Chapter 7. Advice for Beginners

When a person is a beginner at bowling, there are a number of details at which he should work and of which he should think, if he wishes to bowl correctly and to improve quickly. I have listed below a number of these details and, if strict attention is paid to them, the average beginner may cut his "apprenticeship" to a fraction of the time ordinarily spent in learning the game.

Fundamentals come first.

Check constantly on the fundamentals which are the very backbone of your game. Once you have mastered these fundamentals, you can move on to finer bowling such as playing alleys, etc. You cannot do these until you have perfected your fundamentals. They are the ABC's of bowling.

Use a straight ball until you become consistent.

This is good advice unless you have a natural hook. You can learn to control a straight ball quicker and you can learn to hit spares sooner. You can also concentrate on fundamentals at the same time, which is a difficult job when one is trying to throw a hook or curve. After you have mastered the straight ball, you can start putting "stuff" on the ball.

Experiment with a three-step, four-step and a five-step delivery.

You will need to experiment until you find the delivery best suited to you. For the average bowler, the following distances are approximately correct for the starting position in the various deliveries: For a three-step, eight to ten feet from the foul line; for a four-step, ten to twelve feet back; and for a five-step, twelve to sixteen feet.

These distances apply to a bowler of average size and stride. If your own size and stride are not average, make your own adjustments to fit.

Play spare shots from the correct basic angles.

Play the 7-pin spare from the right-hand side to "give it all the alley possible," and the 10-pin, from the left-hand side. Increase your chances of success by playing the percentages in your favor whenever and wherever you can.

Do not release the ball until after it has passed your left foot.

You have two advantages here. First, the ball is out on the alley bed where it should be, and second, it is in front of you, giving you a better direction on your target.

Just how far past the foul line the ball should be released varies with the size of the bowler, the speed with which he approaches the foul line, the speed and length of his footwork, and the number of steps taken. A six-foot man, for instance, with long arms and long legs, might naturally release the ball two feet past the foul line, while a five-footer, who has short arms and takes short steps, might release it two inches past the line. Each man is correct.

Work to perfect a natural, easy delivery.

The only way to learn consistency is to bowl naturally with an easy style that allows you to be more consistent and to hold that consistency. Be natural-don't try to ape a delivery just because some expert may be using it. Use your own style.

Experiment with the pin and spot bowling systems.

In this way you find out which is best for your game. There are many advocates of both styles whose success proves that their particular system is right for them. Try both, and try the combination of the two, line bowling. After you have decided on one-stick to it. And use it on every shot-strike or spare.

Practice intelligently.

First, practice to correct fundamental mistakes. When you are doing something wrong and yet are not quite sure what it is, go back to your fundamentals to learn what you are doing incorrectly.

Second, practice spare shooting. As a rule, beginners are weak on spares. The next time you bowl, make a list of the spares you miss.

Then, on your next practice date, have the pinboy set up those same spare shots and shoot at them exclusively. You might have the boy put up twenty shots and call it a game. In doing so you will really make planned progress.

Have someone regularly check your game.

You can develop flaws without realizing it, as even the experts do from time to time. Probably some expert or veteran bowler can straighten you out before you wind up with a habit-forming fault.

You may be hopping, bringing up your right leg too far at the foul line, turning sideways, getting too high on your backswing, or sidearming. This may happen while you are concentrating on something else. Before you know it, the bad habit may have gone on so long that it is difficult to break.

Don't become discouraged.

I have seen blind bowlers, paraplegics, and other handicapped persons succeed at the game despite almost insurmountable odds, because they kept plugging at it doggedly. So can you.

I couldn't end this chapter without taking the opportunity to pay tribute to the man who, more than anyone else, helped me along the pathway to success. I mean Louis P. Petersen, founder of the famed Petersen Classic in Chicago, in whose alleys I began my tenpin career as a pinsetter and for whose advice and help I shall always be grateful.

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