We had position round last week in my four-man league. Our team had started the quarter 2-6 and were below .500 for the season, but by Thursday we'd worked our way to 22-6 and second place, still needing three of four points in the last week to get into the rolloffs. (I will say humbly I had something to do with our run, averaging something like 225 over that span.)
The shot is a wet/dry that gives all the good bowlers over/under, but I discovered I can play my freshly polished Black Pearl across 15(arrows) to 5(break), the surface pushes it through the first level of dry, and the combination of angle and
polish gives me plenty of area. The second game, I stay on the 30 board to start, but move forward and slow my ball down; I'm aiming for the same target, but my break point is further outside, kind of circling my carry-down. The third game, I usually reach the point where I can't throw it any slower, so I play Russian Roulette with my arsenal and curse my way through to the end.
That third game is one of the reasons I bought this new Global 900 Bounty, as recommended by my pro. (I was going to buy it next year, but the price came down and I came into some money, so why not.) I figured with a really strong solid, I could move left and play around 19 to 6; I would be going through fresh heads and then my carry-down in the mid-lane, which should be enough to qualify as heavy oil, and the angle would be so steep, I would be able to use the wall for its intended purpose. Anyway, the ball showed up on Thursday, and we drilled it up (RICO) during the first game, so with no chance to try it, there was no way I could pull it out during the position round, right?
Anyway, lanes one and two were like the others, but the oil was even slicker in the middle; I was out of slow with the Pearl by the middle of the first game, and my bag was empty by the end of the second. The first game I bowled a clean 206, and my second game I had a 182 that was clean until the 9th frame, where I left a big split with my last ball, following it up with another big split with my plastic spare ball in the 10th. Our anchor was battling the best bowler in the league
Hammer & tongs, and luckily for me, our other two bowlers held me up just enough for us to take the points, but we had a lead of only around 60 pins that we needed to protect in the last game.
I put my
shoe-cover and went back to the
Pro Shop. "Alright, give me the [censored] ball."
So, the first shot, I stood at 35 aiming 19, like I'd planned. I came pretty close to my spot, the ball made a ferocious turn at the break, then it checked up--still coming in a bit high, but flat enough to carry. The next shot I missed about three boards right, and it barely held the pocket for a mixer.
Third shot, I walked too straight, hitting my mark but the ball broke way inside and crossed over for a brooklyn. Fourth shot, I concentrated on my angle and got that right, but dumped the ball three boards left of target for another brooklyn. Finally in the fifth frame, I started to get the shot down. By then I was standing 35.5, aiming 18, and I would guess I had at least five boards of area at the break point.
I think it was the seventh or eight frame when it first hit me that this was my one and only opportunity to get a share of the Bounty's promotional purse. (Also, that if I rolled my first sanctioned 300 in this position round, with the first twelve shots I ever threw with this ball, to win this ridiculous prize in the most unlikely way, I would be boring the pants off of strangers with the story for the rest of my life.) We finally closed out our third point in the ninth frame. When I got up to the lane for my tenth frame, my legs were literally shaking.
The first shot, I throw wild, hard and outside, and it comes in light and trips the 10-pin. So, the 11th frame, I wait myself out until my heart rate goes down a bit, take a deep breath...
I guess I must have been trying to hold onto the ball, because I bent all the way over at the waist on my release, killing my leverage. The ball itself flew through my target and kept going right through the break point, and it wound up missing the headpin entirely.
I turned around, made the universal symbol for choking, and the small crowd that had gathered by the door to watch turned as one and disappeared into the night. I then stepped up and rolled a perfect pocket shot to take the 1-2-9 for a 287 game (675 series).
The good news is, we won the match by around 87 pins and added the full four points, so we're ready to go for the roll-offs this Thursday. I'm planning to get a bit of practice tomorrow, and while I'm there I'll try to figure out what this new ball is good for...
.......................Brandon
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