great from 3rd arrow, a couple were walled off the corner, and one played great right up 10 board. With the balls we had you couldn't over power the patterns, you had to learn to line up to play the pattern and learn a release that was effective from multiple angles. This was great for me in learning to play anywhere on the lane, but when urethane and ultimately resin balls came out my release didn't match up at all with the friction created by these balls. I could execute and I could play multiple angles, but I couldn't take advantage of the carrying power of the new balls until I learned a release that allowed me to take advantage of the carrying potential of the resin balls.
I think you and I can get benefit from practicing with plastic but I am not sure how beneficial it is to the guy who doesn't have a lot of experience on flatter patterns.
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Fair enough. If a bowler doesn't understand the roll characteristics needed to maximize carry, then they are at a disadvantage. Good thing is once they understand what is needed to carry, it pretty much works on all patterns.
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I just wanted to revisit this. I still disagree with using plastic to prepare for tournament patterns for the reasons I stated. However after practicing on a house shot for a couple of hours with my urethane ball I realized I was getting very good feedback on when I made excellent shots, and more important, the roll pattern that is optimal for playing flatter patterns. Urethane hits much better when you can stay behind the ball and play a straighter trajectory. The best release for tournament patterns can be learned more easily playing urethane rather than resin when practicing on house shots. If you have the opportunity to practice on tournament patterns, then by all means use your resin equipment because you will get the feedback necessary to improve your game. If you cant practice on tournament patterns, then use a good strong cored urethane ball that does not have an aggressive surface prep ( I like 4000 grit ). This will help you learn to deal with carrydown issues that are more problematic on flat patterns, and will also show you how to develop a straighter trajectory that can still carry very well when you go back to resin on heavier tournament oil patterns.