Got back from practice. 3 games. Played around a bit, ended up playing straight up 4 with the Infinite. The line dried up a bit on the right lane, so I moved 1 and 1 right, and got back to the pocket with ease. I really concentrated on knowing what everything was doing, and I now know where my hand position, fingers, wrist, etc need to be to get the right reaction.

I think my problem last week was playing the lanes like they had broken down, but I was the only one out there. This week, I will approach each pair as a fresh lane, though I will have my eye out in case anyone in front of my starts playing out there.

Averaged over 200 for my set, including some stupid missed spares before I got my swing straightened out. Also, they had the results from last week posted. I had the 2nd highest game, 6th high series, and am in 8th or so, out of 16. Here's to striking a lot, and movin' on up...

Sounds like you learned something. Do you think my comment about grabbing it and getting around it seems accurate for what you're bowing on? Just curious of this pattern in other centers is similar.

My ball seems to travel farther down the lane than a 35 foot pattern would tend to. I think that my release does not have as much axis rotation naturally, because I tend to run into under reaction more than over reaction, and when I really catch one, unless I pull it, I end up high flush. Then again, I have really been working on cleaning that part of my game up, so me really catching it and getting around may well be another person's relaxed roll.

What's interesting is that on most shots, my ball rolls out pretty far before it gets to the pocket, but it carries really well. I read in a BTM recently that a lot of times, that kind of shot carries well on a sport condition, where it wouldn't on a house shot. I'm finding that to be the case. I also think that roll out is what's letting me stay out of trouble when I get around one or hit one a little more. Even if it comes in high, it deflects enough get trip the 4-7. Light hits, as long as I can get the 2 out, seem to find a pin flying in off the side wall to take out the 5. I've only left 1 or 2 weak 10s, and that's a price I'm willing to pay for the breaks I'm getting.

I don't have house shot room out there, but now that I'm getting a better idea of where my area is, and most of all how I need to adjust, it's still pretty easy to string strikes out there.

We'll be going up in pattern length every 3 weeks, so hopefully I can get that area and adjustment pattern figured out pretty quickly each time. I really like the Cheetah now that I'm figuring it out.

Let me answer the question separately, since I didn't really do it in that response.

When I catch it, I'm ok, as long as my speed doesn't slow down. When that happens, I get in trouble.

There have been a couple times when I got past 45 degrees, and I got in trouble then. When that does happen, my speed tends to drop as well, so that's a double whammy.

I am trying to stay relaxed, so that my release is a little less of everything (revs, axis rotation, my pinkie is out, etc). This way, if I miss towards my standard house shot 3rd arrow release, I am ok. I'm finding that anywhere between 30 and 45 seems to be good. Less, and the ball just doesn't make it back. Could be that all of the surface I am using is burning up some of the rotation, or it could just be that getting back from the 2 board takes more than getting back from the 7 or 8 that I'd be at on a house shot. In relation to the axis rotation article I wrote and love to quote, I am using both middle and ring fingers to get right into that sweet spot of axis rotation.

On every pattern I could play outside 5, and that didn't seem right to me. They recently put a new brush in the oiler and now on the Scorpion, where I could play outside 5 with a Black Widow, I can't get any ball back. I had to move into 3rd arrow to not leave 3-7-9's. I'm wondering if my experience with extreme over reaction was more due to how the shot was being put down here rather than how it plays normally.

All our shots played outside 5 last year as well, even the shark. I found out we had 4 year old patterns. We'll see how it goes this year, with the new patterns. I think the machine is a Kegel, don't know though, and don't know the specifics. I will ask this week - the lane mane bowls with us. Incidentally, he's the only one outside of 5 with me now, and he played every shot there last year. Finished with the high average, upper 190s.

Took me a minute to translate 3-7-9 into a right-handed leave

Honestly, I think of leaves as a right hander because I see them so much. To me it's a 2-8-10 because I hear it so much. I have to sit there and count to pins to figure out what the left handed version is

On Xtra Frame, they have oil pattern tips each week. Remembered 1 that's relevant this morning, and another just now.

Walter Ray did one on the Scorpion. He had 3 NSane LevRGs with different layouts and surfaces. 1 of them went too far, 1 read a little early, and one gave him the Walter Ray look. He was playing up 3. He had a MoRich staffer with him, don't remember his name, that got up after WRW to show the bowlers that this ball can hook too, played a 3rd arrow shot, and left a 2-8 or something like it. Walter got up after him, played the same line, and struck. it was great,

They had Robert Smith do it the week he won. He had 2 (Black|Gold) Labels drilled up that he was using. The second one, for when the lanes broke down, was being played to a breakpoint around 5. And that was from Robert Smith-deep too. So there is playable area outside on all of the shots even on tour, depending on the bowler and application.

I think the main difference is that the PBA tries to match the pattern to the lanes, and tweaks it so that it plays right. You don't get that in a single center, where they are putting the patterns down straight from the PBA/USBC.

The PBA does tweak the pattern to try to get the right "characteristics." This year they even modified the patterns to begin with. They also choose the pattern for a week to take advantage of the condition of the lane surface. For example they will use the Cheetah on lanes that are more worn in the middle and less used on the edges to take advantage of the better surface out there. I think a few centers do tweak the patterns when they run leagues, but that requires having someone that knows what they are doing.

I've also heard that the Tour uses two different machines, one to strip the lanes and the other to actually oil the lane, and the centers use one to do it all.

Took high game in #4 (for the pots, there was a 222) and high series. I was the only person over 800 Missed high game in the first game by 6.

So, I went from 3 stupid games last week to 7 stupid frames this week. Next week, I'm thinking I should make it 0. Also, 2 missed single pins, though the rest of my opens were acceptable.

Game 1:


Game 2:


Game 3:


Game 4: