Q.Bovifs wrote:
Slowly getting to respectability. Still terribly erratic, but went 137(ouch!)-212-196 last week, and the 196 was an open-free game until the last frame, where I blew an easy-ass 8-pin by missing my mark way left.
There is nothing more frustrating to a right-handed bowler, than burying the ball, and leaving an 8-pin.
Q.Bovifs wrote:
I made a charge last year - my first year bowling since I was basically 11 - to finish with a 133 average, but this year I am up to a 155. I hope to get to 170+ next season, and I think I can do it. The way I am bowling the last 4 weeks or so, I'm about 180 scratch avg.
It's not that difficult to go from 155 to 175. Pick up two more spares each game, and you improve by 20 right there. It's a lot harder to go from 175 to 195, and even harder to go from 195 to 210+. Now, it's about stringing strikes together.
If you are on a strike, and you leave a difficult split, such as a 4-6-7, don't try to cover them all. A good bowler gets two, which is four when added to the strike.
Q.Bovifs wrote:
Learning to throw a proper hook as a grown adult can be very frustrating. It has taken me a long time to have good balance and fight my way through a lot of bogus tendencies, but I'm getting there. Right now, I just gotta stay behind the ball better on downswing and square my shoulders more at the point of release. I was tending to finish with my shoulders open to the right and hand on the side of the ball, which actually led me to throwing 2 frames (in different weeks) with two balls dumped right into the gutter consecutively (very embarrassing, as we are in a premier skills league!).
It takes a long time to put it all together. Good footwork is essential, but keeping your hand behind the ball is the most important aspect of the shot. Even if you miss your mark, the ball will still hit the pins hard, and drive through them, if it is turning. When you come around the side of the ball, and it spins, you get no pocket action.
There are times when our lanes get so dry, that I have to come around the ball a bit, just to keep it from hooking off the lane.
Q.Bovifs wrote:
My handicap is what makes me valuable, though. Started out at 63 (limit), I am now down to 57, but when I throw over 200, it really helps the team. I'd like to get under 50 next year.
Our lowest guy is about 170, so we have one guy with handicap. Our anchor is just a killer, he can shoot 725 drinking Jager bombs all night. We have three solid guys in the middle of the order. This is a pretty good formula.