Finishing Second Place in a Scratch Tournament

This past weekend I bowled in a scratch tournament held at one of my local bowling alleys. The format was simple. We bowled 4 games on the house shot, and at the end of the day, high pin count won. After three games I had a pretty comfortable lead of around 35 pins and bowled a 214 game to end my block. I thought this was enough, until another bowler struck out from the fifth game on to shoot a 256 and beat me by a mere 3 pins. However, I am still excited about this accomplishment and felt like I bowled really well. This gave me confidence to possibly spend a little more money and bowl in more local tournaments. After all, how else will you get better if you do not prove to yourself that you can perform in pressure situations. Local tournaments are a great way to gain valuable experience, especially if you want to one day cash in a PBA tournament.

PBA Tour Television Schedule For 2010-2011 Season

It has finally arrived! The long awaited televsion scheedule for the PBA Tour Season has been posted. It is going to be an exciting year and I cannot wait for the action to start on November 28th. DIrectly from the PBA website, here is the full schedule for the whole season:

2010-11 LUMBER LIQUIDATORS PBA TOUR TELEVISION SCHEDULE
(All times are Eastern)
Sunday, Nov. 28 – Brunswick Pro Bowling PBA Cheetah Championship, ESPN, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 5 – PBA Viper Championship, ESPN, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 12 – PBA Chameleon Championship, ESPN, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 19 – PBA Scorpion Championship, ESPN, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 26 – PBA Shark Championship, ESPN, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 9 – PBA’s U.S.A. vs. The World, ESPN, 1 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 14 – PBA World Championship Stepladder Round One, ESPN2, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 15 – PBA World Championship Stepladder Round Two, ESPN2, 10 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 16 – PBA World Championship Stepladder Finals, ESPN, 1 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 22 – PBA Tournament of Champions, ABC, 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 30 – One A Day Men's Earl Anthony Memorial, ESPN2, 2 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 6 – Chris Paul PBA Celebrity Invitational, ESPN, 4 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 13 – USBC Masters, ESPN, 3 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 25 – 68th Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open Match Play Round One, ESPN2, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 26 – 68th Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open Match Play Position Round, ESPN2, 10 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 27 – 68th Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open Stepladder Finals, ESPN, 3 p.m.
Sunday, March 6 – GEICO Mark Roth Plastic Ball Championship, ESPN, 1 p.m.
Sunday, March 27 – Dick Weber PBA Playoffs Knockout Round One, ESPN, 2 p.m.
Sunday, April 3 – Dick Weber PBA Playoffs Knockout Round Two, ESPN, 1 p.m.
Sunday, April 10 – Dick Weber PBA Playoffs Knockout Round Three, ESPN, 1 p.m.
Sunday, April 17 – Dick Weber PBA Playoffs Championship Round, ESPN, 1 p.m.

Bowling a 297: Good or Bad?

Last week during bowling league, I struggled through my first game. I could not carry when I threw it good, and I was not throwing it good very often. I finished with a 172, wondering if this was just going to be another night getting me closer to playing golf once a week. Then, all of a sudden it came together. I threw the first two strikes and joked with my doubles partner for that match that we should shoot 600. Well the next thing I know, we both had the first 6! He missed in the 7th frame, but I continued on, the closer I got the more nervous I felt. I have not shot a 300 in serveral years, and by the time I reached the 12th ball, that bolwing ball felt very heavy. I stepped up to the approach, and my mind was clear, until I realized a sdistinct noise....silence. The entire bowling center got quiet, not one other person on the approach bowling, and not one person making a sound. All you could hear was the sound my footsteps made as I stepped closer to the foul line. Then, with my mind filled with doubt, I pulled it so bad, I missed the headpin altogether, leaving the 1-3-6 there laughing at my face, as well as some of the other league bowlers. A 297, which is the third highest game you can bowl and still be disappointed. However, most people will tell you a 297 is a great game. Of course it is, but how would you feel if you were a pitcher on the 27th batter in a perfect game and he bunted and reached on first with a single. Feel free to leave comments. My opinion is that it was a little bit of a dissappointment, but it sure has gotten me excited about tonight!

P. S. - The ball I threw was my Hammer Razyr.

Bowling On the Chettah Pattern This Weekend

This weekend is one of my favorite weekend's of the year for two reasons. One, of course, is the celebration of our nation's Independence Day. I can already smell those hot dogs and hamburgers sizzling on the grill. The next reason is that there is a PBA tournament right in my very backyard.

That's right, the PBA Gastonia Open is this weekend at Liberty Lanes, and I am looking forward to it. This will be the 10th tournament I have bowled in, and hopefully will be the first one I manage to cash in. To prepare for this event, I have drilled up all new equipment (I also broke my thumb and my layout changed anyway), and I got myself a lesson from a local PBA bowler who is much better than me and has much more knowledge.

The first thing I learned is that there are a few myths out there about the Chettah pattern I need to forget. The first is that you do not necessarily need a polished surface bowling ball. Despite the Chettah pattern being the shortest pattern, it still has a high volume of oil in the front, and with a polished surface, it will go too far down the lane in most cases. WHen thiss occurs, the ball retains too much energy and the result is a skid flip reaction that often times overhooks. In order to tone out that reaction and get more of smooth, arcing reaction, you must sand the surface of your bowling ball, for me a 1000 grit abralon pad seemed to work the best.

The second thing I learned is that the myth about having to play outside of the 5 board is true. I am not saying you cannot strike if your ball is inside that, but the most consistent way to find the pocket is to be as outside as possible, and yes, that could mean the dreaded 1 board. The board that scares most amateur bowlers to death. If you can stay behind the bowling ball with a rough surface and stay outside of 5, you have a very good chance of cashing.

Wish me luck!

My Highest PBA Experience Bowling Game

Last night in my PBA Experience league, I shot the highest game in my life and a halfway decent set. We were bowling on the Scorpion pattern, which is one of my best patterns since it is one of the long patterns.

I started off with my Hammer Jigsaw Corner and was playing the lanes pretty straight, and the ball still had a 2000 abralon finish with a little polish. It was going ok until the end of game one where I started coming up high and could not seem to adjust. I decided to switch to my Hammer Psycho, which is much more angular, and I moved two arrows left with my feet and played much deeper. After a few shots and getting lined up, it was time to bowl. I put on quite the display, striking 9 times out of 11 and shooting a 240. I started the game with a 4 pin on a ball that I slightly pulled, then threw two strikes. Next, I pulled yet another, but got a break only leaving the 5 pin on a brooklyn shot. Then I struck out until the second ball in the tenth, where I pulled it yet again.

It was a great game and as much fun as I have had in quite a while. I cannot wait for next week to see if I can continue this new found skill.