Ask Bob 12-1-05

by Bob Korth

Q.   In our league last league session a member of the opposing team rolled his first shot. The ball went into the gutter but a spectator had noticed that there was a pin missing from the rack. The eight pin was not there. The bowler was allowed to take another shot. The ball was thrown into the gutter no pins were hit therefore nothing was affected buy the missing pin. That does not seem to me to be the correct ruling. Please what is the rule?

A.   Common sense would tell you that if a pin was missing from the rack the delivery would not count. The reasoning behind this is that had the bowler gotten a strike and the missing pin was noticed you would have declared a dead ball and made the bowler do the frame over. The result of the shot does not matter it is a dead ball. Just to make sure of my reasoning I went to the USBC rules online and under Dead Ball: Rule 8 states, a ball shall be dead if any of the following occur: After a delivery, attention is immediately called to the fact that one or more pins were missing. That is the first listed rule there are more but this one settles the question.

Q.  I bowl in two scratch leagues each week and I almost always score well the first game. In the 2nd game I start leaving more ten pins. When I move to the right I leave the 4 pin. Then sometimes in the 3rd game I start leaving the 2-4-5 or worse. What is going on and what can I do to fix this reaction?

A.      Because of the very reactive covers on today's bowling balls the bowling centers have had to add more oil to the lanes. This is to lessen damage and also to give the bowlers a playable condition. To keep the balls from hooking too much too soon. When you bowl the first game the back ends are dry and the ball finishes thru the pocket giving the best carry. By the 2nd game oil carry down comes into play. The bowling balls get oil on them and that oil begins to transfer onto the dryer part of the lane. This means the ball will not finish into the pins as well the result is more corner pins. By the 3rd game two things begin to happen. More oil is transferred onto the dry portion of the lane and the heads or front part of the lane begins to lose oil or dry out. This causes the ball to lose energy faster and with the back ends having more oil the ball hooks even less. You will have to experiment to find the best solution for you. For the 2nd game try moving up on the approach about 6 inches this will slow you and the ball down slightly. Be sure and lessen your turn or hand action a small amount also. You want the ball to just roll up in the back a little more the same turn will make it jump high. For the 3rd. game you will have to move deeper on the lane maybe as much as 4 or 5 boards to the left. This will help you to find head oil you also have to move your spot in 2 or 3 boards. To help the ball finish you might have to change to a ball that is more aggressive. Give this a try and see if it helps.

Editorial: Last article I mentioned that I would keep you informed on how to come back from a forced medical leave. I thought I was going to be out for 2 to 3 months but I was surprised by my Dr. when he said I could start back after just 1 month. Since I was not out as long I did not have to break back in as slowly as I would have. I did however after finding out I could return to bowling went to the local lanes and bowled 3 games just to loosen up before jumping into league. I started with my spare ball, which is 13 lbs. So as not to hurt myself I did this for a game then went up to 14 lbs. for a game. Then up to my 15 lb. Ball for the 3rd game. I did not try to score I just wanted to get back the feel. Then I went to bowl league the next night. If your time off is more than this you will need to build up more slowly. I still am having trouble bowling more that 3 games an illness takes a lot out of you. I am starting back into tournaments and tried after just a week to bowl a 5 game set. If you try that be prepared to fail. I lost my legs after 3 games and the last 2 weren't pretty. You will find though that you gain strength every day. This week I am going to try an 8 game tournament. I will let you know next month.

Send your questions to my NEW e-mail address askbob@clearwire.net