Well I went ahead and decided to bowl on Saturday night... Things didn't go so well, but my hand didn't bother me too much so that was a plus. I couldn't find a decent line on the lanes, and I missed way too many single pin spares. Shot a 143 in the first game, 28 pins below average... Shot a 147 in the second game, at 24 pins below average... Third game I made a huge adjustment, finally finding a decent line and shot a 179. Had some splits in every game I bowled as well. So my hand is still sore, averaged about 156 for the night. So now I'm way off my goal of having a 180 average by the end of the season. I don't know what it is with this house, but I can't seem to bowl any good on the end lanes. We also got swept as our anchor was well below average for the night...

Bowled a "position round" for our five that will be going to the state tournament. The anchor of my team, which is our team captain will be bowling first. Second will be a friend that's on our team, then I'll be third. Our fourth and fifth bowlers are friends from a different team. Going to be a weird line-up which hopefully the anchor on my team bowls to his norm in the tourney lol...

1st - 384 series (he has a 191 average) :-|
2nd - 429 series (142 league average)
3rd - 469 series (170 league average)
4th - 527 series (163 league average)
5th - 627 series (197 league average)

Late to report about Thursday night again. I had 12 great frames and then the bottom fell out and I didn’t adjust too well. I started off with a clean game of 221 which included 6 strikes, then a strike and spare in the first 2 frames of the second game. Then it all got away from me and I finished with a 518 (221,150,147).

It was more a problem of my concentration once again. I missed a lot of easy spares including 3 one-pin spares by the smallest of margins. My head just wasn’t in it after that great first game.

The positives were that great first game and that I was 10 pins above my average. It just could have been so much better. I need to put together a night where I keep it together.

As for the team we were 1-3 and we seem destined to finish in the lower 3rd of the pack. We are 16th out of 24 with 11 weeks left.

Somehow I've missed this thread during my visits here. Alas, I'll introduce myself and do a quick summary of my season so far.

I'm Dan, a 37 year old right-handed bowler. I take it pretty seriously as bowling is pretty much the only competitive venture that I do well at. I took about a 15 year lay off after the age of 20 and started back a couple seasons ago. I'm now bowling 3 leagues: a semi-competitive mixed on Wednesday, a competitive men's on Tuesday, and just started a PBA experience 3 weeks ago Sunday.

So far in the THS leagues my high series this year is 708, with several 690s and 680s mixed in. My series in the PBA have been 577, 485, 586. That's a 183 average, and in my 2 THS leagues I carry right around 200. I've never had a 200 full season average before, so that's been one of my goals this season.

Ultimately I'd like to start playing regularly in tournaments, but I'm not at that level yet. We'll see.

Welcome to the site Dan! Good luck on bowling 200+ average this season.

Tonight was another sub-par night, but not like Saturday. Same house, just the next pair of lanes over. I'm wondering if they haven't changed the shot lately, or if someone just isn't doing something right with the machine. Even if one of these is true, I'm still not completely executing right. Tonight, like most Mondays I had my Fury and Super Carbide, and added my Lane #1 Liberator to my four ball bag and took the Jazz out for tonight. I need to get some tighter grips in my Liberator and Jazz since they are loose on me and nothing I do makes them tight enough, yet they are the same size as the ones in every other ball. I guess the wholes are just a little bigger, maybe from a newer bit and some most of the others were drilled with a bit that had been sharpened several times. I also did some surface adjustments on some balls, touching up the Fury, taking the Ogre and Radical as close to factory as I could with the grits and polishes I had, as well as a few other balls.

Anyways, on to how the night went. After a couple practice shots with the Ogre and Liberator I pulled my Fury out. The Ogre just skid too much, and having to grip the Liberator made it hard to make a good shot. I played around some with lines with the Fury and thought I had it figured out. It gave me some room to miss right, unlike the Ogre, as it came back hard off the gutter several times. I just had issues repeating the same shot, I would miss target a board or two this way, then the other way and just not carry. I missed a 10 pin and 9 pin in back to back frames I believe in the first game. I missed three 10 pins out of a total of 7. One was a chicken wing elbow that made me miss inside, and the other two I let my back swing get too high and pulled the ball down all missing inside. The 9 pin I literally held on to the ball and it just went straight down the left side instead of across the lane. I shot a 175 the first game. The second game I throw my first and only double of the night in the second and third frame just to open on my third missed ten pin of the night. I ended up with a 171 that game having thrown a split and just not carrying much. I switch to the Ogre for the last game, and just kept getting my ball a tad right and it just wouldn't get back in the pocket right. Of course this is with more speed than I had been rolling my Fury. I would just miss getting in the pocket solidly, leaving a pin or two, and when I did hit good, leaving a 10. I roll a 186 that game for a 532 series. I had four single pin opens, two or threw splits for opens, and only one regular multiple pin open, missing the 2 on a 2-5. Hopefully I can start getting my rhythm again and start throwing the ball good again.

By the end of the night I noticed that I am tearing the skin on my middle finger again. I thought I might have had this taken care of when I aligned my insert for the finger better. I guess I need to change out some inserts to bigger ones so I can use my Bio-Skin tape until I can get this straightened out. I'm planning on going to get a ball punched up this week and will talk to my driller about it. He knows I've had some issues but I haven't been there for a while.

I am officially back!! I had a melt down last Thurs with a miserable 513 series. One of my bowling balls never made it back into the house in one piece lol I racked my brain thinking of what I'm doing wrong. Ball changes, buying new balls, hand position, loft, playing straight, etc etc. My problem all year has been dry lanes and the ball coming up early big time no matter what was in my hand. I figured why not move to the 2nd set of dots? That should extend my break point another 1.5 feet or better. Well I went and practiced and rolled 209-233-222-207. We had a tournament at these same local lanes and I roled 200-209-211, nothing great but thats 7 straight games over 200.

Tonight was my scratch league and I used my new starting point. What a difference!! I felt like my old self, my natural arm speed laned the ball dead flush. The Black Widow Bite is a monster. Now if I want to look at the bad I can say I choked the middle game after having the front 9 and going 7/7. All in all I rolled 227(missed a 10 pin)-274-249 for a 750 series. I was playing a deep line and the carry was there all night. 10 games over 200 in a row=224 average and right where I want to be.

All my bowling life I've always started at the first set of dots but in the end that may be a mistake with my short 4 step approach. Every pro seems to finish a few inches from the foul line, I use to be way back. Obviously it can work if there is oil out there but with the 2nd set of dots my tempo is better, so is my balance and the break point is located right where it needs to be. I dont know if its a combo of the wrist healing up and me losing some speed or dry lanes or both. Dry lanes have always been my nemisis. If tonight or the last 10 games is any indication of what moving up can do I see a strong finish to an otherwise weak Winter season by my standards. For one Tuesday night I get to sleep good.

I use a 4 step from the back dots as well Mike, there are several shots a night I worry about fouling. Sometimes I'll move up a half a foot or so to try to stay on the right side of the head pin, sometimes it works, others it doesn't.

As for my night of bowling, I struggled through practice, never finding a good line with 3 different balls, having put one away just to bring in back out and put another away. My Liberator just doesn't feel right grip wise, inserts feel big and the span feels short. Thats a different story though. My Groove I didn't throw one good shot with in practice but decided to use it anyways to start the night with a 247, on 8 strikes, two 9 spares(3 pin going through the nose and a 10 pin), a 6 spare(the bucket, didn't get the ball off my thumb clean maybe knuckled it, and left a 10 pin on my fill ball. Normally I start throwing the Groove bad the second game but stuck with it for a 190. I had two less strikes but missed 3 spares, a 5 pin that I put too much on it and angled it too much just moving left of the five pin, missed the 5 on the 2-4-5 spare much like missing the 5, and then a 7 pin that I just never got the ball across the lane to it as I threw it straight up the twig until it moved left to exit the pin deck in the middle. I leave two 10 pins in the tenth frame on solid shots. The last game it all went downhill. I miss right missing the headpin, I cross over for a Brooklyn, I toss a gutterball, throw a good shot but leave a 9, and either miss right or cross over. I then decided to change balls, I can't use the Groove on any other line there than the one I was using, coming at an angle off of 5 with a gradual turn at the end. Straight up five it comes in weak. I change to my Ogre towards the end of the game and try a different line running up 10 and 10 out to 7, making a few quality shots other than one that I just pulled leaving the 3-6-9. I missed too many spares that game. I carried the first shot of the tenth, which added to the spare in the ninth and getting good count on the second ball in the tenth gave us the handicap point and total even when the anchor on the other team struck out. I rolled a 144 that game. I left the 4-9 on the second ball in the tenth when I got a little too much on my toe of my slide foot which is rubber in front of the slide sole and just made me get the ball a little tighter than I wanted. After rolling a 437 after two games I didn't break 600 with a 581 series. The first two games my timing, approach, swing and everything was just great. The last game I got slightly off, and with the Groove that doesn't cut it. I had a nice flowing approach, the last game I got a bit jerky in the release and would rush my last two steps some.

Had an ok night tonight. Struggled early with thumb fit issues with my Paradigm and my Pyro just didn't feel right.

Finally loosened it up and had a good finish.

Shot 186-184-211-214 for a 795.

Good thing is we took 3 of 4 games and total, actually winning the last two games by a combined total of about 310 pins.

That puts us solidly in 2nd place with 3 weeks left in the quarter.

We took 5 of 7 tonight. The good thing, is that I have finally gotten my speed up where it belongs. Things really meshed tonight. I still had 2 opens. 1 a split, the other a cherry. But, when speed, ball, release work together, things go well.

245, 228, 260 for a 733. My first 700 of the year. A year in which I have really been struggling. Boy, does this feel good.

Need to practice more. Extra 2.5 mph makes a huge difference.

I know that feeling all to well Dennis. That's a nice way to get your first 700 of the year but it won't be your last.