DGS49
Diamond Member
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.
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.
