By Lawrence Lang
What’s up, folks? Lawrence “Patch-Man” Here, bringing you a brand new blog series on the SIN website and something that I’m very passionate about, and that’s bowling. For some of you, if you don’t know, I have been bowling for 26 years ( 29 years old at the time of the article being written). In the 26 years, I have had 13 300 games and 10 800 series, the High being an 817 series. Also, at the National level at the USBC Open Championships, a 190 average, and if you are a bowler and bow nationals, a 190 average is impressive. The purpose of this blog series is to take you through my league knights and tournaments. I will see my games and the breakdown of them when I make adjustments, whether it is moving on the approach or making a ball change. You will get to see what a bowler does in the game. So, with that all said, let’s get into a week’s bowling recap. I Bowl four nights a week so strap in for this one after this you will get a league night recap from me along with a three positive game three bad game blog at the end of the week from my week in bowling.
Monday Night League.
First game 228
Now, my usual starting spot for when I start bowling is three boards left of the center dot on the approach, and when getting to the line, hit the second arrow on the left side of the lane since I’m a lefty. Now, the 3rd frame was on me with the ten-pin; I got a little fast with my feet, and the ball lost energy when it got in the pocket. The 7th frame is where it starts to get fun. A pocket 7-pin made me think it was either time to move back a little on the approach or make a two-board adjustment to the right and a one-board adjustment on the lane. In bowling, we call that a two-and-one adjustment. I adjusted to move back. It worked for a frame when back on the other lane, left a 5-pin. In the tenth frame, the plan was to make a ball change in the 12 frames cause I knew after the 5-pin, it was time, but a 7-pin again prevented that.
First game ball of choice Pin Up DV8 Damn Good Verge Pearl.
Game 207: A Mental Game.
Now, this was an exciting game for a few reasons. Once I made a ball change to a pin-down DV8 Damn Good Verge Pearl, and to me, it was the right move just had to make the proper adjustments on one lane. As you can see, the 2nd frame and 4th frame were pocket 8-pins, so that’s a sign to move right on the approach and not the lane that was the plan, and silly me, I forgot to do that, and that’s when the 4-6 happened in the 6th frame. So I regrouped for it on the 8th and packed ten for the strike. The 10th frame 7-pin was the sign to move on the lane a board and, as you can tell, strike to end the game.
2nd game ball of choice pin down DV8. Damn, Good Verge Pearl.
Game 3 279
Well, when it comes to a game like this, there are no notes because you are almost at perfection. If anything, the 7-pin left in the 4th frame was a great shot; it just didn’t have any carry. It’s your judgment to stay where you are, make a move, or make a ball change. I decided to stay with what I was rolling, which paid off.
3rd game ball of choice is DV8. Damn, Good Verge Pearl.
Series 714 Entering average 216.93 New average 220.44 (+3.44)
Tuesday Night League
Game one 225 was a great start and a bummer at the end.
Here is an excellent example of how one frame can ruin a great game. Now, the seven-pin and ten-pins in the 4th and 6th frames were good shots. Sometimes, you don’t get the carry-all shot till the tenth frame, wherein the pocket and with the possibility of starting 259 games, one is a great start to the night, but well, that didn’t happen. A pocket 6-8 split ruined that, and yes, I said pocket. Sometimes, that happens when you hit the pocket spits, and in this case, it’s probably the most left split I leave in bowling. But as I’ve learned over the years, you shake it off and move on to the next game.
Game one ball of choice pin down DV8. Damn, Good Verge Pearl.
Game 2 253, a bounce back with two mistakes
Now, here is where two mistakes cost possible perfection. The fourth and fifth frames were all on me. A 2-4 leave happened when I got too fast with my feet, and I tried to make myself do the work instead of the ball doing the work. The fifth frame is where I got fast again with my feet and opened my shoulder, and the ball had no chance of coming back for a 1,3,5,7 leave. For the rest of the game, after a deep breath, relax to forget the two previous frames back seven to end the game.
Game two 253 balls of choice pin down DV8. Damn, Good Verge Pearl
Game three 217 in the middle finish.
Now, here is where a bowler’s mind begins to overthink sometimes. Now, for one, I did make a ball change in the 5th frame. I decided to do both moves and make a ball change, and I paid for it. The ball change was needed after the seven-pin and ten-pin left in the first and third games, but a move wasn’t needed, and the 3,6,9 leave was deserved for me overthinking and talking about a different ball game and series, but that’s bowling. Sometimes, you overthink the little things, and it costs you.
Game three balls of choice pin down DV8. Damn, Good Verge Pearl frame one threw 3rd famous finish with pin-up DV8. Damn, Good Verge Pearl
Series 694 Entering Average 228.85 New Average 228.12 (-.53)
Wednesday Night League.
Game One 230 One Mistake Cost a Big Game.
Well, a 4,6,7,8,10 split and frustration cost me a big game. The shot wasn’t a bad one, but it made me adjust right away. The ball dove right through the headpin, and disaster struck. Instead of going for three like you should when you leave a split like that, out of frustration, I tried to make it, and I paid for it. I still made the adjustment after the frame, and the rest is history. The seven-pin in the 11th frame was in the pocket, but it was a flare seven, so the ball had no energy once it got there, so it was time to make a ball change.
Game one Ball of choice Pin Up DV8. Damn, Good Verge Pear
Game two 249 Adjustment is Key.
Now, the ball change was an excellent move for me. A pocket eight pin to start made me know I had to move right two boards pocket seven pins, the fourth had to move back a little to get lined right back up, and the six pins in the sixth frame were on me for getting fast with my feet. It was a solid change that paid off for an incredible 249 games.
Game 2 Ball of Choice Pin Down DV8. Damn, Good Verge Pear
Game Three 258 Minor Moves Help Again
Here again, minor moves pay off for a great game and series. A pocket eight-pin after the front five hurt a little because it was a great shot, but then again, it was a sign to move, and this time, off of the eight-pin, I moved back to draw more energy from the ball. With that, sometimes too much energy is wrong. A pocket ten pin in the eight frame makes you laugh because of how good of a shot it was, but you make your spare and move on. Other than that, there are no actual notes from this game; it was a great, solid night.
Game 3 Ball of Choice Pin Down DV8. Damn, Good Verge Pear
Series 737 Entering Average 218.45 New Average 220.33 (+1.88)
Friday Night League
Game One 229: A Great Start
Now, this was a great start to Friday night league. The seven pins in the first, third, and fifth frames came with adjustments after each one left a one-board adjustment right in the first and third frames, then moved back in the fifth frame. The seven-pin in the nine-frame came with a ball change to end on a high note. If anything, a ball change should have happened sooner in the third frame because of it not finishing on the one lane, but sometimes you don’t think to make it earlier, and that cost you extra pins, but no harm, no foul in this game, and it was a solid 229 clean game.
Game One Ball of Choice pin down DV8. Damn, Good Verge Pear first frame – the ninth frame, then pins up DV8. Damn, Good Verge Pear.
Game two 197 The Grind It Out Game.
Well, it took 11 games into the week to finally have a grind-it-out game. After starting the first three frames with strikes, we were on pace for a big game. Well, that was not the case; back-to-back seven pins and a ten-pin after that called for a ball change. Then the ball changed into the wrong move because I was not letting the ball do the work as I was trying to make it do the work, and when you do that, it costs you, and a split in the ninth frame ended the chances of saving a poor middle part of the game and ending on a high note. The final ball change of the night came in fill ball fame in the tenth frame to try and find something for game three.
Game Two Ball of Choice Pin Up DV8. Damn, Good Verge Pear frames one- three Pin Up DV8 Medusa frames four – eleven ended with DV8 Brutal Collusion in the 12th frame.
Game Three 217 End On A High Note.
Now, game three was a game where no matter what move you made, it didn’t go my way. A seven-pin and eight-pin back-to-back to start made me adjust to move back, and a pocket eight-pin in the fifth made me move back up. Then, after the move back up, a pocket seven pin made me move two boards right. To end it in the tenth frame, another pocket seven pin does give the cherry on top and a struggle game. The high note out of this game is keeping a positive attitude when leaving single pins on the deck. Also positive out of this night of bowling is making all single pin spares 12/12, and nine of those single pin spares were seven pins, so when it comes to that, that’s ending on a high note and staying positive when carry went away.
Game three Ball of choice DV8 Brutal Collusion in the 12th frame.
Series 643 Entering Average 229.31 New Average 228.85 (-0.46)
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