Back to Real Bowling
One of the biggest changes on tap, once Kafalas.com relocates to the Ocean State next month, is going to be a downsizing -- no, don't worry, we're not talking personnel, but a downsizing of bowling balls, from 15 pounds to 2 pounds, 7 ounces (or possibly 2-pounds-6; we're not quite sure yet). I'm planning a serious foray back into the sport of candlepin bowling, which was a major interest -- no, it was the singular focus of my life -- from age 9 until 15-16 or so.
The other day, some public figure or other was talking about having been granted a rare opportunity to "go back and take the road not taken." Well, yours truly is going to try to do the same thing.
One thing I like about candlepin bowling is that it does not suffer from the artificial manipulation of lane conditions that has turned tenpins into a travesty. To give an example of the latter, when our local tenpin house, here in Flagstaff, replaced its old wood lane surfaces with synthetic lanes last fall, scores immediately shot up. Almost all league bowlers found that their averages were now 10-15 pins higher than before.
I hadn't bowled in a league in three years, being otherwise occupied by the NAU College of Business Administration, but since I was pretty much done by this summer, decided to join a summer mixed league, just for fun. And I found that, like most of the locals, my average skyrocketed, too -- despite the long layoff, I was averaging 208 on the easy lane conditions; this despite the fact that even when I had a busy schedule of leagues, practice, and tournaments, the best "book" average I'd ever had was 203. I recorded a 740 series, besting my previous high by more than 25 pins (I'm not sure exactly how many, because I don't remember exactly what my high series was -- I think it was either 712 or 714, something like that).
Roughly halfway through the summer, the lane-oiling machine went kaput, and the boss had to buy another one. Despite the lane mechanic's best efforts to program it with a similar oil pattern to that of the old machine, the pattern has turned out to be much different -- and much more difficult. I haven't managed even a single 600 series on the new pattern (although I'd have done it last night if I'd been able to throw one more strike in the last frame). Everyone's average has been dropping -- which, in my view, is a good thing, because the old pattern was ridiculously easy.
This illustrates the main problem with tenpin bowling these days -- it's all about the oil pattern (and, to some degree, the equipment you're using). Candlepin bowling is a totally different story, because the lanes are not oiled, or at least not in any particular way, and everyone uses pretty much the same equipment. Furthermore, there is no difference between scoring conditions for open, league, and tournament bowling (as in tenpins).
I'm looking forward to getting back into a form of bowling that still has some integrity, as a sport. There are no candlepin houses in Rhode Island, but there are quite a few within an hour's drive. So I'm going to take a shot at it. Wish me luck!
Urb's Blog
The other day, some public figure or other was talking about having been granted a rare opportunity to "go back and take the road not taken." Well, yours truly is going to try to do the same thing.
One thing I like about candlepin bowling is that it does not suffer from the artificial manipulation of lane conditions that has turned tenpins into a travesty. To give an example of the latter, when our local tenpin house, here in Flagstaff, replaced its old wood lane surfaces with synthetic lanes last fall, scores immediately shot up. Almost all league bowlers found that their averages were now 10-15 pins higher than before.
I hadn't bowled in a league in three years, being otherwise occupied by the NAU College of Business Administration, but since I was pretty much done by this summer, decided to join a summer mixed league, just for fun. And I found that, like most of the locals, my average skyrocketed, too -- despite the long layoff, I was averaging 208 on the easy lane conditions; this despite the fact that even when I had a busy schedule of leagues, practice, and tournaments, the best "book" average I'd ever had was 203. I recorded a 740 series, besting my previous high by more than 25 pins (I'm not sure exactly how many, because I don't remember exactly what my high series was -- I think it was either 712 or 714, something like that).
Roughly halfway through the summer, the lane-oiling machine went kaput, and the boss had to buy another one. Despite the lane mechanic's best efforts to program it with a similar oil pattern to that of the old machine, the pattern has turned out to be much different -- and much more difficult. I haven't managed even a single 600 series on the new pattern (although I'd have done it last night if I'd been able to throw one more strike in the last frame). Everyone's average has been dropping -- which, in my view, is a good thing, because the old pattern was ridiculously easy.
This illustrates the main problem with tenpin bowling these days -- it's all about the oil pattern (and, to some degree, the equipment you're using). Candlepin bowling is a totally different story, because the lanes are not oiled, or at least not in any particular way, and everyone uses pretty much the same equipment. Furthermore, there is no difference between scoring conditions for open, league, and tournament bowling (as in tenpins).
I'm looking forward to getting back into a form of bowling that still has some integrity, as a sport. There are no candlepin houses in Rhode Island, but there are quite a few within an hour's drive. So I'm going to take a shot at it. Wish me luck!
Urb's Blog
posted by Urbie at 5:39 PM
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