Spare Shooting Woes

After switching to #bowling left handed a year ago, I am still struggling with my spare shooting.  In an effort to improve my accuracy, I tried keeping hand behind the ball, but I was not able to hit my mark consistently.  One week, my spare shooting would be decent, and the next week it would be non-existent.  I got a new plastic ball and had it drilled conventional for my spares.  I worked on my spares using a suit case delivery this week, and I felt like I made a little progress.  I have 3 more opportunities to practice before league in the New Year.  My goal for this year right now is to have a 180+ average in both of my leagues, and I know I wont get there if I can't pick up my spares.

Hope everybody has a blessed New Year.

12/16/11

#bowling
My spare shooting was better tonight.  I didn't miss any spares on the left hand side of the lane (which is a big improvement) but I am still struggling with spares on the right hand side (missed the 6 pin twice , the 10 pin twice and the 6-10 once).  I rolled a 198, 206 and a 161 for a 565 series, and raised my average to a 173.

12/15

At the start of #bowling last night, thought I was going to have one of my better nights.  Started out with a 224, had 6 stirkes and I picked up all 4 of my spares.  At the end of the 1st game, my ball started to go through the nose, and I tried to pick up the speed.  When I did that, it threw off my timing, and I didn't get it back.  (Since switching to the left hand, I have yet to successfully be able to pick up the ball speed when the lanes start to break down.  Spare shooting really hurt me in the 2nd and 3rd game. (I had 4 opens in each game.)  I finished up with a 159 and a 170 for a 553 series.

I got a couple of practice games in today at lunch, and only used my spare ball.  We will see if it helped any when I bowl league tonight.

12/9/11

Picture of consistency tonight.  Rolled a 207, 140, 199 for a 547 series.  In warm ups, my Hammer Toxic was going through the nose, so I switched to my plastic ball.  Going into the 2nd game, my ball stopped making it up to the pocket, so I tried going back to my Hammer.  Wrong move; I ended up with 5 opens (3 splits).  I tried to stay with that ball way to long.  Going into the 3rd game, I went back to the plastic ball and moved an additional 2 boards to the left (I bowl left handed) and I was back in the pocket.  I need to remember when I am in the pocket, and carry down causes my ball to come in light, just move a couple of boards and roll a more direct shot.

12/8

Tonight was a struggle.  I usually like rolling on the outside (1st arrow) but the ball was hooking too hard (Hammer Toxic).  Tried moving inside some, and then I couldn't get the ball up to the pocket.  Along with that, my spare shooting was no where to be found the 1st game.  Ended up rolling a 146 the 1st game (almost 40 pins under my average).  Midway through the 2nd game, I switched to my plastic ball and went a little more direct to the pocket.  I ended up rolling a turkey in the 9th and 10th frames to salvage a 178 for the 2nd game. I was pretty much in the pocket during the 3rd game.  I had a double and a 4 bagger along with 2 opens for a 213 game and a 537 series.  I will take that after the way I started, and I wasn't too far below my average (184).

Hopefully, I can do a lot better in league tomorrow night.

12/2/11

After rolling 600 series in my last 2 league nights, I was back to reality.  Did not carry too well (11 strikes for the 3 games) but my spare shooting was decent in the 1st and 3rd games.  However, I was 2 out of 7 for my spares in the 2nd game (3 splits).  I rolled a 191, 153 and a 181 for a 525 series.  I still averaged a couple of pins over my 171 average, and we won 5 out of 7 points.  We will be competing for the 1st half champions next week (position round).

12/1/11

Rolled my 1st left handed 600 series on my Thurs night league.  Rolled my 1st 600 on my Fri night league right before the week of Thanksgiving.  Can't complain about back to back 600 series.  Tonight my spare shooting was pretty good.  I didn't have my 1st open frame until the 10th frame of the 2nd game, and ended up only having 2 open frames for the night.  Had a total of 12 strikes for the 3 games and had a 1st roll average of 9.03.  I think making the 1st step of my approach a half step (to help slow down my feet) has been a major factor in the improvement of my game.  I rolled a 232, 193 and a 199 for a 624 series.

11/18/11 Friday Leage

Had a good night of bowling, and I rolled my 1st 600 series in league since switching to the left hand.  Like I said in my earlier post, I needed to keep my feet slow along with making my 1st step a half step.  That and staying focused on my mark through my delivery made for a consistent night.  I rolled 226, 190 and a 194 for a 610 series.  I only had 5 open frames for the set (and one of those was a split).  I was 6 out of 8 on my single pin spares, which is a big improvement.

2011 Carl Richards Open Results

The payout for the Carl Richard's Open is available at http://carlrichardbowl.com/CROPayout20111.pdf.  Me and my partner tied for 10th place in doubles.

11/11/11 Friday league

Strikes were hard to come by, but I was consistent.  I only had one double the entire night (10 strikes total) and I rolled a 168, 169 and a 160 for a 497 series.  My spare shooting is still my biggest problem.  Being that I had a total of 9 open frames with 4 of them being splits, shows that my spare shooting is improving.  I picked up 6 out of 8 single pin spares.

I am also still having problems with my timing.  I can tell when I deliver my ball that my timing is off, because I don't get any lift on the ball.  I can tell its off, but I don't exactly know where I am messing up my approach.  However, I practiced Monday and Tuesday, and I started shortening my 1st step of my approach.  That seems to have helped on both my strike shot and spares.  Obviously, the real test will be when I bowl league next week.

11/4/11 Friday league

Did not bowl well last night.  Actually, I was good on my spares to the right of the head pin, but did not do well on the left side.  Half way through the night, I figured out that I was taking my eyes off the mark early, and I believe that was causing a lot of my problems.  I need to continue to work on picking up the 7 pin though.  It was an extremely frustrating night, but the fact that we won 5 out of 7 points made it a little better.

11/3/11 Thursday league

I still missed a couple of spares, but overall, my spare shooting was better tonight. I only had 1 double in the 1st and 3rd games, and I ended up rolling a 170 in both games. I did get a few more strikes the 2nd game, and rolled a 213 for a 553 series. It was nice to actually start picking up my spares.

11/2/11 Practice / Workout

Finally got the thumb hole opened up enough on my new spare ball (drilled conventional) that it doesn't catch.  It looks like I am only going to use it on the spares to the left of the head pin, and will use my vis-a-ball (drilled fingertip) for spares on the right.  Had a good practice set today.  Worked on my 7 pins spares at first, and then rolled a set for score.  Was concentrating on just keeping my eyes glued to my target through the entire approach.  I think I was taking my eyes off of my target, and then going back to it.  Those times that I was able to keep my focus on my arrow, the ball was on target.

I had posted a news article earlier about a college bowling workout.  Well, I didn't know how to do all of the exercises, and I don't have any weights.  So I did some balance drills, some push-ups and some lunges with no weights.  I hadn't done lunges before, but it didn't seem too bad when I was doing them.  But later on when I had been sitting for a while, and then got back up, I felt it.  I understand why they said it was a once a week work out (and I only did 1 of the exercises listed).  I hope I can bowl ok tomorrow.

Practice 26 October 2011

I have really been struggling the last couple of weeks and I have been averaging in the 140's instead of the 170's or 180's lately.  (Other than when I bowled a 670 in doubles at the Carl Richards  Open.) I got some practice in the last couple of days along with getting a new spare ball (drilled  conventional). I think it just boiles down to keeping  my knees bent, slowing down my feet and staying focused on my mark throughout my entire approach. The last couple of practice sessions have been good, so we will see if I can carry that through to my league bowling this week. I did best when I could feel that I was in to my slide before the ball was released.

Pindowners league (20 Oct 11)

Started out not being able to hit the broad side of a barn. In the 3rd game, I concentrated on keeping my elbow in and staying focused on my mark, and I went from rolling a 142 and a 146 in the 1st 2 games to rolling a 201 in the 3rd. Will see if I can put 3 good games together tomorrow night.

1st 600 series (left handed)

My 1st 600 series since switching to bowling left handed.  (Bowled during doubles at the Carl Richard's Joplin Open on 15 Oct 2011.)

Carl Richard's Open, Joplin Mo

Well, I just got back from the Carl Richard's Open in Joplin, Mo last night.  Definitely had some highs and lows.  Can't remember the last time I bowled as bad as I did in team and singles, but then I set new personal highs when I bowled in doubles.  So it was a mixed bag.  During the Singles and Team event, I was doing so bad that I was asking my self what I was doing there, what made me think I could compete.  But with rolling my high series and game in the Doubles event, it showed what is possible, and that I need to keep at it.

I entered the tournament with a 174 average, and ended up averaging 169 at the tournament.  If anybody has any suggestions for my spare shooting, please let me know.

1st set - Singles

We started out rolling singles on Saturday.  I couldn't find a good line on my 1st ball, and as usual, my spare shooting totally vanished in the second game.  My spare shooting was even worse than usual.

I started out with a 156 for the 1st game.  Only had 3 strikes, I did pick up all 3 of my single pin spares, but I did have 4 opens.  My 1st ball average was 7.54 which just doesn't cut it.

Like I said earlier, my spare shooting totally left me for my 2nd game.  I only had 1 strike, and I missed 8 out of 10 spare attempts for a 113.  One good not for the 2nd game was that my 1st ball average increased to a 8.36.

On my 3rd game, my spare shooting did improve.  I felt like my spare shooting was a little more consistent than the 1st game.  However, like the 1st game, I only had 3 strikes and had 4 opens.  I did manage to keep my 1st ball average at 8.36, and I rolled a 151.  I did mange to put a couple of balls in the pocket in the 10th frame, so I at least ended up on a good note.  I ended up rolling a 420 series in singles, and I was glad I did that in singles and not doubles.  (My handicap for the tournament was a 174.)

2nd set - Doubles


Things totally turned around for doubles.  I ended up rolling my 1st 600 series since switching to bowling left handed, and also had my high game since switching back in January of this year.


In the 1st game, I had a total of 6 strikes (3 doubles) and picked up 3 out of 5 spares.  (Did not miss any single pin spares.)  My 1st ball average was up to 8.91, and started the set off with a 194.

I rolled my high score in the 2nd game.  I started out by not converting a baby split (3-5-10) and then the next 9 balls were strikes (the 1st 8 were in the pocket).  I did cross over and carry a Brooklyn for the 1st ball of the 10th frame.  I paid for it with the next ball.  Put it in the pocket, and left the 7 pin (which I did convert).  With all of the strikes, my 1st ball average was up to a 9.63, and I ended up rolling a 266.

I rolled well the 3rd game also, just not as well.  I had a total of 7 strikes (a 4 bagger and a double) and had 2 opens (1 split) for a 210.  The split happened in the 10th frame.  I think if I had been able to stike out in the 10th, I could have hit 700.  But I will take a 670 series (almost 100 pins over my previous high).

3rd set - Team


The team event on Sunday was pretty much like the single's event on Saturday.  Couldn't find the strike shot, and my spare shooting was mediocre.  Should have got something to eat while I was bowling though.  During the 3rd game, I started feeling light headed and was starting to sweat.  I turned out to be low blood sugar, and I was ok a couple of hours later, but that didn't help my bowling.  I ended up rolling 143, 163 and a 127 for a 433 series.

Weekly bowling update (7 Oct 2011)

Had had my high series for this season on Thursday and Friday night.  On Thursday night, I had a 560 series and have a 185 average after 2 weeks.  And then tonight (Friday) I rolled a 580 series (212, 154, 214).

Both Thursday and Friday night, I switched to my spare ball, and rolled the ball down the 5 board, and have had good results so far.  My strike percentage has been right around 50%, and my 1st roll average tonight was 9.21.  (I believe 9.21 is my high since switching to my left hand.)

My spare shooting continues to improve, but I had a relapse in the 2nd game, and couldn't pick up any of my spares.  I had 5 strikes and did not pick up any of my spares.  I kept on pulling my arm across my body.  Going into the 3rd game, I started pulling my left shoulder back, and I was able to keep from pulling my shot across my body.  I ended up only having 1 open the 3rd game (7 pin).

Still looking for my 1st 600 series.  I am knocking on the door.

Fri League (30 Sep) and practice

Had a rough week last Friday night.  The 1st game was mediocre, and then I had spare problems again during the 2nd game.  The 3rd game, I put away my high performance ball, and broke out my vis-a-ball.  I moved my feet to the 22 board, and changed my target to the 1st arrow, and wound up rolling a 199 for the last game.  For the night, I rolled a 167, 130 and a 199 for a 496 series.  It only brought my average down one pin to a 171.

I practiced my spare shooting today, and created a cheat sheet for my spares.  Just moving my feet a specific number of boards off of my strike line (using my straight delivery) doesn't seem to work with my left hand.  Part of the problem may be that my approach is going straight toward my target, so moving my feed doesn't make as big as a difference.  Below is where I am standing on the approach and what my target is.

(Remembering that I am bowling left handed now)

10 pin - 25 board, 4th arrow
3 pin - 30 board, 4th arrow
2 pin - 32 board, 3rd arrow
7 pin - 32 board, 2nd arrow

For the 6 pin, I stand in the same spot as when I am shooting at the 10 pin, but my target is just to the left of the 4th arrow.  And pretty much the same adjustment for the 4 pin, I stand on the 32 board, and my target is between the 2nd and 3rd arrow.

We will see how that works this week.  I hope it helps.  Got my 1st tournament coming up pretty quick.

Fri League (23 Sep 11)

Again this week, my first 2 games were decent, and I thought I had a good shot at my 1st left handed 600 series, but things fell apart in the last game (again).  I started out with a 186 and a 191, and things kind of fell apart the last game.  Left several splits and difficult spares, and ended up rolling a 145.  To get that 145, I picked up the 4-7-10 and doubled in the 9th and 10th frames.  I ended up rolling a 522 series, which is a couple of pins above my average, so overall it was a decent night.

My bowling record can be found here.

My 3rd game is averaging 30 pins lower than my 1st game.  Not sure how to fix that.

Fri League (16 Sep 2011)

On a good note, I rolled my 1st 200 game of the season with a 226.  The past 3 weeks, I was the picture of consistency rolling series in the 540's 3 weeks in a row, and all of my games were relatively close.  I was not quite so consistent this week.  The 1st game, I was locked in and got pretty good carry.  I had one open frame, which was a 7 pin.  The second game, I rolled a 169.  I had a couple of balls go through the nose, and I tried to speed up my ball.  That was the wrong adjustment.  All that did was throw my timing off.  I should of just moved to the right, and finished on a good note after making that adjustment.  The 3rd game was one of my worst games of the season.  All of a sudden, my ball stopped making it back up to the pocket.  I assumed I was doing something wrong in my delivery (instead of just moving back 2 boards to the left).  I did eventually move back to the left, and got my ball back in the pocket.  My spare shooting was pretty good tonight, except with the 7 pin.  Now that I am putting the ball in the pocket more often, I am leaving more 7 pins and I need to get it figured out.  I missed the 7 pin 4 out of 5 times.  On a good note though, I did have a 55% strike percentage.   I shot a 226, 169, 136 for a 531 series, and my league average is now up to a 172.

Fri League (9 Sep 2011)

Feel like I bowled a little better this week.  I didn't roll quite as many strikes this week, but my spare shooting was better.  My ball wasn't making it up to the pocket rolling over the second arrow.  Moved further outside, and my ball started running.  I stayed on the outside, and switched to my Tropical Storm (something that doesn't hook as much).  I ended up rolling with my vis-a-ball in the 3rd game.  In the 3 games, I only had 12 strikes, but I cut my opens from 11 a week ago to 6 this week.  I rolled a 182, 191 and a 176 for a 549 series.  

If nothing else, I have been consistent.  My series the last three weeks have been 545, 541 and a 549 this week.  With that, my average is up to a 171.

My scores for the season can be viewed at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AoYRqw1wwNtNdDQ3R09RX2xXWGdRQWozN1p0YUhKdmc&hl=en_US#gid=0

Fri League (2 Sep 2011)

Had a decent night this week.  I averaged 180 for the second week in a row, and brought my average up to a 167.  I rolled a 181, 177 and a 183 for a 541 series.  Looking at the score, it was a pretty consistent night, but my spare game needs a lot of work.  The 3rd game should have been my 1st 200 game of the season.  But after starting off with a 4 bagger, I had 3 single pin misses, and ended on  a sour note (even though my scores continue to improve).

7 pin killed me tonight.  Over the 3 games, I only picked the 7 pin 2 out of 6 times.  As far as my 1st ball goes, I had a 46% strike percentage which is decent.  I had a total of 9 opens over the 3 games.  Will see if I can reduce that next week.

If interested, my league stats can be viewed at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AoYRqw1wwNtNdDQ3R09RX2xXWGdRQWozN1p0YUhKdmc&hl=en_US#gid=0

Fri League (26 Aug 2011)

My bowling improved this week. Started out the 1st game with a 195, and things were going well. (Had a couple of strikes and I was picking up my spares.) Things went south at the beginning of the second game, and I had 4 opens in the 1st 5 frames. I had a 55 going into the 6th frame, but I ended up salvaging a 193 by rolling a 5 bagger starting in the 6th frame. I rolled a 157 the last game (strikes were harder to come by, and I had a few splits). I was happy with my bowling for this week, and I brought my average up 20 pins from last week.

Fri League (19 Aug 2011)

My scores were no where close to what I expected the 1st night of bowling.  A couple of days prior, I rolled a 234 and a 185 in practice, but that didn't seem to carry over to Friday night.  The lanes were rather dry on the outside, and there didn't seem to be a lot of strikes from anybody.  With that being said, I was not upset with my bowling overall.  My spare shooting has continued to improve, and the majority of my opens were due to splits (except for a stretch in the 2nd game where I had 4 opens in a row).  I ended up with a 141 average after the 1st night of bowling (154, 122, 148).  I finished up last season with a 159 average, so if you throw out that 2nd game, my night wasn't too awful.  Guess I will have a little bit of handicap next week.  My goal for this season is to carry at least a 175 average, and I believe that is a realistic goal.

Wendy Macpherson named BWAA July Bowler of the Month | bowlingdigital.com

Macpherson continued her success on the Japan Professional Bowlers Association (JPBA) Tour with back-to-back wins in July, her ninth and tenth career JPBA titles. This pair of victories gives her 30 professional titles overall, in addition to her 20 PWBA titles won through 2003.

Sport Tournament (3 July 2011)

Well, bowled in a sport tournament on the 3rd, and I am glad there was no entry fee.  I don't believe I have bowled worse in a tournament before.  I wasn't able to get anything going.  The way I started out, I said to myself that I would be happy if I could manage to average 150 or better.  Well, I ended up averaging 149 for the 9 game set.  About 3 quarters through the tournament, my wife mentioned that I was lifting my head before I was releasing my shot (meaning I was not keeping my eyes on the target through the delivery).  Not only that, but I found in practice that I was also not staying down through my delivery (standing up at the line).  It was hard to come away from the tournament with many positives, other than I have a lot to work on.

Friday Night Mixers (8 Apr 2011)

Rolled the last week of the league last Friday, and had a decent night.  There seemed to be more oil on the lanes which resulted in a few more splits and a lot more spare opportunities.  During the 1st game, I moved where I was standing a couple of board to the left, and was able to get my ball to the pocket.  But I pretty much had to roll a perfect ball to get a strike.  During the second game, I moved back to my normal board, but moved my feet forward about 1 1/2 feet in order to slow down my ball.  That seemed to do the trick.  I did struggle a bit on the last game again.  I rolled a 157, 202 and a 161 for a 520 series.  I ended up with a 159 average after 12 weeks bowling left handed.  I am very happy with my progress.  Of note, in the last 8 weeks of the league, only 2 of them were below a 500 series, and I bowled at least 1 200 game each of the last 5 weeks.

My stats for the last 12 weeks can be viewed here.

My pin fall for last week:

Friday Night Mixers (1 April 2011)

Had a good start for a change last night, and thought I was going to have my 1st left handed 600 series.  Rolled a 217 and 216 for the 1st 2 games, but struggled on the last game for a 151 and a 584 series.  Even with the 151, it was still a good night.  It was my 1st back to back 200 games, and it is also my high series so far.  My second game should have been a lot higher, but I dropped the 1st ball of the 7th frame in the channel after starting off with the 1st 6 strikes.  After that I wasn't able to get anything going.  Looking forward to next week.





League record

Friday Night Mixers (25 Mar 2011)

I ended up having a good night at the bowling alley tonight (despite choking a couple of times).  I rolled my 3rd 200 game in 3 weeks, and rolled my high series (558).  As usual, I had a rough start.  I managed to roll a 171 the first game (despite having 4 opens).  The first game was tight, and I was able to strike in the 9th, 10th and 11th for the win.  (We wouldn't of had a chance if the other bowlers on the team didn't show up in the 10 also.)  In the 2nd game, I had an open (split) in the 2nd frame and guttered in the fill ball on the 10th frame for a 184.  I rolled a 203 the last game.  As with the other games, I tried to spoil a decent game with a 4 count on the 1st ball following a 4 bagger.

Overall, I am happy with my bowling tonight and my progress overall.  After this week, my average is up to a 154.

My league record can be viewed here.

My pin-fall for tonight is below.

Friday Night Mixers (11 Feb 2011)

Again this week, nothing impressive with my scores.  I rolled at 153, 127 and a 123 for a 403 series.  I came into tonight with a 137 average and averaged 134 for the night.  My first ball was better.  I didn't have any frames where I pulled the ball and lost count after a strike or spare.  I have gotten better at keeping my hand behind the ball through my release which has resulted in better pin counts on the 1st ball.

However, now that I am able to roll the ball with less hook, I need to adjust my target and where I stand on all of my spares.  It was a good sign in the 3rd game when I started out with a 9 count in the 1st 3 frames (I am starting to keep my ball around the pocket) but I didn't pick them up.  In fact I only had one mark in the 1st 6 frames.  I did turn it around after that and started picking up spares.  Additionally, my team did not want to change the lineup, so I am still bowling anchor (with the lowest average on the team).  So I still have the added pressure of that on top of just trying to learn to bowl with my left hand.  I am still enjoying the challenge, and we were able to win 5 out of 7 points tonight.

My average since I switched to the left hand can be found at https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AoYRqw1wwNtNdDQ3R09RX2xXWGdRQWozN1p0YUhKdmc&hl=en#gid=0.

Good practice session (26 Jan 2011)

Had a good practice session today.  When I missed my mark today, I was still leaving myself makable spares (instead of putting the ball in the gutter).  I know it doesn't sound like much, but I had my 1st game above 150 today and my first set above 400.  I am currently rolling my 1st ball over the 1st arrow (standing on board 17) I am shooting the majority of my spares over the 2nd arrow and using the 3rd arrow for my 7 and 4 pin spares.  I ended up shooting a 143, 116 and a 156 for a 415 series.

1st left handed practice session.

Well, I got my ball today and had my 1st practice session.  Obviously, the first several balls was just trying to get my feet straight and being able to release the ball on the correct step.  I rolled 6 games today, and my left shoulder and right leg were a little sore.  I ended up rolling 70, 80, 109, 94, 120 and a 144.  My release started to feel better during the 4th game.  Additionally, I finished my practice session on a good note.  During the last game, I had 1 strike and 6 spares.  I pulled the ball on the other three frames and ended up leaving a 3 count on the 1st ball on 2 of the frames, and putting the 1st ball in the gutter on the other frame.

As far as my back goes; it did a lot better.  I did get a couple of back spasms towards the end of the set, but it was probably due to muscling the ball.  I was able to deliver the ball following the spasms with no back pain.  I do  think that this will work, I just need to stay with it.

Hopefully, I will be able to get some more practice in tomorrow and Friday before I bowl league Friday night.