Good games without practicing in our senior league........

[Hammer]

I haven't been here for quite a while. I am on our senior league that bowls on Mondays at 12 PM. I can't remember how long it has been since I last practiced. I am a senior on a fixed income so money is tight. I will be 77 soon. When we bowled Monday league I had games of 178, 202 and 191. I can still get in decent games without practicing. My lowest game this year was a 104. Ouch! I have been bowling for 38 years. I only use two balls which are my urethane Blue Hammer ball and my orange black Raw Hammer hybrid ball. I haven't sanded either ball in a while but I keep both clean using TAC-IT ball cleaner. They both still have good motion. My speed isn't fast these days. My ball speed is only about 10.07. If I am going after a 7 or 10 pin my speed is 12.04. That might have something to do with knee problems at this time. I still can make a normal approach though. Well have a Happy Thanksgiving and a great weekend.

[J Anderson]

Glad to hear you’re still bowling.

Rumor has it the the center where I bowl gives free practice games to those over eighty😀

[Aslan]

A lot of bowling is consistency. Most bowlers I meet..who have been bowling for 25-45 years...they often times have also been doing it for a decade at the same center...they can be almost impossible to beat. Very consistent.

Now, they tend to have some weaknesses. And, I'm sure RobM would agree. They can be set in their ways...relying "solely" on that consistency rather than continuing to try and understand changes in the game and equipment. Often times, especially if they're just using 1-2 balls, they may get "stuck" during a game...where they just can't strike. It becomes 9 /, 9 /, 9 /, 9 /, etc... until they end up missing one of those 10-pins/7-pins. The "blame" id then placed on the center, the oil machine, the approaches, too many balls being on the rack, 2-handed bowlers...going down the list.

For example, last night we had a guy...been bowling a long time, yet fairly young (relatively)...always has bowled at this same center...and he was on track to shoot 300. Now, I could tell the lanes were transitioning...and he was on the same line as I was...so I just mentioned to him to 'watch out, the lanes are starting to transition'...but he refused to move...and I can't blame him, he's on like the front 8....sometimes you just hope they hold up. I think his 8th strike almost left a 4-9...then in the 9th he went through the nose and left a split. It was predictable, but, I can understand. It's hard to see lane transition if you're not looking for it and don't really care if it happens.

But, congrats! I hope I'm still bowling at 65...much less 75. My knee is so bad today (bowled last night) that I had to roll on to the floor (from the couch) so I could straighten the leg and pull myself up.

[Timmyb]

Next year I will celebrate 50 years in this sport. I've been told I'm one of the most consistent bowlers in my league, at a tournament, etc. I've only been at my house for 4 years, and 3 of those I've been high average. I love that some of the younger bowlers tell me "I'm going to catch you one of these days". To Aslan's point, though, I think my strong suit is being able to sniff out a transition taking place. Watching my own shot is critical, but I learn more by simply watching the other people on my pair, and taking a lot of mental notes. If one of my guys, or folks on the other team, suddenly go through the nose, that's my cue to start shifting. it may be as simple as a quick 0.5 board move, or a wrist position change. I pride myself on this skill, and definitely hope I never lose it.

[Hammer]

Next year I will celebrate 50 years in this sport. I've been told I'm one of the most consistent bowlers in my league, at a tournament, etc. I've only been at my house for 4 years, and 3 of those I've been high average. I love that some of the younger bowlers tell me "I'm going to catch you one of these days". To Aslan's point, though, I think my strong suit is being able to sniff out a transition taking place. Watching my own shot is critical, but I learn more by simply watching the other people on my pair, and taking a lot of mental notes. If one of my guys, or folks on the other team, suddenly go through the nose, that's my cue to start shifting. it may be as simple as a quick 0.5 board move, or a wrist position change. I pride myself on this skill, and definitely hope I never lose it.

The correct amount of time I have been bowling is 40 years this season. I never bowl from the same spot on the approach, sometimes I am closer to the foul line and sometimes farther away and sometimes I play deeper and sometimes more up the line. It all depends on the amount of oil that is on the lanes. We had one day where the lanes we were on weren't oiled for four days. Everybody was complaining that their ball was hooking too much. I started the first game using my urethane Blue Hammer ball because of the dryness. After the first game I went to my orange black Raw Hammer hybrid ball. I had to play farther back from the foul line so I could get more speed. My slide foot arch was on board 35 and I was going out to board 5-7. It had no trouble getting back to the pocket. I don't have real fast speed so I can't use a very low grit sanding pad.