My teammate and I were talking about this tonight as we vented our frustrations at league bowling.  Only on house shots are you rewarded for your inaccuracy.  Besides the small small percentage of elite bowlers that are going to bowl good on everything, the guys that are killing it on these house patterns are the ones that are spraying an area on the lane of 10 different boards at any given moment.  This allows them to reap the rewards of these funnel conditions which allow you to miss 8 right and come in light swisher, or pull 5 left and come in high flush.  Anything in the middle is fair game for a flush strike if you're rev-challenged since you have the benefits of free pull left and fast set-up area in the midlane if you happen to drop one right(or left for you wrongsiders out there).  When you combine the endless entry angles that you have the possibility of striking from(pull the ball off your hand with a firmer speed results in a high flush strike, drop the ball off your hand 4 boards right and 2mph slower at the release sets up at 35 feet and rolls flush into the hole) combined with the steroid balls of today, it's no wonder there aren't records being broken today with 900s being given out by the hundreds per year.

These house shots are killing my game and confidence in lane patterns and transitions to the point I'm almost ready to quit league bowling entirely or just abandon all taught fundamentals of repetition of armswing, release, and trajectory while trying to hit a specified line on the lane for the throw it right and pray approach.  It's so hard trying to read a pattern thats soaking 50 units in the middle with about 5 outside for 37 feet and you're trying to label a shot off your hand clean and hit a 1 or 2 board target, while everyone around you is throwing these new balls built with vaccumns in them that suck up oil to the point that transitions are coming as fast as 3-4 frames with 5 man teams and completely raping the rewards of what the house shot gives you.  

If you're not equipped with the rev rate to get 10 boards deeper than everybody else and go 30-5 on the lane(which gives you even more miss room right or left) then it's almost impossible to beat the lane transitions and keep up wih the scoring pace on these house shots with these megaballs and megasprayers.  At least on something more demanding you know that you'll be rewarded with a strike or good count if you "throw it well", rather than fishing for a line on a house shot for 2 or 3 frames because you're trying to hit 1-2-or 3 boards.  It never fails that finally when you get one shot off your hand great and hit your target it results in a "great looking shot" that goes right through the face because you were playing too much of the friction or washes out or leaves a light bucket because you were riding the oil line too long.  It really can beat down on the mind and your confidence in bowling on a house shot when you get into this mindstate(which happens way too often with me and alot of my friends who throw a million dollar shot, yet get rewarded very little on house patterns).  I really do see why alot of great players quit, or when I get in contact with a guy that was an awesome player years ago on the tournament scene or collegiate/amateur level and he/she tells me that they've left the game because their heart wasn't in it anymore......I understand.

With the lack of highly competitive leagues and amateur scratch tournaments in alot of places across the country, think of how many potentially great players are lost every year because they don't come back to the the game for the aforementioned reasons, or simply because they want a challenge.  Luckily, I'm fortunate to live in a "hot-bed" area for bowling where you don't really have to go too far to find a challenge or a highly competitive area, but not everyone has that luxury, time, or freedom to do so.  

Of course this post isn't going to cure anything, but it will at least spark up some good discussion on what we all see everytime we enter the center for the weekly leagues we are a part of.  What are your opinions/comments on the state of the game in your area?


Edited on 9/26/2006 0:48 AM

If you and your buddy are looking for more challenging conditions, the sport league at Ft. Meade has a couple of open spots.

To the original rant:  If there is area, why are you trying to split boards?  When I have area, I change my focus to my release.  If it gets off my hand right and direction is not an issue than I will strike.  

I can't take credit for the quote but Chris Barnes said if you're looking for a game that rewards repetition and accuracy try darts.
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got revs?

I think everyone else has the wrong idea of this post.  Neither one of us are trying to split boards on a house shot, just merely get into a zone where we can strike as freely as the next guy and hope to make some money back.  It's almost impossible in this age of modern technology and equipment for the elite player(which I am not saying that I am, I'm far from it) to win deservingly a majority of the time.  

Coached, seasoned, and most players are taught these things about the game:

1) throw a shot and read the length, volume, and shape of the pattern
2) match up ball-x, with drill-x, and surface-x and find a suitable line on the lane for desired reaction
3) hit location-x with a free swing, little to no grab at the release point, and a solid trajectory
4) watch the ball through its path, read its transition and see the final result
5) as the shots go on and lanes transition, move and adjust accordingly whether it be by release, ball changes, speed adjustments, lateral adjustments on the lane, while still maintaining consistant physical attributes

...now here is where the problem lies on these conditions:

1) The bowler with the trained eye in reading lane transitions, who can repeat their release, speed, and launch angle down to a tee has "closed their window" of room on the lane because throughout the years, all they've been taught about how to be great at this game does not apply to a shot that gives you 8-10 boards of room at 30 feet to hit the pocket.
2) The bowler with the trained eye limits him/herself in margin for error right or left on the lane because their natural trajectory through the heads will not allow them to chickenwing, yank, or send a ball wide 8-10 inches wide in the early part of the lane to take advantage of the full miss room.
3) The bowler with the most consistant release will not see multiple reactions on the same shot from shot to shot.  Theyare out of the ball so clean that it's almost impossible for them to put an extra or less 50-60 rpms on the ball or a few degrees or less tilt on the ball due to a release error or poor grip, unless they mean to do so on purpose from shot to shot.
4) We are all naturally looking for a certain "reaction shape" on the lanes, some people like the slow swooping arc, some like the jerky skid/snap, some like a more controlled rounded motion.  A player is naturally going to play the area on the lanes which gives them the motion that they can read and predict on the lanes by nature.

All of these things are taken away from the bowler on a house pattern that is changing every 3-5 frames because the pattern lends more to the guy that wants to stand in one entire spot for 3 games and throw the ball and throw 5 different shots which line up to the hole no matter what.  You tell me who is going to see lane transition first:

-Bowler A who is playing a tight trajectory through the heads and playing 13-6 for 5 shots in a row and missing only a board right or left at any given time.  Flushes a few shots and leaves a weak ten, followed by a high 4-9 that trips the 4 out, so now he's looking for a way to come back into the pocket flush.
or
-Bowler B who is playing a lanch angle of 7 boards wide in varying inconsistancies, and is striking solid in the pocket from 5 different spots on the lane

This is the main problem that I am seeing with house shots today, and Brian Voss and Johnny Petraglia basically said these things in numerous interviews on why the game has a problem at 'certain' levels.  I don't think league bowling should be a grindfest, but at least have a shot that at least has to make you think.  Something where repetition and smart transition moves can be rewarded and not punished.  It's waaaaay too often that I find myself saying, or hear other bowlers saying:

"That ball didn't come back, I didn't send it far enough right" or, "I pulled that one 2 boards and came in the pocket light".  What does that say about the condition that is out there on the lanes?  It hasn't always been like this and it shouldn't be the norm for everywhere.

I guess I have a different view on things than alot of bowlers since I grew up playing the "3 main sports(basketball, baseball, football)" where the people that that always win(or most of the case) are the ones with the most solid attributes that plays their hardest, smartest, and best.  Quality performance is always rewarded in these sports.  It's just that there are so many variables in bowling that lead to so many odd circumstances happening.  I honestly think that the only way to level the field would be either via equipment(balls & pins).  Or standardized shot guidelines and qualifications at different tiers of competition.

There's gotta be someone else out there that agrees.....
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- DP3
Hoss Central Inc.
Respect the Game

"Only Chuck Norris can prevent forest fires."


Edited on 9/26/2006 2:00 PM

You have to remember that the transitions are there for everyone (lefties excluded), and those guys throwing the soakers will be affected even more than guys throwing midrange stuff.  It's the guys that throw at an 'area' that seem to do better with quick transitions.  They aren't concerned about their line as much as they are with making it back to the pocket.  And like you said, there is 100 ways to get there on any given shot.

It's all in the mindset actually.  I find myself getting frustrated with the guys who are spraying it, or crossing over, or hitting light and striking.  That's when I stop thinking 'line' and start thinking "stay loose and just get to the pocket".  Transitions don't seem as harsh then, and I have more fun.  Take what the lane is giving you.  On tougher shots your good fundamentals will allow you to score, while the bowlers who only know how to spray will struggle.