GMan 3,569 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 League started last week for me. Had not bowled since the last night of league last year. 209-177-171 - 557 Elbow hurt all night and arm/hand was numb until Thursday. Last night, felt like someone drove a nail in my elbow on the first practice ball I rolled...arm/hand was numb all night...rolled the ball about 12mph all night... 189-182-269 - 640 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hacker 82 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 What do you always hear about off season conditioning? lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 (edited) I finished my summer at 198. Went from 208 in Week 8 to 198 in Week 16, I don't think I've ever had such an awful slump like that. In Week 16, I bowled my worst series since 2009, under 500. That's the reason I hadn't been crowing a lot toward the end of the summer: there was very little to get excited about. I can't seem to get a consistent roll out of my new ball, and I've been getting frustrated awfully quickly. I'm bowling in the same 2 leagues I did last year: Friday Night Doubles and Tuesday Night Intermediate Classic (the league my team won). Friday starts this Friday, 8/26, and Tuesday starts next Tuesday, 8/30. Hopefully I can crack 200 this season. We'll see. I'll need to avoid the terrible slump that always seems to hit me at the start of each season. Edit: If you're throwing 269s like that, you might need to slow it down more often. ;) Edited August 23, 2011 by UVAObserver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan 3,569 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 What do you always hear about off season conditioning? lol Nah, it doesn't have anything to do with "off season conditioning"...I'm having some sort of nerve issue in my elbow. Either the nerve is being compressed or pinched when I bowl...my arm/hand gets numb like when you hit your funny bone. Last night, on the first ball in practice, it was like someone popped me on the funny bone with a hammer. With the arm/hand all numb/tingling all night long, I had no feel whatsoever. I was really just slowing down and going through the motions, the ball just happened to be coming off my hand at the right time and I was hitting the right spot with the speed (or lack thereof) I was rolling the ball. Last week, my elbow hurt and arm/hand was numb until Thursday. Today, the elbow hurts but the arm/hand isn't quite as numb as last week...either that or I've gotten so used to the feeling that it almost feels "normal" now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hacker 82 Report Share Posted August 23, 2011 You might have a disc problem in your neck. I have two bad ones, and have the same kind of symptoms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan 3,569 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 You might have a disc problem in your neck. I have two bad ones, and have the same kind of symptoms. No, not a neck issue. Its an old baseball injury that was never taken care of back in the day...flares up from time to time...just to do it when I played too much golf. Now, rolling a bowling ball for three games is like pitching nine innings... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mv91 259 Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 I started fall/winter league last Thursday. Bowled 183-167-204 for a 554 series and an established avg of 184. May be a little much for me considering I am a mid 160's bowler but i will take it. The way I felt, the series should have easily been in the low 600's but I missed 2 or 3 easy spares. Ended up subbing tonight on Tuesday league. Bowled 202-142-146 for a 490. started well but for some reason, i started pulling the ball half the time it seemed like. Just couldn't get consistent in games 2 and 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted August 27, 2011 Eh, some good and some bad from night #1. 193-193-172. 558 series and 186 average to start. Only 3 open frames: a 4-6-7 split and chopped 2 multi-pin spares. Unfortunately, just 11 strikes and just 1 double all night. I was just in-between, no matter what I did. Lanes were very oily outside and very dry inside. If I went inside, I'd leave 4s. If I went outside, I'd leave a 10. Five 4s and five 10s, and I hit them all pretty much dead center. I'm pleased with my spare consistency: that was what I wanted most to improve this year, and I like how I started. I MUST get back up to around a 55% strike rate. I'll improve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan 3,569 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 Lanes were burnt last night...started way left and moved "lefter" as the night went on...the elbow couldn't take much more... 227-180-175 - 582 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted August 30, 2011 No, not a neck issue. Its an old baseball injury that was never taken care of back in the day...flares up from time to time...just to do it when I played too much golf. Now, rolling a bowling ball for three games is like pitching nine innings... Chiropractic. Saved me back in 2009, no way I'd be bowling today without it. And not just for the spine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted August 31, 2011 First night of Tuesday night league: 202-176-189: 567, 189 average The strike consistency was much better: exactly 50% for the entire night. The spare shooting, however, wasn't remotely close. Six open frames, only 2 of them splits. Two missed 10-pins, one chopped 3-6-10, and one 1-2-4-10 I completely whiffed on. But I did hit a 6-7-10. Everything I did right Friday, I did wrong tonight, and everything I did wrong Friday, I did right tonight. Frustrating, but a start I can recover from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 Short summary of the last two nights: Friday, 9/2 204-194-162, 570 series As close to a repeat of last Tuesday's series as you can possibly get. 50% strike percentage, 6 open frames. I doubled once more than I did on Tuesday, got some weaker hits resulting in multi-pin spares, that was was the difference. 2 splits, 1 missed 10-pin, but 3 of those were chopped spares, something that just drives me batty. Give me a chance to chop a 3-6 or a 6-10, and I'll do it once per week. The third game was particularly bad: 3 open frames, 3 strikes. Couldn't sustain the strong effort that had me sitting at 398 after two games. Not an embarassing night, not a great night. Tuesday, 9/6 201-213-257, 671 series A delightful series. Part of that is because in 12 series, I had not broken 210 in a game or 600 in a series. Even more delightful because one of the other team's bowlers cried like a pre-pubescent girl about my releasing the ball so far behind the foul line. For years, and I don't know why, I've always released the ball a good bit beyond the foul line. Part of that is to get the ball to start turning earlier, though I sacrifice revolutions for the early turning. But this guy was making a gigantic stink about it, saying I was scuffing the lane (false). I resolved right then to whip my opponent like a drum. I came into this night with a 189 average, and my opponent had a 195 average. I got 80% of the difference, or 4 pins. The first game was close. I failed to cover a 1-2-8-10, but he had his first two frames open. He threw three in frames 5-6-7, and I came right back to do it in 7-8-9. He opened his 9th, and I spared out to win by 11. Second game was close until the midway point, part of that from chopping a 3-6 (see above). I threw three in frames 1-2-3 and doubled in 9-10, throwing 6 for the game. The third game was special. Started out with the front 7, and in a 5-man league where the lanes are breaking down and changing all the time, that's even more impressive. I've started out with the front 7 six times; the two times I got to 8, I at least got through the front 10. Not to be last night. My game is predicated on not drifting on the lane, so my release and target can be my main focus. In the 8th frame, I hit my target dead on and released perfectly...only I had drifted 2 boards to the right. My ball went in hard through the nose, leaving a 6-10. Didn't help matters that I crushed the pocket in the 9th. Went 8/9 in the 10th frame for a 257, winning the high game jackpot for the night in the league. So, my average is 187 on Friday nights and 206 on Tuesday nights, the first being the easier league and the 2nd being the league where no one averaged over 204 last season. Lovely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefieldRocks 14 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 League started last week for me. Had not bowled since the last night of league last year. 209-177-171 - 557 Elbow hurt all night and arm/hand was numb until Thursday. Last night, felt like someone drove a nail in my elbow on the first practice ball I rolled...arm/hand was numb all night...rolled the ball about 12mph all night... 189-182-269 - 640 How can you tell the speed of the ball? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 How can you tell the speed of the ball? Much like a pitcher can tell when he's throwing 85 MPH or 90 MPH+, a bowler can get a gauge on his/her speed if there's any kind of reference point to work from. We have bowling alleys in PA that clock the speed of our shots. I average about 17.3 MPH on my best shots, which is up about .7 MPH from my older bowling balls that didn't have the mechanics this new ball does. Lower speed in bowling hurts a bowler by making the ball deflect instead of pushing through the point of impact. For example, if you roll a golf ball through a set of tees, the slower the golf ball rolls, the more it will push off from the area of impact. A fast ball will move with little deflection. Bowlers want the ball to drive, because deflection makes for unclean hits, the mechanics of which can leave 7-pins, 10-pins, or even 7-9, 8-10, or 7-10 splits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefieldRocks 14 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 That's pretty cool. Never knew the speed of the ball played such a big factor in bowling. Thought it was more of the angle and spin of the ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan 3,569 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Its a combination of all three...and each affect the other... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Its a combination of all three...and each affect the other... How'd the scores look last week? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan 3,569 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 How'd the scores look last week? I would call it a "handicap week"...157-156-150 - 463. Elbow was killing me and the pair we were on was touchy...too much speed = washout, too little speed = through the nose/split, a little too much inside = hooked off the lane, a little too much outside = not making it back to the pocket. No one on my team broke 500...one didn't even break 400. The other team didn't fare much better but was good enough to take all 8 pts. However, as bad as our team is this season, I'm going to need all the handicap I can get... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mv91 259 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Dont feel bad Gman, my series last Thursday was 143-151-122 for a 416 series. avg fell from 170 to 160 in one week :) Btw, i wasnt gonna post last weeks series until you posted a series near my series!! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 I would call it a "handicap week"...157-156-150 - 463. Elbow was killing me and the pair we were on was touchy...too much speed = washout, too little speed = through the nose/split, a little too much inside = hooked off the lane, a little too much outside = not making it back to the pocket. No one on my team broke 500...one didn't even break 400. The other team didn't fare much better but was good enough to take all 8 pts. However, as bad as our team is this season, I'm going to need all the handicap I can get... Bowling a different league or just a switch in personnel? I've got a new partner for Friday night, as my Friday night partner from last year is in Washington, DC until January. He books at 2 pins less than I do, so if we're both on, a 1300+ doubles series is certainly in play. We're going to be in the top 3 in the league in total pinfall, which is a good position and one I'm not accustomed to. Last Friday, even though I bowled a 560, we blew one of the weaker teams out of the building thanks to a 650 series by my partner. 6-2 after two weeks on Friday night. Tuesday night kept all the same guys that won that league's title last season. Not the highest pin count you'll ever see on a 5-man team, but very rarely bowl badly, and 4 of us have the potential on a good night to put up 650+. We went 17-6 on Tuesday, and I'm sure that 671 helped matters. We stand at 27.5-18.5 thus far, which is a fine start. Plus, we bowl the vacancy team next week, which should be good for between 15-20 wins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan 3,569 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 Well, after a week off for vacation (did you miss me?), I was back at it tonight. This is the first night my elbow has not hurt while bowling, although it is starting to ache as I'm typing this... 212-204-192 - 608 Started the last game with a pocket 7-10 and finished with an open in the 10th... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted September 20, 2011 Well, after a week off for vacation (did you miss me?), I was back at it tonight. This is the first night my elbow has not hurt while bowling, although it is starting to ache as I'm typing this... 212-204-192 - 608 Started the last game with a pocket 7-10 and finished with an open in the 10th... Nice, consistent series. Sure beats anything I've done lately. Bowled 585, 542, 527 in the last 3 series. In the 585 series, I started with 246 and couldn't break 600. Open frames have just been killing me. Threw 5 splits in the 527, and missed 2 10-pins. Got another bowling night coming up, and as I type this I have 4 different band-aids on my fingers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan 3,569 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2011 Want to see consistant??? A buddy of mine asked me to sub on their Wednesday night team...a very good team. Loaded, actually. Last night I go 236-157-222 - 615. Whiffed a 10-pin in the 4th frame of the first game. Got smoked by the big split bug in the second game (4-7-10 in the 4th, Big Four in the 6th, and Greek Church in the 7th)...spent the last couple of frames of that game making adjustments trying to find something for the last game. Third game, I whiffed a 7-pin in the fourth frame and got burnt by a 4-7-9 split in the 7th frame. My 615 was fourth out of five on the team...660-some, 650-some, 640-some, 615, and a low 500. We won all 8 points, putting them at 46-2 through six weeks of the quarter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted Account 5,203 Report Share Posted September 29, 2011 Finally one that I can be proud of. 203-178-234 for a 615 series in my Tuesday night 5-man league. Lanes were in terrible shape. Tons of oil from the 5-board out, dry as a bone from boards 5-10, and tons of oil from boards 10-20. Never seen anything like it before. Given that all the guys on my team thrive between the 5 and 10 boards, we were in for a rough night. I had 3 splits, and that was fewest on the team. If you were left of target at all, you were crossing over. That was just how it was. If you were right of target at all, you weren't hitting the pocket. I was fortunate to get more than my fair share of Jersey strikes. About half of my 16 strikes were Jersey. Had a split in the first game, but three 3 in a row after it while keeping it clean to get the 200. Started with 3 in a row in the 2nd game only to follow it up with 3 opens (two splits) in the next 4 frames. Couldn't recover. In the third game, I started with the front 4 and finished with 3 in the 10th, but spared every single frame in between. Others must have had it rough, too, because I won the league's high game pot with that 234. The guy who had the highest series of the night was on the team opposite me. He was an old codger who just killed it throwing his weak hooking ball right down the 13th arrow. Kept getting awfully lucky by getting the 6-pin dip into the channel and slide back to knock out the 10-pin. Almost miraculous that he didn't leave a 10-pin every shot with no angle and little hook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMan 3,569 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2011 Stunk it up with a 521 Monday night...had a decent first game then it turned to crap... Jersey strike??? Must be a PA thing...we call'em Brooklyn strikes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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