Corner Bowling Shop Blog

14 May 2012, Seeing Your Bowling Ball Path, Bowling Tips And Advice

cornerbowlingshop — Mon, 14 May 2012 20:02:32 +0000

Anyone who has been bowling for a while will know the feeling of releasing what you thought was a great shot and have the ball do nothing, maybe even end up in a split. Your problem was not the release but where the ball was put on the lane. You must remember that there are many ways for the bowling ball to hit the pocket. This is a game of angles and the consistent high average bowler is the one who can adjust the ball to the lane and keep the ball entering the pocket at the correct angle. To do this, you need at least two spots. First is the spot you aim for when putting the ball down on the lane. This can be the arrows, the foul line or the dots that are 7.5 feet from the foul line. To really know where the ball is going a good bowler will know where his/her feet are when they approach the foul line, where the ball is as it passes the dots, the arrorws and also at the breakpoint. The breakpoint is the toughest to use. This is the point down the lane where the ball changes direction and turns toward the pocket. Problem is, very few lanes have markers for the breakpoint and it is always changing. As lane conditions change, your breakpoint will also change. The bowler that figures this out has a huge advantage over everyone else.

As you bowl, watch the path of the ball. If it does not take the path you intended, you know how to adjust the line. If you are in a slump, these techniques may be able to help pull you out!!!

07 May 2012, What if tonight is the Night?, Bowling Experiences

cornerbowlingshop — Mon, 07 May 2012 21:19:31 +0000

I have bowled nearly all of my life. Sometimes I think I am just a glutton for punishment and othertimes I am thankful to be able to participate. One of the unique things about this sport is that you never know what will happen. Years ago a good friend and I were starting a new league and it was one where if you could’nt shoot 230 regularly, you should just put the ball back in the bag and go home!! That night we signed up for the doubles brackets and we each signed up for singles as well. I thought I was just making a donation to the prize fund but as we got started, things were going pretty well. I started with a 258 for game 1 , he threw 235 and we cleaned up in doubles for that game. We kept going and before it was over, we had won two games in doubles and I won 2 games in singles. I don’t think I have been cookin like that since! Lots of things have happened since then and every night I head for the lanes, I think “What if this is the night?” Keep the faith and just have a blast!!!!

30 April 2012, Queens Tournament Update, Tournament Bowling

cornerbowlingshop — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 21:45:00 +0000

She came close in 2007 at the Queens Tournament in Charelotte, NC. She just needed one game to claim to the title and threw a real stinker in the finals. In 2012, Diandra Asbaty stepped up in the championship game, threw a strike in the tenth frame and completed her unfinished business. This was not about redemption but a true champion acting like it and doing it her way. Most of us will never get to experience these highs in our bowling career. The parallel is the league match, tenth frame, you need a shot to win. What will you do? You step up, take a deep breath, follow your routine, roll the shot and pray. You get the shot and your team wins. This is Championship stuff!!! If you throw the shot you wanted and you don’t get the score, keep your head up and be the champion. You did what you wanted under pressure. Sometimes the pins don’t fall. This will help you the next time. There will be a next time!!! Heres to the Ladies, the Queens. Well Done!!

23 April 2012, Motiv Sigma Hybrid, Equipment Review.

cornerbowlingshop — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 23:21:38 +0000

Those of us who do not throw the ball hard or do not put a massive amount of revs on the ball have had difficulty finding high perfornace bowling balls for heavy oil conditions. Motiv has produced the Sigma Hybrid. Designed for medium-heavy oil, the Sigma Hybrid reads earlier and provides a smoother ball motion. League bowlers that are rev-challenged or speed dominant will appreciate the strength of the Sigma Hybrid on a fresh house shot. Tournament bowlers will use it on medium-heavy volume sport patterns to destroy the rack. This is music to our ears!! Selections whaere the RG is under 2.50 are getting harder to find. Try it. We bet you’ll like it!!!

16 April 2012, Senior Bowling, Bowling Tips and Advice

cornerbowlingshop — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:09:26 +0000

As we approach our senior years, we may want to get back into the sport of bowling or just continue. There are some tips to help seniors bowl, have fun and score well. First, take a look at your bowling attire. It should be loose fitting and short sleeved to allow freedom of movement. If you are just getting back into the game, a house ball may be a good choice. A conventional grip is recommended for seniors and with house balls, you can experiment with the weight. If you select a ball that is too light you are giving up a lot of hitting power and your swing may flatten out. You want the weight to allow you to feel good after the third game. If you are using your own equipment and was drilled years ago, it probably needs to be re-drilled. It is recommended that seniors use wrist supports to prevent ligament or tendon problems. If so, you should wear it when your ball is being re-fitted or drilled from scratch. If you have continued grip problems, you might want to drill a fourth finger hole. This may help grip the ball. Realizing that as we age we cannot bend as we used to , stretching exercises are recommended. Wearing back or knee supports may also prevent injury. Just remember your arm swing should be straight, natural and in line with your target pin. Using lane marks such as arrows or dots may help if the eyesight is not as good as it once was.

The bottom line is that there is no reason why seniors cannot bowl, be competitive, have loads of fun and leave the younger players wondering how they did it!!!

09 April 2012, Keep Your Head Up, Bowling Experiences

cornerbowlingshop — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 21:43:52 +0000

Coming down toward the end of the league bowling season, maintainig your average is sometimes a struggle. When you show up to bowl, you try your high performance ball and it hooks off the lane!!! During the warmup you are just searching for a line. You move inside and try to swing the ball from the left side and get the ball to hook into the pocket. This works but the angle to the pocket has changed and lots of splits and hard to pick-up spares are left. You switch to your performance ball or “dry lane” ball with less hook, to try and straighten out the entry into the pocket with no luck. By now the lanes are so dry that the shot changes every time up and you are chasing the shot all night. Then you try to roll the ball harder and that does not work either. When it is over, your team has taken a beating and you are 150 pins below your series average. This is really hard to take. There is a lesson to be learned here because a good bowler must be able to adjust to these conditions. Keep your head up and keep trying–you will get it!!

02 April 2012, 2012 Queens Tournament, Tournament Bowling

cornerbowlingshop — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 22:19:26 +0000

The Tiara is up for grabs again. The USBC Queens Bowling Tournament is upon us, 19-24 April 2012. Like anything else we do, to be great at it, you will fail along the way. Ask any woman bowler that has chased and won the Queens title. They will tell you about the whiffed 10 pin to miss the next round or the 450 series after setting a qualifying record. These stories are just a few of the ones represented in the field for the Queens Championship this year. Will Missy Parkin be able to repeat? It has not been done for over 30 years. The big thing about this or any other tournament is, when you fall you have to get back up or you will never know if you could have won. So they try and try and finally things come together and all the heartbreak is worth it.

Shannon O’Keefe is a highly regarded youn player who has never won the Queens. “I think pressure is something you put on yourself; it’s self-induced,” O’Keefe explains. “If it’s not meant to be, then it’s not meant to be. It really comes down to that for me. By the time I am bowling a match at the Queens, I have done everything I can up to that moment to prepare, and if that’s not good enough at that particular moment, that’s OK because someday it will be. Before, I used to think ‘Well, I work so hard, I deserve this.’ Well, no, you don’t deserve it. No one ‘deserves’ anything.”“Let’s just say I hate to lose more than I love to win,” O’Keefe says. “So losing in match play does not make me happy, but learning how to recover from that bad shot, that bad game or that bad set is really what is going to separate those who have success at the Queens from those who will not.”“These days I am grateful every time I put my shoes on, because at any moment it could be taken away from me,” O’Keefe says. “And if that ever happens, I want the last moment doing what I love to have been enjoyable. And if that is losing, then at least I still was able to throw a bowling ball down the lane. It’s about finding positives in everything, and that has made the biggest difference.”

Good Luck Ladies. Wonder who will put it together this year???

26 March 2012, Hammer Rhythm, Equipment Review

cornerbowlingshop — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 20:33:14 +0000

The new Hammer Rhythm is the latest ball designed to continue raising awareness of one of the most historic bowling organizations in America, the TNBA! The Rhythm combines our very popular Arson core with the strongest coverstock from last season, Grand Theft Reactive, first poured on the original Taboo. This creates an incredibly strong solid symmetric ball in the Hammer line! A portion of the proceeds from every Rhythm ball sold will go to support the TNBA.

This ball is best suited for medium to medium heavy oil lane conditions. This means that for a normal league night, if your lanes are normally dry and you like to throw a straight down and in shot, this may be too much ball. It will probably be fine if you like a shot crossing the middle to find some oil. See your pro to determine if this is the ball for you!!

19 March 2012, Accessories (Part IV), Tips and Advice

cornerbowlingshop — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 20:57:54 +0000

This post will complete our journey through the accessories the well prepared bowler should have in the bag. Lets start with disks, soles and heels. If your bowling shoes have interchangeable disks, soles or heels, you will want to have an assortment ready to adapt to the conditions. Skin patch is recommended to fix those skin abraisions and open sores caused by the ball not fitting properly or just changes in the weather which can cause your hand and fingers to swell or shrink. Carrying slugs and inserts is also a great idea. If your hand and fingers swell or shrink, different sizes may be needed to restore your feel of the bowling ball. If you do your own ball maintenance, a bevel knife is required. You will need it to smooth burrs and work out thumbholes. Be sure your pro has taught you the touch of using a bevel knife before you work on your ball!!! Matchbook covers are used as shim material in the thumbhole inserts. Just have your pro glue only the insert sides. Slide the matchbook cover in the back (thumbnail side) or front if your fingers are shrinking. Doing your own maintenance may also require a bevel sander to smooth the holes and bevel edges. Bevel sanders require practice to get just the right feel. Abrasive pads to use with the bevel sander will also be needed in your accesory kit. They come in colors signifying texture. Black is most textured with green, red and white pads have progressively less texture.

Being prepared takes planning and some expense is involved. Exactly the things you need will be determined over time by the bowler’s own experiences. Those items listed in the four posts will be the minimum. Most end up with more!!!

12 March 2012, Bowling Games, Bowling Experiences.

cornerbowlingshop — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:04:00 +0000

Having fun bowling is the whole idea. There are some things to do to spice things up. First, if the normal league team vs team is getting a little boring, try a league where not only the teams square off but it is also bowler against bowler. There can be as many as 30 points up for grabs per night. This really makes it more personal and interesting. Also, you can play cards while bowling. Each player antes up say $1.00 per game and you get 1 card per spare and strike and two cards for each strike strung together. Keep the best 7 or 5 cards, depending what poker you want to play and win the pot!! Some teams include the other team and some will let any and all play who ante up!! This too makes bowling a little more entertaining. Bowling is fun by itself but doing some other things can really bring teams and friends together!!