RealTalk #3 HOUSE SHOT to easy or to hard?

[Theo McNair]

What is considered to easy for a house shot, what is considered to hard? I have heard bowlers complain about the THS being to easy, then I have heard bowlers complain when the shot is tougher. What is the happy medium? is there a happy medium? Not enough oil, too much oil, just right? Is just right good for some and bad for others, you tell me, I'm confused. :) Does a tougher league shot create balance when you are in a high handicap league or is it a disadvantage to the "better bowlers"?

Ex. I have heard people refer to lane conditions as being "no shot" then I have heard others say they "love the shot" If someone can't hit the shot does that mean there is no shot? Or does it mean they can't hit the shot?

I know there about 10 questions within this post but you get my drift. :) I guess the real question is what is considered to easy for a house shot and what is considered to hard?

[JM]

Every house has a house shot and they are not the same in every house! It really does not matter what the shot is. SOME will bowl good and some will bowl bad. EVERY BOWLER must stop and admit to them self that they could be throwing a bad ball. Timing is off. Hitting the ball on the down swing when they should be hitting it on the up swing. you could put the same shot out for 5 days. if the bowler has a 1 bad day. YOU CHANGED THE SHOT. I don't hear to many bowlers say they threw a bad ball. What woudl be the excuse of the golfer if he hot the ball and it went way left of the fairway? I have never heard a golfer say that the wind blew it, the golf gods directed it there. They know who was at fault. We the bowlers need to admit our faults and we would all be truly better bowlers.

Easy shot or hard shot should not matter, if you look around and there are 40 bowlers and all of them are shooting 20 pins below their avg. ADJUST. learn to move and make yourself a better bowler. You can not always blame the lanes and all that. Just as Humidity will affect the condition. Who's fault is that. OH NO don't tell me you will blame GOD for that.

PLEASE just bowl enjoy the game, Have fun, make adjustements and you as wel as all the bowlers around you will enjoy the game and have a better time.

[Martin]

Regardless of the shot, you still have to play it. People forget bowling isn't just about striking, spares are a major part. If all the shots were too easy then everyone would avg 220. The same ones that claim the shot is to easy couldn't find the pocket on a sport shot. Some people just like to talk to make themselves look good. As the old saying goes Be careful what you ask for, cause you might get it.

As for the shot, a good bowler can adjust to anything. For example. In college went to a clinic and each lane had a different shot. One lane everyone had problems with, but soon the better bowlers found a line. Come to find out. It was a 50 ft flat pattern and they took a mop and swirled it up and down the lane. No matter what the shot, everyone has to play it.

[Samuel McCallister]

Hi all. In this world of high performance bowling balls and all the exotic lane oils. bowling is still the same as it was in 1969 when I was rolling a rubber AMF Pro Classic. I was hooking the ball off of the wood lanes then, just like I can hook my 900 Global Bounty off the synthetic lanes now!! I already realize that when it comes to adjustments, I am my own worst enemy. But it doesn't change the fact that I could still average in the low 190's with a rubber or plastic ball in the old days, but just can't seem to get those synthetics down pat. It doesn't matter how much oil is out there, what matters is how fast you can adjust to the conditions.
Thanks for reading, and have a BLAST bowling!!

[Michael A Williams II]

I mean to me, any house shot no matter what it is, is too easy!!!!!! to me the house shot isn't really bowling, it's more of a crap shoot with who is gonna win the game, or the tournament. this is because you don't have to be a very consistent bowler to score, because the way that the oil is applied to the lanes allows the bowler to have more area than he/she should have. i mean when you can miss right a mile and the ball comes screaming back, or miss left and the ball sit in the oil, and still hit the pocket, scoring is going to be really high. those people who complain about not being able to find lines on certain lane conditions just need to learn about bowling, and how to adjust to score. to me, house shots should be outlawed from bowling period, because it takes away from the integrity of the game. bowling is not an easy game to learn or to play, and people need to start learning about the game before they start complaining. I think sport bowling is the way to go all the time, because you have to bring everything that you've learned about the game together and put it to use. from accuracy, ball speed, approach, hand position, loft, and being able to play the whole lane from gutter to gutter. these are things people need to know before they start complaining. you know this is the only sport that people want to make easy. i mean, when people go golfing, they want to conquer the toughest golf courses, and they will brag about shooting a good score on it. and they should, because they did well on a tough course. but, when they come bowling, if they aren't scoring, it's never their fault, they either blame it on the lanes, or maybe the shot is a bit different, what ever the case may be. then they come and shoot 300 on a house shot and think they've done something special, when in reality helen keller could shoot 300 on the house shot, and she's blind. i guess what i'm saying in a nut shell is, before you start complaining learn what you are doing. and the worst one's are the people thats been bowling for 30 years and think they know what's going on and don't have a clue

[Nick Smith]

House shots are intended for local house league bowlers, NOT the advanced tournament bowler. As long as the house shot is consistent wether its hard or easy it is fine. Banning house shots is not smart at all. Thats what brings alot of your bowlers out. If you ran sport shots all day everyday you would lose participation. I think the only way to judge a house shots level of difficulty is to look at the scores being posted on it and the bowlers doing the scoring. If a large percent is scoring well with honor scores than your shot is alittle on the easy side. A real bowler shouldnt complain about a house pattern as long as it is the same night in night out we will find something that works.

To answer Theo's other part, no ther is no happy medium to please all in my opinion, because everyone doesnt throw it the same.

[Akil Razzak]

I say most house shots we bowl on are to easy and they give us inflated averages so when we actually have a challeging shot we fail. People are now getting accustomed to seeing big numbers posted and if not they complain to leage and house officials. I have learned that you have to know when you're throwing it well and when you're not and be able to adjust to different patterns. You're not going to bowl well on all patterns so that's why you have to develope a B-game strategy also. Certain shots make it easier for certain bowlers and visa versa. I have found that alot of people don't want to bowl but instead want to score!!!! HUge difference. Sometimes you can shoot 190 and threw it well and sometimes it can be 250 and threw it bad. You have to know the difference. I don't beleive there is such a thing as saying no "shot" unless they oil gutter to gutter and go 60 ft. But even then you can throw it straight and depending on the volume and density of oil create a little surface. Ask yourself this?? How many bowler would give up the 220-230 averages to be 190's in leages that have a diffrent challeging pattern every wk????

[kevin jamison]

I agree that every house has a different shot. Let me make one important analysis. Most houses are not giving the league bowlers any perks for bowling a 800 series or 300 game. So many are being shot now that you have to pay for your 300 ring from USBC. Open bowling pays way more than league bowling and this is just a fact. In most houses now they are catering to the open bowlers on Friday and Saturdays and trying to figure out how to keep their lanes preserved from the open bowlers and the beat up on the lanes by the league bowlers.
My suggestions is go gutter to gutter and go at least 36 to 40 feet with the OIL. Then it doesn't force all the righties to go and get super soakers like now in some houses because this really tears your lanes up faster. This will force everybody to improve on being shotmakers and not area players. The truth hurts but to be honest most people just want to see it hook and not be shotmakers. This pattern forces people to get back to basics and to be very honest about it if you take away the bump in most houses most bowlers would not have a clue. Gutter to gutter gives everyone the chance to score be it 1st arrow,2nd,3rd,4th, and 5th arrow. Now you have to really put time in to be better than average and have the right piece to match up to the lane conditions and on any given night if you are the one to carry you win big. If not you still can shoot your 650 and be happy.
Just my opinion and I do have over 25 years and numbers to back it up. Time to shut up and play and respect peoples game. Let your game speak for itself. The difference between winners and losers is losers find all the excuses to problems and winners find the answers to their problems. Which are everyone of us ? Just food for thought. KGJ

[kevin jamison]

I just wanted to add one thing Theo. I personally don't care what shot is out there. We still have to make shots. I know a lot of so called advanced bowlers who would quit after 6 weeks if they didn't average 220 or better. (21 games if you get my drift). But I don't believe in taking pot shots at any bowlers. Lefties or Righties. Bowling has gotten to be expensive. If you bowl in a league where dues are 25 dollars which for 36 weeks is 900 in dues only. Most advanced bowlers get in brackets and sidepots which could easily put you over several thousands of dollars. It is almost a buisness now and teams make adjustments to put their teams in position to win. I don't remember to many second place finishers. So if you bowl in 2 or 3 leagues plus bowl in numerous tournaments it can add up to the tens of thousands easy. So too easy of a shot is where blind people can come into a house throw the ball and it hits the bump and it walks to the pocket. So yes that is definately too easy of a shot and too hard of a shot can be debated for hours on end. Shoe up, smile and lets compete because we sure don't live in a perfect world. P.S. You guys (McNair brothers), are doing a great job. Don't let anyone tell you guys you are not. Very few tournament and league directors would even have an open forum for the bowlers and management to have dialogue. Keep up the good work and keep striving to do your best. KGJ

[adorna hayward]

Well I have seen it from a bowling alley mechanic's point of view. Those that complain are not consistent with their game at all!!!! My father puts out the same pattern Monday to Friday and the same people will come bowl league on a monday and then again on a second night. Monday it's too much oil, and then by Wednesday it's not enough, and 'tells' my father that he did not oil the lanes since Monday (as if they were there all day every day). It sweets me to see people complain about everything else but about them selves.

To me the house shot is like attrative people.... beauty is in the eye of the beholder...... the shot is in the head of the bowler.

[TIM MCNAIR]

My position on this topic is that i would want the house shot more on the difficult side......not too difficult but definitely not easy as some of the house shots i've bowl on. There is however one catch to all of this......it need to be this way in all houses. My reason being is that if every centers house pattern had the same level of difficulty it would change the culture of league and competitive bowling. One thing i have witnessed over the years about bowlers as that they will adapt if you force them to.....case in point, about 5 years ago very few tournaments in the south put out challenging patterns for fear of drawing low entries.......now it seems that alot of tournament directors are doing it and the bowlers have adjusted their mindset and expectation. Making house patterns more difficult will help the overall sport of competitive bowling......here's how. Bowlers would practice more, some would get lessons and possibly be more of a student of the game, bowling balls and equipment would sell more, tournament interest would increase, and i think bowlers would have more pride in the sport, whether its a hobby or a passion. And everyone wins.....bowling centers, tournaments, pro shops, bowling coaches, etc. Now i know and realize everyone dont have the same interest and level of commitment to bowling and like Kevin said, everyone dont have the finances to be involve in it the same way. My solution to that is maybe we can change the house patterns to be more difficult in the so called more competitive leagues, like the Thurs. nite mens, Jackpot, and other leagues that are made up of your more serious bowlers. Me and my brother are firm believers that if you raise the level of expectations, people will stop blindly settling for anything you hand them. Lets expect more.....it only makes us better.

[Cris]

Be prepared folks...Midtown has a new shot this year. More grease (oil) :). Otherwise, I just bowl.

[Hiram Mills]

Theo - O.K. you got me to talk. The flood gates have been opened. Eqiuipment and conditions adding in a lot of ability, has taken good bowlers to great bowlers. It is what it is. This is going to be streight up. A real bowler should't complain about a shot. A real bowler has always adjusted to the shot that was given. No disrespect to those I do respect but, I AM SICK OF HEARING COMPLAINTS ABOUT A SHOTS. That goes for anything or anywhere I bowl. Theo, I heard one of the bowlers in the Eric D. tourny complain all day long. Please bowl and stop complaining. I bowl on whatever is given to me. My average goes down when I struggled and goes up when I see the shot and adjust right through the night. Come on people...If you consider yourself a good bowler...adjust and just get it!