Learn to bowl big hook?

[Genzwitz]

I have been lurking around the forums for a few months and finally decided to join and post. I have never been a serious bowler but bought a new ball after 7 years to start again. My question is should i teach myself to throw a bigger hook or not?

I currently stand with my left foot on the 17 board and throw over the 8-10 arrow. I throw about 15mph and get it back into the pocket pretty consistantly. I have been bowling for about 2 months now and just hit my high series of 617 throwing this way.

Watching many other bowlers it seems as though it might be smarter for me to try and learn to throw faster with bigger RPM. Most of the big hooks i have seen seem to produce much bigger scores.

Is it smarter to keep bowling the way i am or trying to go bigger?

[billf]

Big scores come from being consistent. Your line is fine for that speed. It doesn't matter how much it hooks but where it hooks.

[Genzwitz]

Bill thanks for the reply i have been reading a bunch of forum posts and you seem to always give great advice. I will have to keep working on the consistancy, it sometimes gets a bit frustrating watching other people bowl. A guy on the lane next to us today threw a monster hook with a ton of speed that produced so much pin action i though the pins would jump to the other lanes.

I will be getting the chance to practice a bunch more as my kids seem to be very interested in bowling and it is something our family can do together.

[Zothen]

I have a similar style to yours and I find I can hit the pocket more then a person who throws a big hook. It's all about accuracy,consistancy and pin carry. I feel that we down & in players have a much better angle at the pocket then coast-coast(big hook)players. I find it easier to adjust to lane break down,then a big hooking player.

Zothen

[LonelyBowler]

If you bowl up board five and it hooks left at board 5 to the pocket, you have hooked 12-13 boards. If you bowl starting at board 30 and it goes all the way to board 5 and then hooks back to the pocket, you have hooked 12-13 boards. So what really is the difference?

[J Anderson]

If you bowl up board five and it hooks left at board 5 to the pocket, you have hooked 12-13 boards. If you bowl starting at board 30 and it goes all the way to board 5 and then hooks back to the pocket, you have hooked 12-13 boards. So what really is the difference?

The bowler who started at board 30 has changed the direction of his ball much more than the first bowler. most of us would say that his ball hooked 32-33 boards, (lay down board - break point) + (pocket - break point).

Assuming that each ball hit the break point about the same distance from the pins, and everything else is equal, there isn't much difference since the angle to the pocket is almost the same. The problem is that everything else is almost never the same.

[Hammer]

Earl Anthony who is a pro bowler is in the Hall of Fame. If you look on youtube you can find games that he bowled and you will see that he was a kind of straight down the boards bowler. He had a smooth swing that looked effortless. I have never seen him do the coast to coast thing. Everybody is different though. If you like high speed and big hooks when you bowl then you should give that a try. If you can master it then you will have two ways of bowling in your bag. You will have more down the boards bowling and coast to coast bowling. Then you will be able to pick which one will work on the conditions you are bowling on and which will score higher for thaty condition.

[Genzwitz]

Thanks for all the replies. I am going to stick with my style. My next goal is to shoot for a 650 series. I think we will be signing the family up for bowling leagues soon so that should be a lot more practice for us.

[75lockwood]

Welcome to the boards, what everyone said is very true, accuracy and consistency is the key to bowling not how much you hook the ball. a 617 after only two months of bowling is a great accomplishment!

One last note, league and practice are two different things, and would should not replace the other. in league you should be focused on striking every frame and by proxy getting great scores. practice is the exact opposite, you should not care about your scores at all, practice is just that, work on what you have trouble with to improve your game, have a hard time hitting 10 pins? in practice, line up and hit the 10 pin first, then throw your strike ball for the spare.

[Genzwitz]

Welcome to the boards, what everyone said is very true, accuracy and consistency is the key to bowling not how much you hook the ball. a 617 after only two months of bowling is a great accomplishment!

One last note, league and practice are two different things, and would should not replace the other. in league you should be focused on striking every frame and by proxy getting great scores. practice is the exact opposite, you should not care about your scores at all, practice is just that, work on what you have trouble with to improve your game, have a hard time hitting 10 pins? in practice, line up and hit the 10 pin first, then throw your strike ball for the spare.

Yeah i probably should have used different wording. My practice and scoring sessions are pretty close to the same. I should be doing more practice to pick up the spares but i spend most of my time trying to throw strikes and see how high i can score. I get a lot of 10 pin practice as it seems like every time i leave a pin it is the 10.

I also have a hard time adjusting to my line breaking down. Most series i bowl start the first game around my average 170ish the next game going to about 200ish and the 3rd game going to complete garbage at around 100-130. I take way to long to make adjustments because i am always thinking that i just messed up my throw. After about 8 frames of this i finally adjust.

[billf]

Chris Barnes had a great piece of advice in an interview I heard. They asked why he adjust so quickly. He said he would rather adjust and leave a spare that you can pick up rather than wait and throw a game breaking split.
On ten pin leaves you have a few options. A: keep your usual target and move your feet right one board. B: Move your feet back on the approach a couple of inches, no more than half a step.
Your scoring shows me that you are starting a board or two too far left with your feet. As the lane dries your ball/target are more in sync with the lane. Then it dries up but being a typical stubborn male, you wait too long to move. Learn to watch the ball from the arrows through the pins. If you miss the pocket but the ball looked good to the break point, move your feet in the direction of the miss (hit the 3, move feet right). If you start leaving the 4 or 6 pin make a 2 & 1 adjustment. That means feet two boards, target 1 or multiple there of (10 & 5 for example). If the ball hits the pocket, drives through the 5 and takes out the 8 leaving the 9 then the ball is too strong for that line. Consequently if it hits the pocket, hits the 5 and then the 9 leaving the 8, it's too weak for that line.


As for practice, I'm a firm believer in a purposeful practice. I have a plan going in and that's what I will work on for at least the first few hours. My normal practice has me starting way right each roll and moving left with each roll. Once I cross the lane I do it again with another ball. I will do this with whatever balls I have with me using the strongest first to the weakest. Then I spend at least one game just shooting corner pins, usually the ten first then the seven.

[LonelyBowler]

The bowler who started at board 30 has changed the direction of his ball much more than the first bowler. most of us would say that his ball hooked 32-33 boards, (lay down board - break point) + (pocket - break point).

Assuming that each ball hit the break point about the same distance from the pins, and everything else is equal, there isn't much difference since the angle to the pocket is almost the same. The problem is that everything else is almost never the same.

I don't think change of direction is going to make a difference. Just entry angle. And revs, the more revs the more power and the more revs the more they start left.

[billf]

Revs allow the ball to skid further, creating more push. This stores more energy for the hook and roll phases. I can play far outside and have over 400 revs. It goes long and breaks hard with drilled that way.