Hello all

I have been told to take a little notepad with me whenever I bowl league, tournaments, or practice and write down some little notes whether its how the ball reacts and what adjustments I made, adjustments i make in my approach, etc.  I am only 18 years of age, yet, I am very knowledgeable with the game, I work in a pro shop, I have a good arsenal of bowling equipment, and I bowl in as many tournaments as I can.  All of your opinions would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks in advance.

I think a note pad is really good for anyone but especially someone with an arsenal that has 4 or more bowling balls.

First I think you should write down in the pad the surface prep of every ball.  Back of front cover so its easy to find.  Make changes if you make changes to the ball surface.

I''m not one for tracking scores but pinfall can be helpful.  EG, Starting to leave too many 10 pins, maybe ball is rolling out/buring up, change ball to something that retains a little more energy and snaps out the 10 pin.  What ball did you change to?  That didn''t work because maybe you misread the lanes and rather then drying up, you have carry down.  Change balls it reads the lane better and you carry the 10 pin.  This is just one simple example, it could be leaving a solid 4 pin or stoning an 8.  But if you have a note pad to let you know  how the bowling balls handle diffewrent lane conditions, it might help you to make a ball change faster and before it too late.


--------------------
Nicanor (Ten On The Deck)

Edited on 12/21/2010 11:55 AM

I recommend keeping a small notebook in your bag.  I mainly use mine for taking notes during practice sessions.  I note the difference between each ball.  I don't like to write things down during competition.  I would rather focus on what I am doing.  If you try to analyze things while you are bowling, you will get too technical and mechanical.  Practice is for mechanics competition is about scoring.
--------------------
USBC Silver Level Coach

Thanks for all of your opinions.  What i'm having the most trouble on right now is reading the lanes from the first shot in practice, till the last shot of the tournament.  I'm mostly talking about tournaments because that is where I am having most trouble (tournament patterns).  My first game of the tournament is my worst game 90% of the time, and I rarely see 190+, but then after I see my ball reaction, and either move to the right part of the lane, or change balls, I usually go lights out, and recently, I miss the cut by 20-30 pins.  I bowled in a tournament last weekend, and I went 142, changed balls and shot 254 199 219 and missed the cut by 28.  I will start taking notes in practice, I work at a bowling alley, so I will start practicing on some of the different oil patterns we have on the machine and take notes on the patterns, and see how each ball reacts in comparison to each other.