This has been a really interesting tournament so far. The lanes have been tough, but playable, so if you make enough good shots and make your spares, you can be successful here. I started out on B squad and there are no re-oils during the day this week. I was able to get a comfortable play zone with an old Roto Grip Dagger between 9 on the tighter lanes to 12-13 on the more hooking lanes. The left handers in the field have decided to camp out on 9-10-11, which is a little inside of where it would be optimal, but it allows me to figure out the pairs with more traffic in this area and jump just to the inside of it to use the friction down the lane to create a little more recovery back to the pocket.
Great tournament, fair lane condition and a great strong field! Just need to bowl a little better tomorrow and I'll be getting some extended play on Thursday!
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Thursday, June 26, 2014
PBA50 - 2014 Grants Pass Open
Obviously this was a special event, since the end result was my second PBA50 Tour Title. But along the way I fell, learned about the death of a friend, and got to enjoy the experience with my wife Elissa.
On practice day, I had a decent ball reaction, but decided that I could use one more aggressive ball to go along with my other selections for this tournament. I opted to drill a Roto Grip Hyper Cell with a strong layout so that it would reach the end of this 42' pattern and make a strong move to the pocket. This ball did not disappoint.
I was bowling both days of qualifying with fellow left-hander and part-time room mate Paul McCordic. Paul and I are generally able to "read" the lanes using both our ball reaction and each other's ball reaction. This tournament turned into the "blower 7-10 open" - if you made a mistake with too much speed and caught too much oil, you were likely to leave a 7-10. In fact, there were as many 7-10 splits left in this tournament as any I can remember.
Ready to compete, we bowled on the tournament condition in that night's Pro-Am. Since the lane condition itself was somewhat forgiving and had two squads previously bowled on it, I was able to shoot an 863 no-tap series and enjoy the conversations with the amateur bowlers. As usual, I enjoyed spending time with everyone.
The first 8-game block of competition was less fruitful than I would have liked the first two games, as I was shooting low 200 games and the scoring pace was much higher. I was getting used to the Hyper Cell and didn't use it to its full potential. I later was able to get this ball to work well and once the lanes started to hook more went to an aggressive medium ball (Roto Grip Defiant Soul), and finished at +211 for 8.
The second day I usually don't worry too much about the approaches if the first day was good. I had changed from a normal #4 sole to a #5 sole during practice, which was working well. Once I take 5 slides at the BACK of the approach I usually take 4 practice swings without a ball in my hand to loosen up my hip joints (a dynamic warm up). Well, lesson learned - I should have tested the approaches at the foul line. I completely stuck and fell onto my right knee and then my right shoulder about 4 feet out on the lane. I was able to recover from this, the approaches were repaired, and we began competition.
This time the Hyper Cell was great from the start. An opening 263 game (I missed a spare due to still being tentative on unfamiliar portions of the approach), I used that ball for 5 of the 8 games en route to a +338 block which brought me to +549 for 16 games and a 5th place finish for qualifying. My lane reading and anticipation of what to do was very good in that block. I kept my speed down and was more comfortable the second day targeting at the dots, which is about as close to the foul line as I can look. I was able to use smoother-reacting or less-reacting balls on specific pairs very quickly.
My 5th place finish allowed me a bye and a put me directly into the round of 16 for the bracketed match play. This was a best 3 of 5 games round. I thought my ball reaction was getting better, but my ability to carry the 7 pin on the left lane completely disappeared. I had started practice with a ball sanded to 1000 grit to help dry out the outer portion of the lane. In game 3 I was beaten before the 10th frame and opted to try this ball, and it worked well and carried on the left lane. Down 2-1 at this point, I chose to use this ball the rest of the match, realizing that if this was the wrong decision I would destroy the lane condition and likely not have another option and would have an early exit. I shot 226 and 230 the last two games for the win.
In the round of 8 I bowled against my friend and part-time room mate Ron Mohr. Ron is a tremendous competitor, and we had just come off a great match in Mooresville, NC where he shot a 300 game at me and defeated me in 4 games in the round of 16. This time I chose to start with the Mutant Cell, the ball I had sanded to 1000 from practice through the start of the match, as the lanes were hooking less with each match. By game 2 I was able to miss a little more and still strike and shot 288 in the second game to close out the match. I had doubled in the 10th the first game to win 237-228.
The semi-final and finals matches, both single game contests are, as Dale Eagle describes them, "crap shoots". I drew Harry Sullins in this match, and started out strong in the match. When you bowl a formidable competitor who is quite confident, as Harry is, you want to avoid the trap of trying to beat your opponent. Rather, you must have the confidence to know that you can bowl your game and that your opponent must beat you. As the higher seed in qualifyin, I was able to have Harry start the match and finish first. I mad a couple of small mistakes and failed to double in the 10th frame, but still shot 258, forcing Harry to strike out in the 10th to tie the match and force a roll off. Harry's second shot left a 9 pin on a shot that blew away the other nine pins and I prevailed 258-247.
This brought me to the championship match against PBA Hall of Famer Dale Eagle. I started with the first four strikes, then made a couple of mistakes in the second half of the match, but I was filling all frames. Dale missed a 10-pin in the second frame then stuck on the next 5 shots to pull within a few pins. However a 7-10 split in the 9th frame gave me a 15 pin lead going into the 9th and 10th frames. A spare and strike secured the title for me.
Over the weekend Colorado and Denver Hall of Famer and former PBA Senior competitor Tom Carbone passed away. I also had my friend Barry Gurney on my mind since he had passed in June 2013, and I dedicated the win to both of these great friends and competitors. Always honor those who came before you.
Best of all my wife Elissa was there the whole week to enjoy the experience with me. This will always make this win a special experience.
On practice day, I had a decent ball reaction, but decided that I could use one more aggressive ball to go along with my other selections for this tournament. I opted to drill a Roto Grip Hyper Cell with a strong layout so that it would reach the end of this 42' pattern and make a strong move to the pocket. This ball did not disappoint.
I was bowling both days of qualifying with fellow left-hander and part-time room mate Paul McCordic. Paul and I are generally able to "read" the lanes using both our ball reaction and each other's ball reaction. This tournament turned into the "blower 7-10 open" - if you made a mistake with too much speed and caught too much oil, you were likely to leave a 7-10. In fact, there were as many 7-10 splits left in this tournament as any I can remember.
Ready to compete, we bowled on the tournament condition in that night's Pro-Am. Since the lane condition itself was somewhat forgiving and had two squads previously bowled on it, I was able to shoot an 863 no-tap series and enjoy the conversations with the amateur bowlers. As usual, I enjoyed spending time with everyone.
The first 8-game block of competition was less fruitful than I would have liked the first two games, as I was shooting low 200 games and the scoring pace was much higher. I was getting used to the Hyper Cell and didn't use it to its full potential. I later was able to get this ball to work well and once the lanes started to hook more went to an aggressive medium ball (Roto Grip Defiant Soul), and finished at +211 for 8.
The second day I usually don't worry too much about the approaches if the first day was good. I had changed from a normal #4 sole to a #5 sole during practice, which was working well. Once I take 5 slides at the BACK of the approach I usually take 4 practice swings without a ball in my hand to loosen up my hip joints (a dynamic warm up). Well, lesson learned - I should have tested the approaches at the foul line. I completely stuck and fell onto my right knee and then my right shoulder about 4 feet out on the lane. I was able to recover from this, the approaches were repaired, and we began competition.
This time the Hyper Cell was great from the start. An opening 263 game (I missed a spare due to still being tentative on unfamiliar portions of the approach), I used that ball for 5 of the 8 games en route to a +338 block which brought me to +549 for 16 games and a 5th place finish for qualifying. My lane reading and anticipation of what to do was very good in that block. I kept my speed down and was more comfortable the second day targeting at the dots, which is about as close to the foul line as I can look. I was able to use smoother-reacting or less-reacting balls on specific pairs very quickly.
My 5th place finish allowed me a bye and a put me directly into the round of 16 for the bracketed match play. This was a best 3 of 5 games round. I thought my ball reaction was getting better, but my ability to carry the 7 pin on the left lane completely disappeared. I had started practice with a ball sanded to 1000 grit to help dry out the outer portion of the lane. In game 3 I was beaten before the 10th frame and opted to try this ball, and it worked well and carried on the left lane. Down 2-1 at this point, I chose to use this ball the rest of the match, realizing that if this was the wrong decision I would destroy the lane condition and likely not have another option and would have an early exit. I shot 226 and 230 the last two games for the win.
In the round of 8 I bowled against my friend and part-time room mate Ron Mohr. Ron is a tremendous competitor, and we had just come off a great match in Mooresville, NC where he shot a 300 game at me and defeated me in 4 games in the round of 16. This time I chose to start with the Mutant Cell, the ball I had sanded to 1000 from practice through the start of the match, as the lanes were hooking less with each match. By game 2 I was able to miss a little more and still strike and shot 288 in the second game to close out the match. I had doubled in the 10th the first game to win 237-228.
The semi-final and finals matches, both single game contests are, as Dale Eagle describes them, "crap shoots". I drew Harry Sullins in this match, and started out strong in the match. When you bowl a formidable competitor who is quite confident, as Harry is, you want to avoid the trap of trying to beat your opponent. Rather, you must have the confidence to know that you can bowl your game and that your opponent must beat you. As the higher seed in qualifyin, I was able to have Harry start the match and finish first. I mad a couple of small mistakes and failed to double in the 10th frame, but still shot 258, forcing Harry to strike out in the 10th to tie the match and force a roll off. Harry's second shot left a 9 pin on a shot that blew away the other nine pins and I prevailed 258-247.
This brought me to the championship match against PBA Hall of Famer Dale Eagle. I started with the first four strikes, then made a couple of mistakes in the second half of the match, but I was filling all frames. Dale missed a 10-pin in the second frame then stuck on the next 5 shots to pull within a few pins. However a 7-10 split in the 9th frame gave me a 15 pin lead going into the 9th and 10th frames. A spare and strike secured the title for me.
Over the weekend Colorado and Denver Hall of Famer and former PBA Senior competitor Tom Carbone passed away. I also had my friend Barry Gurney on my mind since he had passed in June 2013, and I dedicated the win to both of these great friends and competitors. Always honor those who came before you.
Best of all my wife Elissa was there the whole week to enjoy the experience with me. This will always make this win a special experience.
Friday, May 17, 2013
PBA50 Dayton
Three strikes. As it turns out, if I had struck out in the 10th frame, I would have made the top-4 stepladder by 3 pins over Mike Edwards, I would have been bowling Randy Pederson in the first match, and who knows what would have happened from there? I had the best tournament of the year, not just in finish but by how I bowled. I keyed on a more relaxed drop into the swing and on going "heel-toe" on my crossover step and bowled very well the first block, ending up 13th after the first 8 games. I primarily used my Roto Grip Disturbed the 2nd-8th games of the block, after my Storm Pearl Marvel was just too early with a light 1000 surface on it and was running out of energy too quick. The second block, which was on the "burn" squad (no re-oil between squads), I had the Pearl Marvel at 2000 and lightly polished. This ball worked great for awhile (had a 266 game) but then started to run out of energy later in the block. I don't normally guess at adjustments, but this time I did and pulled a 1000 sanded IQ Tour Pearl out of the bag and shot an "easy" 247 game. I say easy because all of a sudden the lane seemed to open up with that ball, and I could "see" the hook area and had a little hold with this ball. Moral of the story - if the ball in your hand and your target line is good for 9-counts, change balls or change lines!
In the match play, I started off slow, not shooting 200 the first two games. It was raining outside and it was very humid, so the lanes were playing very tight down the lane. Even at that, I was 2-0 after those two games. I needed to get a reaction and quick if I was going to keep up with the leaders, so I went back to the paddock and get my Brunswick Aura Paranormal. This ball allowed me to get some reaction at the back of the lane without it over-hooking, so I could just slow down and really roll it without being concerned that it would jump high on me. I took off after this point, moving up to 13th from 16th at the start of the block and making the cut to the top 16.
At the start of the top 16 my first match was against Randy Pederson. I started off very slowly, not doubling until the 5th frame after making a "super-washout" and staying clean. On the washout I realized my hips were turning out on me a little bit at the release, and from then on I focused on keeping my left hip on my target line on the downswing/release. I bowled GREAT from that point forward and made a huge run shooting 760 my first three games on route to moving into the top 10. I had one bad game on 5-6 where I had no answer for the pair, then I was having hand/grip issues the next game against Walter Ray and only managed to shoot 204 and lost. I then rebounded with at 258 to get to 7th. I was about 93 out going into position round and in 7th, but I thought that with a big game I could at least have a say in the outcome. Bowling Wayne Webb, I started with a 5-bagger then a 7-pin, then struck to the 9th. In the 7th frame in the 3rd-4th match, Randy was on a 172 pace after 6 frames, so I had a chance. My shot in the 10th drifted high (not a great shot) and I missed the spare to shoot 243 and lose, but my focus was really on trying to make the top 4. Had I shot 279 instead of 243, I would have had 66 pins more and I finished 63 off the top 4.
All in all this was a great confidence boost going into the majors in Vegas.
In the match play, I started off slow, not shooting 200 the first two games. It was raining outside and it was very humid, so the lanes were playing very tight down the lane. Even at that, I was 2-0 after those two games. I needed to get a reaction and quick if I was going to keep up with the leaders, so I went back to the paddock and get my Brunswick Aura Paranormal. This ball allowed me to get some reaction at the back of the lane without it over-hooking, so I could just slow down and really roll it without being concerned that it would jump high on me. I took off after this point, moving up to 13th from 16th at the start of the block and making the cut to the top 16.
At the start of the top 16 my first match was against Randy Pederson. I started off very slowly, not doubling until the 5th frame after making a "super-washout" and staying clean. On the washout I realized my hips were turning out on me a little bit at the release, and from then on I focused on keeping my left hip on my target line on the downswing/release. I bowled GREAT from that point forward and made a huge run shooting 760 my first three games on route to moving into the top 10. I had one bad game on 5-6 where I had no answer for the pair, then I was having hand/grip issues the next game against Walter Ray and only managed to shoot 204 and lost. I then rebounded with at 258 to get to 7th. I was about 93 out going into position round and in 7th, but I thought that with a big game I could at least have a say in the outcome. Bowling Wayne Webb, I started with a 5-bagger then a 7-pin, then struck to the 9th. In the 7th frame in the 3rd-4th match, Randy was on a 172 pace after 6 frames, so I had a chance. My shot in the 10th drifted high (not a great shot) and I missed the spare to shoot 243 and lose, but my focus was really on trying to make the top 4. Had I shot 279 instead of 243, I would have had 66 pins more and I finished 63 off the top 4.
All in all this was a great confidence boost going into the majors in Vegas.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
PBA Senior Tour - Brentwood
This was an eventful stop. I started out in practice with a decent idea of how the lanes would play, but decided to drill a ball in case the lanes got tighter. In the first round, that ball didn't react very well, so I went with the ball that I used to lead the first round of the Senior US Open, because it gave me a very smooth shape with kept the ball from going left and leaving 3-7s. I bowled well the first block, and the afternoon squad generally did much better than the morning squad. I found out why the next morning as the "double stripped" morning pattern hooked earlier in the front of the lane. I struggled badly the first 4 games, including a 170 in game 4, then stepped over to watch another player who had a good reaction. My change was 2 feet more loft and slight move to the right, and I shot 220-250-240-220 (ish) to finish the block strong and qualify in 12th position. I drilled another ball to handle more over-reaction I anticipated the next day.
In match play I caught Tom Baker the first match, but his carry wasn't good and I won the match 3-1. My next match was against Dale Traber on a pair oiled only 5 minutes before. In this situation, the lanes are very tight and very tough early, and I lost the first game 213-207, but got better reaction later, using the newest ball to close the match out 3-1. I then had to wait and come back to bowl the round of 8 (best 2 of 3) against a local favorite. I shot 300 the first game and won the match 2-0. In the round of 4 I bowled Walter Ray. I had a chance going into the 8th if I could keep striking, but I pinched the shot off a bit and left an 8-pin. Walter Ray bowled a perfect match on a tough pair, figuring out the left lane on the 3rd shot and shooting 259. He then went on to win the tournament.
This was a real confidence-building week, and one I'll use as a springboard to the rest of the summer.
In match play I caught Tom Baker the first match, but his carry wasn't good and I won the match 3-1. My next match was against Dale Traber on a pair oiled only 5 minutes before. In this situation, the lanes are very tight and very tough early, and I lost the first game 213-207, but got better reaction later, using the newest ball to close the match out 3-1. I then had to wait and come back to bowl the round of 8 (best 2 of 3) against a local favorite. I shot 300 the first game and won the match 2-0. In the round of 4 I bowled Walter Ray. I had a chance going into the 8th if I could keep striking, but I pinched the shot off a bit and left an 8-pin. Walter Ray bowled a perfect match on a tough pair, figuring out the left lane on the 3rd shot and shooting 259. He then went on to win the tournament.
This was a real confidence-building week, and one I'll use as a springboard to the rest of the summer.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Senior Masters
Wow, this was a great week! I was pretty steady and relaxed through qualifying, with 5-game blocks of +159, +104 and +164 for an 8th place qualifying position. I drilled one new ball which helped through the 3rd qualifying block. In the first two matches I was very comfortable and had a great ball reaction, shooting 769 and 714 the first two matches. This led to yet another match against Ron Mohr, and we had another close, back and forth kind of match. I got a break in the 9th of the 3rd game and capitalized on it with a good shot in the 10th to close out the match 696-688. The final match of the day against Hugh Miller was on the easiest pair either of us had seen the entire tournament. After starting with the front-9, I had a lapse in concentration and missed a spare in the 10th. We were at 268-266 after the first game, but I started to lose the front part of the lane early in the 2nd game and Hugh was able to maintain ball reaction. Short story is that it's hard to beat an 803! In the final match on Friday morning against Amleto, I just bowled horribly the first game plus, then realized that I was trying to beat him instead of just bowling my game and making him beat me. I did that through the last half of this match, but still made a couple of bad shots that ultimately cost me the match. So, a 9th-12th place finish is still good, and I'll move forward to the last stop on this swing. I've now bowled 121 games of competition in 3 weeks, plus practice. Looking forward to a day off!
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Senior US Open 2012
Great week - finished 8th overall after leading the first squad, including a 300 2nd game. I bowled well the first block, getting to +288 for the first 6 games (248 average), then struggled the next two blocks, qualifying 30th. I moved up to 15th after the cash round, as I was much more relaxed once I was in the cash. The first round of match play also went well. I went 5-3 in match play with all my games between 228 and 248. The last day was not as good, as I shot a lot of low 200s and ultimately slipped from 6th to 8th. I was never able to get past 6th or make a serious run at the top 4, but it was still a pretty good week, and I feel like I learned a lot about myself that will help me win that next tournament.
However, I bowled 40 games between the two Senior regionals last week and 51 games this week, for a total of 91 games in two weeks. Needless to say, I'm taking a day off from bowling before the Senior Masters starts tomorrow!
However, I bowled 40 games between the two Senior regionals last week and 51 games this week, for a total of 91 games in two weeks. Needless to say, I'm taking a day off from bowling before the Senior Masters starts tomorrow!
Monday, May 28, 2012
Getting Ready (Healthy) for the Majors
It really sucks to get sick right before a 4-week road trip. I haven't been able to exercise and I really am glad I had my son Alex to help out with the drive from Denver to Flagstaff. That being said, it's time to get ready to go down to Sun City, AZ for the first of two Senior Regionals that should make for a good tune up before the Senior US Open next week in Las Vegas. I'm looking forward to a fun week with Alex and getting to see my sister Cathy and her husband Bob while down in Phoenix. Oh, and a good finish to start the trip would also be nice!
PBA Senior Tour - Dayton
Dayton is always one of my favorite stops. Mike Irwin, Shannon Pluhowsky and staff always do a great job, I love the center, and I always feel like I'm going to bowl well there.
The Carmen Salvino pattern tends to be high scoring, and I started this tournament off with a 300 game. I continued to bowl well through the first block and ended up at +305 for the first 8 game block. The second block was another story. I didn't bowl that well the first two games on the high end of the center, then bowled ok on 1-2, then shot back-to-back 180 games on lanes 5-6 and 9-10. I then had to recover to get back into the number for the finals, which I did in games 5-6-7, highlighted with a 290 in game 6 of the block.
The format for this tournament was a cut to the top 32, the 8 more games of match play with a 30-pin bonus for a win. Of course my first match is against Walter Ray Williams, Jr. I really created my own transition on the pair and only shot 227, while WRW pounded out a 279 game against me. As it turns out, I went 5-3 on the morning and bowled well enough to move up from 17th to 14th, which meant I moved on to the afternoon match play block of the top 16.
At the start of this block, some of my physical game issues re-surfaced, and I didn't bowl well the first 3 games, while my opponents bowled 278-279-268! So, after an 0-3 start to the block, I bowled much better the last 5 games, but I could not catch up and stayed in 14th.
This was a better week and will hopefully be a springboard into the majors in June.
The Carmen Salvino pattern tends to be high scoring, and I started this tournament off with a 300 game. I continued to bowl well through the first block and ended up at +305 for the first 8 game block. The second block was another story. I didn't bowl that well the first two games on the high end of the center, then bowled ok on 1-2, then shot back-to-back 180 games on lanes 5-6 and 9-10. I then had to recover to get back into the number for the finals, which I did in games 5-6-7, highlighted with a 290 in game 6 of the block.
The format for this tournament was a cut to the top 32, the 8 more games of match play with a 30-pin bonus for a win. Of course my first match is against Walter Ray Williams, Jr. I really created my own transition on the pair and only shot 227, while WRW pounded out a 279 game against me. As it turns out, I went 5-3 on the morning and bowled well enough to move up from 17th to 14th, which meant I moved on to the afternoon match play block of the top 16.
At the start of this block, some of my physical game issues re-surfaced, and I didn't bowl well the first 3 games, while my opponents bowled 278-279-268! So, after an 0-3 start to the block, I bowled much better the last 5 games, but I could not catch up and stayed in 14th.
This was a better week and will hopefully be a springboard into the majors in June.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
PBA Sr Tour - Winter Garden
Ouch! That kind of sums things up after missing cash by ONE pin and finals by 11. This was a 3-squad tournament with no re-oiling in between. On "C" squad I started on the "burn" and got off to a horrible start, shooting 169 on lanes 13-14. Followed up by a 182, I was off to a -50 start, then shot 246 to get me going again, and I finished the block at +28. The second block wasn't very good. I had a lot of trouble with the ball hooking early and I missed some shots to the inside - just couldn't get anything going and dropped to -8. The third squad was on the "fresh" and I set up my first pair beautifully, starting with the front 7 to shoot 259. However, I struggled to get a clean reaction on my next 3 pairs, and I was at +15 with two games to go. Making a "what the hell" move, I switched to a lightly polished medium pearl and shot 258. I tried this same ball on the next pair and it was way too much length for the pair. I switched back to the stronger solid ball, got a 3-bagger, but then the next two shots went flat-7, flat-7. I struck in the 10th but left a 6-8 in the 11th. I prettty much knew the two flat 7s and the non strike in the 11th were going to be my undoing. Like any tournament, I missed a couple of spares and gave a couple pins in count away on a couple of splits. Lesson learned again - don't give any count away if you can help, stay present on every shot and keep grinding! I'm proud of myself that I kept grinding and almost got back to a check, but it's time to figure out what went wrong mechanically this week, so I'm off to Kegel to get a quick lesson with Del Warren.
Friday, April 27, 2012
PBA Sr. Tour Villages
This is a somewhat belated post from the PBA Sr. Tour stop at The Villages last week. This was constested on Senior Pattern #5 (Senior Cheetah) on a Heddon surface. In the practice session, I felt like I could swing the gutter a little and get a good reaction. But with one more strip and oil, the hook was much earlier and too strong out on the left, and every time the ball got left of 3 anywhere down the lane it overhooked too much. The first day was very high scoring, and all I could get to was +183 for 8, which was the 52nd spot - the last cash spot. So, I came into the 2nd block about 30 out of the cash. I started the block with a plan to use equipment that would not over-read the dry portion of the lane, but after a 204 start when I could have shot 227 the first game, I tried a couple of different balls in game 3, only to shoot 181. The third game I made another ball change and shot 224, but then went to the low end of the center. I had to make another ball change immediately as this ball still over-reacted to the first pair at the low end. Going back to the ball I started with, I got a reaction I could work with. I went from +192 after game 11 to +292 after game 14. I still needed two big games to get to the finals, and at least one big game to get a check. I shot 300 game 15 to get to +392, but needed to gather myself to get one more big game. I had a good initial reaction on the pair but couldn't follow the move on the right lane and only shot 225 which left me 37 pins short of match play, but with a check for 40th place plus a $100 bonus for the 300 game.
Friday, April 13, 2012
PBA Tournament of Champions
First, no matter what the format is, the PBA Tournament of Champions (TOC) is a great event. I am honored to be able to participate in this event as a PBA Senior Champion, and I completely understand the views of those who feel that neither I nor anyone else who has not won a regular PBA tour title should be allowed into the field. However, the eligibility rules allowed me to participate, and I was not disappointed!
I was REALLY pressing during the Champions first qualifying round. I didn’t make it out of this round last year and I was NOT about to let that happen again this year. I managed to reset my mental framework during the break between blocks and bowl well the second block to get into the elite field.
I had a really nice reaction through the elite qualifying rounds and mostly used a Roto Grip Outlaw. This allowed me to get the ball through the front part of the lane and still “read” the mid-lane well and not over-hook at the back. There were a couple of times when the fronts hooked too much and I need to go to a pearl, but not too often. At the Red Rock, the low end of the center hooks earlier and stronger than the high end of the center, so I compensated with speed and hand position changes.
At the end of the first 5 games, I was in good position in 23rd. I dropped to 33rd after the second round as I was not as sharp mentally and didn’t make shots as consistently as I should have. I up a little after the 3rd round and stayed around the cut number all the way through. After 19 games, I was at +488, and there were 4-5 people around me that were within 20 pins of me. I knew I had to beat at least two of them to get into the round of 36 and get a check (with last cash at $3,600). I had stayed relaxed all the way through this part of the tournament because I had achieved my primary goal, but I was by no means satisfied with just making it to this point and being competitive. I wanted a check! I stayed relaxed through the last game and bowled one of the best games of my career, shooting 267 to get a check and move on.
The round of 36 was a new chapter, with no pinfall carryover and the addition of the 11 current season champions. Most of these 11 players were the highest rev-rate players on tour, and this caused the lanes to break down a lot differently. This caused the left side to also play much differently, and I missed the quick transition that left my ball choice only being good for knocking down 9 pins. Dropping immediately to 36th was a blessing in disguise because it forced me to be bold in my choice of ball and line. I went to a weak hybrid and cut the hook down more and increased forward roll, speed and loft to combat the hook in the front part of the lane. This allowed me to recover from -32 to +146 by the end of the block and leave me 50 out of the cut to the top 18. In the 2nd round I moved to within 9 of the cut score, but then hit the “death pair” which had knocked both Mike Scroggins and Patrick Allen out of contention and it got me as well. I struggled with the reaction during this block as well as physically struggling with my grip on the ball due to the sheer number of games (52 this week + practice = about 60-65 games). I was not able to figure out how to handle the low part of the center until the last game. That was enough to move me up a couple of spots at the end and bring my check up to $4150, so that was satisfying.
Overall, the opportunity to bowl against a tremendous field of PBA champions was very, very satisfying, and one that I will remember. I was able to hold my own at age 55 against the best in the world. I also had a LOT of fun! Who could ask for more!
USBC Open
In the USBC Open I got a chance to practice on the Showcase lanes for an hour. There were differing opinions on how useful this practice was, but in my opinion this practice was INVALUABLE and probably made a 100 pin difference in my all-events total. Our team has 3 left-handers and 7 right-handers. We tried specifically breaking down the right lane by taking the ball up the boards from 5-6-7 to about 6-7-8 at the break point, and letting everyone do whatever they wanted to do on the left lane. The right lane broke down better, but the “hang spot” down the lane does not go away. The best description I’ve heard of the pattern is that it plays like a short version of chameleon.
The characteristics of the pattern are that the mid-lane hooks, the end of the pattern is pretty tight due to the amount of buff at the end of the pattern, and the back ends are really hooking on the fresh. This is exaggerated on the Showcase lanes, since these lanes have far less play than the lanes that are in play. New lanes have a LOT of friction where the oil is light or non-existent and smooth out as you get more and more play.
So, why is the pattern so different this year? Yes, the USBC did shorten and flatten the pattern a little this year in an attempt to slow down teams from just burning a spot and opening up the lane. However, most of the difference is that these lanes are NEW. The lanes in the stadium (where it seems like we have been bowling for an eternity) have a LOT of play. You could put last year’s pattern down in the lanes in Baton Rouge and they would play tougher (although not as tough as this year’s pattern).
My recommendations for this pattern are to start with a medium solid with surface to smooth out the pattern until the pattern blends out. If your team gets left of 15 before the first game is over, you’re dead because the hang spot comes into play too much and you can’t control the pocket with anything. If your team stays right of 12 (right side) for the first game and migrates more slowly by bumping to slightly weaker equipment you have a good change of minimizing the effects of the hang at the end of the pattern.
On the left you can stay with some surface and stay between 5 and 10 for most of team event. Again moving in too quickly will cause the hang spot to get too much in play and make it difficult to control the pocket. In my case I used a Roto Grip Dagger (weaker symmetric hybrid) with a 1000 surface to control the pocket and smooth out the lane.
In doubles and singles it really, really depends on who you follow. In most cases you will need to move inside quickly on the right as the medium volume pattern dissipates quickly. This will call for smoothly sanded to polished weaker equipment). On the left you will want to go to weaker equipment with a lightly sanded surface and try to stay left if at all possible.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Senior Masters Match Play
My first match was against Don Blatchford. I started out with a good reaction, finishing ahead 221-200 after game 1. In game 2, I chopped the 3 off the 3-6 (how I don't know) in the middle of the game, followed by ringing the head pin around the 7 on the washout. This happened about the same time as Don's reaction got pretty good, and he struck out for 235 to my 173. I couldn't catch up the last game, as Don shot about 690 to my 610.
The second match was against hall of famer Dave Soutar. Dave had a horrible reaction on the left lane and I didn't have a very good reaction on that lane either. All the left lanes on the low end hooked very early, and it was a battle to get the ball down the lane. However, I had to stay with a ball strong enough to get off the break point and not sail through it. With the help of 3 washout conversions, I survived 571-549.
The third match was against Kent Wagner, who I faced in this tournament last year. I was still on the low end of the house, where I really didn't have a good reaction. By late in the first game I realized Kent had a pretty good reaction, so I needed to make a ball change to keep up. I went to a stronger solid, moved right to go 20-10 (which is really steep for me). This worked until the end of the 2nd game, when the head oil went away. I tried to fight through it, but a couple of opens later I had to make another ball change. Down 95 after 2, I finally went to a weaker pearl and got back to a decent reaction. Kent's reaction vanished, and in the 9th frame I was clean with a 4-bagger and still had a chance. However I was a little short in the 9th, leaving a 2-4-7 to dash my chances.
This was a really good tournament - I was able to play steep angles deep on the lane with confidence. This is the best my armswing has felt in a very long time, and I'm looking forward to the next 3 stops.
Senior Masters Day 3
Today was just about hanging around my position to get a good draw. Finished at +138 (I was +104 from day 2). I'm getting more comfortable with the ball reaction, which has been about 16-21 at the arrows out to about 10.
Senior Masters Day 2
Day 2 was a much better experience. Once I moved deeper on the lane (started at about 15) I had a very good reaction. Shot 287 the first game, then maintained a good reaction through the first 4 games. Every time the ball "checked" (i.e. made an early move) I quickly made another move to the right. Went from -23 to +104 and moved from 64th to 11th.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Senior Masters Day 1
Frustrating day - I felt like I had an +80 look and ended up at -23. I just couldn't get a good feel for the shape of the reaction. In the end, I was trying to go too soft on speed and I was trying to allow the ball to get a little too far left at the break point. My initial look with the Victory Road seems to be great, but I really didn't make good shots the first game, and ended up shooting 181 on an easy 220 pair. I went fishing the second game and shot 161. After putting myself in that hole, I bumped down to a Tropical Heat and shot 216 with a couple of really good shots in the 10th. I was hoping to stay with this ball after making the turn, but the ball wanted to stand up the wrong way. I went looking for another reaction, but the Virtual Energy was a little too early in the mid-lane and lost too much energy. The first shot struck but the next shot was a 3-6-7, so I went to the Dagger, which got down the lane very well. I doubled but then made a bad shot and left the greek church for 183. The last game I tried to stay with the Dagger but I had enough push that it was a little weak. I went back to the Victory Road, but I didn't get the ball as far to the right (about 9-10 at the break rather than about 6) and stayed a little firmer, made good shots and ended up with 236.
Now I move on to 2 blocks of fresh, so I'm planning to take the lesson from this block and try to keep the ball at 8-10 at the break instead of 6-7 on the fresh. I still want to try to play a little right (about 12-16) with something medium and not more than about 2000 surface so that I can get the ball to push enough to store energy.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
USBC Masters Days 1 & 2
Got off to a good start at the Senior Masters. Shot +37 day 1 and +25 for day 2. Playing the edge of the OB with Brunswick Wild Card drilled 25 x 3 3/4 x 70. I wanted to let the ball burn up energy and not create too much change of direction at the back end. This worked well both days as I used a One drilled 15 x 3 7/8 x 70 and a 60 x 4 1/2 x 70 Mission the first day, as well as an old RXS drilled pin ring with about a 45 deg. This combination of balls allowed me to stay outside 12 and play the part of the lane that played a little tighter, which gave me a more consistent look the first two days.
Now for the mental part. After 2 weeks of getting beat up on the lanes after I let another player get into my head (and my confidence), and having no chance at the Senior U.S. Open (there were 0 left-handers in the top 24), the lefties have a good look this week. I have finally been able to just bowl and not worry about my swing or release or how far plus or minus I am. I have stayed patient, taken each shot, each pair as it comes and I've made the adjustments, bowled my best, and moved on. The 180 games have not bothered me - I've done my best and taken the result. I would like to stay in this frame of mind, now that I have it back. Work on your game in practice - when it's time to score: JUST BOWL.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
PBA Sr Tour Columbus
The scores today were HIGH!!! I started 279-257, but then the transition got me, and I didn't shoot ANYTHING for the next 5, then finished with 267. This still leaves me 60 out of the finals, but I got some help from Mo yesterday and today, and we set my equipment up for tomorrow (when in doubt, sand it more and drill a bigger weight hole).
I started with the MoRich Mania, which was unbelievable at the beginning of the block, and I probably should have gone to my Mutant Cell in games 3-5 when the lanes got a little tighter, then on to the C-System 3.5 at the end of the block. I did go to the 3.5 the last 2 games and shot 215-267, but game 7 should have been 230-240 if I had been more focused.
Tomorrow the game plan is to start with the Mutant, then go to the Mania when the tighten up, then drop back down to the 3.5, probably after I make the turn or the next game after. I think I can get about +350 tomorrow, which would get me to +575 or so, which should be enough to make match play.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Masters - Day 2
The second day I started with a game plan to play the lanes straighter, as most of the lefties had more success doing that on day 1. In practice I had trouble finding a look going straight that I was comfortable with until I tried my pin-ring Clash, which reacted beautifully to the pattern. I used this ball the entire block. Once I made the turn down, I had even better reaction and shot 214-258 in games 3&4. This left me right at the cut score, but the last pair was much tighter and I couldn't get the ball to roll up properly. On a pace to shoot 190 clean and not make the cut, I gambled a little and squared my line up a little more. On the left lane in the 8th frame this worked, but the ball released too soon on the right lane and I left a 4-6-10. I ended up +40 and 23 pins off the cut score, but I was very happy with my tactical play and my physical play in this block. Sometimes you make a lane move decision and it's not the right one, but I'd rather do that then not make the move and "what if" myself afterwards.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Masters - Day 1
The Masters is a sprint and a grind. It's a sprint in that you only have 5 games each day to position yourself to make the cut. It's a grind in that you have to be patient and keep filling frames and keep yourself in the tournament. I did that today for the first 3 games, but didn't react enough when the mid-lane got tighter in game 4, costing me 3 consecutive opens. I should have made an arrow move left after the first washout, but instead tried to make a 2-2 left move, which didn't help my reaction at all.
Tomorrow I'll be bowling on the late squad, after 5 games have been bowled on it. As quickly as the right-handers moved into 20-25 on the fresh squad, I'll need to move left to stay off their burn in the front of the lane a little bit. This was also the most successful strategy used by the left-handers today, and falls into my comfort zone, anyway. So, I'll move left, firm up my ball speed, and try to stay on my toes to get the best reactions.
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