I am always seeing references to the 220+ average house hack. I am talking about guys who average high in their home house and shoot honor scores there but do poorly on any other shot. I just don't see many of these guys. I average 205 and am usually near the top in terms of high average. We have 2 230+ in my home house. One is a former regional pro the other is a former collegiate bowler. These guys are both GOOD. I do know of 2 guys in another local house that are doing very well there but no where else. This is a wood house with a lot of friction. These guys throw the ball end over end with firm to high speed. Put them on a slick condition and they can't score. They need free hook.
There are no scratch leagues in my area and very few competitive men's leagues. I just don't see all these high averages you guys are constantly talking about.
I bowl on a house shot. It isn't the Great Wall of China but it isn't really hard. Is my area (Philadelphia) just bowling challenged or are these 220+ guys rarer than many make them sound? In any case, too many honor scores and high averages aren't a problem here.
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Why does everyone laugh when I bowl?

louie

Edited on 11/16/2004 5:10 PM

We have maybe a handful of guys over 220 at the center where I bowl league, and none of them are any great shakes.  I don't think any of the bowlers there have even watched a PBA Regional, much less actually tried to bowl in one.  I'd even go as far as to say that calling them "house hacks" could be considered an insult to the *real* house hacks.  

I subbed in a league last night at a center about 30 miles away from where I live, and there were three people over 230.  I understand there were a few more earlier in the season, but they've been bagging it off since the end of the first quarter of the league.  I bowl around a bit, so I know a number of the bigger names in the area, but I hadn't ever heard of many of the people with the higher averages in this league.
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"Dispensing conventional wisdom to a fingertip world."

Horrid in Doubles, torrid in Singles...
...that's The Curse of Dusty.

All the house hacks are alive and well, living in New York.

Here are the stats for one competitive men's league:

30 teams - 4 per team

So far this year:

20 bowlers averaging 220+ (highest being 239)
3 - 300's
1 - 800+

I guess we're bowling on the "Great Wall of China" LOL
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LadyW....

Edited on 11/16/2004 6:07 PM

In my Monday night league house (Gardner, MA), there are 16 teams x 5 bowlers= 80 bowlers. I think there are 10 people (possible 15 now) averaging 220+, the highest averaging I think 234. On my team alone after 10 weeks in the league, the lead off bowler is averaging 230, the second bowler 221, I'm averaging 224 and my best friend is around 229. I would say the shot is a great wall of China, bumper bowling for adults, a funnel to the pocket, whatever other phrase you would like to put out there. Some of these people bowl other tournaments around New England and I would say a good 85% of them shoot 40 pins per game below their average, especially if you shut down the gutter. There are a lot of people in this house that do well around the New England tournament circuit as well, but they could tighten the shot up a bit. I think this winter they've had 5 800's and about 10 300's already...

On Tuesday nights in Winchendon, MA we have no one close to a 220 average in the house. That hasn't happened for at least 13 years when my best friend (the 229 average in Gardner) posted a 234 average in this house. No one has averaged 200 for a season in this house in I think 8 years. Right now the high average in the house is 185, and I'm third with a 182. The owner is trying to work at getting a better shot going in the house, but it's always been a tough scoring house with carry, side wall action, and the lane conditions. I enjoy bowling on this shot very much, I feel like when I throw a 200 game or more I've earned it...

Matt

This area is tough for lefties.  High average in the one house has been around 211 for two years, most 225 average lefties struggle to hit 205.

Next house high lefty average in whole house 197.  Very overreactive on left.
High speed low axis rotation required.

Next high 182 in the whole house.  Most of these guys are too busy complaining about the taps they get every ball to bother with spares.  Include me in that group.

REgards,

Luckylefty

Its about the bowlers not the conditions. No house hack is going to aveage 220. Thats like saying a house hack 30 years ago would average 200 since we seem to accept the fact that today the average of all bowlers is up 20 pins. A 200 average 30 years ago was respectfull.

The better the bowler the more that bowler can exploit the condition and the more readily that bowler accepts and understands what he is doing could not be done on tougher conditions.

Above this magical 220 range when bowlers get to 230+ these certianly are bowlers that can duplicate shots, read lanes better, make adjustments better. These would be considered top bowlers and certianly well above the capabilities of House Hacks.  

House hacks are bowlers for the most part average around 200- 220 that shoot lights out or nothing. They bounce around with there score everyweek and seldom shoot anything near what they are averaging. These guys dont take it to other houses because they fear that they cant have those big nights that brings there average up.
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Bob and Pin – By and large I agree with you. The wild guys who can’t hardly pick up a spare end up averaging 200 – 210.

However I’m a house hack and have average 220+ on several occasions.

Exceptions to every rule.