...because my dad keeps talking about a league that he was in some 4-5 years ago where handicap was out of and stopped at 200. The cool thing about that league was that it made sure that whoever bowled better that night won because the bowlers under 200 got plus pins and the bowlers over 200 got negative pins (if that makes sense).

Has anyone been in any leagues like this or know what they're called?

yah I played in one of those leagues last summer. It pissed me off too because you build a strong team and you give ALOT more pins to the other teams. We were negative 50 something and a team will roll in with a handicap of 300 something over 4 people. Then their average is 110ish, then come in an bang out a 180-190, then 2-3 of them do the same thing How are you to win a game when you give a total of about 400 pins.

So if I played with my 215 average last summer, I'd be -15 from go, their guys goes 70 pins over average for a 180. For me to make that guy even I'd have to bowl my 215 + 15 + 55 pins for a 285. You're talking near honor scores just to break even with someone that got a turkey and few spares.

That system is not designed for anyone over 190 average. For the first time ever I sandbagged that league bowling a 198 average. Then have my 215 average on monday league. I'll never bowl in a negative league again.

Years ago my wife and I were going to bowl in a fun mixed league with her cousins. I bowled a couple of games before the meeting and shot 450 for 2. One of the guys from the league watched me bowl. We got into the meeting and they were talking about new rules for the year. Their handicap was 90% of 190. This guy wanted to take negative pins after 190. At the time, there was only 1 bowler in the league over 190. It was aimed directly at me. I stood up and asked him why he wanted it. He said that it was a fun league and he didn't want "ringers" to come in and win everything. I said: "If it is a fun league, then who cares?" Needless to say it didn't get passed and I got dirty looks for the first few weeks. Eh, not the first time, won't be the last.

Leagues with negative handicap are for recreational leagues. If you are at all serious about bowling, I would NEVER get into a league with negative handicap. The best handicap system I have ever used in a league was at the local house in college. You took the 2 teams total averages and did 90% of the difference. There wasn't any handicap awards at the end of the year, just scratch. I think that is one of the better systems to truely level the playing field.

I would never bowl a league with negative or 100% handicap. It only makes my efforts useless, I might as well sandbag and not bowl to my potential since this type of system penalizes for improvement and good bowling.

I'm with GP, I like the percentage of the difference between the two teams.

If its such a "fun" league then why keep score? Why compute points at all, or have a prize fund? Just bowl.....its a fun league.

People that have that attitude that a higher average bowler needs to be penalized have no drive or desire themselves to get better or bowl well. They just want to sit in their own little place and bowl at their own level and not have to work or improve in order to compete.

When leagues used to be more popular you could put limits on entering averages. No one under 150 for example or 170. Or for that matter put a limit on how high an average someone can have. Say, no one over 160 average can bowl. You will then get people that have no book average and that creates a new set of problems. But now a days the centers want their leagues to be as full as possible and it doesn't matter the mix of skill levels.

Erin

Because we had a few subs that averaged in 210-220 range and because we have a guy that averages about 225, we set the handicap on our league based on 220. It seems to have helped as the team with the guy averaging 225 hasn't been able to run away from everyone else. All the other bowlers in the league average under 200.

I was just curious because my dad seemed to really enjoy it. I guess because he was one of the bowlers under 200.

GP, that guy is a real [censored]. I'm glad you dealt with him and I wasn't in your shoes. I really would've gotten in his face and told him off. When you had to bowl against him did you happen to Hammer him into the ground?

GP and Erin, I like the style of handicap that you both were talking about. It does sound like the best way to level the playing field. Maybe I'll suggest that at some of my league meetings in the winter.

Demo:

I handled it fairly well considering it was almost 10 years ago and I was just out of college. I have calmed down considerably since then. I was going to go off on him but I was new and I didn't want to upset the whole league before I even threw a ball. I didn't bowl any different against him or anyone else. I have found that the harder I try, the worse I do. I try not to let my head get in the way when I bowl.

I probably would've handled it similarly if not a little more enraged. I hate it when people do stupid things like that though. As if one bowler in the entire league is going to make that much difference (no offense). I could understand if the league was recently infiltrated by 10-11 new higher average bowlers maybe, but not one.

As for the trying harder bit, I have noticed that happen to many other bowlers as well as myself that's why I asked. My dad and my one friend are especially bad at this. They try too hard sometimes and it takes me almost two whole games to get them to calm down and just throw the ball.

I think right now that is what's killing me. I have goals that I want to reach by the end of the summer leagues and I'm trying to hard to meet them and trying too much. And now that I think about it, I do try a little too hard to make my spares and that might be why my spare game is disappearing.

Goals are good but sometimes they can make you press too much. You really have to be relaxed in bowling because getting tense makes all kinds of bad things happen. With spares it is a thin line between barely making them and barely missing them. Seems like certain nights you cannot miss and other nights you seem to miss by an inch or chop them off. I tend to press on my spare shots time to time instead of just relaxing and throwing the ball. I also have concentration issues.

To me, goals are NOT scores or averages. They are successfully doing something. Like, coming out of my release the entire game. Or, hitting my target repeatedly. If I do those things, the scores will come. But, they are NOT indicative to a successful night.

This way, there really is no pressure. You know when you do it right, and that is what you want to feel, each and every ball.