Mr. Owl

February 26th, 2018 at 9:53 AM ^

It would actually be kinda cool if one of them kept at it & made a future Olympic team.  Why not?  Michigan has a bobsledder & a pro bowler.*

*Not really, but whatever.

Joined: 01/15/2015

MGoPoints: 346

saveferris

February 26th, 2018 at 10:52 AM ^

Curling is pretty hard.  Thrusting yourself out of the hack while keeping your balance is damn near impossible, then you have to try to remember to put the correct spin on the stone as you release.

Meanwhile, if you're sweeping, trying to keep up with the stone sliding on one foot and avoiding all other stones on the sheet while sweeping AND keeping your balance.  It's really hard.

Curling is one of those sports where you wake up the next day with soreness in muscles you never knew you had.

Joined: 07/02/2009

MGoPoints: 24841

clarkiefromcanada

February 26th, 2018 at 11:37 AM ^

If you have curled at a high level it's always entertaining to see other athletes try it out. 

The interesting thing about curling is that within a few months pretty much anyone can become adept enough to make some shots. What you see on tv, however, the kind of control needed to make draws to the button within inches or double/triple takeouts with a specific roll. That's years in the making. 

Strategy is a whole other discussion. 

Really good times, however. 

Fun Fact: Curling is the only sport that requires you to buy a drink for your opponent following the game and similarly requires them to reciprocate. At my club, if this rule is not followed, you'd get the boot.

Additionally: Plainfield's two sheet curling club is pretty damn cool. Very infrequent in Canada that you see anything smaller than a 4 sheet and quite often a six or eight. 

 

Joined: 11/20/2008

MGoPoints: 49242

Pepto Bismol

February 26th, 2018 at 12:06 PM ^

I've gone a couple times, both years ago now.  Once in Ferndale, MI, where they do not offer adult beverages, and once at Roseland in Windsor where they most certainly do.  The verdict? Curling with beer prevails in a landslide. Renew your passport.

I will note that Ferndale was much more instructive and helpful for beginners - teaching us how to push out of the hack and how to stabilize ourselves with the broom, etc..  Windsor was like renting a bowling lane. "You're out there on 7 & 8, good luck and goodbye. Don't dick around."

Joined: 02/03/2015

MGoPoints: 7857

clarkiefromcanada

February 26th, 2018 at 4:38 PM ^

I've played in Ferndale but not for quite a long time (like fifteen years) and it was a large event over the holidays (cashspiel) where you would win money on a per game basis leading to a final where you could win more etc. Played a bunch of top American teams at the time. At that event, at least, they had a lot of really inexpensive adult beverages. They also, amazingly, had Canadian satellite TV (in order to get all the major curling events). Good times.

In Canada they generally do the instruction at the start of the year or middle of the year. They have tons of qualified coaches at every club and are, generally, quite happy to see you. Roseland is nice but I've played there in events and yeah, you do kind of get that vibe.

 

Joined: 11/20/2008

MGoPoints: 49242

Mr Miggle

February 26th, 2018 at 12:09 PM ^

curling center/bowling alley/golf course in Canada. The owner sat with me to explain the game and comment on the play below. In a nutshell, the level was pretty terrible. Bad strategy and frequently bad execution. But to the untrained eye, everything looked pretty good outside of an obvious miss.

Joined: 10/07/2010

MGoPoints: 47532

clarkiefromcanada

February 26th, 2018 at 4:47 PM ^

Golf/Curling usually a thing. Bowling added is a concept.

I once played an event in Eastern Ontario and I went into the club and got a drink and sat by the glass to clock the ice. I looked down to the far end and they had two giant signs on the wall above the sponsors. The first said "If" and the second "I'd" which is the sum of the two sentences in every curling shot analysis by the glass when discussing other teams.

Joined: 11/20/2008

MGoPoints: 49242

Sambojangles

February 26th, 2018 at 3:20 PM ^

Clarkie, how much time playing does it take before you actually feel like you’re playing the game strategically and not just throwing rocks and seeing what happens? I’ve been a couple times but it seemed like as beginners, scoring was completely random.

Joined: 12/15/2008

MGoPoints: 10985

clarkiefromcanada

February 26th, 2018 at 5:07 PM ^

Depends on your team, as well. If your whole team is new then yeah, it's gonna be a while unless you start watching a lot of curling on tv or streaming the Brier and world championships etc. if you have an experienced skip/vice they can mentor a fair bit.

I've been playing about 35 years (you can start quite young in Canada) and I played front end (lead/second) for most of my first decade in the game. Back then there was no four rock rule so you could just peel everything. We won a ton of games 2-1 and if you were a hitter in the 80s and could control big weight you were a killer. 

Modern era, you're looking at free guard zone and next year five rock rule (which is going to be a challlenge for teams, in my opinion) and designed to generate offense. As a beginner, you are definitely going to find random in scoring (it's hard to make your shots do what you want let along strategize). I'd advise a) working on all your shots and focus on a consistent release; b) if you can access some coaching for that do so (makes it way easier); c) stream as much curling as you can and watch how the team with the hammer tries to build the end and what the opponent tries to do. 

Lastly, you could try practicing some strategy.

http://www.playcurling.com

Also bunch of good curling apps.

 

Joined: 11/20/2008

MGoPoints: 49242