Matching up or skills..which one is more important.

[wchester]

The following is a post written by multiple PBA Tour Champion Ryan Shafer..
It sounds like you people just expect to come out and bowl and succeed right away. Take a look at my career stats. Pretty mediocre until 1995. That's 8 years of learning, practicing, and bowling every tournament I could to get better. I wasn't on a staff until 1994 and that was just shirt staff. This instant gratification s*** has got to stop. What ever happened to working your way up and finally achieving your goals. And MATCHING UP is a "you problem". People that match up all the time make themselves match up. Guys like Tommy Delutz are incredible players who make very subtle changes to match up.They just don't walk in and say here I am , I'm matched up. Matching up is a phrase used by those not versatile enough to figure something out and move on. Certainly the ball is part of this, but you have do do the right thing in the proper spot to make it work.Don't just blame one aspect. There's 39 boards on the lane. Find one that gets you to the pocket and repeat.

 

[Pyro]

Completely agree with him the majority of bowlers expect to come in week in & week out stand exactly where they always do and be able to hit the pocket & strike most of the time. Im only 36 but i was taught the proper way & that is to move your feet & adjust to the condition of the lanes!

 

[Brenton_Davy]

I agree largely with the above. Matching up really shouldnt be a factor until it comes to maximizing carry percentage. There are just times when a certain piece of equipment with a certain layout just happens to match up better to a condition/carry characteristic.

 

[weggy]

Until I was 18, I had only ever used a urethane ball. It always felt good to outplay someone with a 3-4 ball arsenal But I digress...

I agree with Shafer as well. The idea of a one-ball tournament has been discussed elsewhere on the forum, but it would be interesting to see such a tournament trialled through the PBA first. Let's have 3 rounds of play, with contrasting conditions each time, but bowlers are only allowed one strike ball and a spare ball for the whole tournament. Then we can see who the real pros on the tour are...

 

[Pyro]

Why have a so called "spare ball" cant you flatten youre shot out to take out a 10 or 7 pin????

 

[weggy]

cant you flatten youre shot out to take out a 10 or 7 pin????

The short answer is yes, but depending on the condition you are up against, and a bowler's consistency on the day, it is easier to have a straighter ball. If you want a more 'in-depth' explanation, send me a PM and I'll explain it.

 

[AdamT]

Why have a so called "spare ball" cant you flatten youre shot out to take out a 10 or 7 pin????

Why should we force people to use equipment for a purpose that it wasn't designed to do? Strike balls are designed to hook, hence they will hook on certain conditions even if you flatten the shot out. If your ball has an ounce of side weight it can still hook a fair bit even if you don't put any fingers on it. My point is is that we should be teaching bowlers to shoot spares properly. The idea of a one ball tourney isn't to stop people making spares with plastic balls, it's to stop people walking in with 15 balls and always changing balls instead of having to think about the game a little and adjust your shot. These people can just stay in the one spot all day, throw the same shot and just change balls as the condition breaks down. Spare shooting is a real skill and single pin spares should be done using a plastic ball with little or no hook, this way the condition on the lane doesn't matter, you can shoot the same line no matter what's out there and make spares. Walter Ray Williams Jr. is the greatest spare shooter the game has ever seen and he shoots spares dead straight, hence I'd say that's a pretty good yard stick.

 

[jason_doust]

The following is a post written by multiple PBA Tour Champion Ryan Shafer..
This instant gratification s*** has got to stop...
Guys like Tommy Delutz are incredible players who make very subtle changes to match up... Matching up is a phrase used by those not versatile enough to figure something out and move on.

Damn Straight.

Getting this thread back on track, matching up is a combination of many factors. Speed, angle, rotation, tilt, ball surface, ball layout, loft & lift & luck. Some days, you work it out, but not often do you truly "match up" and even then, it can slip away quickly with today's highly reactive gear, often requiring pre-emptive moves.

All this is before we get into the greatest "match up" - the mental game.

 

[AdrianS]

Ahh, pre-emptive moves, now theres something not many people do, how often do people wait till they leave the 4 pin before they move, or wait till its a 4-6 staring at them. Im still guilty of that and i know i should know better!!

 

[wchester]

This one is worth repeating, so I've bumped it to the top again.

 

[Cam S]

great post

thats what i love about the sport

how u always have to think and go looking for where the shot is.

If im struggling on a condition i try to look for someone whos got similar shot to mine and see how their going if they are bowling well i look at their line and equipment and see if i can copy it.