I just bought a plastic ball (white dot) along with other bowling balls. Many of the centers in my area aren’t putting down much oil to speak of because of the summer. I went to practice with my polished urethane ball (scout) over the weekend and it was hooking more than I liked. Then I picked up my white dot plastic and suddenly I was in my comfort zone. I could get the ball to the pocket time and time again. I could even stand in the center of the lane! This is something I rarely can do. Typically, I’m standing way left all the time as a right-handed bowler.
I can recall reading an article in BTM about staying with a line that is as close as possible to your comfort zone. The writer (which I can’t recall the name) contends that most of us don’t practice 200 games a week and we’re not in the same position as the pros to master all the lines. I do practice other lines, but there is no comparison to my comfort zone. I love to stand in the center when I’m able to. The problem is most of the time that line is unavailable to me. Typically, I’m over by the ball return. So, now I have a dull groove urethane ball, a polished scout urethane and a white dot. When I start up in the leagues I may try moving right and playing in the dry with these balls before moving left, hitting the pocket, risk leaving 10 pins or get the over/under reactions that can sometimes be encountered. I can recall getting burned many times on that 3rd game simply because I was forced to move out of my comfort zone (many times I had to contend with 10 pins due to hitting the oil and the angle isn’t the same). Now, I’m starting to reconsider moving all the time. Maybe a nice urethane or possibly plastic will keep me in the zone longer. How many of you try to stay in your comfort zone by picking up another ball or do you simply move left (for a typical house condition)?
