Any Bowlers Out There?

DGS49

Diamond Member
Apr 12, 2012
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Pittsburgh
I have been bowling for about fifty years (with time out for life), and I had a recent conversation with the proprietor of the local lanes that "changed my life," so to speak, as a bowler.

In very basic terms, the objective in bowling is to throw a (first) ball that hits the pocket - the juncture between the head pin and the #3 pin - at a seven degree angle, thus maximizing your chances for getting a strike. Since the lane is much too long to achieve this ideal angle with a straight ball, good bowlers employ a curve or a "hook." The hook is imparted on the ball with a sideward spin, which can vary in rpm's speed, etc. Bowling ball manufacturers are always playing with the coverstock of the ball and an internal weight block to make things easier, but most of that is marketing bullshit.

In the early days, bowling lanes were subject to a lot of punishment from balls being dropped onto the surface (and leaving marks) but some genius figured out that if you put a light coating of mineral oil on the wooden surface, the balls would slide, not dig in, and the lanes would be saved. Over the years, a major part of the game has been dealing with that mineral oil, and at the highest levels of competition, the bowling proprietors put the oil down in bizarre patterns to make it more difficult for the best bowlers to master the lanes. If they didn't do this, the scores would quickly become so high that the game would be boring. But I digress...

In most bowling establishments ("houses") they use a simple oil pattern for recreational (league) bowlers that makes it relatively east for bowlers to deal with the oil and maximize their number of strikes. Basically,the center 60% of the lane is coated with oil and the oil stops about ten feet in front of the headpin. The sides and front of the lanes are relatively free of oil. Accordingly, if you throw the ball down the center area - on the oil - the ball will just slide, then when it reaches the dry area at the end, the spin will take effect and the ball will curve. Your job, as the bowler, is to take advantage of this oil pattern.

My general impression up until recently was that the oil covered the entire alley from the right gutter to the left, then ran out as you approach the headpin. My "normal" attack has been to stand far on the left side of the lane, throw the ball out toward the right gutter, and allow the ball to curve back into the pocket. It works OK. But I've been getting a little more hook that I want recently, and the ball has been coming up "high" - that is to say, rather than hitting the 1-3 pocket, I'm coming up directly on the headpin, leading to a lot of splits. When that happens, I move a little bit more to the LEFT (aiming at the same target spot on the lanes), to give the ball more room to break, but when I do that it breaks even more and it still comes up high. Very frustrating. More frustrating because I'm rolling the ball exactly where I intend to roll it, but still can't get the results I want.

So I decide to talk this over with "Paul" (his real name), and he calls me a "dummkopf" (dumb-head). He tells me I have been throwing the ball directly into the dry area on the right side, which makes in break too much, then when I move LEFT, I'm catching even more of the dry area which makes it break even more.

I need to USE THE OIL to my advantage. Throw the ball into the center - oiled - area so it will slide and continue to go straight, until it reaches the dry area at the end of the lanes. Instead of moving to my LEFT to give the ball more room to break, I need to move myself to the RIGHT, and move my target to the LEFT - thus keeping the ball in the oil for the first 40 feet (or whatever), then giving the ball six inches to curve into the pocket. This is totally counterintuitive. In order to keep the ball from coming up high, I have to throw the ball closer to the headpin with the same amount of spin, using the oil to my advantage.

I have to admit that it took me a few games to get comfortable with this strategy, but when I did, it works like magic. My league averages have been a little down this year, 180-185, but for the past two weeks I'm averaging about 215. That is a massive improvement, and it doesn't seem like I'm getting a lot of lucky strikes. Basically, every first ball is in the pocket.

Now if I could just be a little more consistent picking up the ten pin...

And I wish I could get a tip like that for my golf game.
 
Haven't bowled much lately, but ten years ago was in a League.
The guy with the highest average and five 300 games threw a powerful and wicked throw using both hands.
While my typical strike ball hit 15-16 mph, he would get speeds of 26 mph. Guy hit the pocket every throw.
My best game ever was a 279, but I never got my average above 170.
 
Bowling was something that our family used to do just once a year. We weren`t very good at it, but it was a fun get together. Most of the local bowling centers have closed and that`s unfortunate.
 
Doesn't the oil "preserve" the spin until the ball hits dry wood, retaining enough spin to grab the wood and curve into the pocket? It the lane was dry any 'hook' would quickly send it into the left gutter for a right-handed bowler or take the spin off the ball well before it gets to the pins.

Also, a straight ball can get lots of strikes if tossed from the edge diagonally to a spot just a bit high on the 1-3 pocket. A straight ball right down the center can yield strikes if it also hits a bit high. Of course, it must be rolling when it hits the pins, not sliding. If not, it hits the pins 'flat' without enough momentum to carry the pins.
 
Doesn't the oil "preserve" the spin until the ball hits dry wood, retaining enough spin to grab the wood and curve into the pocket? It the lane was dry any 'hook' would quickly send it into the left gutter for a right-handed bowler or take the spin off the ball well before it gets to the pins.

Also, a straight ball can get lots of strikes if tossed from the edge diagonally to a spot just a bit high on the 1-3 pocket. A straight ball right down the center can yield strikes if it also hits a bit high. Of course, it must be rolling when it hits the pins, not sliding. If not, it hits the pins 'flat' without enough momentum to carry the pins.
Many years ago, I saw a video based on a bowling study done by come guy in Japan. He "threw" a straight ball at the pins (I forget the speed), and calculated the percentage chance of a strike with the ball centered on each of the boards on the lane. Obviously, the best chances are on the right and left sides of the headpin, but there is a chance on head-on balls and on balls that just barely hit the headpin on either side.

But the bottom line was that the best chances of getting a strike (for a right hander) was hitting the 1-3 pocket with the ball angled at 6 degrees. And the cool part, obviously, is that you can miss that spot by a board or two and still have a good chance of carrying a strike.

I mention this study when I run into someone who thinks they are going to become a good bowler with a straight ball. They are never impressed, but it's worth observing that every good bowler in the world throws a hook, eh?
 
Anecdote: Yesterday I threw the best game of my life. Ironically, I wasn't bowling well generally, but just found the right line temporarily and exploited it.

I threw eleven consecutive strikes to start the game, then left a 4-pin on the last shot for a 299.

The first two balls in the third (following) game were thrown slightly slower (I'm not a machine), came up high, and resulted in unmakeable splits. My first and third games were in the 170's.

The proprietor shows the best games of the week on a scrolling board on the back of the lanes, with the game score and the three-game total, but I was frankly embarrassed by my three-game total (646), so I told him NOT to include my score on the board.

Still, best game of my life and I'll never do any better, so...
 
My best game was a 276, tossed at the end of the season when it didn't matter. We were all loose and happy the season was ending. I was going back and forth to the bar between shots. I wasn't drunk but I was loose as a goose. I strung seven strikes in that game. I've never come close that score since.
 
I bowl once in a blue moon. They don't even let you throw a practice ball, so I spend the first game just trying to break 100. I usually get over that hump, but never even close to 200. I don't know how people are doing close to 300.

I get a kick out of so many guys who try to throw the ball as hard as they can. No finesse or attempted precision, and they often get less than 3 pins and gutter a lot.

Once I get warmed up, I can use my opposite hand. I can equal my other hand, and it's sorta fun.
 

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