I bowled in a shootout today and had 4 pocket 7-10s. missed the cut by 4 pins. Its a monthly scratch event. had I been in the other two divisions I still would have qualified. just no luck. the last 7-10 was a light mixer to top it off 2nd ball of the 10th in the last game. aside from that one all the others were good looking hits.

I've had a rash of these in the last weeks. at least one a night. I use stronger covers with surface a lot, so, I'm conscious about letting the ball roll out.

many factors cause it that I've seen. no power with a late finish. roll out where there is not enough angle. mostly, it looks like speed and revs not matched up. I know a guy who throws about 19 with decent rev rate and you can see the hits he carries that lower speed / rev players leave.

without hitting the pocket sweet spot, you need power and speed. accuracy doesn't always work because ball roll changes as the shot changes. that is when you're open to pocket splits and taps even though you're throwing it "good" like I did today.

I will go back to this event next month and claim it. without the 7-10s.

it was my first try but the 2nd time I bowled in the house and did score 66 pins better. I did well considering I bowled against guys who bowled there many times and have the house down very well. I see what works now.