A classic!!Originally Posted by Vic2012
A classic!!
I had a discussion with one bowler who thought he was better than pro bowlers. Because he could bowl 300, or pretty close. I pointed out he does that by throwing the ball from the same spot in the lane. That pro bowlers are required to follow the diamonds in each successive frame.
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
This thread is more interesting than I originally thought! Learning a lot. I was in the Elks Youth Bowling League as a young teenager as were my brothers. I remember the Saturday they announced the Viet Nam War ending. There was a LOT of excitement among the 17-18yo bowlers!
My little brother continued bowling into his 30's. I went to watch him in the State Championships and I believe he competed in Reno. Isn't that where the National Bowling stuff occurs?
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Pro bowlers bowl on lanes that are oiled differently and have different lane conditions than league bowling. It is kind of like golf where the PGA guys play on the most difficult courses with the greens, fairways and rough cut as difficult as possible. Same is true with the PBA. The lanes are set up to be as difficult as possible.
As to 300 games, they are a lot more common than they were when I was younger with advances in ball technology, although it is still an achievement to get one. The closest I ever came was a 297 once years ago. I have had 13 strikes in a row over two games, but of course that doesn’t count.
Reno is home to The National Bowling Stadium. My wife has been there and it is a huge complex. They do a lot big tournaments there. I think there is also a museum / hall of fame type place there as well.
A couple years ago at the house where I bowled one guy rolled a 900 set. The best I've done is 279. I'll get nine in a row then throw the best ball of the game and leave a seven or ten pin.
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF STUPID PEOPLE IN LARGE GROUPS!
900 that is impressive!
Sounds like a load of bowl to me.900 that is impressive!
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
This is a joke, right?
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
Just for the hell of it I did some research. There have only been 39 sanctioned 900 series in the history of bowling. The first one was not until 1997 which is around when the ball technology started creating balls that could massively hook.
I'm enjoying this thread quite a bit, having bowled (all three major types: tenpin, duck pin, and candle pin) since I was young. Last night I dreamed I was back on the candle pin league and failed to get a spare with two pins left. Just chipped out the one in front.
Lou
Atta boy, Luther!
I tried my new ball last night for the first time and it was not a success. I only hit my average 1 out of 3 games. With the ball being lighter, I thought I would have more control, but the opposite happened. I was throwing it all over the place and found it hard to get any consistency. On the bright side, throwing it was easier on my wrist, the ball never fell off my hand, and I was still getting a lot of hook, when I threw it correctly. It is going to take some getting used to though.
The last time I bowled was years ago, and my right hand was so sore the next day that I could barely hold my toothbrush. Seeing this thread reminded me of one of my favorite scenes in one of the best episodes of The Simpsons, though:
David
Happy with what I have to be happy with.
When I was a stoner in the 1970s, my buddieis and I always went to a bad area of town to play 10 pin.
What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it brings forth a sound (2112)
A few years back we had a departmental outing at a bowling alley. They broke us up into random teams so people could get to know each other. I was on a team with an Indian guy and a Chinese guy both of whom had never bowled candlepin before (or bowled at all, I forget). I explained it to them a bit, and when we were done the Indian guy had a better score than I did.
OK, i'm a bit late to this thread...but...
How did it work out for you, steve?
I am also a bowler, and also 62, and, due to tendonitis, dropped from 15 to 14 this year. The drop from 16 to 15 was only last year. Bowling with pain really sucks, and even tho my average didn't go back up to pre-surgery levels, i did finish the year strong and hope to get back up to where i think i should be (around 220. down from the 230 or so of my youth. at my age, "youth" means 40-ish)
I am trying to decide whether to keep throwing 14, or, now that i've got a year under my belt, post-surgery, go back up to 15.
FWIW, there shouldn't be much difference, since the weight blocks are the same for 14-16 pounds. if anything, you might see higher revs, since the weight block is a larger percentage of the overall weight. the drop of a couple of pounds should increase the speed, so, the two should sort of cancel each other out, in terms of how big a hook you are throwing.
The lower weight probably won't affect pin fall, either. i threw a 300-793 this year with 14 pounds, and the guy who owns the lanes where i bowl has thrown an 886 (yes, really) with 14 pounds (which he also went to due to tendonitis surgery)
Well……….a lot has happened since I originally posted that back in the fall.OK, i'm a bit late to this thread...but...
How did it work out for you, steve?
I am also a bowler, and also 62, and, due to tendonitis, dropped from 15 to 14 this year. The drop from 16 to 15 was only last year. Bowling with pain really sucks, and even tho my average didn't go back up to pre-surgery levels, i did finish the year strong and hope to get back up to where i think i should be (around 220. down from the 230 or so of my youth. at my age, "youth" means 40-ish
I am trying to decide whether to keep throwing 14, or, now that i've got a year under my belt, post-surgery, go back up to 15.
FWIW, there shouldn't be much difference, since the weight blocks are the same for 14-16 pounds. if anything, you might see higher revs, since the weight block is a larger percentage of the overall weight. the drop of a couple of pounds should increase the speed, so, the two should sort of cancel each other out, in terms of how big a hook you are throwing.
The lower weight probably won't affect pin fall, either. i threw a 300-793 this year with 14 pounds, and the guy who owns the lanes where i bowl has thrown an 886 (yes, really) with 14 pounds (which he also went to due to tendonitis surgery)
I did end up buying a new 14-pound ball. It took me a while to get used to it as I was so used to throwing a heavier ball that it was hard for me to get control with the 14. I tended to throw it harder because it was lighter which made the ball go all over the place. After a few weeks of this I started really trying to concentrate on letting the ball throw itself and everything got better to the point where I was getting my average back up to where I used to be. The ball had great curve on it and I was carrying a lot of strikes. My only problem was 10 pin on spares as the ball has so much curve that it is almost impossible to pick up 10 pins with it. I was going to buy a 2nd plastic straight ball for picking them up, but 2 things happened.
Back in December I sprained one of my ankles. This put me out of bowling for more than a month.
Then in March the big problem happened. I got an infection in one of my replaced knees. To make a long story short I had to have the replaced knee removed and am now living with an antibiotic spacer in the knee. Assuming the infection can be eradicated I will have to have another full knee replacement sometime late this summer or fall. So…..my bowling days are once again over for at least a year. I am hoping I can eventually get back to it again as I was really enjoying getting back into bowling, but that would be fall of 2025 at the earliest. Getting old sucks…….
I'm sorry to hear about your setback, Steve. I hope you can get back on the lanes asap.
I have bowled off and on over the years. I actually became rather good at it but I haven't played in a while. I almost joined a league and maybe I will someday because that might be a good way to get out and meet new people and have fun.
Do not suffer through the game of chance that plays....always doors to lock away your dreams (To Be Over)
I earned my varsity letter in high school on the varsity bowling team. This was (of course) in Chicago during (of course) the Sixties. I learned to bowl at the Uptown Bowl (later the Kinetic Playground, where I also learned a few things).
Screws in my ankle, screws in my back, screws in my neck, knees you can hear coming a block away. I don't bowl any more.
"I have not yet begun to procrastinate."
The league we were in this past year was mostly a fun league. There were a few really competitive teams, but most of them were there just to have fun with it. I have bowled since I was a kid and have always found it to be a great social activity.
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