Wanted to share my bowling story from this past weekend.
So I've casually bowled my entire life, 32yo now, always thrown a straight ball as hard as I could. Normally average around 100 with the best game I can remember being a 180 in middle school that I never got close to touching.
Over the past 3 weeks me and my wife have decided to get into bowling more as there is nothing else to do in the tiny town we live in. So, I went to YouTube to do some research as any aspiring bowler would do and my only goal was to learn how to hook the ball. Watched tutorial after tutorial and couldn't figure it out. We went bowling 4 times in the past 3 weeks and the first 3 were awful. Mostly gutter balls that would hit the gutter before any spin happened.
But then about a week ago, I started watching videos on 2-handed bowling and it seemed much easier so we went back to the lanes and I gave that a shot. And can you imagine my excitement when I saw the ball curve for the first time! It only hit 2 pins but it hooked hard. This continued through the 3 games we played, I still was hitting the gutter quite a bit but when it hit it felt great. My high game 2-handed was a 110 but the others were sub 70s.
Now jump to this past weekend, and about 20 more youtube videos about 2 handed bowling later. We went back to the lanes for a date night. First game only a couple of gutters, but still no strikes. I was missing way left almost every shot. So I took some advice from a Mark Baker video that feels kind of like common sense but it hadnt hit me yet. And I adjusted my foot placement by 20 boards to the right. And holy shit! It was like I unlocked the secret formula. Game 2 of the night first shot strikes, second shot strikes! Third shot strikes! 4th shot ringing 10 pin but holy hell I was onto something. Went on to bowl what would turn out to be the best game of my life with a 189 with a houseball at that. To say on was on Cloud 9 would be an understatement.
Until the next game, when things kept clicking. Strikes and Spares most frames across the board and beat my personal best again with a 193! I had the people bowling next to us coming up to me and asking for advice haha. Never in my life have I had anyone besides my children ask me for advice on bowling.
Now I am sitting at work, thinking about bowling, and wanting to go back. Got to talk the wife into another date night! But we did already book my daughters birthday party at the lanes on the 29th. Her choice, not mine but I sure as shit wasn't going to say no. Buying both kids bowling balls for Christmas, and me and my wife ordered balls too!
Appreciate you sticking with me if you have read this far, just wanted to share my exciting bowling news with like-minded people. Everyone I seem to talk to in real life just don't seem that interested which is super frustrating lol.
I've got a lot of practice to do, my form is probably awful, I know I'm not going to repeat this weekend every time I go out, but I'm super excited for what's to come!