thinking about getting a new ball. i have a twisted fury and a MoRich awesome finsh. both are great great balls and i have an Ebonite clash.

i'm looking for a tighter line ball. when it hits the dry part of the pattern i want a medium hook. when the lanes start drying up my twisted starts up early. i once had an Ebonite complete nv and it was drilled for long and strong but it wasn't strong. it would go long but not hook back in like my twisted or the clash. looking to play almost straight up and just alittle to right. i get the drill pats when i caon my balls if needed. house oil pattern- plan block they dont change anything at this house. just block pattern. go fig.

thanks for the help!

You have a good mix of balls and consequently their reaction.

So therefore at 170 average, there's some things that probably need to be worked on that do not deal with ball choice.

Since I was at 170 and can still remember that frustration I would suggest a coach and these goals.
1. how to get lined up quickly once league starts. This includes how to warm up and enter league play efficiently.
2. how to concquer the 10 pin leave (RHder) and get a strike instead
3. how to follow lane transition and stay in the pocket all night long i.e. lane transition
4. how to get secure on multi pin spares when you leave them (like the bucket).
5. get very secure on your 10 pin spare and 6,10 pin leave.

A new ball will not solve these issues. When you get to the point where you leave only 1 split a night and maybe one other open a night (maybe two) then you can look at another ball. Otherwise there are things to work on that have nothing to do with ball choice.

Erin

I was also going to say that the balls you have right now are fine and you should be able to improve ur average by working on technique and adjustments.

When I first started bowling, and I got to about 160-170 average, I started to look for that one ball to get me over the hump. After several balls, and hundreds of dollars later I came to realize it was not the balls I was using, but the way I was using them.

Erins right about seeing a coach. I started to see my coach more frequently, and my average has climbed because of it. I also found that the balls that I had were all I needed. It could be just a suttle little thing in your technique that needs adjusting, and a good coach can point that out. I think you will be surprised at the progress you will make after just a few visits with a coach.

yes had a coach but saw him twice then he just quit coming to his shop. his shops not been open for weeks now. looking for another to help with that adjustment but fir now just talking with people around the house. but your right though. the balls i got r great very great , but just wondering if i'm missing somthing in ball placement. coaches r hard to find in alabama. you just get uncle fred and friends to help then if you do find one they want 6o a lessen ( some times hard to do that at times but is cheaper than a ball)

thanks

More of a reference to actobash, but one split a night and only a couple opens..? Um, you're talking nearly professional level there... If you're only leaving one split a night, you've got horse shoes rammed up your [censored]. I left 3 splits in one game tonight, and I still averaged 214 for 3 games. Granted, I would say a good average bowler shouldn't be missing single pins. I'm not happy when I miss a single pin in a night. But I just think that's a little extreme to be sayin' that without looking at getting another ball... especially when two of his bowling balls are rather high end bowling balls.

Go to Bowl.com you can do search for a coach and might be able to find one in your area. I agree a coach is worth the cost if you want to improve.

No I'm thinking most 200+ bowlers on a typical house shot. Far from professional level. These goals are far from the professional level's quest when they go out onto the lanes. This expectation should be NORMAL for all those averaging over 200.

At this level you are talking not just spares (because they are a given-- NO MISSED SPARES), and maybe one mistake a set that gives you a split. Knowing that the "mistake" has area that doesn't totally penalize you unless you really miss big. But this is not even close to what the PBA Touring players do on a week to week basis. Because they see vastly more changing conditions and those conditions are far from the house shot that league bowlers are given.

This is part of the problem with bowling and how its perceived even by its random players. Most bowlers that bowl league have no idea of what kind of conditions can be put out there to stop their scoring pace. Not just stop it, but eliminate it, with just one pass of the oiling machine.

Its not the bowlers' fault. They get channelled into conditions that the house puts out from week to week. They get comfortable. And they forget some of the aspects of adjustments and change that they might have normally used in years past. A good center manager knows how to keep the conditions steady and the bowlers happy. But that doesn't mean those same bowlers can excel in the center 10 miles down the road.

Erin

If you are in a rural area, then yes, coaches are going to be hard to come by. But if you are willing to travel 60 miles (give or take) then you should be able to find an able coach.

Even in the highly populated area of CA, I travelled over an hour each way to see my coach.

Erin

humm manager where i bowl really doesnt care if the regular bowlers are happy. most jumped ship when he came abord about a month and a half ago. he's sent in by corporate to get more business. which means--> get the teens and bowl extreme all the time <--. patterns dont change here period. block standard is it. not much you can do there. just adjust to find the line when it all breaks down. spares are fun. work on spares once a week. just spares. try to pick off the 10 by its self or the 7 or just throw spare ball just too get something going. finding another house is way out of question too. so i op for a new ball just to see if help but coaches are cheaper but like i said $60 a pop and hours drive with gas as high as it is just dont mend well. most want 5 or 6 lessens and i work swing shift too. so i'm left most of the time to just figure it out on my own. and just talk to people is it. be nice to find someone to help but just out luck here on this one.

in resopnse to Atochabsh, i had exactly that problem myself last season. averaged 203 on my junior league with the house shot, but could never find a groove in any tournament (and i competed in 10-12 tournaments last season, found a niche during ONE of them, which surprisingly was the only regional tournament i did during the year, the rest were local or state-only, not to mention the tragedy at nationals last year), but as i said, i know exactly what you are talking about here.

I knew a guy who left significantly less than one open per game and still averaged under 200. Even for me, one open per game would only put my average at around 220.

Then, think of all the 200-210 players currently averaging under 170 on the PBA patterns...and the pros, even a cranker like Robert Smith will hit over 90% of his single-pin spares...



Anyway, 180fury, if you're averaging 170 in house conditions, you could probably stand to improve in literally every aspect of the game. That was certainly true of me when I was at 170, and my arsenal at the time consisted of a plain urethane ball, a plain plastic ball and a $20 pair of shoes.

In addition to Erin's excellent advice, I'll mention that, if the Complete NV doesn't hook for you, you need to get more hand in the ball. Even as a pure stroker, you have to be doing at least one thing that's preventing the ball from rotating as it leaves your hand.

If you can get somebody to take a video of you, do that, and just look at it yourself with a critical eye. You'll start to see things you'll want to change with the first viewing.

Excuse me???? Try that when you are 45 and let just take some testosterone from you too. Make you a 45 year old woman and see if you can compete at the 200+ level. You are a kid. A power hungry newbie that has all the wrist and hand to overpower house conditions.

Its not a professional level and if you were older you'd know that. How many times do you get a messenger fly across the deck and take out your less then perfect shots? How many times do you go Brooklyn? Because I go Brooklyn maybe twice a month. If its a bad month, maybe 4 times.

And by the way....most nights, I don't leave any splits! I just don't miss by that much. And I rarely miss spares....any spares.

Its actually not all your fault. You are young and have no idea of how your phsyical abilities will be compromised in nearly 30 years. But it is a good idea to listen to what people that have been around the block a few times have to say before spouting out about how many spares you can miss and STILL average 214. Just to let you know.....that's not really something to brag about.

For you, I would suggest that you attend a Senior PBA tour stop. And see how folks that have been doing this for a very long time, stay competative and accurate.

Erin

That comment really bothered me too. The fact is, make spares and you are over 200. String a few strikes, and you will be higher. But, don't rely on strings of strikes to get you over 200. If you do, something is wrong with your game. Fix it, or you will stay there.

Too many people are enamored by their first ball and forget about the second ball. If we only rolled 1 ball we would all be really good. But, that's not the case. And, if you leave more than 1 split per set, you also have something wrong with your game.

At 170, It's rarely the ball that caused the trouble, it's usually the bowler.

That's exactly where I am. I average 6 strikes per game and 2 opens. That sucks.
The strikes are not getting me to 200+. The missed spares are keeping me from 220. I know I need some help, and get it. How can you not see it?

230 is the new 200.

Dennis, you *do* need strikes to get to 200, or even above 190. If you 9/ everything, an 9 on the fill shot, you'll end up at a 190. Dutch 200 - the most strikes you can have without stringing any. You need strings of strikes just to break 200, plain and simple.

Mathematically, you are right. The issue is for every open, you need a double to make it up, not just a strike. If you are capable of that, then the open held you down.

If I get 6 strikes per game and 2 opens, 2 doubles were wasted.

humm i avg 170 because i suck right now. i have a new coach as of today so i can fix these things that know more about now. i never said a ball will get me a 300. also i didnt put the things about splits or spares. i miss spares, splits, pins, i gutter too. i also only bowl 1 day out of the week most of the time and i have a job that takes up my time and i dont get to go bowling as much as other folks. also have a 2 year old girl. you dont get to do anything when all you do is work, eat, sleep, and have kids. just remember i never said i was good or that a ball would save me. but i found a ball that has helped a little and thats my Track. so its all cool now. i have a good Pro Shop guy and hopefully a good coach too. usbc certified. i'll send ya card if ya want one and that nv is junk. it was drilled wrong and i had it proven by the guy at the shop i go to now. my new stuff is drilled right and does what its suppose to. so i got a new ball and i;m good now. also--->

<---also this is not me btw--->!!! -->Originally Posted By: Satyuros
More of a reference to actobash, but one split a night and only a couple opens..? Um, you're talking nearly professional level there... If you're only leaving one split a night, you've got horse shoes rammed up your [censored]. I left 3 splits in one game tonight, and I still averaged 214 for 3 games.

humm not me...