Question regarding moving left. Any systems??

[Aslan]

Looking for advice/input here:

Backstory: I have a method where I move my feet left 3 boards, then move my feet back 3 boards but change my target left 1 board. I then repeat that. For example;

T6/R2, T6/R1, T6/C, T6/L1
T7/R2, T7/R1, T7/C, T7/L1
T8/R2, T8/R1, T8/C, T7/L1
T9/R2, T9/R1, T9/C, T7/L1

then ball down...

If the ball hits left of the headpin...I move 2 boards instead of 1. If it hits a "little" left...I move ONE board left.

However, I changed that after noticing I needed a bit more angle as lanes broke down...and started moving FIVE boards left before re-setting/changing target.

The downside to the method historically has been sometimes I'm not moving left fast enough. The downside to changing to the FIVE board move (before resetting) versus THREE board move...is by the time I reset (change my target one board left), I'm almost always left of the headpin on those first couple shots.

My potential solution is to move 5 left then correct 3...then 5...then correct 3, etc... The PROBLEM with that is by the end of the process I'll be standing at L9 (29) and throwing across to T9 (9). That would amost certainly cause me to throw the ball DIRECTLY into the right gutter.

So you more experienced folks that do a lot of moving around left to find oil...what are your hints/tricks/methods so you move fast enough but not so fast that you end up throwing the ball directly into the gutter?

I know Rob stays away from the outside and 2nd arrow areas. And I know the USBC current teachings seem to point towards using a target further down lane (break point) and adjusting feet/eyes. But I'm trying to keep this lateral movement SIMPLE....so I'm not using Trigonometry as I am on the approach (believe me....I think too much as it is)...but not OVERLY SIMPLE so Im just moving left till I throw it in the gutter, then balling down and repeating. Thanks!

[Amyers]

Aslan,

A few questions about this how often are you moving on average? I usually move 2 or three left with the feet and 1 board on the lane until I get to an angel that I'm not comfortable with then I will ball down or change my line to the third arrow or farther in whichever I think would work better that night. Is this in a league or when you are practicing? I haven't bowled a large league in a long time but in our current leagues I'm in it only two to a team on both of them I generally don't have to move much under those conditions.

[RobLV1]

The only system that you can really depend on is keeping your eyes open, and react to what you see. You need to be aware of where you are playing at the arrows in relation to the other bowlers on the pair. If you are playing the second arrow, and there are two or three other bowlers playing between 10 and 12, then your only option is to move three left with your target to hit thirteen. How many you move with your feet in relation to that three board move with your eyes depends on what you see down the lane. If you notice that balls are beginning to die at the breakpoint rather than making it back to the pocket, then you may want to move three with your feet to match the three with your eyes, and bring the breakpoint in down the lane. If the breakpoint is still providing the right amount of friction, then you may want to make a larger move with your feet, five boards for instance to get your ball to the same spot down the lane. It's all a matter of watching what is going on with the lanes and the other bowlers, and adjusting accordingly.

[Aslan]

I'm in it only two to a team on both of them I generally don't have to move much under those conditions.
Yeah. With 2 players per team I doubt you'd have to move much unless they are all playing the same spot. I've only played in 4 and 5 person teams and even with that amount, during league play I usually don't have to move "too" much nor ball down until sometime around the 3rd game depending on how many righties and lefties there are. Plus, I generally start out closer to the 5-board, well outside the people playing the 9-12 area...so I got fairly clean conditions for the first game.


It's all a matter of watching what is going on with the lanes and the other bowlers, and adjusting accordingly.
Yeah. I'm still working on getting more aware of what goes on further down the lane. Right now Im concentrating so much on the approach/release/accuracy that I often forget to watch what the ball is doing and where once it gets past midlane.

[rv driver]

Yeah. With 2 players per team I doubt you'd have to move much unless they are all playing the same spot. I've only played in 4 and 5 person teams and even with that amount, during league play I usually don't have to move "too" much nor ball down until sometime around the 3rd game depending on how many righties and lefties there are. Plus, I generally start out closer to the 5-board, well outside the people playing the 9-12 area...so I got fairly clean conditions for the first game.


Yeah. I'm still working on getting more aware of what goes on further down the lane. Right now Im concentrating so much on the approach/release/accuracy that I often forget to watch what the ball is doing and where once it gets past midlane.
Call me ignorant; in all my years, I've never heard the term "ball down." What does it mean?

[tccstudent]

Call me ignorant; in all my years, I've never heard the term "ball down." What does it mean?

going to a weaker ball

[rv driver]

going to a weaker ball
Ah. Makes sense now. Thanks!

[Amyers]

Yeah. With 2 players per team I doubt you'd have to move much unless they are all playing the same spot. I've only played in 4 and 5 person teams and even with that amount, during league play I usually don't have to move "too" much nor ball down until sometime around the 3rd game depending on how many righties and lefties there are. Plus, I generally start out closer to the 5-board, well outside the people playing the 9-12 area...so I got fairly clean conditions for the first game


Aslan I wonder if two things aren't happening to you one I wonder if your ball speed is dropping in that third game and causing the ball to hook more or more likely when you are moving left you may be moving yourself into the track that those other players are leaving who are playing ten twelve there isn't a whole lot of oil on most patterns out at 5 anyway. Have you tried moving in to 15 (third arrow) and moving right with feet? I like to play between 8-10 but if it burns up a lot of time I can move in put the feet at 25 to thirty and throw at 15 to 17. I've never seen you play a line like that in you videos have you ever tried it?

[RobLV1]

If you ever get the chance to practice on the fresh (you probably don't, so the next time you come to Vegas, if you can get up early, I'll treat so you get the opportunity, see what happens to the oil line, with just you bowling. Trust me, I've done it. Twelve boards left in 6 games! Modern balls SUCK up oil. Synthetic oil goes AWAY. You can't move too fast, only too slowly.

[Amyers]

Maybe a difference for me both of my current balls are pearls and I bowl on older wooden lanes. My leagues are fresh but where I struggle on the outside is during practice sometimes when they have dried out

[RobLV1]

So stop playing outside.

[Amyers]

Oh I do if it's not controllable or if the ball is burning up I move over to the line I was talking about earlier

[Aslan]

Aslan I wonder if two things aren't happening to you one I wonder if your ball speed is dropping in that third game and causing the ball to hook more or more likely when you are moving left you may be moving yourself into the track that those other players are leaving who are playing ten twelve there isn't a whole lot of oil on most patterns out at 5 anyway. Have you tried moving in to 15 (third arrow) and moving right with feet? I like to play between 8-10 but if it burns up a lot of time I can move in put the feet at 25 to thirty and throw at 15 to 17. I've never seen you play a line like that in you videos have you ever tried it?

Yes. One thing I've been trying lately...instead of continuing to move left....is to ball down and try to play the 13-board and hug the heavy oil with more of a slightly inside yet fairly straight shot.

As a 3rd option...I will stray inside if I'm still getting too much hook...but I really, really struggle inside...haven't developed that game yet. And I don't have the equipment that makes playing inside a good option. Later this summer I'm gonna expand my arsenal a little bit and after that I'm hopeful I'll have something that will allow me to be more comoftable playing inside. But until then...if the inside isn't working...I go to the 4th option of a straight shot up the 12-board using a very weak ball. If that 4th option is STILL not working...which only happened once...then I start to play with my speed and loft since the only OTHER option is throwing a conventional drilled 14lb urethane ball straight at the pocket.

But like I said...USUALLY....I don't have to move too much until the 3rd game. The only time I have to move earlier is if the other team is ALL righties and 2-3 of them play that outside line. Then I know I gotta get creative because I'll have 2-3 people burning what little oil is outside and about 4 burning up the 2nd arrow. Fortunately playing the outside went out of style in the 90s so not too many bowlers still do it.

[Amyers]

Aslan when you are trying to play that inside line are you throwing it across the third arrow and trying to sweep it out and it come back or are you playing straighter towards the head pin? I can throw straighter on and just have a small hook to bring it in the pocket but I can't throw the big sweeping hook either. like third arrow out to 5 or 8 like you see in some of the videos if you know what I'm talking about.

[Aslan]

Aslan when you are trying to play that inside line are you throwing it across the third arrow and trying to sweep it out and it come back or are you playing straighter towards the head pin? I can throw straighter on and just have a small hook to bring it in the pocket but I can't throw the big sweeping hook either. like third arrow out to 5 or 8 like you see in some of the videos if you know what I'm talking about.

I "try" to throw it down the 15-20 area toward the breakpoint. But since it doesn't have that "snap" (weaker equipment, low revs)...it either careens off into the 3 or 6 pin...or it doesn't quite make it back enough and I get left with a 1-2-4-10...which SHOULD be a split for all intensive purposes.

I AM able to play a little closer to center...like 5 left of center...throw it towards the outside of the 15-arrow and if I throw it "just right" (low speed, hit my mark perfectly) I can get it to go a little right of center and then come back into the pocket. But with that straight of a shot and horrible entry angle...it's usually a split-fest.

Playing inside you HAVE TO be confident your ball will come back to the pocket. And if you can't generate 350rpms...or have a ball designed for a tamer shot...it's just not gonna happen. Watch any youtube video on these new ball releases...you'll see staffers throwing from the left gutter out to the 9-board and the ball takes a 90-degree turn into the pocket. But thats a cranker throwing 450-650rpms with an aggressive drill layout...not to mention they tend to edit out the times it doesn't strike.

Gonna try to upgrade my equipment later this summer...see if that helps. If it doesn't, plan B will be to upgrade my release. I'll probably need to get another lesson from Rob...try to develop a more modern release so I can get my revs up a little without developing any bad habits "trying" to add revs.

[Amyers]

I understand that shot always looks so pretty in the videos though I would love to be able to throw it I think with the right equipment I could do it but I struggle opening my shoulders to create that angle too. I wonder if I do buy the ball if I can do it and do it accurately.

[Aslan]

Had a little trouble with this today.

I recently switched to Rob's method of trying to match the line to what the lanes present you with. And I recently added an "arsenal" so now I'm presented with the idea of "balling down/up".

So, the question is…for those that have arsenals…when do you stop the lateral adjustments and ball down?

Here's something I found on the internet:
"...setting up in your comfort zone, your A game with your medium ball. Then move 2 and 2 right/outside, but target as far down the lane as you need to strike. Once you strike twice in a row, move 2 and 2 again until you again strike twice in a row..Now you should have moved 4 boards nearly an arrow distance."

Then, you are supposed to bring your target "in" and start moving the feet/target 2 and 2 left/inside.

[RobLV1]

How about instead of thinking in terms of balling up or balling down, you think in terms of selecting a ball that will store the energy until it can be most efficiently used to carry the corner pins. As I posted earlier, the idea of changing bowling balls is not to try to find one that will get you to the pocket on the area of the lane where you want to play, but to find one that will carry the corner pins once you find the area of the lane where the lane wants you to play.

[Amyers]

Well I'm new to the arsenal thing so take this with a grain of salt but I move when I see the the ball coming high to the pocket or the ball coming threw the left side of the 8 pin as it goes through the rack.

On changing balls I stick with the same ball until I've moved to where I'm no longer confortable with my line.

I am going to take Robs advice with the three lines at start to see if I can start a little farther right than I have been with the asylum to give me a little more room to adjust before getting to that area where I'm uncomfortable.

[Aslan]

How about instead of thinking in terms of balling up or balling down, you think in terms of selecting a ball that will store the energy until it can be most efficiently used to carry the corner pins. As I posted earlier, the idea of changing bowling balls is not to try to find one that will get you to the pocket on the area of the lane where you want to play, but to find one that will carry the corner pins once you find the area of the lane where the lane wants you to play.

Okay, I get that…but lets agree that you try 3 lines and let the lanes dictate which line to play. And we'll just talk about 1 lane so not to confuse things…

IF you pick you line..based on what the LANE DICTATES…and the ball strikes…then leaves a 7-pin…

…and you hit the SAME mark with the same speed and release…

…you are going to have to decide on a change. I see 4 OPTIONS:

1) Ball
2) Target (forward or back)
3) Speed
4) Feet (laterally)

I think most bowlers move their feet…and like Amyers…they move feet a certain number of boards, then target, then feet, until they get out of their comfort zone.

I used to move left, then ball down and play a different line, then move left….etc… I tried not to mess with speed and target (further/closer). And "usually", I never ended up moving enough to justify a changed target, much less ball up or ball down.

Under the "new" system…I'm using a "middle reaction" ball and AFTER letting the lane DICTATE which line to play…I then have a ball that I CAN ball up or ball down.

So, this is how it worked in Game 1 today in the sports league:

Left Lane, dictated to play the middle line (11-board)…my #3 ball (#1 being most aggressive on that line and #5 being least aggressive on that line) was the < aggressive Encounter…so thats what I used (also used in determining the line of course).

So, I struck in warm-up, then again in frame 1.

So, I move over 2 boards right with me feet and 2 boards right with my target…I hit light and leave a single 2-pin. I make a slight adjustment with my feet to the right.

I then strike again. I then strike again. I now move 2 boards right with my feet and target. But, I then go slightly through the head and leave a 6-10.

BUT I FORGOT!! I was supposed to ball down and go back to the original target line after double striking twice.

So in frame #1 of the next game, I ball down, original target line, and STRIKE.

But thats where things fell apart. Some due to errant shots I'm sure…but I would miss right, adjust, miss right, adjust, go through the head (split), adjust, miss right, adjust, miss right, adjust, go through the head, adjust, miss right, adjust, miss right, adjust.

After that mess of 2 games, I balled back up and moved back to the original line…strike, strike. So, I moved 2 and 2 right.

Then, hit right, adjust, through the head/8-pin, adjust, then miss right again.

The point of the recap is, the system sounds great…when you're striking. But it doesn't really tell you what to do when you are hitting the pocket and leaving single 2-pins, 3-pins, 4-pins, 6-pins, 7-pins, and 10-pins. So you're back to adjusting slightly to the left or right with your feet…and trying to get the right speed…AND the right spot to lay it down. I mean, I hit the pocket twice…with what looked like great shots…and left a single 7-pin and a 7-9 split. I wasn't sure if I should keep adjusting back and forth…change my speed, change my release, change my target (forward/back).

And it didn't help that the pattern was the PBA Wolf, which is notorious for not only being short…but the fact that it changes so much due to carry-down from game to game. So just when I thought I had a good line and was moving right as designed…every third game I'd miss left and have to re-adjust…then miss right a couple times and adjust back. It felt like I was shooting at a moving target…and due to the carry down…I probably WAS.

[RobLV1]

Aslan, has anyone ever commented on the smoke coming out of your ears from all of the overthinking that you do? I simply suggested that you try two or three different lines during practice to find out how the lanes are reacting, and you've made it into a system. You seem to want rules, but in reality, there are no rules. Each outing is a different experience. You try something and sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. Last Tuesday, as I told you, I shot 185-215-253 by figuring out that I needed to use two different bowling balls on the two lanes. Fast forward three days to Friday where I struck at will in practice, and watched as the lanes got so bizarre that I ended up shooting 521 in a league in which I average 205. Despite a great shot in practice, I left eight or nine splits in three games. I tried everything that I could think of, but nothing worked. Oh well. I bowled well, but got nothing for it. I don't think the experience will lead me to invent a new system. I'll just keep watching and trying to figure out how to adjust. It'd probably be a good idea for you to do the same.

[Amyers]

Why in the h*** would you move if your striking unless the ball is laboring or exiting off the end of the lane poorly that you didn't mention. If your striking and the ball looks good leave it the h*** alone. I threw 6 strikes in a row Friday night never moved and inch. Unless someone is playing on your line you can generally stay there a while. Don't make your move off of arbitrary data number of strikes you do it off the reaction of the ball and the pins.

[Hampe]

Lol.....I had the same reaction when reading Aslan's post. Why are you moving after 2 strikes?

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any system that exists that says "if you leave X pin, make Y adjustment". Any system like that will first be dependent on the pattern you're playing, and then on the center you're playing in, since not every pattern will play identical in every center (not to mention it would be different depending on your individual bowling style as well).

So far, the only way I've found to get better at adjustments is through practice and experience. You have to practice reading your ball and what it's doing, where it's hitting the pins, the angle it's coming in, and where it rolls off the deck after rolling through the pins. You get experience just from playing on different patterns in different centers. After a while, you start to know which adjustment will have which effect depending on what you're playing on, and what your ball just did.

[Bunny]

Some info here by Jef, with one "f", Goodger. I like his articles. There's quite a few to explore. Sometimes you have to look within his articles for links to more articles.


http://bowling.about.com/od/learntobowl/tp/adjustments_hub.htm

http://bowling.about.com/od/learntobowl/ss/howtothrowstrikes.htm

http://bowling.about.com/od/learntobowl/qt/Wasting-Strikes-In-Practice.htm

[Aslan]

Why in the h*** would you move if your striking unless the ball is laboring or exiting off the end of the lane poorly that you didn't mention. If your striking and the ball looks good leave it the h*** alone. I threw 6 strikes in a row Friday night never moved and inch. Unless someone is playing on your line you can generally stay there a while. Don't make your move off of arbitrary data number of strikes you do it off the reaction of the ball and the pins.


Lol.....I had the same reaction when reading Aslan's post. Why are you moving after 2 strikes?

I "believe" (and REMEMBER...I'm borrowing this from someone who is a USBC coach that posted on another site a few years back..) that the idea is to stay ahead of the ball eventually moving left. So if you strike twice, then move a little right (target and feet)...you maintain that angle into the pocket. If you simply move your feet left instead (which I think the majority of the people do/would)...you are now changing that entry angle.

Again, I "believe" after 2 moves, you go back to the original line and ball down...BECAUSE...if you move too far right...you get into a drier part of the lane (on a THS) so the ball will start hooking more, earlier, or erratically. So you go back to your starting line and just ball down...then double, move, double, move.

Now, I have multiple problems with this theory in terms of it's use:

1) It "may" or "may not" work on sport patterns...depending on the pattern.
2) If it's not designed for pros...and intended for amateurs on non-sport patterns...
a) It requires you to throw VERY repeatable shots on VERY repeatable lines for it to work.
b) I think it depends how close you play to the outside line (boards 1-7). Obviously if you're playing the 12-board and move twice...2 boards each...you're at the 8-board. No bigee. But if you're playing the 6-board...moving twice means you're now playing the 2-board...and thats a tough and erratic place to play on a THS.
3) Let's say, for the sake of arguement, it WORKS....you'd be changing balls THREE times during a 300 game!! NOBODY changes balls THREE TIMES in a game...much LESS...even changes balls during a 300 run!!!

So yes, after my initial test of this method...I think there are some good takeaways from it...like the changing of targets closer and further down the lane for example...and I like that it gives you a guideline for considering a ball change...but it's FAR from perfect in terms of a bulletproof system.

[Amyers]

I "believe" (and REMEMBER...I'm borrowing this from someone who is a USBC coach that posted on another site a few years back..) that the idea is to stay ahead of the ball eventually moving left. So if you strike twice, then move a little right (target and feet)...you maintain that angle into the pocket. If you simply move your feet left instead (which I think the majority of the people do/would)...you are now changing that entry angle.

Again, I "believe" after 2 moves, you go back to the original line and ball down...BECAUSE...if you move too far right...you get into a drier part of the lane (on a THS) so the ball will start hooking more, earlier, or erratically. So you go back to your starting line and just ball down...then double, move, double, move.

Now, I have multiple problems with this theory in terms of it's use:

1) It "may" or "may not" work on sport patterns...depending on the pattern.
2) If it's not designed for pros...and intended for amateurs on non-sport patterns...
a) It requires you to throw VERY repeatable shots on VERY repeatable lines for it to work.
b) I think it depends how close you play to the outside line (boards 1-7). Obviously if you're playing the 12-board and move twice...2 boards each...you're at the 8-board. No bigee. But if you're playing the 6-board...moving twice means you're now playing the 2-board...and thats a tough and erratic place to play on a THS.
3) Let's say, for the sake of arguement, it WORKS....you'd be changing balls THREE times during a 300 game!! NOBODY changes balls THREE TIMES in a game...much LESS...even changes balls during a 300 run!!!

So yes, after my initial test of this method...I think there are some good takeaways from it...like the changing of targets closer and further down the lane for example...and I like that it gives you a guideline for considering a ball change...but it's FAR from perfect in terms of a bulletproof system.

Toss it the entire idea is nonsense.

Being ahead of the transition is a noble idea a good example is a high strike or the ball leaving the pattern on the wrong side of the 8 pin. moves should be made from empirical data not preset numbers of strikes or balls thrown.

Patterns break down differently due to temperature, humidity, oil pattern, lane topography, number of bowlers playing on the line, surface of the balls used on the line, and many others differences that I'm not thinking of right now. It is completely impossible to assign an arbitrary number of balls thrown before moving.

Continue to throw your line until you have evidence it needs to change. Then make parallel moves until you reach a point that your not comfortable most likely somewhere before 15 for you Aslan. Once you have reached that point ball down move right and repeat.

Even with the Asylum which requires more oil than my Euphoria some nights I can get all three games in just with small moves some nights by the end of the second game I'm grabbing the Euphoria. Don't make the game more complicated than it has to be.

[Aslan]

Aslan, has anyone ever commented on the smoke coming out of your ears from all of the overthinking that you do?

No. I've had them comment negatively about most other aspects of my game and appearance...but not that per se. I HAVE had more than one person tell me not think so much and just throw the damn ball...which I think is close.


You seem to want rules, but in reality, there are no rules.
Now you sound like Iceman...either I'm gifted OR I should quit bowling because I'm never going to amount to anything. No rules, no tricks, no techniques....just a question that says "GIFTED?" with two checkboxes next to it.

I'm not looking for a hard and fast "rule". I mean, if that existed and was bulletproof...everybody would do it.

What I was looking for is...based on the assumptions below:

IF
1) Changing balls won't allow you to drastically change your line. (previous testing found all balls generally follow the same line)
2) Having an arsenal is still valuable because it can give you slight angle changes into the pocket.
3) Hitting the pocket will not guarantee strikes if the ball isn't hitting it the most optimal way.

THEN
A bowler MUST have some system of switching from one ball to another. "When" to do it...."How" it will change the next shot...etc...

FAR too many bowlers with more than 2 balls in their bags switch balls in a virtually random fashion based on NOTHING other than they didn't strike or make a good shot the frame before. Which, was a HUGE reason why I initially thought the idea of an "arsenal" was rather stupid and simply a trick by ball manufactuers to get people to buy more bowling balls.

I don't want to be "those guys". I want to be able to see "something" that makes a little alarm go off in my head...that sends a phone call to my brain requesting either a ball "up" or a ball "down".

And...while you are critical in my quest for these answers...it's fair to remind you...YOUR articles awoke this monster. IT is YOU that claims ball changes are necessary AND bowlers should better KNOW their arsenals. I am merely following your teachings!!

I understand how to optimize ball speed, targeting (further/close), and lateral movements. The last piece of that puzzle...is figuring out when to do the first 3 things...versus a ball change. If I strike 4 times (rare) and then leave a single 10-pin....my FORTRAN-like rules driven mind is going to want to know what to do next:

- Roll it slightly slower?
- Maybe move outside 1 with my eyes and 2-3 with my feet to optimize the angle?
- Maybe move 2-3 boards left (feet) and my target a board left to hit the pocket more directly?
- Ball "up" to the next more aggressive ball on that line...to get just a 'little' better angle?
- Maybe throw at the same speed and release, but move my target IN so it reacts with the lanes just a 'little' bit longer?
- Maybe keep the target the same and try to add some "hand"?

Maybe do NONE of those things and throw the same shot...and next time it strikes???

See, I've always followed the mantra that it's all about hitting the POCKET. You hammer that pocket...you'll get high scores. You miss the pocket...you're gonna have a very bad night.

BUT....as my game has improved...I'm now seeing more and more clean frames...but not more STRIKES! And THAT....is frustrating. Don't get me wrong...I'd live to be the world's best spare shooting...and I'll take being a good bowler and picking up spares over some 2-handed or thumbless "wonder" that sometimes scores big but can't pick up spares if they leave them. BUT...I'm tellin ya...170-190 games...CLEAN...where you strike once or maybe twice...that makes for a LONG, LONG night. And EVERY frame...EVERY frame becomes crucial...because when you can't strike...1-2 missed spares and you don't bowl your average.

[Aslan]

Some info here by Jef, with one "f", Goodger. I like his articles. There's quite a few to explore. Sometimes you have to look within his articles for links to more articles.

http://bowling.about.com/od/learntobowl/qt/Wasting-Strikes-In-Practice.htm

This last one was interesting about throwing strikes in practice. I used to just keep throwing, but now I sit down once I have my "strike line". Maybe one thing I "should" be doing is after finding my strike line...throw my ball over the strike line of the highest average player on the other team until practice ends.

Hmmmm....thats almost Grinch like in both it's genius and it's evil-ness!!

[RobLV1]

Okay, to try to get you to understand, I did a little experiment this morning. I went to practice on a pair of lanes. I bowled one game to warm up, and another to find a line. It's very humid here right now, so there was a lot of over/under. I had four balls with me: a very aggressive pearl with a lot of surface (Exile), a mid-aggressive solid with some surface (Blue Ringer), a mid-aggressive hybrid with some surface and a very light polish (Meanstreak Brawler), and a less agressive solid with some surface and lots of polish (LT 48). I lined up standing 32 and playing right around the third arrow, though I target at the reflections of the pins and just notice where the ball is crossing the arrows. I found that I could get all four balls to the pocket by varying the breakpoint down the lane. The Exile needed the most angle, but tended to leave ringing tens. The LT 48 needed the least angle, but reacted late, in most cases barely tripping the four. Both the Ringer and the Brawler were between the two with the Ringer needing slightly more angle, and the Brawler giving me the most carry.

I noticed that you referred to the balls giving you the angle. What you need to understand is that YOU choose the angle based on what the ball and the lanes are giving you. In order to play deeper, you have to utilize a third point down the lane to help you to establish the right angle for you. Does this make sense?

[Aslan]

I noticed that you referred to the balls giving you the angle. What you need to understand is that YOU choose the angle based on what the ball and the lanes are giving you. In order to play deeper, you have to utilize a third point down the lane to help you to establish the right angle for you. Does this make sense?

Yes. And that is sort of the process I've been trying to use to choose the best line. I don't think I'd have the time pre-league to try 3 different lines (per lane) and THEN try all 5 balls on each line I chose to see which one is carrying the best.

I guess my follow-up question would be, on a LEAGUE night...per se...once you have chosen the line to play on a given lane...do you then try every ball out on that line?

I used to always use my most aggressive ball on the furthest outside line I was comfortable with. I could then move left as the lanes dictated. And if I got too far left where that ball was not doing well at the extreme angle...I could ball down and start again...playing more of a middle line.

However, as I incorporated your "let the lanes dictate the line you play" philosophy...I orginally would just use the best ball for that line...the one that gave me the most angle and board coverage. Then, if I needed to switch lines...go get the best ball for the new line.

Currently, I'm trying a new technique where once I determine the line (dictated by the lanes in practice), I will use the "middle aggression" ball on that line...so that I have 2 balls MORE aggressive and two balls LESS aggressive on that given line so that I can ball "up" or "down" if need be.

It would probably be good once the line is chosen to try all 5 balls on that line. But...it takes me a minimum of 3 shots on each lane just to figure out the optimal line (3 lines). It would take, minimally, another 4 shots on each lane to determine the optimal ball. That "might" be doable...7 shots per lane in practice...but man, that might be tight.

Thanks!