YABowlingT: Reverse block blues.

[polm]

Bowled on a reverse block (oil on the outsides, dry in the middle) tonight.

It killed me. My series : 155, 118, 84. By the end of game 3 I was ready to throw my entire arsenal into the trash.

Hardest pattern I've ever bowled on, and I'm not even a big hook/crank player. Down and in is my game and I still couldn't hold it together.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

huh?

 

[GagHalfrunt]

A reverse block is a tough pattern, but there's no excuse for an 84. Get a old plastic ball and play the old rocket to the pocket shot. You won't carry, but you'll leave easy spares.

 

[polm]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
huh?

I've been bowling in a tough shot league this summer. We play on difficult oil patterns.

Tonight was a reverse block, which is basically opposite of the standard house shot. So instead of having dry on the outsides to help guide my ball into the pocket I had rivers of oil on the outside.

My balls were sailing right if I was even a board off of my target or catching dry in the middle and over-reacting and missing left.

 

[polm]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
A reverse block is a tough pattern, but there's no excuse for an 84. Get a old plastic ball and play the old rocket to the pocket shot. You won't carry, but you'll leave easy spares.

Not a bad idea. The problem is that I want to develop a shot with a reactive ball that I can play on this pattern.

They won't dress these sport shots for practice, so the only night I get to try them is league night. So I'm basically practicing and competing all at once. It's very difficult.

Any suggestions on using a house pattern to practice for these tough shots?

 

[OdiN]

I'm not sure if you can do this - but work the edge of the oil and hit it brooklyn?

It depends on how much space and how much you're breaking on if this will work.

But yeah that's a hard pattern and if I was worrying about scoring I would drop the hook shot and go with a shot straight to the pocket.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: polm


Any suggestions on using a house pattern to practice for these tough shots?

Unless you're super-accurate you can't beat a reverse block by crossing a lot of boards. The whole point of the set-up is to make a tiny miss in either direction turn into a crappy shot. If you can't control speed, direction and rotation with pro precision you can't play a normal shot on that pattern. You have to take the lane conditions out of play, pick up a shiny rock, play off the corner and fire it in hard and straight. You can hit the pocket that way pretty easily, you just won't carry. Still, kick out a couple of corner pins, make your spares and you're easily shooting 180+ while the other bozos are shooting 130 trying to hook the ball.

You can practice that shot any time on any pattern because it's overriding whatever condition is out there. Roll a Blue Dot flat and it's not hooking on anything.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

wow....I had know idea bowling was this complicated.

I'm going to leave now...

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
wow....I had know idea bowling was this complicated.

I'm going to leave now...

haha, you've no idea

 

[polm]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
You can practice that shot any time on any pattern because it's overriding whatever condition is out there. Roll a Blue Dot flat and it's not hooking on anything.

I'm a lot more concerned about learning to throw a quality shot that will carry pins. I'll sacrifice score for skill any day.

I'd rather use reactive balls and suffer. Still, I definitely plan to practice more and more with my plastic ball for spare shots. That's one thing that will translate from house pattern to sport pattern.

As far as my pocket shot...I guess I'll just keep trying till I get it right.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: polm

I'm a lot more concerned about learning to throw a quality shot that will carry pins. I'll sacrifice score for skill any day.
.

You shot an 84. You don't have skill.

 

[rezinn]

I'd keep clear of the crank if I were you.

 

[polm]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt

Originally posted by: polm

I'm a lot more concerned about learning to throw a quality shot that will carry pins. I'll sacrifice score for skill any day.
.

You shot an 84. You don't have skill.

I certainly won't gain any throwing plastic into the pocket.

 

[dakels]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
wow....I had know idea bowling was this complicated.

I'm going to leave now...

Agreed but everything when done on an enthusiast-serious level is often much more complicated then we expect. Even horse shoes is much more complicated then I ever dreamed.

I'm not much of a bowler and I understand that you are working to master a style and form but 84 seems pretty bad. Honestly if you just want to grind out practice who cares but if you care about your league score, which you seem to, then I woulda changed the style to get a better score. Last week I threw a 160 bowling like the lucky idiot I am. Straight throws.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: polm

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt

Originally posted by: polm

I'm a lot more concerned about learning to throw a quality shot that will carry pins. I'll sacrifice score for skill any day.
.

You shot an 84. You don't have skill.

I certainly won't gain any throwing plastic into the pocket.

Yes you will, it's called learning how to adapt to a condition. Anybody can hit a freaking tube 12 boards wide. What skill are you picking up with an 84? You started this thread because of your epic failure and now you're going to cop an attitude about being too good to change to a style that better suits the conditions? ROFL!! Yep, keep rolling those 84s, you'll be ready for the PBA Tour in no time.

 

[Mo0o]

Do you guys watch bowling on tv? What's your opinion of that one guy that always wears sunglasses and insists on making that move where he cross his arms and slaps his crotch. Seems like a blight in an otherwise pretty respectable, though low key, sport.

 

[polm]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
Yes you will, it's called learning how to adapt to a condition. Anybody can hit a freaking tube 12 boards wide. What skill are you picking up with an 84? You started this thread because of your epic failure and now you're going to cop an attitude about being too good to change to a style that better suits the conditions? ROFL!! Yep, keep rolling those 84s, you'll be ready for the PBA Tour in no time.

Damn dude. Chill just a bit. You're right, an 84 is certainly a horrible horrible score no matter what the conditions. I'm aware of that.

What skill are you picking up with an 84?

I'm definitely learning what doesn't work.

 

[virtuamike]

It's a tight shot, need to be precise and control ball speed. Where was your breakpoint?

If you get to shadow bowl, then one thing you could try is to grab an old ball, sand it down to 100 or whatever to open up the pores, and break the lanes down.