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Author Topic: So easy you might quit the league/house?  (Read 1254 times)

Pinbuster

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So easy you might quit the league/house?
« on: January 04, 2005, 04:12:00 AM »
This is directed at guys that have regularly averaged 220+ over the years (Bob Hanson, Revolutions, etc).

Have you ever bowled at a house that is so easy that you didn’t know if you wanted to keep bowling there anymore?

I always thought my old house was pretty easy but after it shut down my handicap league moved to a new house that must exemplify current scoring conditions.

I’m currently carrying an average 10 pins higher than I have ever booked before and I feel somewhat uncomfortable with it. Now as far as tournaments go it really doesn’t matter as I wasn’t getting any handicap anyhow. But I know I’m not that good.

In fact I’ve been raising the average lately as I have become even more comfortable with the shot.

It is a pretty good 3 person league that I bowl with my daughter. I would hate to start messing around as it is her only league. But I would also like to have more of a challenge presented.

Sadly the house must not have very many good bowlers because not a lot of honor scores are being shot so they don’t want to tighten up conditions any.

I bowl a late travel league that hits all the houses in town (8). But even there the shots are so universally easy that my average is up in it as well.  

The league seems to like it there so it will remain there. Nor will I quit the league because of my daughter. But I miss some challenge.

 

jimensminger

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Re: So easy you might quit the league/house?
« Reply #1 on: January 04, 2005, 12:35:10 PM »
PB, I bowl in a 5 person handicap mixed league that's like that,..I've bowled in that league for years, and my wife and I bowl with our best friends. The league is all about fun. No brackets, high pots, etc,..just a bunch of people having a good time. Last year I averaged 236, multiple honors, etc...but the bottom line is I use this league to try all kinds of different things,..especially balls,...and angles. It's a THS, and pretty easy, but I try to challenge my self by sometimes using 3 different balls a night, or using a polished pearl and playing outside 5,...or a sanded monster and playing WAY deep,...You can sometimes make even the easiest shot more demanding by moving off the wall,...plus it's fun...jim
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toadbam

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Re: So easy you might quit the league/house?
« Reply #2 on: January 04, 2005, 12:49:22 PM »
I know the feeling.  My local house is the same way, old wood house with a simple 10-10 block and a big track.  Someone averaged 239 for a whole season there last year.  This year, a 3-man team shot an 856 game. (they're good bowlers, but still...)  It seems like any angle except up the gutter works.  It frustrates me because I used to bowl in handicap tournaments with a 205 or so from a different, more reasonable house.  Now I've got a 220 book.

I guess that's what happens when you live in Boston and there's at least 20 miles between bowling alleys.
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Nodsleinad

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Re: So easy you might quit the league/house?
« Reply #3 on: January 04, 2005, 01:01:54 PM »
I have the EXACT OPPOSITE in my Monday league.  It is a Classic league (more challenging).  Many of my "BOWLERS" have refused to except the challenge.  Over elevated averages in others houses have caused tehm to get frustrated and they bowl my league and want to quite???  Currently this 50 lane house has a high set of 752 for the season and 6 800's in 25 years.  It is not a dustbowl or unkept house.  It is emaculate and well cared for, just not a big score house.  Many things contribute to this phenomina perhaps but when you come to the end of the day it is a lower score house.  

In a challenging "Classic League" one should buck up, except the challenge and get better.  Not pine for area, help and easy shots.   As long as I can i will opt for the tough condition.

Nod

Edited on 1/4/2005 2:21 PM
LTBOCSFM

MichiganBowling

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Re: So easy you might quit the league/house?
« Reply #4 on: January 04, 2005, 01:20:20 PM »
Well there are a few things to be said...

I prefer the term "fair" to "tough".  I bowl in a league on Thursdays that I just cannot score in.  It's old wood, but the shot is certainly playable.  During the last 3 seasons I've averaged around 205 or so (usually 210-220 everywhere else) and just cannot do any better it seems.  But the 160-190 bowlers just kick our arses as they throw the ball all over and seem to get hot against us every week.  Poor shots are rewarded, good shots are sometimes rewarded, and shots that are close are severely punished.  To me, this shot is unfair ONLY due to the ability variance in the league.  If everybody in the league could hit 2 or 3 boards, then this shot would be fine.  But the guys who miss by 5 ot 6 get lucky brooklyns all the time!  Now if the shot was sport, those 5-6 board misses would become 1-counts or gutter balls, thus being more fair in my opinion.

I wish my area had a well kept, clean, modern bowling center that put out fair shots.  I'd be there in a heart beat and wouldn't bowl anywhere else!  Unfortunately the only fair shots can be found in dungeons and poorly run bowling centers in my area.  I currently bowl 2 other leagues on very easy conditions because I have no other alternatives other than the dungeons
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Krumpy300

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Re: So easy you might quit the league/house?
« Reply #5 on: January 04, 2005, 01:22:32 PM »
My Sunday league is going through the same transition. I was high average with 218 three years ago. This year I am 238. I am not 20 pins better by any means, lane conditions and equipment have taken over. Though I do love the league itself, it will probably be my last year in it.
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Rev_O

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Re: So easy you might quit the league/house?
« Reply #6 on: January 04, 2005, 01:38:24 PM »
our house became easy thi year after we installed amf synthetic lanes and bought a phoenix s machine. My average is 21 pins higher this year(247) compared to last(226). I would never quit, I would miss all the people to much. If I get to that "bored with bowling" point like I have once in the past, I'll just start bowling left handed again to gain some new interest. The last time I did that, I averaged 208 lefty, and hardly even made a spare. Also, I'd miss all my friends and the people I see every week while bowling, so regardless, I would not quit!!
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ksucat

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Re: So easy you might quit the league/house?
« Reply #7 on: January 04, 2005, 05:05:51 PM »
Wow PB, that must be an easy house.  I've only bowled there in a tournament once this year, so I can't judge too well.  I guess you could always try to see how many weeks it takes between honor scores.

If you find a house that puts out something other than the wide open THS around here, you let me know.  I'm afraid there are too many fragile egos around here to want anything else though.  With Ed wavering on bowling next year, I'll be looking for a new horse to carry me.

David Lee Yskes

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Re: So easy you might quit the league/house?
« Reply #8 on: January 05, 2005, 04:14:14 AM »
I wouldnt say that i am quitting this league cuz of the easy shot, but more like i want a challenge.  and plus the care of the house i am in right now is kinda slacking, you always have dirt, pop stains, and lil fuzzys on the floor or around the approach.  Plus this other house which i bowl in on thursday, that has the league i am going to next yr, is run very nice, always very clean.

This yr our association president created a Classic League that our association had been missing for a couple yrs.   Its a 4man team league, using the Weber Points System, and they use 4 different oil patterns and switch them up every week.

And the league is Scratch too, which is something i love.   Plus the $ is the best around for the amount of teams in the league.  And at the end of the season they use a bracket format to determine the league champs.  

I like the format of the league too,, the winner of every third gets 50$ per person the following week, the same team cant win another third, and first place, this yr i heard was going to be around 1200$ for 7 teams.  



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Pinbuster

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Re: So easy you might quit the league/house?
« Reply #9 on: January 05, 2005, 06:09:17 AM »
Bob Hanson – I agree on the addictive thing. I started a post a few weeks ago about carry percentage, how in this league I had a night that I didn’t feel I carried vary well but on analysis my carry percentage was around 70% that night. But if every double or turkey is stopped by a single pin you start to get frustrated in this environment.

I’m a house hack and admit it readily but this is one house I simply seem to really match up at most of the time. In league play there has “only” been one 300 and one 800. But in limited tournament play I know of at least 3 300’s and 1 800. I haven’t asked the management but in looking at a few league sheets I believe I’m the high right handed bowler by at least 10 pins and there is one lefty within a couple of me.

Jimensminger – I have thought about playing around but something in my makeup makes we want to get the most out of any condition that I am on. It would seem a little like sandbagging to me. And as I said this is my daughters only league and I’m trying to get as much as I can for team as well.

Ksucat – You should know, you shot one of the tournament 300’s at this house. As I said from the travel league that bowls all the houses in the area no one is running anything honest. A couple of the houses can present problems to me if you follow the wrong group from the early shift. But there are probably 20 bowlers averaging 220 to 230 in the travel league right now out of 70 bowler’s total.  And I believe you are ready to take over that stallion role.