Are the days of bowling down 5 board slipping away?

[Ubby]

Im not sure if limiting the amount of balls anyone takes with them to league or a tournament is the way to go. People should feel free to choose how many balls they want with them.
I think the problem is not everyone is being educated on upper/lower body & hand/finger adjustments and for that matter on ball surfaces or drilling layouts.
For juniors the obvious choice is their coach. Adults are a little different since they more often than not dont have a coach. Adults either need to do the research themselves or find a mentor in the form of a high ranked player or high performance coach to bounce ideas off.

 

[Toon]

Some good points and some very stupid ones...unfortunately.

The original question was asking if people have changed their games over the years to accommodate the new technology and if you think rolling down 5 board is becoming obsolete.

To John and Ubby, unfortunately I think 9/10 bowlers would take a ball change over a hand adjustment. I know I used to. I am moving in the other direction these days and spending more time on release adjustments.

 

[magpi17]

There is a guy out there at the moment in some of the best form of his time (or the time I have been around him) and he is using the edge to terrific effect on many different patterns at various centres and tournaments all with the same ball, A Roto Grip Mutant Cell.
Name of Dale Fitzgerald.

 

[John_Velo]

G'Day Toon,

I have been taking a longer look at release and approach more than anything over the last few months, a few steps backward to make a few steps forward. As Magpi17 has mentioned, it can still be done. I think for the guys that fly to events, taking more than four balls would start to be expensive, so learning the craft of bowling is very important, more so than simply grabbing another ball from the dozen odd they have with them.

But taking a lot of kit has been around for years. When dad bowled, four was the most he took were some of the guys had 10+. I remember one event where one bowler had 20 odd with him. It took longer to bring them in than bowl his squad!

I still have a few funny things I add to each ball from dad's era. As an example I have a small holes in each ball to indicate three or four different index finger positions. That way I grip the ball the same way each time, finger out if I intend to come around the ball, finger in if I intend to roll the ball more upright. It has stuck with me even after 24 years off and is still relevant to today kit. Heck I missed the entire Urethane era and returned to the world of reactive sponges.

It is going to be interesting to see how we fair up at the Plastic Ball SS #4 next month. Good technique and bowling craft will be more important than anything as the ball swap is not permitted.

 

[Bigsy]

I have found a ball for you Toon.





Bigsy...

 

[Michael Little]

Im not sure if limiting the amount of balls anyone takes with them to league or a tournament is the way to go. People should feel free to choose how many balls they want with them.
I think the problem is not everyone is being educated on upper/lower body & hand/finger adjustments and for that matter on ball surfaces or drilling layouts.
For juniors the obvious choice is their coach. Adults are a little different since they more often than not dont have a coach. Adults either need to do the research themselves or find a mentor in the form of a high ranked player or high performance coach to bounce ideas off.

I think there is a lot to be said about increasing knowledge on how to make adjustments as most people that travel to tournaments, just can't take the volume of equipment to cover all bases if needed. I also think that our quest or more so the industries quest to continue high scoring negates a 5brd line to be shot in most centres unless you are left handed. The sheer volume of traffic on the right prevents this now, especially as the lanes aren't conditioned to allow outside lines to be used. They think that hitting a dry spot at 5 board 40 feet down the lane with the ball starting around 20 board is the way to go. I would love to personally bowl more tournaments where the condition is conducive to the right bowling 5brd or out and the shot lasting for most of a squad. The angle and the revolutions I can generate from the breakpoint means I have a slight advantage over a lot of other players. Sadly, it just doesn't happen.

There is such a variety of styles bowling on the right, that bowlers tend to just use their A game or preferred style, so those that are comfortable bowling down 5 board will, those that play inside, tend to go inside. Some just can't bowl anywhere else due to limitations in their technique and game. This is where increasing bowler knowledge can be useful, especially with how the lanes tend to break down on the right side.

The post above regarding Dale, kind of highlights how people will tend to find the shot that caters to their strengths on the right side, but perhaps not always the right shot for the condition presented. Dales game has come along in leaps and bounds over the last few years, and the ball mentioned is a high performance ball. With Dale's game, reasonably straight, lower revolutions, it allows him to still use aggressive equipment like the Cell in a high friction part of the lane keeping him bowling to his strengths as long as he possibly can.

 

[Geoff300]

Interesting topic

For me, as a young bowler some many. many moons ago , I used to only
ever Bowl 5 board or even wider but as lanes and balls an oiling patterns changed
It became way too hard to be out there, Even for me as a Lefty. After 3 - 6 shots it was gone

So as Michael rightly says people play their insidish shot mostly and they have lost those skills
of bowling off 1 - 3 board

This is why i believe so many league type bowlers are against NOT having the THS put down

But the reality is with a Short pattern, bowling out wide IS the shot and when you get it right
it is sweet as can be, granted get it wrong and it's in the gutter but that's where accuracy comes in

 

[jason_doust]

When your house lays a 10 board ditch, you'd be mad to be playing 5 board. You're playing where there is early friction, close to no area and you have to use a weaker ball to boot. Where the house lays a crown allowing you to play between 10 and 5 board, that's a different matter altogether. Dale grew up on Gosford lanes, which have that nice 5-10 blend, allowing multiple angles in this part of the lane. (Which personally is my favourite kind of easy house shot as it offers a variety of strategies instead of being slavishly forced to play inside-out to a breakpoint around 10 and working out carry.)

And let's face it, Dale is a merry handful when he can play out with some room, but it doesn't always work. To his credit, Dale can play lots of other parts of the lane, but like all of us, he's got his favourite bit, so we see him out there whenever it's a look. PBA players will tell you about "the Norm/Walter Ray Test." i.e. If Norm and Walter Ray aren't out on the edge, it's impossible out there. Don't even look. Maybe we'll have the Dale test soon.

We are all products of our environments. I grew up swinging to the edge with urethane, winning tournaments from there and averaging more than 220 for leagues, but today it's still not an "A" game over bellying a chunk of reactive gelignite on most patterns. Urethane just won't carry like the reactive ball beyond a few games, when it then needs to be aggressively cleaned. Even my Avalanche Urethane, which I consider to be one of the best urethane balls ever made doesn't carry like any reactive ball.

Carry is a function of deflection and reactive resin just doesn't deflect like urethane does.

If you want a perfect picture of just how bad the THS blocked lanes have made us, in recent years I have met quite a few 200+ average bowlers who are scared of playing 5 board because of the risk of throwing it in the gutter. They are scared they'll miss by 5 boards. Yet they average 200+. You can interpret that as you wish, but I see it as a damning indictment on our game as a sport.

FYI - The other part of the Norm/Walter Ray test goes like; If Norm and Walter Ray are out on the edge, it may be possible, but maybe only for them! They are that good out there. I've seen Norm and WRW point right to left over 5 board with about 15° of tilt and throw big numbers. That's buh-luddy straight, btw!