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Author Topic: PBA , Sport shot league  (Read 3589 times)

another300

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PBA , Sport shot league
« on: April 22, 2008, 02:29:56 AM »
Where to start...

I was thinking of bowling in the PBA pattern or Sport shot over the summer but I have a few questions for those of you that have bowled these.  I saw a few good bowlers struggle on THS after having bowled these in the summer.  Did any of you experience the same thing?  If all houses will have THS conditions, including state and city tournaments, what benefit will I get out of bowling in one of these leagues?  Spare shooting?  I am already a pretty good spare shooter, so how will shooting spares on PBA or Sport conditions help me if I will bowl nothing but THS conditions(except once a year USBC nationals)?  

My average has increased 5-7 pins starting 3/4 into the league until now(1 week left).  The reason for this is because I started learning how to play THS conditions.  
In the start of the league I would play a "tighter" line which meant less pin action and more over/under results.  Since then I have increased my rev rate and played the adult bumper THS houses have.  I have had less over/under because if i swing it too far, I have enough revs to bring it back.  Same thing if I tug it in the oil, I have enough revs to carry lite hits.  

So the questions I have are, "What benefits do I get by paying extra to bowl these tougher conditions if ALL Winter leagues are THS conditions?"  Spare shooting on THS conditions are easier and my ball reactions are predictable unlike Sport conditions, "so how will shooting spares on Sport conditions benefit me?"  Accuracy does play a part but I don't throw plastic at all spares, just at the 10 pin.  Spare shooting on THS and Sport is just a matter of a different line and understanding the reaction.  Since I will bowl PBA/Sport conditions but once a year, is there any real reason to bowl it during the summer versus just bowling a regular THS league?

 

Hamburglar

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Re: PBA , Sport shot league
« Reply #1 on: April 22, 2008, 10:50:24 AM »
The benefits are...

You'll gain a better appreciation of what the REAL Professional Bowlers are able to do.

You'll become more accurate with your strike ball...you don't have an 8-10 board "margin of error"...more like 1-2 boards, if you're lucky...

You get to find out the truth in regards to "how good" of a bowler you actually are...THS's truly inflate the average...and the ego...

But if these things don't concern you and you enjoy being a "house hack", then don't participate in them and continue thinking you're great with your overinflated average.  

If you want a real challenge and want to actually see how good your game truly is, find a Sport/PBA league and have fun...and leave your ego at the door...
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AngloBowler

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Re: PBA , Sport shot league
« Reply #2 on: April 22, 2008, 11:00:23 AM »
It sounds a little like you've answered your own question.

In my opinion there's only really one reason for bowling on a "sport shot" or PBA experience, and that's if you want the challenge. There's no doubt that bowling on these patterns requires more accuracy and consistency than bowling on a house pattern.
The reason I bowl on more difficult patterns is that I don't just want to be able to bowl well in one place, or on one condition. I want to be able to score well anywhere, and that requires experience and good technique. If all I did was bowl on my home centres house pattern, my technique would change and adapt to the environment, bringing in bad habits which enable me to score in one place, at the expense of technique that will allow me to score well no any condition.

I enjoy bowling, and I want to see how good I can be, I think that's a good enough reason to bowl on these more difficult conditions.

That aside, I disagree with others claims that you can be "too accurate" I don't think there's such a thing. If you're very accurate and can play anywhere on a lane, then your consistency shouldn't be a handicap.

If you're looking for a tangible benefit, the more experience you have on difficult patterns, the more you'll be able to adapt when you go to the USBC nationals. You seem to have already recognised that bowling on THS requires a specific approach, bowling the sport shot just needs something a little different again.
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NicholasE

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Re: PBA , Sport shot league
« Reply #3 on: April 22, 2008, 11:10:44 AM »
PBA leagues are challenging and VERY hard to score on. I've been bowling for about 2.5 years and figured i would try it. Well its hard trust me. My game is great on a THS now because of it. In the pba league i struggle adjusting with the changing lanes...last night i figured it out and shot a 225 the last game on the chameleon..I kind of dis like that pattern but it will teach you how to adjust properly. Every change in hand position and release makes a HUGE difference on the PBA shots as to where on a THS it doesn't make that big of a difference and it helps make you a lot more accurate on your strike ball and spares..

Its a great experience for anyone trying to up their THS avg. Last night after pba ex. i bowled practice and had a 216 avg for 7 games, should have been higher but was trying differnt balls one game and shot a 187 Most of my games has been about 230+ all the ttime now. me and my partner whipped them in a 9 pin tournament this past weekend shooting a 1636 scratch and thats quite high around here...even if it is a 9 pin...
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Dan Belcher

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Re: PBA , Sport shot league
« Reply #4 on: April 22, 2008, 11:11:20 AM »
quote:
That aside, I disagree with others claims that you can be "too accurate" I don't think there's such a thing. If you're very accurate and can play anywhere on a lane, then your consistency shouldn't be a handicap.
I think the idea of being "too accurate" comes from the idea of reducing power at the release to gain accuracy.  If you can still keep a powerful strike ball while maintaining accuracy, then you know you're doing something right.

If you want to improve your game, I personally am a big fan of bowling in PBA Experience and Sport leagues because they force you to be honest with yourself.  If you're trying to work on your game on an easy condition, you might throw a shot and say to yourself "yeah, I threw that one pretty well."  However, just because it was in the pocket doesn't actually mean you threw it the same as the time before.  You may have missed two boards right and sped it up a little.  On a PBA or Sport pattern, that same ball won't recover, and you'll recognize that you threw the ball different than the frame before.  Being rewarded for good shots and punished for bad shots will really help you improve your accuracy and consistency.

JessN16

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Re: PBA , Sport shot league
« Reply #5 on: April 22, 2008, 11:12:18 AM »
The last time I bowled PBAX, my average dropped 18 pins from my THS average.

When I went back to THS, I thought my average would go up, but it did not. The next year, my THS average was 3 pins lower than it was the previous year.

That's one reason I find a lot of the arguments about THS to be suspect. You can't just go out on THS and throw just anything out there and score consistently. Playing THS has its own system -- albeit a much, much easier one.

The good that I got from PBAX was that it was fun to switch patterns every three weeks, it made me a better spare shooter and I had to learn my equipment a lot better than I ever had.

Jess

badnuzjr

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Re: PBA , Sport shot league
« Reply #6 on: April 22, 2008, 11:47:59 AM »
PBAX patterns shouldn't effect your spare shooting because you should be throwing a straight ball at your spares and if your not then that is proof alone that you need to get off of a THS pattern.  I found that bowling in the PBAX really made me think about adjustments.  Each pattern is different in it's breakdown.  In the THS league that I bowl in the lanes change drastically from week to week.  Wet to dry to oceanic to desert.  You can still flingint out there and get it to come back all the same, but the breakdown is different.  So you really have to think in that league which is great.  So I felt that bowling in the PBAX league taught me to more precise and to make better adjustments.  You can't start every game at the two arrow and then just creep inside.  I found myself moving forward, backward, right, and left.  It is nice to have to think about what you are doing instead of being programmed to bounce it off of the 5 board.
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another300

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Re: PBA , Sport shot league
« Reply #7 on: April 22, 2008, 01:05:58 PM »
quote:
It sounds a little like you've answered your own question.


Yes I think I did answer my own question.  Unless USBC was going to make it mandatory that all City and State and other Tournaments be PBA/Sport conditions, then I see no reason to bowl on those conditions.  I (people) would get more benefit out of bowling in different houses because each THS condition has differences from house to house.  It does me no good to shoot PBA/Sport shot up 5 board to 2 because I would not see this condition on any THS house.  Same with playing up 10 with little to no swing because PBAX shot required this.  

JessN16

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Re: PBA , Sport shot league
« Reply #8 on: April 22, 2008, 01:15:22 PM »
quote:
PBAX patterns shouldn't effect your spare shooting because you should be throwing a straight ball at your spares and if your not then that is proof alone that you need to get off of a THS pattern.  


lol...no, that's not what that says at all.

Assuming you're not sandbagging -- and I can honestly say I've never done that in my life -- you should shoot every shot based on what gives you the best chance to score. If that means hooking the ball into spares, hook it. If it means going straight, go straight.

As for getting off a THS pattern, that's all I'm offered at the moment, so it's THS or nothing. There isn't a PBAX league within an hour of my current location on a night I'm not working.

Jess

CPA

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Re: PBA , Sport shot league
« Reply #9 on: April 25, 2008, 03:57:45 PM »
In my opinion the PBA experience leagues can be detrimental to your THS average.  My THS average dropped 11 pins this year.  The PBA patterns favor more forward roll and normally very little swing in the front part of the lane.  THS patterns are go long and flip hard.  If a ball goes long and flips hard on the backend on a PBA pattern, you will normally not score very well.
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Dan Belcher

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Re: PBA , Sport shot league
« Reply #10 on: April 25, 2008, 04:05:41 PM »
quote:
In my opinion the PBA experience leagues can be detrimental to your THS average.  My THS average dropped 11 pins this year.  The PBA patterns favor more forward roll and normally very little swing in the front part of the lane.  THS patterns are go long and flip hard.  If a ball goes long and flips hard on the backend on a PBA pattern, you will normally not score very well.
Except I found using quite a bit of forward roll and playing more direct angles improved my THS bowling too.  After changing my game bowling in a PBA Experience league, using the same ideas on a house shot I've had more 700 series and games over 250 than I've ever had in my life, plus my first two 300 games and a 299.  My carry and my ability to stay in the pocket consistently improved by trying to swing it less and relying more on midlane reaction and less on backend reaction through playing it straighter with more roll.