brd
03-10-2014, 01:45 PM
I've been in a spare slump lately. I throw a 15# Hammer Arson drilled fingertip + thumb and a T-zone 16# drilled conventional for my spare ball. I don't throw with a lot of speed on either and the tzone goes absolutely straight. I use a 3-6-9 system going over the center arrow for 6,10,7, sometimes 4 pins. I am right handed.
My problem is that lately I just keep missing my mark on spares. I don't know if it's mental or what. I try slowing down. I read somewhere to visualize the ball on the backswing in a line through a point by your ankle, across the arrow, and to the pin. But many times I throw wide (gutter on the 10pin). I try to let my arm go loose, but I must be doing something.
One of my teammates also told me that he thought I should use my strikeball on anything left side a few weeks back. That may also be in my head. But I'm not that confident doing that as the oil slick in the middle makes it hard for me to gauge a starting point for the left side.
The irony is that I've always been a great spare shooter, until the last few months. This is only my second year in league (since the 80s when I was a kid), but I've always shot about a 170 with house balls and when I started league last year before I got a reactive ball. And my strength was spares. I'd make all or maybe miss 1 a game. Last night at practice I shot just at 7-10s 1st-2nd ball of each frames and made only 12 out of 20 shots. :(
Ideas? Could it be the different weights and drill patterns?
My problem is that lately I just keep missing my mark on spares. I don't know if it's mental or what. I try slowing down. I read somewhere to visualize the ball on the backswing in a line through a point by your ankle, across the arrow, and to the pin. But many times I throw wide (gutter on the 10pin). I try to let my arm go loose, but I must be doing something.
One of my teammates also told me that he thought I should use my strikeball on anything left side a few weeks back. That may also be in my head. But I'm not that confident doing that as the oil slick in the middle makes it hard for me to gauge a starting point for the left side.
The irony is that I've always been a great spare shooter, until the last few months. This is only my second year in league (since the 80s when I was a kid), but I've always shot about a 170 with house balls and when I started league last year before I got a reactive ball. And my strength was spares. I'd make all or maybe miss 1 a game. Last night at practice I shot just at 7-10s 1st-2nd ball of each frames and made only 12 out of 20 shots. :(
Ideas? Could it be the different weights and drill patterns?