Bowling
 

It's not known as a "traditional" kind of sport - but a sport nonetheless.

Anyone play? As part of a team or just a friendly group.

I joined a pub team about a month ago and now every wednesday night we play different teams.

So we might be 4th from the bottom but we try hey?
haha

I have never been part of a bowling league, but I know people who are.

I always thought about it, but never got motivated enough to actually do it. I enjoy bowling although I don't do it often enough.

I think with those it's more the socializing and having fun. Unless, you are hanging out with Big Lebowski types. ;)

Yeah i catch your drift - thats why i joined a pub team - everyone wants to win, of course - but its more socialising than actual competition.

My sister in law got a full ride to college on a bowling scholarship.

I kid you not.

I'm in a coed league with my dad! He's been bowling for years, I've only been bowling with his team for two years. It's a ton of fun!!

I've had a lot of fun in bowling leagues, but never been in a competitive league. Just over 30 years ago I was in a high school large enough to have our own league, our team was "The burn outs". We got stoned on the walk to the alleys every week. One week we got a hold of some opium and ended up playing the teachers team. We lived up to our name. About 5 years later my friend's business sponsored a couple of teams in a league, and the tradition continued, with a couple of advantages. Our small league held the last eight lanes, right across from the bar. You could sit at a barstool and talk to all the divorcees and never miss a turn, plus get drunk. Had my best game under these conditions, as a matter of fact.

i love me some bowling, but haven't done the league thing in a year. i've been to the national tournament a couple of times and that's extremely enjoyable! bowling's great...you can drink!

I love to bowl, especially with my kids. My eldest averages @ 217, son #2 is at 205. My 16 year old daughter will soon out average her old man.

I carried 198 for several years, but slipped a bit last season, to 186. I was making more spares, but not carrying as many strikes. Too many other distraction, I think, although I am the olnly one in the family with a 300 ring.

I am a certified beginner level coach, although many experienced bowlers come to me for advice as well.

What kind of gear do you all use? I've got Linds shoes, an Elite Black Label, Brunswick Crossfire, and a Columbia Messenger Ti bowling ball for various lane conditions, plus a plastic ball for throwing at corner pins on dry lanes. They are all drill "fingertip," with thumb slugs and finger grips.

I use a rather conventional 4 step approach with a moderate backswing and a fully extended follow through. I've been told that my form is almost always perfect, even if my results are not. I guess that if I can't bowl well, I can still look good doing it!

Not planning on bowling in a league this season. Too busy with a music project, but I'll still get out often.

I like to go bowling too though around these parts, most lanes are candlepin lanes.
I was in a league for awhile a number of years back. It was fun till it started getting a bit too competitive for a weekly past time. My team mates got on my case a few times for having a bad night and ruining a couple of wins. I finished the season and didn't sign back up. The phone wasn't exactly ringing off the hook with people wondering why I didn't return. The GF and I still go once in awhile but its not as much fun because she is a lot worse at the game than me.

10 pin bowling or carpet/crown green/etc bowls?

Ive played 10 pin bowling socially maybe 10 times in my life and my best score is 148 I think... thats probably pretty shit? (given that stated above there is a young kid who AVERAGES 205)

Bowling is awesome! It is just too bad that I suck at it. My highest score ever was a 109 and I 'average' 50. I once blinked wrong and threw the ball down the lane while the pins were being reloaded. It bounced off of the loader and rolled back down the lane!

Highest is a 79. Will go occasionally.

My father in law bowls at a semipro level. He travels all over the country to bowl. He's also really involved in a bowling organization. I haven't bowled in years. I did take a bowling class one Summer when I was young. It was better than the typing class it competed with. I'm more interested in bocce.

I used to bowl a lot in the Navy. It was always cheap on base as was the beer. Had a 201 average one league, then I decided drinking was more fun.

Almost forgot was one strike away from a prefect game once and choked. I mean choked, nearly a gutter ball.

grumpy - the elusive 300 and you got it. well done mate.

i went last week with she-lish and i scored a 136. i havent played in years since then.

my first time ever bowling i scored a 186. i was 17. have never been able to replicate that form. i got asked if i wanted to join a league by some guy that day. he woudnt believe that it was my first time bowling.

Sounds a lot like my first ever stealhead fishing attempt. The two guys I went with warned me they're really hard to catch and patients is the key. Second cast and I had one in the boat. 4 1/2 years later and nearly 100 more boat rides later I caught my next one.

Bowling is a matter of training you muscles, and practicing to repeat the same shot. My kids bowl well because 1) they love the game, b) they practice, a lot,and thirdly, they compete against other good bowlers which demands their best efforts.

Anything over 100 for an occasional bowler is actually rather good. You are knocking some pins down, and converted at least one spare or strike (refererred to as "marks"). In a 148 game, SF had to have made multiple "marks," with some decent follow up shots in order to build that score.

The further up the average chain you get, the more difficult it is to live up to your billing. In order to for Tully to average 201, he had to convert prctically all of his spares, plus throw at least one "double" during the course of virtually every game. Well done!

A cool thing about bowling is, just about everyone can find a way to have fun with it. It's great if you're just trying to kill some beers with a few friends, or, if competition gets your juices flowing, there are high level leagues and tournaments to get involved with. I recommend it to everyone.

And, thanks dlish. If you only knew how lucky I got (and how drunk I got in the aftermath!), it was almost embarassing... almost!

I went yesterday with some friends, boy do I suck! What's the trick?

To hit the 10 pins with the heavy ball and knock them down. :p

House ball? Rented shoes?

Never made any progress until I got my own equipment. Finger tip drilled ball, I have a "Hammer" but I'm sure there's better balls on the market. Good well fitting shoes that let you slide also important, IMHO.

Then practice, practice and more practice. Those marks near the foul line are important. For me, personally, I like to pass just to the right of the second mark from the right hand gutter. If I do it right the ball follows the gutter closely until about 2/3 of the way down the lane. Then it begins to hook left hitting the pocket between the 1 and 3 pins.

But you have to find what works for you. The best bowler I ever bowled with started way left and rolled the ball directly at the right hand gutter. His ball would hook near mid lane. That guy could be drunk off his ass and roll a 225.

So find what works for you. But most important of all is have fun.

Tully Mars is correct. It's almost impossible bowl consistently well using the house gear.

Finding a ball that fits your hand is rare, and finding the same ball each time you go is even more so. And house shoes.... even if they aren't shabby, they are still infested with other people's foot funk. That haphazard spray that the disinterested kid aims in their direction does nothing!

He's right about the target marks on the lanes, as well. I'd only add that the dots on the approach are equally important. Setting up on the same spot, walking toward your target the same way, rolling your ball through your target with the same release each time takes trial and error, and practice. Adjusting to the changes that the lanes go through in the course of a match takes experience and practice.

There's a lot of different ways to deliver your shot. Currently, one of the world's best bowlers is a young man from Australia who uses a 2-handed delivery. He gets more velocity and revolutions on the ball than just about everyone else in the game. He's a lot of fun to watch.

Now I see what I'm doing wrong.

Hey whatever works for you. But I'm sure there's some purist out there that don't like this.

But see how his ball "hooks" into the pocket? That's what you want. I don't know physics for shit. But I think once forward momentum begins to fade the spin you put on the ball begins to dominate and the ball starts to roll right or left depending on your handing. This allows the ball to hit the 1-3 pocket giving a higher chance of a strike. Plus this type of release and hook allows a better chance of picking up more combinations of spares.

Now notice how he's doing the same release pretty much every time? That's what you want. It's like a golf swing. Same swing every time is almost always a good idea.

Yeah start with good oiling and end up dry as hell, or have one lane of league oiled just right yet the other is dry as a bone or a recreation of the Exxon Valdez spill. You're balls not suppose to have oil dripping off it when it rolls out of the return, right?

You're right. some houses are really conscientious about maintaining lane conditions, others are quite haphazard. Weather conditions play a part as well. Hot, humid days play hell with lane conditions.

A new oil was introduced a few years back that resisted getting carried down the lane as much as the old stuff. A couple of houses I frequent switched over, and averages jumped 5-10 pins. Along with the newer ball technologies, some folks can make this game look real easy. <jealous>