GeoLes
11-27-2012, 04:30 PM
I played hooky at league last week. I prebowled and went to Hazlet for another group lesson with my wife. I was hoping to fine tune my swing, improve slide or something. Instead I came away with a simple thing.
I struggled for the longest with 10-pin pickups. Sometimes it was right on and effortless, other times I either miss just left or dump the ball in the channel. It seems I had two problems.
Firstly:
My first step instead of being straight at my mark was to the right. (I did not know that). It forced me to compress my shoulder and swing accross my body in order to stay on mark. I must have developed this habit when I switched back to 4-step delivery. It is natural for me to take the first step to the outside. It was improved by doing 3-steps instead. 3-steps also gives my ball less time to "stray" during the swing, so I feel more control.
Secondly:
My flat release was inconsistent. Sometimes the pinky added too much so I got almost a backup roll, sometimes not enough pinky and the ball would break left down lane. He showed me a simple wrist setup. Place the ball weighted as far right (I am right-handed) as possible with all the weight borne by the index finger knuckle pad and thumb. The weight block is now locked outside where it cannot cause the ball to turn. Upon release, He instructed me to simply flatten the wrist forward, leaving the pinky back, essentially forcing the ball to roll off the first 3 fingers. This caused the ball to roll dead flat dispite the weight block offset.
By visually pointing my middle and index fingers at my selected arrow upon relaese, I have pin-point accuracy. I learned also that I have to get the ball forward at the point of release. An early release causes the ball to err right and into the channel.
So simple and effortless when done right. Wju can't everything be that simple?
I struggled for the longest with 10-pin pickups. Sometimes it was right on and effortless, other times I either miss just left or dump the ball in the channel. It seems I had two problems.
Firstly:
My first step instead of being straight at my mark was to the right. (I did not know that). It forced me to compress my shoulder and swing accross my body in order to stay on mark. I must have developed this habit when I switched back to 4-step delivery. It is natural for me to take the first step to the outside. It was improved by doing 3-steps instead. 3-steps also gives my ball less time to "stray" during the swing, so I feel more control.
Secondly:
My flat release was inconsistent. Sometimes the pinky added too much so I got almost a backup roll, sometimes not enough pinky and the ball would break left down lane. He showed me a simple wrist setup. Place the ball weighted as far right (I am right-handed) as possible with all the weight borne by the index finger knuckle pad and thumb. The weight block is now locked outside where it cannot cause the ball to turn. Upon release, He instructed me to simply flatten the wrist forward, leaving the pinky back, essentially forcing the ball to roll off the first 3 fingers. This caused the ball to roll dead flat dispite the weight block offset.
By visually pointing my middle and index fingers at my selected arrow upon relaese, I have pin-point accuracy. I learned also that I have to get the ball forward at the point of release. An early release causes the ball to err right and into the channel.
So simple and effortless when done right. Wju can't everything be that simple?