I agree all the way, every sport involves some form of luck. Some times its on your side and some times its against you. Messengers win titles, so do trip 4's, lucky split break ups, and the like. The way I look at it, you have to work hard and train hard in order to become good enough to increase your chance of getting lucky. Sure you can kill the pocket all day long but that doesn't mean you are knocking down all 10 pins. Getting lucky is something each bowler should embrace when it happens, because believe me the other side of the fence is just right around the corner.

You do in billiards. If you scratch doesn't matter if you also got your ball in.

Messengers, trips and collapsed buckets are not totally way off poorly executed misses. They are at least in the pocket.

But you do not punish a pool player if they shoot at a pocket, it misses the pocket goes off a couple rails and ends up in the original pocket they called. That is complete luck, with no doubt about it, but it still counts.

I can see where Erin is coming from. You get rewarded for making a poor shot. On the other side this can happen in almost any sport. Golf you might blade a chip shot that is destined to fly over the green only to be saved by the pin and drop next to the hole. Should you take the ball of the green and drop it 15 yards over the green? In basketball your 15 foot jumper from the foul line gets tipped by a defender but ends up banking high off the glass into the bucket. Should that basket not count? In baseball you guess wrong and are late on an outside fastball. You end up hitting the ball off the end of the bat for a bloop single. Should that be an out? That's the thing about sports, sometimes the ball bounces the right way and there is nothing you can do about it. I've thrown my fair share of brooklyn strikes, I just hang my head and think about how to adjust, or how I missed my mark by that much.

I take them any way I can get them. Then again, I don't strike nearly as often as most present company

A friend of mine rolled one on his final ball of his 300 last season. Was he going to say it didn't count? No. Was he going to turn down his award? No. Was he lucky to get a strike? Yes, but no more lucky than the 11th which went through the nose.

Yeah, he was nervous. And, yes, he rolled 2 bad balls at the end. And, yes, they were both strikes. But, he took them, and his honor score.

Maybe he should have an * next to his name that he rolled a Brooklyn at the end.

I bet Don Johnson wished he'd had one:

299 video
The 299 game - another video
Don Johnson - 8th best bowler in PBA History

Interesting thread.

I haven't read the whole thing yet though.

I get a lot of hook, so if I'm playing down and in on dry lanes,
I'll just let it go Brooklyn. I figure it's better than trying to change my game for less hook, especially if playing over heavy oil in the center and washing out. I hardly ever miss the head pin for the 2 pin when going over the 1'st arrow that way.

Brooklyn is way better than hitting the headpin strait on. I figure a pocket hit is a pocket hit no matter what pocket you are aiming at. Great if you can make strikes with it or easy spares.

Problem with the Brooklyn side is I sure can't carry 5 or 6 in a row with it. If I get a double going Brooklyn, I'm right back over the middle going for the 1-3 even if I have to play a tighter line in the oil with less overall hook.

Brooklyn shots as a planned event are a fluke, if you will. VERY subject to once in a blue moon line/certain fall into luck. Overall, you will never HUNT for the shot... and the only time I can think of it worked was when the bowler was completely frustrated with the proper shot and just was making do. Overall, do not EVER go into a match thinking about that as a success, and always know that ultimately there is a better shot to be had longterm on your proper side.

Good luck.

I would say that planning to hit brooklyn is basically a way of avoiding the proper procedure, which is to learn a good release that can be varied to adapt to lane conditions, and getting the proper equipment for the lanes you frequent.
I used to throw brooklyn with an old hard rubber ball until I learned how to throw properly.
I do throw brooklyns with one of my releases - the helicopter - but not with a hook shot.
The reason not to intentionally throw brooklyn is simply that it is a lower percentage shot, and bowling is, despite what anyone tells you, a game of chance as much as skill - kind of like baseball and football.