Now that you mention this and the pattern carving thread... I wonder now if that is what George did at the Melbourne Tenpin cup at Epping in 2009 knowing he had the right to a rematch... He went 170ish then 300...
Is winning all that matters?
- Thread starter John_Velo
- Start date
Now that you mention this and the pattern carving thread... I wonder now if that is what George did at the Melbourne Tenpin cup at Epping in 2009 knowing he had the right to a rematch... He went 170ish then 300...
Michael Little
Active Member
People do bowl league because it is supposed to be a partially social yet competitive environment. Yes there are a multitude of leagues to bowl in catering for various levels of skills and abilities. I do not believe however that if a casual social bowler was to watch a competitive league, they would be put off joining some other form of league. As someone mentioned above, a new bowler should progress through different levels until they build up to that competitive level, but I believe it is the individual centres duty to foster new participation for each new person that walks in the door.
I also think the second paragraph, that if winning is everything, then you wouldnt shake hands etc, is IMO incorrect.
I want to win everything that I bowl in, from my local league to each tournament I play in, I do also want to bowl each ball as perfectly as I can, but it does not mean however I am void of showing good sportmanship or congratulating someone if they beat me. There are only a few things I can do to prevent my opponent from winning and if I dont win, I know there is a reason that didnt happen and that there are things I need to work on to limit that happening next time. I quite often get annoyed when I am bowling, mostly due to my own lack of perfection in executing shots the way I want to, but never due to someone beating me because they didn't deserve too.
For me winning is pretty close to everything, a win is a win, but I am also savvy enough to realise there are various forms of winning and some sit more comfortably than others. And if there comes a point when winning is too far a stretch, the competitive winning nature is enough to still ensure I finish as high a place as I possibly can.
Michael Little
Active Member
Unfortunately with our long formats, we dont necessarily see pattern carving by design, but more by the lack of knowledge of tournament bowlers. With such a variety of styles on the right hand side of the lane, we are our own worst enemy, some more so than others at times, when the condition opens up in our favour we are unstoppable, but it rarely happens anymore with asymmetrical patterns.
The last two national tournaments have shown how much of a difference occurs when bowlers with particular similar styles have shots concentrated in a similar part of the lane. It was quite noticeable in the QLD Cup the effect the women had on how the lanes played, where the majority of them bowled around the 8-12brd mark wearing out the traditional track area of the centre. This basically screwed the shot on the right for the back half of the day, creating massive over under reaction forcing the men to move inside on lanes that have quite a noticeable reduction in carry potential once you move left inside the normal track area.
A similar occurance happened with the combined qualifying for the Australian Open, it just depended on who you followed to the next pair and what squad you bowled in. Almost thought the right hand side might have been alright for the matchplay when the fields seperated but they trashed out again because 1 bowler decided to use a dull high end ball in the track area for most of the day, again screwing the ideal shot for the majority.
Wal Brooker
New Member
Jason, I agree with you that Mick Little's recent posts are spot on. He talks about the Masters where one bowler using 'a dull high end ball' trashed the condition for most of the other competitors.
I was there at the time and pointed out that very fact to a few other spectators. I thought at the time "if you cant beat him, join him and do the same."
But this carving up the oil patten has been going on for a very long time.
John velo's dad and my good friend once told me how, on occasion, he would 'sacrifice' a couple of shots to cut up an opponent's line.
I guess you can look at it any way you wish but it will always happen while we have oil on the lanes.
It seems to me that any really 'serious' player should turn up with a plan to combat this and any other variation that may occur.
The problem is that a truckfull of balls may be required in the modern environment where as way back in the 'good old' days a slight change of line was mostly all that was required.
Why do you think so many of the Pro bowlers these days carry at least one Urethane ball for when the conditions get 'tough'..... Just ask Belmo and Osku ..
I was there at the time and pointed out that very fact to a few other spectators. I thought at the time "if you cant beat him, join him and do the same."
But this carving up the oil patten has been going on for a very long time.
John velo's dad and my good friend once told me how, on occasion, he would 'sacrifice' a couple of shots to cut up an opponent's line.
I guess you can look at it any way you wish but it will always happen while we have oil on the lanes.
It seems to me that any really 'serious' player should turn up with a plan to combat this and any other variation that may occur.
The problem is that a truckfull of balls may be required in the modern environment where as way back in the 'good old' days a slight change of line was mostly all that was required.
Why do you think so many of the Pro bowlers these days carry at least one Urethane ball for when the conditions get 'tough'..... Just ask Belmo and Osku ..
That was kinda the point I was making. It's impossible for it not to happen. However, it's not often done by one person to benefit themselves while creating a disadvantage for others. Because of the sheer number of righties it's borderline impossible for even a small group of us to do it properly. We simply don't spend enough time on one lane for it to work.
Cow
