Discuss: How much skill and luck are involved in bowling a 300?

[Michael Little]

Hey Michael,

I look at it this way. When the shot goes a little high, I ask, did it feel good or was it the lane.

Tonight I didn't ask myself that question because I knew five should not have carried. If you just looked at the delivery and the ball on the lane I would say that four different people bowled the 300. Chicken wings and all. It was a little ordinary, but is makes up for the three good 278's bowled a few months earlier.

I also tried a timing change and moved to a five step approach, my normal shot is four step. So the hole game felt odd. Add to that the medication for Vertigo this week and yeah, lucky.

I don't like to kid myself, because if you do, well that aint bowling and the road up is actually down hill.

Sounds like you did bloody well considering the circumstances then lol

I think your comment regarding the your luck balancing out with a few 270 games is how most people tend to feel. I also think this sums up how a lot of people feel about bowling a 300, it is still a score on the board regardless of how it is done, even guys that have bowled a lot of them, will never honestly say each one was perfect in execution, but most would probably also highlight they have bowled numerous 270, 280, 290 odd games where everything felt right except for the pin count.

 

[da_cowman]

Jim,

28 degrees is far far from the mark.

http://wiki.bowlingchat.net/wiki/images/8/8d/PinCarryStudy.pdf

Look at the first picture provided in this presentation by the USBC. Then imagine what 28 degrees would look like.

I think the preferred entry angle is about 5.5 degree on 17.5 board. I think...

Cow

 

[jimcross]

Jim,

28 degrees is far far from the mark.

http://wiki.bowlingchat.net/wiki/images/8/8d/PinCarryStudy.pdf

Look at the first picture provided in this presentation by the USBC. Then imagine what 28 degrees would look like.

I think the preferred entry angle is about 5.5 degree on 17.5 board. I think...

Cow

Hey, what an interesting study that is - among other things I've always been intrigued by the differences ball weights should appear to make, but the current general view seems to be saying there's no real difference in carry ?

As for the angle. I am going on information I gleaned 40 or 50 years ago, with the equipment then available, but as the angle required to hit the headpin, in alignment with a line taken through the centres of the 1, 2, 4 and 7 pins, if extended away from the pindeck, actually meets the centre of the foulline of the lane second to the right, e.g. pindeck on lane 1, and line extends to middle of the foul line on lane 3. By eye, that looks about 30 degrees. On Plate 7 of that study, with the red lines radiating out from the pocket shows the R/H one of those lines heading in the general direction which should bring it out about wher I have said , two lanes across, I think.

I've stood looking along that imaginary line, watching the ball entry angles of bowlers, and some generate a greater angle than that. Jason Walsh, for one.
Maybe we're looking at the angles from different perspectives - measuring them from different basics or something. Not that it really matters.

 

[jason_doust]

If they could enhance EARL to loft it 60 feet into the pocket that would solve the problem of oil transition.

Then he'd be called HURL!

 

[jason_doust]

A perfect shot in my personal experience, is when I have great timing, the ball is taped perfectly snug, my swing is fluid, the release is clean, my balance is spot on, the loft is exacty what I'm after, the ball speed is generated by swing momentum and legs and the reaction is that smooth transition in the midlane to backend, where it uncoils to just crack 10 out the back. When I throw a perfect shot, I don't even feel the ball at the bottom of the swing. It's that clean. I rate each shot on a scale of 1-10. Shots rating 8 or more almost certainly strike.

But perfect 10's? Really PERFECT shots..? I throw about 2-3 perfect shots a year. I just stand at the foul line and savour them or a few seconds, usually thinking "I'm just gonna enjoy this..." The rest are just practice. Thanks to James McGinty and Eric Jang for showing me how good my timing can be. I remain forever in it's pursuit!

 

[BigDaz]

the best game i have bowled as far as score goes is 300, just over 4 years ago. BUT the best game i have bowled as far as skill and execution goes, was about 1 month ago, at Taree (Wood house, terrible pattern). Shot a 279, consisting of a 9 miss, then an 11 bagger. I'd been feeling off the whole night, couldnt diagnose what the problem was, i assumed it was release related, but then i hit that 9, left the 7 pin up, and missed it by about 1 foot to the right. 1 whole foot. and i thought "wow i got to the line way too early, wonder if thats whats going wrong?"

Proceeded to shoot the 11 bagger, and even carried over the next 4 strikes in the next game.

As for my 300, was about 9 good shots and 3 lucky ones. I have bowled 12+ in a row over 2 games many times and never had 12 flush, always a lucky 1 or 2 or a Brooklyn