Do left handed bowlers really have a natural hook?

[Hammer]

When I was bowling I used to hear that left handed bowlers have a natural hook in their ball. I don't know if anyone here ever heard that in all of the years you have been bowling. If lefty bowlers have a natural hook how could that be possible? Maybe it is just an old wives tale from long ago. What do you guys/gals think about this? No, I am not crazy, I really heard this.

[mc_runner]

I've never heard this, and I can't think of anything physically that would differentiate a righty from a lefty in terms of how they throw. Basically, whatever your dominant hand is, it is.

That's not to say that individuals (both right and left) can have a "natural" hook in how they throw the ball.

[J Anderson]

I’ve heard it, and always thought it was bogus. Since starting to coach 8 years ago, I can cite a number of examples of lefties who started throwing either a straight ball or a reverse hook, and an equal number of righties who started off with a hook.

[bowl1820]

Might look at the thread:

Do left handed people really have a natural hook to their ball?
http://www.bowlingboards.com/threads/11257-Do-left-handed-people-really-have-a-natural-hook-to-their-ball

But no, At least not anymore than anyone else.

[Gutternut]

I'm a lefty and I've never heard this.

I do have a natural curve when I throw a baseball/softball though lol

[TTREX]

I have never heard this. But I did have to start bowling left handed due to right arm injury, and what I found out was that the left side of the lane plays much better. I am not good at left handed bowling, but the ball reaction is so consistent on the left side that it is amazing!! I am guessing that this is due to less wear on the left side vs the wear on the right side, plus due to less left handed bowlers our lane man puts less oil on the left side than the right side saving the bowling center owners money according to the lane man anyway.

[fordman1]

Don't believe in the natural hook myth.
They do have a big advantage because of the shot holding up much longer, assuming the house oils the lanes the way they should.
Never heard of a house shot using less oil on one side vs. the other.

[boatman37]

Being left handed I had heard this before but not sure I believe it. I have been throwing a hook since I was about 12 (around 1981). As far as lefties having an advantage, probably true at many houses but I think we have a pretty equal number of lefties as righties in our league. 3 of our 5 on our team are lefties and a few weeks ago we bowled a team with 3 lefties. I'm usually pretty good till near the end of game 2 before I have to move but it's usually a 1 board or so move (but I also play way outside where nobody else plays so I'm usually the only one that far out). If I had to give a ballpark number I'd say 40% are lefties but the high rev bowlers seemed to almost all be righties.

[TTREX]

Don't believe in the natural hook myth.
They do have a big advantage because of the shot holding up much longer, assuming the house oils the lanes the way they should.
Never heard of a house shot using less oil on one side vs. the other.

PAGE 8 of 29 AMF Lane maintenance manual states this line in 3.0 Lane care and Maintenance:

The specific board where the conditioner distribution changes from the minimum allowed to the maximum allowed is one of the variables that the center must decide. The board on which this change occurs can be different on the right side of the lane compared to the left side of the lane.

The above last line is where our lane man decided to lower the volume on the left side to save money on oil being applied because in his opinion there is no need for excess oil on the left side due to very few left handed bowlers in our area and the fact that the right side has more wear it requires in his mind more oil.

I am only telling you what he said, and quoting the AMF manual that he uses to make his decisions. Below is the whole paragraph:

The overall conditioning pattern on a High Performance Lane surface should have the minimum units of oil allowed by local country rule for the first seven to
twelve boards on both the right and left sides of the lane. The specific board where the conditioner distribution changes from the minimum allowed to the
maximum allowed is one of the variables that the center must decide. The board on which this change occurs can be different on the right side of the lane
compared to the left side of the lane. The recommended number of units of oil in the middle of the lane is at least 20 units or more of lane oil. The rate of change
from the minimum number of units used on the outsides to the maximum number of units of oil used in the center of the lane may also be controlled by local
country rule. In the United States, there is no control on this rate of change and therefore, very abrupt rates of change are used in the United States.

[fordman1]

Your giving those low pay lane men a lot of credit. My guess is most don't care or don't give a darn.

[TTREX]

Your giving those low pay lane men a lot of credit. My guess is most don't care or don't give a darn.

Sadly you are correct, most don't give a darn. Then there are those who are simply too lazy to read the manual when there is a problem, and they don't care to fix the problem anyway. They just want to punch that clock and draw that check not caring about doing the job right or not. There was a time when lane men were proud of what they do, and proud that they were good at it. Now days no one cares.


Your giving those low pay lane men a lot of credit. My guess is most don't care or don't give a darn.

Our bowling center owner said a few years before he passed away, I don't pay you, The bowler's pay me and i give you a portion of what they pay me. If you run off the bowlers then I don't get paid, and when i don't get paid then you don't get paid. You work for the bowler's, not just for me!! He only told me this because I fussed at an open bowler who unloaded a whole rack of balls into the lane before calling for a ball return. I was busy working on a pin setter replacing broken parts. If the bowler had called for a ball return after the 2nd ball did not come back then i would have never said anything. But....

I like the owners way of thinking, because according to your logic A low pay mechanic's/lane man should not care about how the lanes play, or about doing the job correctly, then the truth is that the low wage lane man/mechanic can become jobless. If the bowler's don't like how the lanes play because the lane man thinks he should not worry about doing his job because his pay wage is too low, then when the bowler's quit bowling, then the lane man/mechanic can go find another job. ....lol