What is your acceptable 10 pin (or 7 pin for lefties) conversion rate?

[NewToBowling]

Just checked my stats and for my two leagues 45% in one and 57% in other. I think those are pretty brutal but about what I expect as I'm hot/cold with those conversions.

Pros (even at regional levels) probably expect 95% and hit 90% of them (if not more).

Honestly, I'd probably be pretty giddy if I got to 70%

[JaxBowlingGuy]

In my main league I'm shooting 10 pins at 87% (35/40) on the season and 91% for single pins as a whole (90/98)

[bowl1820]

Anything less than a 100% conversion rate is unacceptable LOL

Some other threads about this subject that might be of interest:

Pro bowlers: Avg single pin spare conversion percentage
http://www.bowlingboards.com/threads/18631-Pro-bowlers-Avg-single-pin-spare-conversion-percentage

10 pin conversion percentages
http://www.bowlingboards.com/threads/18713-10-pin-conversion-percentages

Pinpal stats: What to strive for
http://www.bowlingboards.com/threads/19460-Pinpal-stats-What-to-strive-for

[JasonNJ]

Just checked my stats and for my two leagues 45% in one and 57% in other. I think those are pretty brutal but about what I expect as I'm hot/cold with those conversions.

Pros (even at regional levels) probably expect 95% and hit 90% of them (if not more).

Honestly, I'd probably be pretty giddy if I got to 70%


I'm right at 70% and I would love to be at 90%. I'm hopeful I'm going to be a 90% shooter now because I finally came up with a system to shoot at it. I used to shoot my 10 pins more by feel than aiming for an actual target and I would be extremely streaky. This season I started not missing a 10 pin, I was like 19/19 then I just inexplicable lost it and missed like 9 out of 10 in one night and followed that up missing 3 out of 6 the next week. So for those 2 weeks all my practice sessions was working on 10 pins and experimenting with different targets, where to stand and trying different balls. What I found out for me is when I use plastic my margin or error was really small. If I miss right, I would dump it in the channel. If I miss left I would have too much hand and I would hook just enough to miss the 10.


What I finally found was to stand my left foot on the last dot, shoot for 3rd arrow with my Storm Pitch Black urethane ball with a flat release and that gave me the most room for error. Being urethane and having an actual core, it gave me hold if I missed a little right and shooting a flat release would still let it slide enough if I missed left. Since I've gone to this, I've felt a lot more confident shooting the 10 and I made 10/12 so far.

So my advice is practice 10 pins but actually experiment on different ways to shoot it and find something that you can easily repeat.

[LOUVIT]

If you are a decent bowler and have a ball for 10 pins you should be able to convert most. I use my strike ball for them and miss most on the left by an inch when the ball makes it's last move about a foot away from them....Grrr!!! I am much better at making them on the left side lane because I stand all the way to the left...

I'd like to see the stats on people that use a spare ball opposed to people that use their strike ball...

[vdubtx]

My acceptable is 90% conversion on 10 pin. I am currently at 91% for the season so far. Went a stretch of about 6 weeks where I did not miss one.

Having not had much practice since the summer, I am happy with it so far.

My process for shooting at the 10 pin, or basically any back row pin is to not focus on hitting a spot on the lane at arrows, but to focus on the pin as the target. My percentage has gone up quite substantially since I started doing so. I struggled last year at about this same time, where I was only in the low 80's for conversions. I want to say it was Rob M that mentioned this targeting technique and I tried it and have stuck to it. :cool:

[LOUVIT]

My acceptable is 90% conversion on 10 pin. I am currently at 91% for the season so far. Went a stretch of about 6 weeks where I did not miss one.

Having not had much practice since the summer, I am happy with it so far.

My process for shooting at the 10 pin, or basically any back row pin is to not focus on hitting a spot on the lane at arrows, but to focus on the pin as the target. My percentage has gone up quite substantially since I started doing so. I struggled last year at about this same time, where I was only in the low 80's for conversions. I want to say it was Rob M that mentioned this targeting technique and I tried it and have stuck to it. :cool:

is that with a plastic spare ball?

[vdubtx]

is that with a plastic spare ball?

Yes, plastic.

[collinwho]

I'm aiming for 75% this year. Working up to 90% in the next couple of years.

[mc_runner]

90% is my goal, but I am at 81% and 84% in my two leagues. I"ve been going down a bit recently, seems I miss one a lot of nights and make the rest. I haven't been feeling particularly comfortable and have changed spots around a bit week to week to see what works better (and yes this is with plastic)

[fokai73]

For league bowlers, 70% to 90% is acceptable I think. It's a big gap, but that's my opinion. lol

For me, I have to stick with polyester balls in order to convert well. Here's my stats......

First half of this season - 22 of 25 on 10 pins, OR 88% 2016 (30 games) I'm leaving a lot *of other single pins* this year....fixed
spare ball Edit: I 36 splits, baby to bed post. I have more splits per game than I do 10 pins.

First half of Last year - 18 of 22 on, or 82% 2015 (39 games)
Second half of last year - 27 of 31, or 87%
85% Total using strike ball with back up release. I started hooking at left side spares for the first time.
Note: I left a record high for me - 31 4 pins leaves!!! missed once. 24 7 pin leaves, 10 9 pins.

Two years ago - 25 of 29, or 93% (13 weeks)
Last half two seasons ago -18 of 21, or 86% - I missed 4 weeks total.
<90% with Black Ice spare ball.

[mc_runner]

You say you're leaving a lot but that's less than 1 per game... I'd take that many any day, haha. For reference in one league I'm at 36 games and 67 10 pins, and the other I'm at 45 games and 90 10 pins!

[fordman1]

Just like JasonNJ I use a pitch black. I stand a few boards left of where he does and use the 3rd arrow. If I am on the third arrow I hit it right in the middle. I have trouble at my age and at 6'2" 275 lbs. balance is harder to do this. I make about 75%. 88% for the 9 pin, 95% for the 8 pin and 97% for the seven pin. The only one I switch balls for is the 10. All right side spared give me trouble the 6-10, 3-6-10 are brutal and get chopped a lot. Left side spares I don't even set my feet just walk up and throw the ball. Guess which side I leave the most?

[fokai73]

You say you're leaving a lot but that's less than 1 per game... I'd take that many any day, haha. For reference in one league I'm at 36 games and 67 10 pins, and the other I'm at 45 games and 90 10 pins!

Fixed it. (getting used to this tri focals lol - actually I need to get in the habit of proof reading my posts.)

This year I'm leaving a lot of other single pins...

This year I dropped 15 pins... I'm leaving junk these days.

[dmet225]

My conversion rates are horrible. In one league of 42 games, I'm 34/49 (69%). In another league, I'm worse with 28/49 (57%) for 39 games. The positive is that I seem to average only just over 1 per game.

[zacks]

I'd like to see the stats on people that use a spare ball opposed to people that use their strike ball...

Started the season 8/18 (44%) on 10 pins using my strike balls.

Got a plastic ball and have been 59/73 (81%) since.

Some people it doesn't matter, some (like me) it does.

As to the original question: If you told me before the season I'd convert the 10-pin 80% of the time I would have been ecstatic. Now it's not good enough, so I'd say an acceptable conversion rate would be better than ones current coversion rate (unless you're perfect). :p

[RobLV1]

Nothing under 90% is acceptable in my opinion. There are only three reasons that bowlers miss ten pins: 1. They are too busy thinking about why they left it and what they are going to do differently in the next frame, 2. Fast feet and trying to generate too much ball speed; power is not an issue, accuracy is and you don't need speed for accuracy, and 3. Fear. If you are afraid of ten pins, get over it!

[LOUVIT]

I posted a thread last week that I left about 17, 10 pins 2, 7 pins and a solid 8 in my league last week and averaged like 140? I was never in the 1-3 so much and blah!

[foreverincamo]

I've never kept track. I'm probably at 90%. My goal in league play is only one open a game, hopefully on a split and not a missed spare. After an open I concentrate on throwing a double.
Tournament play I only want one missed 10 per block max. Just can't leave pins out there

[Blacksox1]

Plastic ball, 111 games, 104/130 80% ten pins. All combined single pins, 240/276 87%.

[J Anderson]

I've never kept track. I'm probably at 90%. My goal in league play is only one open a game, hopefully on a split and not a missed spare. After an open I concentrate on throwing a double.
Tournament play I only want one missed 10 per block max. Just can't leave pins out there

I too do not track my stats. It just seems too much like work. I know that my biggest liability right now is failure to observe the ball all the way through the pins. Because of this I don't always read the lanes correctly to begin with and am slow to make the right adjustments. I think that I'm a fairly good spare shooter right handed,( delusional thinking, one of the many benefits of not tracking;)). When I have an off night it's often a result one bad shot affecting my thinking. I will allow a negative thought like "Don't pull this shot like you did the last one," cause me to over correct.

"After an open I concentrate on throwing a double"
Does this mean you're not really trying for a strike on the first ball in other frames?

[foreverincamo]

No J Anderson, the best way to recover from a missed spare is to at least double. Do your way out of the hole you created.

[J Anderson]

No J Anderson, the best way to recover from a missed spare is to at least double. Do your way out of the hole you created.

I agree that it takes at least a double to recover from an open frame. One could even argue that given the number of bowlers who average north of 220 on a THS, you really need a four bagger to make it up.

My point was that the goal on every first ball is to strike. Admittedly, back in the 1970s among amateurs, this was mostly a case of try to get the ball in the pocket and hope for good pin carry. Unless your missed spare was a result your brain suddenly going "oh look, a squirrel!" in the middle of your approach, does concentrating harder really help?

[foreverincamo]

Unless your missed spare was a result your brain suddenly going "oh look, a squirrel!" in the middle of your approach, does concentrating harder really help?

Absolutely, because had you been concentrating in the first place, you wouldn't have missed the 10 pin in the first place!

[foreverincamo]

I have no idea why I said " in the first place " twice. I must really be tired.