What's the next step?

[trekbowl300]

After reading your comment, I had to think about what I actually do when I start the deep breathing routine. After just the first time during practice I realized that I don’t count to 10 while on the lane. I take a deep breath and wipe off my ball while counting and letting out that breath. I then take another breath on the lane while in getting set to bowl and don’t even bother to count just take a deep breath in and out then bowl.

I also realized in the last few weeks that trying to add breathing or anything else that’s different to my routine is not very easy to consistently keep up. This may be a good thing in case I pick up a bad habit that won’t stay with me. The breathing was hard to remember and get use to until I had a double or spare to make. Thinking about it a little more I probably always took a deep breath on each spare attempt and still do.

The weeks seem to roll by quickly before I get a chance to update my next step. The latest addition to my next step is changing the span on one of my bowling balls. This was quite by accident. I write down information about each shot I take and while doing this a few weeks ago I noticed that one of the bowlers was holding his ball with his fingers out. I asked him to show me his span because it looked different then what I am use to. With his thumb all the way in the thumbhole and his hand against the ball the holes start right at his first knuckle. My present span starts about 3/16 of an inch pass the first joint towards my palm or second joint, which is a smaller span. I asked him why he has it that way and he just said he likes the way it feels coming off his hand and he does not over lift his ball.

I have had several different drillings in my bowling time and one I remember was probably the same only the thumb had an angle pitch away from my fingers. That caused me to drop the ball and I changed the drilling. I never remember going back to the first knuckle span.

So, at my first chance I took one of the bowling balls I don’t use and had it plugged and redrilled. This was because I bought the ball to snap in the backend, but never did, even with two different layouts and redrillings. This time I had nothing to loose because I wasn’t using the ball anyway.

Now with the new span drilling the ball works better then ever, most of the time. I have used it three weeks and I now have to learn when is the best time to use it. In each of the three leagues nights one game was always so simple just roll the ball and 240-243-255. The other games are a different story. Sometimes it does not hook at all other times it never stops. I have really not had a ball so condition specific and hard for me to understand and get use to. I know the span and my release have changed the balls rolling pattern. This makes it hard for me to do well one game then make the adjustment of putting it away and going to something more suitable for the changed lane condition.

I am once again thinking of going to a gold level coach and finding out what he thinks about my span and release. Before I make any changes to the rest of my balls. I know the ball is working better but I am not sure the larger span is the best thing for me. I have noticed that my non hole fingers feel the ball much more and I will have to review Ron Clifton’s finger dancing because that maybe doing much more then ever before because of the added feel and pressure on the ball. My trigger finger even had a little pain the next day after bowling. I think it was because it probably had lots more pressure on it during my release, again placement or position on the ball is probably more important with this type of span.

I can’t complain that the new span didn’t give my old useless ball more power and movement but I am not sure it would happen to all my balls. Once again I try something new that seems to work, however it only makes me wonder if this is a good/bad step or just a step to give me some versatility.

As always any comments or suggestions are welcome.

Dennis G.

[2 Oh]

I would be careful about lengthing your span, especially if you are experiencing pain. Years ago (probably late 70's and 80's, maybe later) stretched spans were more the norm. Today's game is usually built around more relaxed spans (shorter) to help clear the thumb faster. Usually, this is somewhere between the first and second joint (with the thumb in the ball, and the fingers spread over the holes). Too short can be a problem (often turning the ball too early), but you do not risk injury. I know of several people that did permanent damage using too long a span. Pain is an indicator that you are putting stress on joints, tendons, and/or muscles. Of course, as important as the span are the pitches, and making sure that they match with what you are doing with the span. If you have a question about it, try getting several different opinions. Especially, drillers that are certified. I think that you will find a consensus, as well as some options that can be tried without hurting yourself.

[trekbowl300]

Thank you for that opinion. I still am not sure about the increased span because I have used the ball several times each time with a little pain the next day. I am still thinking of going to the gold coach and proshop for suggestions and help.

My problem is when I used this ball before I could hardly get it to move. Now with the new span I see more RPM's and lots more movement. As an example I bowl in a once a month league. This past Saturday the lanes were flooded. All my normal balls were not getting to the pocket with any power and I was also leaving five pins.

When I went to the extra span ball I started striking. The ball was making the turn and hitting harder then the others. By the third game I had to put it away because it was too much and the normal ball I use worked and was much easier to control.

I am going to video tape the difference between my two most common balls and this extra span ball to see if what I think is more RPM's is really true. I still have a problem following the ball through the pins. So I don't want to jump to a conclusion after watching the ball a few times and say for sure it increases the RPM's.

I know some of you out there can not understand why I can't see the difference already but I need to watch it more during practice when I could care less where it hits at the marks and pins. I do watch the ball but during the league I am more focused on marks and location of where it travels and starts hooking. I am slowly watching the turns and ball movement through the pins but it is hard doing it on a consistent shot by shot pace. I generally get sidetracked at the pins by the pin movement inself. If I am leaving ten pins I start watching the 3 and 6 pin area. Same with leaving the 7 pin I start looking to see what is happening there.

So, back to the span change, yes if it continues to hurt even a little the next day then I'll shorten it up a little. Somewhere between where it is now and where I had it before. Hopefully if I can meet this gold coach who runs a pro shop he can suggest if a pitch change will make it better.

I keep reading the one thing you can not force or improve with is a bad grip. Therefore, I'll keep trying to get it where I can deliver the ball the way I want to and also have no pain the next day. Thanks for the thoughts.

I also had one of my best weeks in years for making good shots in all three games last week. I had 33 frames without any opens. Eleven frames a games. I'll explain more in my normal post coming in a few days when I review all of my thoughts and how I was able to be consistent the whole night.

As always any comments or suggestions are always welcome.

Dennis G.

[trekbowl300]

I know I should be writing about how I was able to mark in all 33 frames a few weeks ago however this past Tuesday night was the most difficult night I had in years on my league.

Before the league started there was a captain’s meeting and the house explained that the lane conditioning machine had a part broken in it and they did not notice until after all the lanes were done. The right side was affected not the left side of the lane. My captain said the best they would say is sometimes it put oil down sometimes it did not.

Well, my best guess was there was no head oil and just spotty on the right side of the lane. I did not bring my ball for dry conditions to this house so I was out of luck because everything except the plastic ball was aggressive. I now don’t know why I did not try using the plastic ball as my strike ball and regret at least trying it.

So on the first night that really challenged me I fell apart. This is where I need to gather up all my knowledge and put together a few good games not big, just good. I flunked, the thought of playing against the blind score (we have an odd number of teams) and not having any oil to keep the ball in play was just getting to me. Everyone else in the league was bowling against a team and both teams had the same conditions but we had to bowl against our averages on dry conditions for right-handers. If you were a lefty you had a little more oil then usual but not something that was awful.

On my first shot knowing how dry I tried throwing the ball straight down five hoping the ball would stay in play however it went straight all the way down. I left the 1-2-4-5-8-10. Now this sounds like the lanes were flooded except for one thing if you went to board 6 just a one board move anywhere from the midlane down to the breakpoint the ball would start to move left. As an example normally I would shoot this spare from the right side but because of knowing no oil it would hook I went to 30 toward on the left with my feet and hit 15 at the arrows and the ball went out to 10 and crossed back over and the 1 pin went into the 10 while the ball took out the rest. That was one a very few highlights for the night.

On my normal shot I would stand on 27, 26 or 25 and hit 15 at the arrows and the ball would drift out to10 at the breakpoint and then back to the pocket. Last night I did that during practice and just hit the four and seven pins just no oil to speak of. Spares were also a hard thing to decide (understand) where you should aim. It was enough to drive me crazy because my 10 pin shot was the same; I made the only two I got all night, with no adjustment. However, when I shot at a 9 pin the plastic ball hooked away at the backend. Why I didn’t try the plastic ball for my strike shot is still bothering me because that happened in the 4th frame of the second game and I seen the hook. I needed something to make me aware of what I was seeing however the thought of not bowling well and losing because I could not bowl my average was getting to me. With all the words I heard and pages I have read the moment for using my mental ability was at hand and I cracked. I could not think about anything for too long a time before I had to bowl again and fear of what next to try was all I could come up with. Let’s see I tried different finger positions until my fingers were right next to each other and I had a hard time being accurate enough to hit what I thought was the correct boards.

Even a few lucky shots getting me some strikes were not good for ones thought process. This was because I thought I found somewhere to shoot at. However after my three shots in the 10th frame (159) and my teams first frame of the next game the shot was gone and I crossed over again. This time leaving the 3-6-10 pins, my spare attempt also went left at the pin deck and chopped the 3 right off the 6 and 10 pins. I then just decided to stand in my 10 pin position and shoot like I was trying for the 10 pin with my normal strike ball. My first try was again a cross but a 10 pin was the only pin I left. The 10 pin is the spare I usually don’t want to see on any night how odd was it that this night that’s all I was hoping for because it was the only standard shot for a spare that I had.

So I make the spare and the 3rd frame decide to get the ball out past the 10 board at the breakpoint and bang out to the 7 board and strike. The 4th frame I have a plan and target. Trying to be accurate and perfect made me come over the top of the ball before I let it go and miss the 7 board but hit the 9 board best I can tell (see) however the ball was not my usual roll so it came up high not crossing leaving the 9 pin. Well here is where my thoughts should have changed for the night but I miss what the lane was telling me. I used my plastic white dot for the 9 pin spare thinking the 10 pin spare was the same why not the 9 pin. So the ball goes straight until about 40 feet then starts moving left and goes right by the 9. Why I did not use this to at least try a strike shot is beyond me but my thoughts were not on what I just watched but more on what do I do now?

It is easy to think now that I should have at least tried one shot to see what would happen. However, my mental state was not exactly thinking about what I was watching more about OH BOY AM I IN TROUBLE NOW.

Not what I was taught to do and should know better to watch and make quality adjustments. Maybe this awful experience will stay in my head in case this ever happens again. Now a while back I hurt myself trying to throw to hard so I already knew I was not going to try that again. So I tried getting lower in my stance on the approach so I could get the ball out and be more accurate without trying to throw harder. This worked the rest of the game and I had only those 2 opens for a 192.

Now I am feeling like at least I have a shot in the dark at getting back to and average game. Well everything was fine the first 3 frames and I think whatever oil was at or near the 7 board was then gone because my next two crossed over again and I left one open. At this point my back started hurting from not bowling my normal or usual way so again I have to remember not to make big changes during one league night. In the 6th frame I decided to try going straight down five again thinking if the oil is still in the midlane then the backend will bring the ball to the pocket because it dried up.

Well almost the first shot I was right on five at he arrows but 8 or so at the breakpoint so the ball came up high and left the 6 pin. I used my 10 pin shot to pick up the spare and waited for the next frame. Sometimes the announcements are made just to bust someone and one made at that point was that a high average bowler (215) shot a 127 game. Hearing this I felt some relief that it wasn’t just me having a hard time. This did cause me to think too much on the approach and when I got into my set position I could feel my lower back hurting. After two steps I had to stop and stand straight up because I think I pulled a muscle. I then went back setup and went. However when I released the ball my teammate said your elbow was way out, chicken winged the shot. The ball went straight toward the 10 board at the breakpoint and right into the headpin for the big four 4-7-6-10 split. My mind over thinking and my back hurting from bowling in a different position was catching up to me. I was lucky to clamed down my thinking and stand straighter in the 7th frame to make a good shot and strike. Back on the other lane and again a bad shot and back ache this time leaving the 4-7-10, another open frame. Made a spare in the 10th frame for a 154.

Well, up to now I had thought I would have never shot a 505 on this league. It happened and I have learned again how much the mental side of bowling affects each shot. Having a wider variety of equipment could have made it a little easier. Not trying something new to cause a lower back strain would have been a good idea. Being able to better deal with bad lane conditions or just not matching up to the lane condition is something I have to learn about. The mental and physical conditioning proved to be very important in this new lesson on taking the next step.

I have also taken my larger span ball back to the proshop to have changed again so I don't have any pain after bowling. More on how this works out next time.

As always any comments or suggestions are welcome.

Dennis G.

[trekbowl300]

March’s magazine came just in time during my week off to take my mind off of the bad experience on the lanes because of my inability to adjust to a very different condition. I found out that last week the machine only put oil down from the gutter to the five board and that’s where all the oil went because the machine only cleaned from six to 20 on the right side. The left side was not affected. At least I know why if I went outside of 5 the ball never moved because all the oil was there and the ball would take off left if you were on the 7 board since there was no oil on the inside.

So going into this week of bowling I had made a few adjustments in my equipment and my thought pattern toward whatever condition I would find at the lanes.

My first adjustment was with the span on my bowling ball. When I had first asked the proshop to make it larger they didn’t think I needed that but were willing to change it if I wanted. I had made my decision before going in that it was going to be a bigger span but how much was going to be by feel.

Just before my final OK I had to choose between two sizes on a test ball. I chose the larger span of the two, which was 3/8” longer, then I was presently using. So, after writing about my new span here and having pain an adjustment was recommended.

Lucky for me BTM is a great source of information and suggestions from this forum help me to understand I went to far. So I asked for help on changing my span but also received help on changing the pitch of my fingers. These changes have made a big difference in both my ability to hold the ball steady and no pain after bowling. Thank you 2 Oh for your information and help and to JK for finger pitches and span length.

So with just 3 games of painless practice I decided to use the ball in the league games to see how it would work out. The new span turns out to be 1/8” longer then my original or 1/4” shorter then the span I just had. The fingers have a 3/8” pitch out away from the grip. I think this was a big help in the no pain since the fingers didn’t have to bend as much. This was my first change before bowling on Tuesday night.

My second change comes from an article by Joe Slowinski in BTM. While reading about the quiet eye I was saying to myself where did I hear about this before. How wonderful it was to just go back to page two of this thread and read a reply from John K. on the same subject about the Quiet eye. As I reviewed that post and the article I remembered trying this once before. The great part about Joe’s article is he explains how to do it on the lanes which I never did know before.

Now for those of you who have read my posts you know I am not the best when it comes to watching my ball go through the pins. However, watching just my mark at the arrows and staying on that mark after the ball has gone past seems to be something I had no problem doing. This new watch and see method also opened my eyes to see actually what was happening not what I thought was happening.

Let me explain, up to now I have written down two marks that I believe the ball is hitting as I watch it move down the lane. One mark is at the arrows and the other one is at the breakpoint. While practicing this method of staying on the mark for me at the arrows I noticed I was not actually hitting what I thought I was hitting. I rolled a few practice shots and did my normal routine of looking at the mark and following the ball as it moved down the lane. Then I tried staying focused on the arrow mark for a few seconds after the ball had gone past the mark. WOW I was actually two boards off from where I had thought the ball went over. I tried this again standing in a different place and aiming at a different spot and again I was not hitting what I thought I was hitting. The best I could explain it is that my eyes see the ball going toward the mark and then I must look ahead to see where the ball will be going and never actually see weather the ball hit my mark or not.

I could not believe that just focusing on the mark and staying focused on that mark even after the ball pasted it would make me see I was not hitting the mark I have been writing down. This also proved a point in another article that I have read before about your lying eyes. Now I know I cannot hit what I was looking at. I have to focus on 2 boards left of the mark I want to hit. Every time I focused on the actual mark I went right of it. Thank you Joe for making sense of that Quiet Eye and explaining how to apply it to a bowling shot. This new 3 step method made me much more accurate in my first league night that I tried it. I can say I did not try to focus on it going through the pins yet because I wanted to take it one step at a time but open my eyes to reality is what it did.

Lets see now (pun intended) ball grip changed, visual method changed, and what I had just added to my preshot routine breathing deeper were changes made on this night. I also made an effort to follow the John Jowdy direction of releasing low and smooth. The only other item changed which was out of my control is the laneman did a better then average job on the lanes. I don’t really think it was a gift shot after the horrible job done last week but I only moved once all night and did very well.

This March BTM issue was exactly what I needed on a week off and being able to read it with some practice time. I’ll reference one more point because it is such a terrific issue for me. Susie’s article of Oops has a #15, which is something I personally now believe in because of the last three weeks of bowling. The one statement I like is “you are not as good as your best night nor as bad as your worst.” Well, my best night was three weeks ago when I marked in every frame no opens on the complete 3 games series. At least by actions and shot making my best night, not score wise. Last week when I had four opens in one game was my worst night. Now my last bowling night was my best scoring night but I did have 3 opens and made a few bad shots.

I know as stated it is just a number but with the changes made this past week I shot games of 247-244-223 for my first 700+ this year. I had lucky carries and streaks of 5 or more strikes in each game. The night I had no opens was 206-192-238/636 and only one four in a row that whole night but making all 16 spares. Then the middle week having my worst night with 9 opens and bowling 159-192-154. All this within 3 weeks.

I am hoping these new experiences and techniques will help to become more consistent as I continue to learn what it takes to become a better bowler. I just hope I can remember this the next time I face very dry or very wet lanes and have the ability to adjust and do the best I can. Again thanks to JK and all those articles in BTM for helping on my last bowling night.

As always any suggestions or comments are always welcome.

Dennis G.

[2 Oh]

I was going to post some comments about your bad night, but have not been able to get the time until now. I believe that today's bowlers are spoiled in a number of ways, and one of these is the practice of oiling immediately before leagues. Part of the reason for this is because they can with newer lane machines, part of it is necessary because of balls that soak up the oil. In the past, I know many houses oiled at most once per day, and some that oil as infrequently as once per week. It was much more common to see inverted conditions (dry inside, and oily outside). I am not saying that bowlers handled it any better, or complained any less, but you did see it more often. I was never one of the very top bowlers, but often had one of the better sets of the evening when these conditions occurred. There is an article in the March BTM about "grinders", and this is what is necessary in these cases. You also mention in this post about a previous week where you filled 33 frames, and IMO these 2 thoughts are what you need to focus on when conditions get tough. That is, you must focus on filling frames, and consider strikes a bonus. This is different that many of today's bowlers that figure they can cover any opens with more strikes. In contrast when condiitions get extremely tough you may need to sacrifice some carry potential (enty angle) to ensure easier spares. This reduces the number of splits and designer spares. One thing that many people fail to notice is that ALL good spare shooters leave easy spares. The thought process on the first ball beomes one of ensuring that you hit the head pin to give yourself a chance to leave a makable spare. (Much like the advise you might give beginners, and/or young bowlers). The general rules of thumb that I run through to try and find scoring options are: 1) change to less aggressive equipment, including your spare ball. Or, stay with the more aggressive, but try play a roll / hook out. 2) The 2 lines that are usually playable are extreme right, or extreme left. When playing the extreme right line, what I have found to be most critical is the point the ball exits the oil. If this is inconsistent, then I have often found the best bet is to simply play directly at the pocket with your spare ball. Unlike when the lanse have transitioned to very dry outside, ther often is not any oil this middle. Therefore, in this case the common practice of moving left and swinging the entire lane, will often result in high numbers of splits and difficult spares. Instead this is where I have playes a roll out, starting left and letting the ball swing to around 12 to 15, then rolling out as it transitions to the pocket. A final alternative that you might not consider. and that is trowing a straight ball from the left side. (This sometimes has the added advantage of being a psychological edge, because if you can score, it will bother some people).

[trekbowl300]

Well, 2OH you maybe right about being spoiled about the way the lanes are conditioned each night just before bowling. With fresh oil on the lanes the shot generally has a small adjustments for the first two games and only until late in the 2nd game or the start of third game do you have to make smarter adjustments. I am use to having one of three different lines to play on the fresh oil pattern, and finding out which one it is can easily be done in the 5 minutes of practice time before shots count for score.

However, that bad night I was upset more because we had to bowl against our averages and not another team. At least another team could have had a difficult time scoring like we did. This would be more of an even chance to win or lose. I do agree that I did not think clearly that night and the thought of using my spare ball, as a strike ball never did come into the picture until I was home wondering how I could have better dealt with the lane conditions.

So my spoiled ways continued this past week. After bowling my first 700+ of the season I was expecting to continue having a great night this past Tuesday. The first game started out just like two weeks ago with very little oil on lane 1 and the regular shot on lane 2. This is because the first lane never really seems to get the normal oil pattern as the others. The notes I have taken when bowling on this pair generally point to less or lack of oil on lane 1 and normal on lane 2. So with this in mind that’s the way I generally look to play the lanes. However, this past week lane one was not it’s usual over hooking self. It is hard to explain what the condition was but I never did get a consistent shot until the end of game one.

I made ball changes for lane 1 because I never felt like the ball was going to work with this lane condition. Every shot in frames 1-3-5 & 7 was what I wanted to do or at least very close. The ball reaction was not what I expected, so I changed balls. I went into the 9th frame before getting my first strike, with my third ball. It was like lane one would hook, then skid, then hook and skid again right before the pins. As compared to lane 2 which was normal I just left two 10 pins, and 8 and 9 pin on this lane, all with the same ball.

In the 10th frame I decided to stay with one ball for both lanes so the 1 strike in the 9th determined which ball I would use and had a double and a 170 game. This final ball choice was a good choice because after the unusual reaction in game one, lane 1 changed again to a more consistent reaction. I was able to line up better in games 2 and 3 and finished with two 215’s.

Other then the ball change the first other adjustment I made was to bring in my two outside fingers closer to the finger holes. I cannot bring them in all the way because I lose accuracy in my shot making when I do this. I did however move them in to within a ½” of the finger holes. This seemed to make the ball more of an even arc that just rolled right into the pocket without any big turn or snap. It was what I found to be the most consistent and repeatable reaction I could get on this night.

I did move 3 boards left for the third game with my feet and 1-1/2 boards with my mark at the arrows. Since, I am not exactly perfect on each shot the general change in my mark was either 1 or 2 boards, and some right on at 1-1/2. I noticed this because I am able to keep my eyes on the arrow mark "after the ball has gone by". This procedure is the best advice I have had in order to know exactly where I am hitting at the arrows. I only hope I can expand this into watching the ball in the midlane and at the pin deck. I am still not always able to watch the ball till it goes off the lane. I am either looking at the 10 pin area or ??? Yes, sometimes I don’t know what I was looking at because I miss everything. Hard to believe that I can look at the pins and ball yet not see what is actually happening as the ball goes through the pins. I will continue my work on getting to see the ball and pin action.

I am not one of the bowlers who feel a string of strikes will make up for an open frame. During practice bowling I shoot at pins I normally leave for spare shots to see if the ball reacts the way I expect. This is why a full five or more minutes of practice generally gives you 6 or more shots, so 2 for strikes, and 2 each for left and right side spares help me get lined up before bowling for score. Any extra shots I get will be with other balls to see what they do on the lanes. I have tried Minshew’s shot routine for lining up during practice but have not yet made it a normal practice before league bowling.

I finished the night using this same ball that I have only used 3 times out of the 20 league nights this year. It worked without any unusual reactions so I have again learned more about the condition that this ball will work under as compared to the other balls I generally use.

As always any suggestions or comments are welcome.

Dennis G.

[trekbowl300]

Normally I only write about my normal league night of bowling. This however, is one of those descriptions that deals with an ongoing change I have made and my once a month league.

I have had my grip span increased a slight amount and changed the pitch in my fingers to go forward away from the grip. Since I had these changes done to one of the balls I did not use and had such great results, I decided to try it with one of my normally used balls. When taking the ball into the proshop I had to make a decision about how it would be drilled.

The pin was above the ring finger slightly toward the right side. If I had the fingers plugged and moved straight up the ring finger would be into the pin. So, I decided to move the fingers over a half inch so the hole was not through the pin. The pin now is even with the ring finger and to the right about ½ inch. With the fingers now up and ½ inch left I was wondering if the layout has now changed the ball motion. Does anyone think this should be a big change in the way the ball reacts? I have not measured it but it looks more like a stacked drilling with the pin to the right of the fingers then above the fingers for length.

In my once a month league and different house the ball seemed to be much straighter and a gentle arc into the pocket from the breakpoint, before it was more of a left turn snap. Normally, I would have the ball out around 7 to 5 and it would turn into the pocket quickly. Last night I had to be at 10 or 11 or it would not make it back. Is this what I should expect on my normal house shot? This once a month league never is very consistent with the pattern you get, from super dry to super wet is normal. I scored very well on this hitting 12 at the arrows and 10 or 11 (best I can see) at my breakpoint almost straight down. I also was standing on 24 and my average is 27 or 28 in my normal league. I can’t complain because I again shot an over average series with 204-253-212. The ball seemed so mellow and barely able to move but it kept hitting well. I hope this new grip along with the change mentioned below helps me stay more consistent. Also the best thing is no more pain in my hand either during or after bowling.

OK, 2 OH you were right again in my third game I had the first three strikes then a bad shot missing my mark and leaving the 2-4-5. In my setup for the spare I moved 2 more boards right because the ball had not been hooking as much as normal. I missed my mark and chopped the 2 and 4 off of the 5. Then the next frame a good shot just a 10 pin left standing. I had already missed one in the first game so I moved two boards more to the right and again missed this one because I missed my mark by one board right. Next frame I again make a bad shot by holding onto the ball to long. The 3-6 pins are generally and easy spare but this time I chop the 3 off the 6. Three strikes three open frames. In the seventh I made a good shot and left the 10 pin again. Two more boards right and looking one board more left had me setup exactly right finally. After that spare I had the next four strikes and a final shot leaving an 8 pin. Not the best way to get to 212 and exactly what you said only I don't hope to do this all the time because those spares would have gotten me closer to the 700 that I always try for. I'll practice more spares later this week.

I also have changed my on lane preshot routine. I now take a deep breath while placing my left foot into position, I look down the lane to see where I want the ball to go then move my eyes to the breakpoint and finally to the mark at the arrows. I have made this a complete effort not to get distracted from following this routine. Added to this I keep my eyes on the mark at the arrows until I watch the ball go past the mark so I know exactly where the ball went. I then follow the ball down the lane until I see if it goes over my second mark and then into the pins. I cannot be sure but this concentration on the 3 lane marks has helped me to not get distracted by people on my left or right as much as I did before. I noticed this when open bowlers started bowling on the third lane to my right. Shouting and staying on the lane are normal for kids and what I noticed was they did not seem to catch my eye at all compared to 2 weeks ago before this when I would see them and get mixed up on my approach.

For me watching the ball go into the pins is still a hard. Staying on the ball with all the pin action going on is very hard to do for me. Every now and then I stay on the ball but most times I have not been able to do this as well as staying on the mark at the arrows even after the ball goes by. I will continue to work on improving this part of my game.

As always any comments or suggestions are welcome.

Dennis G.

[editor]

Dennis, the drilling you described should be a little stronger overall. More total hook, but throughout the lane instead of the back end.That explains why you have to stand deeper. The ball not making it back (assuming it was a well-thrown shot) is probably from the ball burning up early, whereas the pin over fingers would provide later hook, thus more back end. The only other explanation would be if it was hitting carrydown, but sounds like the former.

[trekbowl300]

Considering what you have explained I now will have to focus even more on what the ball is doing as it goes down the lane. The difference between carrydown and the ball burning up will have to be something I pay attention to and adjust to. I already have a problem understanding everything I see the ball doing, and how to interpret what adjustment to make and when it is necessary. More to learn and at a very appropriate time because of my last league night.

It has been awhile since my mental state has gotten in the way of my bowling using logical adjustments and sometimes just a hunch. In the last post I was happy not to be bothered by open bowlers a few lanes away. The other night it wasn’t anyone that disturbed my focus it was just my inability to stay focused for each shot. How odd to be happy about not having a problem with focusing on what I was doing for the last 3 weeks. To a night that after one game it was difficult to concentrate on the most basic aspects of bowling.

In game one I started with the first 4 added a double in the 8th and 9th frames and finished with a solid 237 game. At this point I was happy joking with the team and have no problems to think about.

I start the second game and on the first shot the ball does not move (hook) at the breakpoint. I leave the 2-4-5. I just barely make the spare and again the ball does not move as expected. On the next lane everything is as it was the ball had normal movement and strike. Next frame I make a bad shot ball hits high and leave the 6-10 for another spare. Up to this point I don’t notice anything out of the normal that may happen during a bowling night. Now on my next shot I do everything like I wanted and leave the 7 pin. I make the spare and wonder what happen with the last shot but don’t think too much. I follow this with another good shot this time and get the strike. Back to the other lane and I decide to move right hoping the one board will help the ball hit better and take out the seven. I miss my mark and the ball crosses and I get lucky for a strike. So I go into the 7th frame and make a mistake and setup one board over like on the other lane but I didn’t need to. I come in high and leave the 3-6, and make the spare.

Now everything changes because I realize I stood in the wrong place last frame and this time think to much and start my approach and hold onto the ball and come over the top and then I didn’t even see where it went at the arrows I was to busy watching the ball cross. I leave the 9-6-10. I setup for the spare and again can’t settle my ability to watch where I hit at the arrows and wind up chopping the 6-10 off the 9 pin. Next frame same thing I can’t seem to focus on my mark and roll it right through the head pin for a 4-7-6 split. I am just able to get the 4-7 by the 4 pin hitting the wall into the seven pin, second open in a row. Not the way I wanted to get those two pins. At this point I am thinking too much about all the small little things I am doing wrong. Now in the 10th frame I still don’t focus on my mark and miss seeing where it hit at the arrows. The ball strikes but I don’t know exactly where it went at the arrows. My next shot I really had to make an effort and look at the mark after the ball went past the arrows and what I thought was a good shot left another 7 pin. I just make the spare and wonder how did this last game become such a concentration nightmare and a 182 game.

I look at the notes from the last time I bowled on this pair of lanes and notice that I changed balls during the second game to something that turned harder at the breakpoint. Why I didn’t try this after the last game is something I wonder about now. Anyway I start the next game again having a hard time keeping my eyes on the mark at the arrows and get lucky for a strike, but again I didn’t follow through with watching my mark or even the ball motion. I could not stay focused on my mark for any shot. The first four frames were strike, 7 pin, spare, strike, seven pin, spare, then a bad release cross for the 5-9 and spare. The strikes were to a point lucky just tumbling pins in all different directions, nothing solid. Then a solid ten pin and spare, all this time I still did not fully focus on my mark and am lucky to have what I did at that point. I make a good release for a strike in the 7th and in my notes wrote 10/9/8 boards because I still wasn’t sure where the ball actually crossed at the arrows. In the 8th another shot produces the 5-7 split. This is probably the only shot I was able to concentrate on the whole game because I made the split. Next frame I cross and get a strike, another bad shot and lucky strike. In the 10th frame I leave another 7 pin and this time make another bad shot (No concentration) and miss the seven pin. 185 final.

I actually feel awful and lucky because I could not really concentrate after that first game. It is amazing that I scored as well as I did tonight. The night a few weeks ago when I bowled a 505 I left knowing I tried and had concentration although poor adjustments at least I didn’t feel like I didn’t try. This past league night I could not focus like I have done the last three times bowling, and to a certain degree feel like I didn’t give what was necessary.

I believe that if my mental game was sharp I would have been able to solve the 7 pin problem and make better shots. At least if I was able to concentrate I would have done better, and this is my lesson of the night. Try not to lose concentration on what I am doing.

Any comments or suggestions are welcome.

Dennis G.