zemo.co.uk

Hey all well I have not been able to bowl for 3 weeks now due to a injury from bowling, basically my finger nail on the middle finger totally split due to the fingertip holes being too small on my spare ball, I felt it happen but didn’t realise how bad it would be until 2 weeks later when the part which had split had grown out. Luckily the new nail grew underneath the old one so I it hasn’t been playing up much pain wise, but due to the nail being totally split I have to wait until the nail has fully grown out before I can bowl again! Plus the new nail which is growing back does not look as strong as the old nail so it looks like when I eventually do get back to bowling I will probably need training again and maybe a new ball.

I’m really thinking whether to bowl or not anymore at the moment, I really am not enjoying bowling at the moment and I think joining the Gym would be a better option for me right now, I really need to get fit properly again. Thinking about doing the run 3 miles for sport relief at the moment, so if I do decide to do it next month then I need to start training now for it!

Hey well I thought that it was about time that I actually posted something on my website for once, I have not added anything for ages! Well to start off with on the bowling league front it is not going so great!! I am losing interest in bowling really, especially bowling here as the lanes are a complete joke. My hook ball is near enough completely smashed from the lanes here, another massive gauge out of the ball 2 weeks ago. Tuesday nights seem to be ok, but then some of the people that play on Tuesdays are to put it bluntly assholes, well 3 or 4 people anyway. Thursday singles is pretty pointless to be honest this year, there are only 11 people in the league and for the past 3 months there have only been about 8 people turning up. Good thing is tho, they have a new mechanic who actually wants to help out unlike the last kid that just wanted to sit around the back doing nothing and oiling the league lanes wrong on purpose. Over all it looks like I might quit bowling all together next season, I have other interests and would sooner have a gym membership which would work out better – I can go when I want and it will work out cheaper.

Well I haven’t posted anything for ages so though it was about time that I posted something. The bowling leagues are now 11 weeks in and the lanes are in one word… rubbish! Speaking to a lot of people from the league who are saying that they are either just going to bowl in 1 league next season or not bother with Yeovil at all. The lanes have been dire for the past 3 years down here, there should only be 40ft of oil and a 20ft back end BEFORE the pins, here there is about 4ft back end and they wonder why the league players are forever complaining, it’s almost like the lanes have a dry patch at 50ft down then a oily patch then a dry patch, so as soon as anyone’s hook ball hits the second patch of oil the balls wondering what the hells going on and skids which only normally happens with carry down after about 9 games. I am thinking about quitting the singles league all together and maybe even all leagues here in Yeovil as I’ve tried to put up with it for the past 3 years and nothing has ever been sorted with the lanes here, as a paying customer – of which I am spending £20 a week to bowl here (spent about £2,500 over the past 3 years) I think I could put that money to better use and better things for enjoyment.

I asked a expert from America (who’s had a Pro Bowling shop for 30 years) on his view on what is happening with the lanes here and he said the following:

What you describe could be the ball rolling out, over flaring, hitting some carry down (less likely) or some combination of the three.

Well last night was the singles league second game of the season, didn’t go too great as I now see what people mean about handicaps!!! The person I had to play had a 60 handicap (from sandbagging the first week), not only that they managed to hit a 155 average but bowling off of a 125 average handicap, which meant to have any chance of winning on handicap I needed to bowl a score 60 more than them in every game!! With a average of 155 they should of been bowling off a 36 handicap… Then because I won on Scratch 7-1 they had the cheek to moan! I don’t mind if a person with a higher handicap than me bowls scratch better then it’s fair enough but to moan when they have a 60 handicap yet bowl 30 above their handicap average is just stupid! I think I’m going to have to play for scratch this season.

Well tonight is the 2nd match of the season for singles, last week I had top play my Brother and he obviously didn’t want a handicap!!! I lost 6-2. On Tuesday we started playing in the Doubles league which now has 14 teams! Didn’t play too bad and the lanes were ok actually, apart from the walk up (due to new shoes at the centre) seems to be a bit better, either that or I was just a bit more relaxed. I got exactly the same average as the first singles match, which was quite a surprise, which means my handicap is the same for both leagues! I seemed to play really well, the only thing I need to work on really is single pin shooting, by the second game I was hitting nearly all my spares (ended with 185) so playing more this season will deff improve my game I think, and I am thinking about getting a new hook ball.

Well I went down to Branksome Poole and bowled for the first time in over a year down there, they have totally refitted the whole place out. The lanes were brilliant, the dry area on the back end was 2x what it is in Yeovil, I bowled from the left side right across to the right edge and the ball was hooking into the pocket really nice. First time bowling there and I adjusted to the lanes quite easily, no forcing the ball or anything and I had a average of 180 scratch over 3 games. I reckon bowling there weekly I could have a 200+ average easy.

Well my brother played last night in the last match of the season for the 3v3 league, they are wanting to do a 9 pin no tap for 3v3 this summer also… Oh how I laughed! Seems that a lot of people from Monday also won’t be playing next year so the up coming weeks will be well worth watching on the bowling front! He did say tho that last night there was not much oil which was the totally opposite to Thursday last week. The one night where the lanes were perfect recently was a Monday night when I hit the 2 200+ games, so maybe they are trying to keep Monday night going? A bit late now I think, most people are totally fed-up with the lanes breaking down and being so in consistent here, the league averages here are 150, which quite honestly is a joke as there are a lot of good players who play here and play in tournaments all over the country with a lot higher averages.

Well bowling this week didn’t go too bad I guess, I played on Monday for the same team againbut didn’t do anywhere near as well as the last time I played. My handicap was only 25! We had to play one of the best teams but the lanes were near enough dry of oil and the ball was hooking way too much even throwing it across the lane, one of the people playing in the other team plays for England but we still managed to win 6-2!

On Thursday the lanes were pretty dire again, oil all over the place and the ball was hardly moving, one part of the lane there was totally no movement at all and on another part it was hooking like mad! I was playing one of the best players in the league so it was quite hard getting my line, in the last game I resorted to barely moving the ball just so that it would hook. I still managed 1 point on Scratch due to a draw in the last game!

Well this weeks bowling started off good, on Monday I played for a team and it was the first Monday night which I have played in. The lanes were just right and I had two 200+ games. Seemed quite good bowling on a Monday..

Tuesday night by all accounts, from talking to people in the league last night, 3 peoples balls were damaged and one was beyond repair due to the machines. What does this tell you? The machines have never been serviced properly hence why they break down constantly. Also the people who’s balls got damaged were told they can only claim £50 for each ball, so the person who’s ball was beyond repair had to pay out of his own pocket for Bowlplex’s problem. Luckily it was only a straight ball, if it was a hook ball it would have cost about £200 to replace.

Thursday bowling (last night) was a complete joke to be quite honest, any other center would have had at least 10 of the teenagers kicked out without question. One guy thought it would be funny to chuck a ball 40ft in the air and land near the pins, not once but at least 15 times. Another guy did the same 5 times with one of the balls going on a lane to the left of them, Bowlplex wonder why the machines are always broke. I went to bowl and 2 people threw bowling balls down the lane next to me at the same time, one ball smashed against the machine arm and was left in the middle of the lane, as they couldn’t be bothered to get it move they chucked another ball as fast as they could to hit the ball on the lane…

The Oil on both the lanes I was on was absolutely rubbish yet again. I don’t see how on Monday the lanes seemed fine then just 3 days later they forget how to oil the lanes properly??? Getting really fed-up with this place now, if they let people in chucking balls in the air and throw balls at the machine when the arm is down then it’s no wonder why the machines are broke and Bowlplex are the ones that will have to pay for the damage done. Last night just shows you exactly what the Staff are like here. Went outside after bowling and security were sat on a bench outside Frankie & Benny’s.

Well last night I had to play a catch up game from last week as the person I was playing didn’t turn up this week. The lanes weren’t all that bad but still inconsistent, one of the lanes was hooking well but the other there was oil everywhere and it was hard to figure out a line. Anyway on the last game I should have had 9 strikes in a row, which would have meant a 270 scratch score. I reckon if the lanes were consistent I could have a 200+ average easily and so could a lot of people who play in the league which would make it a lot more fun and competitive, but as usual Bowlplex won’t pay for a new machine and I doubt that there will be enough people to even run a singles league next season as every week theres at least half the people from the league not playing where they are fed-up with the lanes here.