Chapter 8. Hints to Advanced Bowlers

The general style of the advanced bowler is already set. His steps, timing, backswing and delivery have been incorporated into a pattern that is difficult to change.

It might be well to point out right here that any change in one's style almost automatically means a temporary drop in average. For instance, if you decide to change your footwork, you might as well face the fact that you will lose points while correcting yourself.

The important thing to remember, if and when you are satisfied in your own mind that you are doing something fundamentally wrong, is that by correcting the fault you will bring your average up higher than it was.

The best time to do this correction work or practice is in the summertime, when your experiments will not be at the expense of your teammates. During this period, you have three or four months to work out those kinks and to incorporate into your style the correct methods you failed to use previously.

One fault leads to another.

It is an axiom of bowling that one key fault can cause two or three other faults. Suppose a bowler takes his first step too fast.

That is the key fault, but it also results in poor timing, too fast footwork, and being off balance at the foul line. Another key fault might be allowing the right shoulder to be pulled back and out of line, which brings on such other faults as improperly facing the pins, finishing sideways at the foul line and a poor follow-through.

The key fault of lunging at the foul line ruins timing, makes the release jerky, and may cause the bowler to hop.

Get rid of individual faults only when necessary.

You may have a particular flaw in your game, but if you do the same thing consistently and successfully, do not change. There are bowlers today averaging 200 who do not have a good follow-through, or who have too high a backswing or who possess some other fault. But they have learned to incorporate that flaw into their game so well that they are consistent, and their game might fall apart if they attempted to change it.

In this regard, I might point out that I am not referring here to those bowlers who are not high average bowlers and are afraid to change, despite the fact that they possess an obvious flaw in their game.

There are several ways in which to increase your speed.

You might use any or all of these to succeed. Here they are:

1. Hold the ball higher in your starting position. This will help give you a longer pendulum swing.
2. Use more pushaway when you begin. Push it farther out, if you have been negligent in that phase.
3. Increase your backswing. Perhaps you have been bringing the ball no higher than your waist on the backswing. Remember that you can bring it back as high as the shoulder without violating the fundamental rule in this regard.
4. Work on more perfect timing. Perfect timing gives you the maximum amount of natural speed. If you have had trouble getting good speed, perhaps you have been coming to a full stop at the foul line before your right arm begins its swing. Perfect timing will increase your speed and is far better for you and for your game than trying to force the ball.

Do you play spares properly?

It's surprising how many veteran bowlers have never learned the right way to play spares. They go on year after year doing the wrong thing, and if told they are doing it wrong, they sometimes reply, "Why, I never play that shot any other way. I can make it from this angle better than from the one you say is correct."

The trouble with this sort of argument is that the player has forgotten the number of times he failed to make the spare. He could increase his average several points a game if he really went at his spare shooting scientifically.

There are three specific rules for shooting at any spare. If you follow them faithfully, you cannot fail to better your game, and you will enjoy your game more because of the undeniable thrill of accomplishment. Here are the three rules:

1. Face your target from the correct angle. Square your shoulders to the target.
2. Walk directly toward your target. In the cases of the 7-pin and the 10-pin, this means walking directly toward that pin, which will cause you to go to the foul line at a slight angle.
3. Make sure that you have your right arm following through directly toward your target. Get your right arm out to where you are looking, whether this be a pin or a spot.

If you do all three right, you will probably hit the spare dead center. If you do only two of these right, you may still make the spare because of the diameter of the ball. If you do only one right, probably you will miss the spare. And if you don't do any of these right, put your ball and shoes away.

Where should your ball roll?

Your ball should roll anywhere below the finger holes to about two inches outside the thumb hole, without rolling over the thumb hole itself. The narrower the "track" on your ball, the more consistently you are rolling it. A ball rolling over the thumb hole sounds lopsided and loses "stuff" every time it goes over the hole.

A ball rolls over the thumb hole generally because it has been turned too soon. At the moment of release, the thumb is down. In most such cases, the action of the ball is dead.

The majority of topnotchers today have what is known as a "three-quarter roll" or a "semi-spinner." The roll of this ball is just outside the thumb hole. This type of ball gives a short-breaking hook that is highly effective and easy to control under varying conditions.

When and where should one turn the ball?

Many bowlers mistakenly believe that the place to turn the ball to get a big-breaking hook or curve is when it is still in back of them on the backswing. But actually the proper place at which to put "stuff" by means of a lift or turn, etc., is after the ball has passed your left foot at the foul line. This eliminates sidearming, turning too soon and, to a certain extent, overturning. It also helps to eliminate the chance of the ball rolling over the,thumb hole.

Some thoughts on playing alleys.

Proper adjustment to alley conditions means moving to your right or left from your starting angle according to how the alley affects your natural delivery. If your ball is not "finishing" (that is, it misses the headpin on the right) your proper change is to move to your right in order to get a sharper angle.

If your ball finishes too much toward the 1-2 pocket or on the left-hand side, the proper adjustment is to move toward your left.

Even though you change position on the approach, be sure to aim at the same spot. Remember that in moving to your left you may end up using more of a curve ball than a hook ball. Be careful not to move so far that your body is to the left of the headpin, for at that angle it is very difficult to make strikes because of deflection.

I know that it is difficult to change a person's game once he has become set in his ways. For example, a few years ago a team appeared in the ABC tournament and confounded the spectators with its queer approaches and deliveries.

Each bowler on this team went through a weird sort of ritual. He took his first step, did a low dip as he took the second pace, came back to normal on the third step, and then made another low dip and delivered the ball. This unusual procedure completely mystified the spectators and there was immense curiosity over the reasons for it.

Investigation brought out the fact that each bowler from this team's home town bowled exactly the same way, and for a very good reason. It seemed that the only bowling establishment in this particular town unfortunately had two low-hanging steam pipes fitted to the ceiling just above the approaches, and it was strictly a case of duck twice or risk a fractured skull. All that particular town's bowlers had performed this same rite so often that they continued to do so even when there was no necessity for it.

The action of the ball.

A ball does three things after it leaves your hand. First, it skids, then it rolls and finally it "takes the stuff."

An average ball skids about fifteen feet, then rolls about twenty-five feet, and finally turns for the last twenty feet. The first part of this twenty feet finds the spin motion gradually overcoming the forward motion of the ball.

One of the main reasons why a speedball is so ineffective is that it skids farther, rolls less because it is still in a semiskid, and hooks little or none at all, thus giving little opportunity for the pins to mix.

With the curve, a much slower delivery, the ball does not skid so much and rolls about the same as an average ball. The roll turns into a curve sooner and the ball takes more spin at the finish. If your curve occasionally dies out, it is because it has started to hook too soon.

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