I'm pretty sure I have achieved one of my goals-increasing my rev rate. I started at about 200-225 in the beginning and I worked up to around 300 RPM. Because of this, the angle of my hook has drastically increased. That is also partially due to the decrease in ball speed which allows it to grip the back-end surface that has no oil and pull through. At first my ball would pull too far and go through the nose, leaving me a lot of splits. Now, I found out a way to keep that from happening. That is to move a couple boards right to push the ball left first which allows it to cover more distance. I throw around 16 mph now which is significantly less than before. I'm super happy with the Jackal as it has been giving the results I'm looking for.
Speaking of results, I have successfully achieved a 600 series. It was on Saturday of week six that I threw a 248, 224, 169. This totals up to a 641 series! Not to mention, 248 beats my old personal record of 246. I have finally been able to control the Jackal and stay consistent with it. I threw with faster revs and slower speeds which allowed for an exceptional amount of hook. Since I have achieved my goal I thought I should make another one. I feel like breaking my personal record again would be most appropriate. My 248 game had multiple 9 pins on the first ball and if I'm able to clean those up, my score would drastically increase. That's how much 1 pin can change your score! If you get all strikes except one frame with a 9 spare, your score would be 290. So beating my new high-score will be the next goal I will be pursuing.
3 Comments
Last week wasn't a very good week. Although I did have a solid 190, it cost me some of my thumb. I jacked up my thumb and ripped off some of the skin on the side. I will have to let it heal to be able to bowl Saturday. I am aiming for around an average of 175 for the week. I found a technique that will allow me to throw with a higher rev rate. In order to increase rev rate, you must find some sort of leverage point, whether that be putting your hand under the ball or snapping your wrist last second. Normally a person wouldn't be able to cup the ball with their wrist alone. That is why I have figured out that using my arm in combination will help me create more rotations. This week I had a pretty solid day. I averaged around 175 for 3 games. I had found the best approach and it gave the results I was looking for. I had more carry through the pins then normal which in turn gave me less leftovers. If you had recognized the arrows on the lane, this is how I would describe it. I stood about third arrow from the left and I throw/push the ball towards first arrow on the left. Then it is mostly the ball's job to do the rest of the work. That's really all it takes! If you release the ball effectively, your ball should do the rest. That is the type experience I picked up a while ago. This week I slowed my speed to about 16 mph, which rewards me with the best maximum hook potential I could ask for. Comparison of some shots I had made from week 1 and week 4 below. Sorry for bad quality, it'll probably get better. I have drilled out my ball and I have decided to not get a thumb insert. If I did get one, we would have to drill out more or the thumb hole which is pretty much committing to it. I have no experience with thumb inserts, so this was the safest option. While drilling, the guy asked me an important question. Do I want to make it snap at the back end, or hook more in the middle of the lane. I decided with the latter. I still have a decently low rev rate, but I noticed my ball speed decreased to around 16.5 mph. I even have had trouble with how much my new ball is hooking. Because of my recent decrease in ball speed, my rev rate has gone up. This is causing it to miss the pocket and go through the nose a lot, which leaves a lot of splits.
In order to decrease the amount of splits that I leave, I will have to make some adjustments and there are different ways to do this. First, I can increase my speed a little bit to get the ball to push more down-lane to try to match my rev rate and path of continuation. Second, I could move right some boards and throw it exactly the same. This would give the ball more area to cover before it gets to its target. And last, I could change my axis rotation on the ball and get it to react in a different way like snapping back at the end, or beginning it's path when thrown. All these different ways require practice, and I will be picking one of them to avoid a downfall of my scores. Because of my recent problem with muscling the ball, I have seen a pattern of inconsistency. I throw my 12 and 13 pound equipment around 19 miles per hour. As a result of this, I will be getting a new ball. It is the Motiv Jackal Ghost. This ball will weigh 14 pounds for the purpose of slowing my ball speed down. The ball has a super reactive cover with an asymmetrical core that provides a spot for a maximum center of gravity. This ball will allow me to hook it with more ease while working on my rev rate. Even low rev rates and high ball speeds have no effect on the Jackal, and it will continue to carry through the pins with determination.
I will be getting this ball drilled Friday or Saturday depending on when it will arrive. Usually getting an aggressive ball will require finger inserts for more grip and comfort. I have gotten the ball and my first throw was a strike. I finished that game with a 194 with five strikes at the back end. I'm pretty pumped about this new ball as it gives me more back end power through the pins. I also noticed that it slowed my speed down from about 19 mph to about 17 mph, which will give more space for hooking potential. I'm super excided to test out more of the Jackal and work on getting the 600 series. This week I will be going to league on Saturday, and I planning to record my scores in the score archive. I'm aiming for an average of around 165 or 170, give or take, for the week. I was also advised that my Storm Hy-roadx, is too light for me. This is mainly because I throw it around 19 miles per hour. So for the next week or two I will be searching for another ball. More preferably I will look into the Motiv Venom Shock or the Jackal Ghost. The Shock consists of a gear core with high hook potential, and the Jackal has a more aggressive center of gravity with even more hook potential.
I will probably get a 13 or 14 pound version of one of these. Either one will most likely be a big part in achieving the 600 series. Getting a heavier ball will indirectly cause me to slow my ball speed down a little bit. This will allow it to achieve it's maximum hook potential with my below average rev rate. Getting a 200 game requires stacking strikes and that is what they are born to do. Even though closing all your frames is important, it can only get you so far; For example, a 170. Consistently hitting the pocket will be essential. My goal this week is to find a way to increase my rev rate. The good thing about this project is that I'm consistent in this area. I am in a bowling league that meets every Saturday. They judge the winners off of handicap at the end of the season. Handicap is 200 minus the person's average. If you have an average over 200 you would have a handicap of zero. Mostly to win, you would try to get the highest handicap, because that would show how much better you've gotten. I'm put at a disadvantage in this category as I average 160 today. It is much easier to go from an average of 80 to 100, then go from a 160 to 180. It's just how it works.
So one of my goals including my 600 series, is to improve my average by 5-10. In order to achieve this and shoot a 600 series, I will have to revisit the fundamentals and get advise from my coaches. From now on I will keep track of my scores in the next blog posts (and will be available the score archive above), in order to keep up with my average to see any improvements. That is my main goal this week. |
AuthorHello my name is Josh Clodfelter. My favorite hobbies are football, bowling, and software editing. I enjoy math and science and will strive to become an Aerospace Engineer. Archives |