Experimentation and execution

This was the first time in three weeks I wasn't coming to league after having bowled a long-format tournament the day before. As such, I was pretty confident I would have better feel this week as compared to the previous two. I was also anxious to see how my Brunswick Nirvana would respond to the 4000-grit plus polish surface I planned to debut.

Game 1

X 61 X X X X 81 X X XX8 - 228

This game was something of a mixed bag. On the bright side, the new surface on the Nirvana made it MUCH more playable on our house shot. The polish helped get the ball through the heads and mids much easier than it had thus far, yet the back end reaction remained smooth due to the early layout we put on it. For the most part, when I threw decent shots, I was rewarded. Sadly, I threw two terrible shots in the second (1-2-4-10) and a very poor effort at my spare in the 7th. As such, I had to settle for a 9-strike 228.

Game 2

X 9/ 9/ 8/ X 9/ 9/ X X 9/X - 205

Feeling like I had a good look if could continue executing, I stayed with the Nirvana to begin Game 2. Sadly, that wasn't the best option here. The ball rolled and hit fine, but I wasn't getting it to go through the pins well enough to create optimum carry. It shouldn't have taken me seven frames and 3 weak 10-pins to make that decision, but I digress. Thankfully, I managed to stay clean through those first seven frames before switching to my Brute Strength. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE the Brute Strength? The ball just gives me such a good look all of the time; it almost doesn't seem fair. In any case, after making the switch, I went double, 2-pin (bad release), strike to finish with a modest 205.

Game 3

X 9/ X X X X X X X X9/ - 269

With how good this ball looked and felt, I almost told our sub (a guy very new to league bowling) that I was going to give him his first up-close look at a 300. I felt THAT good. Sadly, that run ended very quickly when I stoned a 9-pin in the second frame. Still, my look was fantastic, and I took advantage of it to throw the next eight in a row before losing the ball a bit at the bottom for a 2-pin in the 10th. Still, a very good look led to a good score, 269 for the game and 702 for the set.

I was disappointed with my two silly opens in Game 1, but I still like what I did overall, especially once I got the Brute Strength back into my hands. We all know that there are just some bowling balls that make you confident the second you pick them up. Well, the Brute Strength is definitely one of mine!