No thumb = not too bad

Last week, I opted for my no-thumb approach - my B or C game - after struggling out of the gate. After a bit of practice and some surface adjustments during the week, I decided to use that delivery from the start this week at league.

Game 1 - DV8 Thug Unruly; Black Hammer urethane

6/ 54 7/ 9/ 53 X X X 9/ X8- - 183

Obviously, it was another slow start. After trying several balls and lines during practice, I decided to start off inside with my strongest no-thumb ball, the DV8 Thug Unruly. The thought there was that a stronger ball would be better on the fresh, especially since we were bowling unopposed. Sadly, it just wasn't the play. The ball was was too aggressive down lane, which led to Greek churches in both the second and fifth. At that point, I switched to the urethane Black Hammer to cut down some of the movement down lane. I was far from perfect, but strikes on four out of the last six shots allowed me to salvage a low 180 and a -17 start.

Game 2 - Black Hammer urethane

X 8/ 8/ X 8/ 9/ X 6/ X 8/8 - 195

Despite having picked the right ball, I still couldn't quite figure out the line. The middle of the lane was picking up a lot more than I expected, especially with a urethane ball in my hands. As such, I was having trouble keeping the ball from going high. Thankfully, my spare game was on point, especially in the 10th, when I converted the 2-10 to stay clean. Still, four strikes and no doubles led to 195 and -22 for two.

Game 3 - Black Hammer urethane

9/ X 9/ 9/ X X X 9/ X X9/ - 227

One thing that's becoming crystal clear is that my look with the Black Hammer seems to get better as the night wears on. That was the case here as I moved inside about five and three more from where I had been, and my look was great from start to finish. I left a swisher 7-pin in the first, a solid 9 in the third, a ringing 10 in the fourth, a flat ten in the eighth, and another swisher seven in the 11th. Long story short, I had complete control of the pocket, which is exactly what I was looking for.

In the end, the score sheet only read +5, but I was still pretty pleased. My only two opens were the two Greek churches in Game 1, so my spare game gave me exactly what I needed. In hindsight, I wish I would've gone to the Hammer a bit sooner and figured out the early hook issue, but things were still solid. I'm going to spend this week doing a little bit more experimentation with surfaces. I'd like to find a ball that will allow me to go straighter early on so that I can control the pocket a bit more before jumping in later. I may have found the ball; now it's just a matter of testing to see whether or not I'm right.

As always, thanks for reading the weekly rantings of this wanna B bowler!