Help from the board

[Freebird]

First time posting but long time reader( 4 months) . I need some advice...I am back into bowling after being a youth bowler until high school. My friends and I decided to get into a laid back league this fall. 6 teams and all great people not to serious ,the league ave is 150 ish. My team were there to get away from the wife and kids and drink beer and shoot the breeze for 3 hours a week but our competitive nature took over and now we are striving to get better. We started with house balls and now we all have entry level type balls and love our time together and the competition. I bought a Loaded Revolver about 6 weeks ago and thought it was a turning point and my scores would rise. The first 4 weeks my average went from a 140 to a 155 quickly but the last 2 weeks I have lost it. I bowled a very sad 397 series today. My question to the board is ....I like to think I throw a nice baby hook and when I hit my spot and have my release I can bowl a 200 game regularly. But when it goes bad ...it goes bad..do I need to change my way of thinking and go back to my straight ball or stick to it get out of this slump. Also any hints as to getting a consistent release. Thanks

[billf]

Stay with it, in the long run even a little hook will carry better than a straight ball. Consistency is a by-product of repeating the shot. That only comes from practice. If you're whole team or even just one other are really wanting to improve, see how much a group lesson/clinic would cost with a coach. By learning together you all will also learn what to look for in each other. We always feel like we are doing things differently than we really are. A coach will also be able to help develop good habits and show you drills to improve.
Slumps are part of any athletic endeavor. Grind it out, don't let the slump get in your head and like anything else, it too will pass.
A focus drill: light a candle and stare at the flame. See the different colors. Watch the flame flicker. Soon focusing on your arrow/target will become easier.
A consistent release is the by-product of everything before hand being within the proper tolerances. Chances are, if the release is off the problem is occurring earlier in the approach.

[75lockwood]

Welcome to the boards!

the hook ball will always be the better choice, in order to get the ideal 6 degree angle into the pocket with a straight ball you would need to throw from two lanes over. the best way to have your average increase is PRACTICE! practice makes perfect, like any sport you will need to work on it before you consistently bowl great (even then you will want to be better lol)

Coaching: coaching is a great way to learn more about yourself as a bowler, without someone seeing you bowl, any advice you get will be rather generic and may not help you. if you want/if its possible, upload a video of yourself bowling, once we can see your style, giving you things to work on becomes a lot easier. (free coaching from bill) LOL

[scottymoney]

Focus on your spare game. Spares are the key to consistent scoring. When the strikes aren't falling you have to be able to convert to keep momentum. I have noticed the big difference between my good games and my bad is always the spare shooting. Strikes are awesome, but you can't count on striking every time.

[75lockwood]

Focus on your spare game. Spares are the key to consistent scoring. When the strikes aren't falling you have to be able to convert to keep momentum. I have noticed the big difference between my good games and my bad is always the spare shooting. Strikes are awesome, but you can't count on striking every time.

So true!!!

if you make 100% of your spares, your average will be at least 180 (assuming you leave an average of 2 pins)

[Freebird]

All great points......I have the mark baker book and it is great but was looking for something about the actual release of my new swing....any pointers?

[Perrin]

Any chance you could post a video?

There are some decent slow motion release videos on Youtube that may help but without knowing your natural style it would be difficult to give good advice.

General rules are hand behind the ball and release at the bottom of your swing thumb comes out of the ball first and you get revs and lift from your fingers pulling through the ball as they come out.

[e-tank]

Focus on your spare game. Spares are the key to consistent scoring. When the strikes aren't falling you have to be able to convert to keep momentum. I have noticed the big difference between my good games and my bad is always the spare shooting. Strikes are awesome, but you can't count on striking every time.

This is a very good tip. ive been focusing on my spares the past few weeks and my avg has been around 150ish

[martinezsam2495]

Welcome to the boards!

the hook ball will always be the better choice, in order to get the ideal 6 degree angle into the pocket with a straight ball you would need to throw from two lanes over. the best way to have your average increase is PRACTICE! practice makes perfect, like any sport you will need to work on it before you consistently bowl great (even then you will want to be better lol)

Coaching: coaching is a great way to learn more about yourself as a bowler, without someone seeing you bowl, any advice you get will be rather generic and may not help you. if you want/if its possible, upload a video of yourself bowling, once we can see your style, giving you things to work on becomes a lot easier. (free coaching from bill) LOL


HOLY CRAP! hahaha
i did not know this about the straight ball lol

[Zothen]

Spares are more important then strikes in my opinion! An all spare game can give you a 190 max score.

Zothen

[ArtVandelay]

I'll vouch for the spares too... There always seems to be a few nights (in every league I've ever been in) when I just can't buy a strike, and spare shooting can keep me competitive.

The woman on our team throws a 10 pound ball. She strikes a surprising amount for the way her ball deflects off the pins, but she still is an amazing bowler because she is deadly accurate with that backup ball she throws. Accuracy is key, and the spares are huge.

[Tampabaybob]

Freebird......Welcome to the Boards. You'll find many here are more than happy to offer advice to help you get to where you want to be. The first thing I'd recommend is to check out Youtube, as there are thousands of videos to help you improve. Because each person is different the best thing to do is post a video of yourself, maybe 3 frames from the back and a couple from the side. That will give us an idea as to where you are right now and we'll be able to offer some ideas based on what we see. Chances are your teammates may want to help if they're getting the competitive itch and some of the pointers you get you can pass along to them. Talk to them about signing up here for some advice as well, might as well make it a party, right ?

Good luck and we'll look for that video soon.

Bob