Let's go bowling!
CaptainPeacock
Board Game HoarderTop o' the LakeRegistered User regular
Board Game HoarderTop o' the LakeRegistered User regular
Ah the great sport of bowling. What could be more enjoyable than hurtling a heavy sphere towards several hapless, stationary objects with the objective of completely obliterating them? Add beer into the mix and you have fun for the whole family! It is a game that is simple enough for children to learn and play, with the help of some specialized equipment, but is complex enough to host a competitive, professional atmosphere.
There are quite a few different types of bowling games played around the world. Having lived the entirety of my life in the western United States, I have only had the pleasure of playing 10-pin bowling. For those not familiar, 10-pin bowling is a variant of the game wherein a player is required to knock down 10 bowling pins by rolling a bowling ball down the lane. Scoring is done by counting the number of pins knocked down in a frame, which can consists of one to three throws of the ball. Extra points are scored for knocking down all 10 pins in a single frame in either one or two throws. Fallen pins are cleared between throws, and a game lasts 10 frames.
So let's hear from you fellow bowlers! Do you play 10-pin, or one of the other variants such as candlepin or duckpin bowling? Who plays on a league, and what is your average? Share stories of your triumphs and defeats on the lanes!
Cluck cluck, gibber gibber, my old man's a mushroom, etc.
CaptainPeacock on
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I am not very good, though. I average about 100. My highest was 137.
I tended to use a heavy ball and not put my thumb in (not saying this is smart but it was the only way I could spin the ball. was not strong enough with the thumb in to get it right) but I know that's not the right way to be bowling.
I'm actually way more interested in this than I thought.
If you want to put a spin on it, shoot for lighter ones, Var.
Where did the term english for spin originate from I wonder? I know people use the term the same way in pool as well.
As for bowling, it's quite fun, but I'm rather rubbish at it. Luckily for me most bowling alleys tend to have pool tables as well.
Good question... I have no idea. I'm the one with ESL around here, you guys should be telling me this stuff...
Personal best is a 192. Game-by-game is anywhere from that when I'm on to about 100 pins lower when I'm off.
Gear does have something to do with how well pros can bowl, but more important is their experience. There are a lot of factors involved with rolling a good, solid game consistently. Grip, stance, approach, release and follow-through each have their important do's and don'ts, with some flexibility in there for creativity and style.
Ball weight depends on the bowler. A heavier ball will, by it's nature, grip the lane better and establish a nice hook if drilled and rolled properly. A lighter ball will more often go quite faster, and thus create more pin action when it hits. The proper ball for a person all comes down to balancing these factors.
Personally, I roll a 15lb Emerald Vibe and it works fantastic for me. For the longest time, I couldn't get a noticeable hook out of my previous ball at all. It worked great when I bought it(used, of course), but it quickly ran out of life. I wised up one day and invested in a brand new ball and relegated the old one to my spare ball, which I only use to pick up the 10 pin.
when I bowled thumbless I used a 16lb house ball, they had a few so usually I could find it, and I got pretty damn good spin. I'd bowl 160-200 fairly regularly but that was only over a month or two stretch that we played a couple of times a week. I'd hurt the fuck out of my wrist though which made me figure I was doing something wrong, as did seeing someone use his thumb AND a heavier ball than I was using. I just couldn't imagine doing that with enough force while using the thumb.
Now that I know that there's no right or wrong way (to an extent anyway) I feel better just knowing I wasn't being retarded and he wasn't necessarily doing what would be right for me.
how much do bowling balls go for? I don't even have a clue.
You can get a nice reactive ball for near or below $150. Mine was $129 with free fitting and drilling. I went fingertip, as I had used a ball in the past that was drilled fingertip and I found my release was a lot smoother that way than having more of my fingers in the ball.
Not so much a spin as it is a consistent misfire in one direction.
I only really have one notable thing to tell about it. I forgot what year in highschool it was, but it was during Spring Break. Friends and I gather to do the bowling thing. During one of our games I made a bet with my friend Juli that if I beat her she'd have to go on a date with me. That was when I got my highest score ever (which was like 190ish). So, the game after that she made a wager with me; if she wins, I would have to wear the dress. That's when she got her highest score ever.
As an aside, when I told this story to some coworkers our resident creepy old pervert said at the end of it, "Did you make your next bet on if you wear britches or not underneath?"
Last season there was a pretty bad moment during league night where right as practice was starting, there was a strange knocking noise coming from the floorboards on our lanes. Nobody realyl noticed unless you were standing right over it due to all the chatter from the other teams. After the first few practice balls had been thrown, we started hearing even louder THUNK CLUNK noises, this time coming from the ball return. While the resident mechanic was being summoned, the next couple of practice balls had already been thrown. Sure enough, when they came through the return the same noises started happening again. Since I was one of the first pair of practice balls, I picked up mine to see if there was an damage from whatever was causing all the noise. After turning it over a couple times, I found a huge-ass chunk missing from one side. Showing it around, everyone that threw also checked theirs and each one had some really nice new groove marks carved into it.
Mechanic pops the ball return open and pulls out a mangled GI Joe from between the belt and rail. Apparently some brat from earlier in the day had decided the ball return was a great place to set up a Cobra ambush.
Honestly, if there was a lane nearby that did some sort of membership program, I think I'd bowl every night.
On a side note, Let's Go Bowling is a decent ska band. It's too bad they aren't on the jukebox in the alley I go to (not that I'd expect them to ever be on a jukebox).
This makes me want to go bowling with him
Obligatory link to Big Lebowski Clips
http://www.hulu.com/the-big-lebowski
Edit: I actually just drank a couple white russians in honor of this movie ... at a bowling alley.
GM: Rusty Chains (DH Ongoing)
Yes?
I mean, darts, poker, golf etc. are sports, so I fail to see how bowling doesn't qualify as a sport.
Though I probably just shouldn't let myself get baited by what is most likely a trolling post.
From what I recall researching and from what I've been told by many seasoned players, the greatest chance for a strike occurs when the ball enters the pocket (between the 1 & 3 pin for right-handers and the 1 & 2 for lefties) at a slightly curved angle. This is the reason why most practiced bowlers prefer to roll a hook instead of a straight ball. Their ball will always connect with the pins at an angle. Revolutionary spin of the ball causes the pins it hits to fly in different directions, thus reaching those pesky 7 and 10 pins in the corners. This method doesn't always work, and even a good shot can leave sticks up, but it's regarded as the best chance for a high score.
Now, all that said, a straight shot is not by definition a losing shot. It is much easier to throw a straight ball, and everyone learns the game by doing so. It is just much harder to strike with. If you are aiming at a fresh rack with a straight shot, you want your ball to roll down the lanes towards the pocket at an angle. If you aim at the pocket straight on, your ball will most likely connect with the head pin (the 1, as you correctly state) and deflect to the right or left depending on which hand you use. Yes, even a big heavy ball will deflect when it connects with those dinky pins down at the end of the lane. Thrown fast enough, a straight ball won't be deflected as much and will travel a straighter path through the pins. In that case, the risk is that the head pin will not carry over to take out the 7 (rear left) pin.
I save a straight throw for the 10 pin only. Since my main ball hooks to the left, attempting a hook shot at the 10 pin would always result in a miss for me. That's when I break out my spare ball, which barely hooks at all.
Also near my college there was a duckpin lane, but I never ended up going.
The town bowling alley is bizarre. Used to be owned by a fundie so it was always awkward going. Now it is owned by this dude that imports all kinds of Japanese arcade machines and whose wife used to work in restaurants in Tokyo and who makes authentic-ish Japanese food, rather than your standard fried crap you usually get at alleys. I live in a really small town in the middle of nowhere so this doesn't make much sense.
It was a joke, yes.
I don't understand how all of those things ended up as a sport, however, they seem more like hobbies but people will go watch them, so obviously I Differ.
GM: Rusty Chains (DH Ongoing)
GM: Rusty Chains (DH Ongoing)
Step 1: Get heaviest ball you can find there.
Step 2: Fucking launch that son of a bitch towards the pins as hard/fast as you can.
Can only do a few games before my arm hurts, but it's hilarious to do this. The pins fly around so hard that I normally get a strike if I hit one or two pins.
(Keyword is: if)