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View Full Version : The case of the missing slot......



Hammer
10-24-2021, 07:27 AM
At practice the other day I told my teammate to take a video of me when I make my approach and swing. I'll just say that when I saw the video my chin hit the floor. When I swung forward my ball wasn't under my head when it was directly under it and wasn't even close to my ankle. It used to be so I decided to look up videos of the correct swing and how to get into what they call the slot on the forward swing. What I found was that on the back swing your shoulders have to open up. Now depending on how old you are and how flexible you are and how your body is built that will determine how far your shoulders can open up on the back swing. When you open your shoulders then it is easy to drop the ball into the slot then when you arm is straight from your head the ball is directly under your head when it is going into your release.

I watched a video called analysis of modern 10 pin bowling swing and release. There are two videos of this. When you watch the pros in this video you will see that on the back swing their shoulder line is parallel to the gutter. Then when they drop the ball on the forward swing it goes into the slot and the ball passes directly under their head and it is close to the ankle. When my ball was going by my head my ball was about a foot from my slide leg. That explains the reason why I felt off balance when I released my ball. My ball was too far away from me. The culprit was the fact that when I made my approach I kept my shoulders parallel to the foul line. Now if you do that I don't know if there is a way to get the ball to drop into the slot. When I thought about it I thought if I tried to get into the slot that chances are I would either crash into the back of my leg or have the ball go glancing off the side of my ankle. The thing is I used to open my shoulders on the back swing. So when we bowl Monday on our league I will at practice before we start see how much I can open my shoulders on the back swing and see if I get closer to my ankle and my ball closer to being under my head on the forward swing.

The funny part is bowling the way I was I had high games of 201 and 203. I even had a game where I started out with 5 strikes in a row. I am pretty good at picking up my spares. I don't throw straight balls. I am a lefty so I stand to the right and throw to the left and have consistent pocket hits with my hook. The thing is bowling this way I have to keep fighting my balance and that is because my ball is too far away from me on my forward swing. So Monday at warm up before the game I will open my shoulders more on my back swing and see how that works out for me on my forward swing. So the moral of the story is to open those shoulders on the back swing so your ball can drop into the slot on the forward swing. Good luck on your bowling.

RobLV1
10-24-2021, 09:40 PM
The worst thing that EVER happened to bowling instruction was the invention of the internet! You are not a pro bowler. You are not 25 years old. You will never be a pro bowler. You will never again be 25 years old. The single most important thing in bowling is repetition. It really doesn't matter what you do, just do it the same every time. I know a senior bowler who comes over the top on every shot, drops the ball about four feet short of the foul line, is so late with his timing that he nearly falls over on the lane to his right, but he does it all the same on every shot. He averages about 220. Just enjoy!

Hammer
10-25-2021, 05:29 AM
The worst thing that EVER happened to bowling instruction was the invention of the internet! You are not a pro bowler. You are not 25 years old. You will never be a pro bowler. You will never again be 25 years old. The single most important thing in bowling is repetition. It really doesn't matter what you do, just do it the same every time. I know a senior bowler who comes over the top on every shot, drops the ball about four feet short of the foul line, is so late with his timing that he nearly falls over on the lane to his right, but he does it all the same on every shot. He averages about 220. Just enjoy!

I will be 75 shortly and have been bowling for 37 years. So you don't think that I should try opening my shoulders because of my age? Should I attempt to open them at least a little on my back swing so I can at least have my ball a little closer to me on my forward swing? I was opening them when I was in my 60s. I am not in bad shape for my age. I am 5' 6" tall and 158 pounds. The way I am bowling now seems to put a lot of pressure on my back and my left shoulder because the ball isn't close to my body on the forward swing. It is hard to believe that I can maintain a 165 average bowling this way. When I said that I will open my shoulders on the back swing I didn't mean like the pros where their shoulder line on the back swing is parallel to the gutter. I am thinking just opening a little at a time to see what happens with my forward swing and if I can get a little closer to my body on the forward swing. Are you still bowling and do you open your shoulders at all? I don't know how old you are but I would think that you are around my close to 75 age.

J Anderson
10-25-2021, 07:43 AM
The worst thing that EVER happened to bowling instruction was the invention of the internet! You are not a pro bowler. You are not 25 years old. You will never be a pro bowler. You will never again be 25 years old. The single most important thing in bowling is repetition. It really doesn't matter what you do, just do it the same every time. I know a senior bowler who comes over the top on every shot, drops the ball about four feet short of the foul line, is so late with his timing that he nearly falls over on the lane to his right, but he does it all the same on every shot. He averages about 220. Just enjoy!

Yes the internet can interfere with proper instruction. There's so much information available that it overwhelms our ability to sort out the true from the false, the useful from the trivial, and that which applies to our own problems from everything else. Yet it also allows us to have a polite discussion despite being separated by many miles and a couple of time zones. I think changes in bowling ball technology and the spread of easier house shots was equally bad for bowling instruction. The old ‘Why should I take lessons? All I need to do is buy a new ball and my average will go up by 10-15 pins’ attitude combined with lane conditions that let mediocre bowlers average 200 make lessons seem irrelevant.

I don’t think Hammer should be faulted for wanting to make a change in his delivery. It sounds from his reply to you that being off balance at the line is causing stress on his lower back. Looking at pro bowlers might not be the right way to go but I don’t think we should write him off just because he’s not 25 years old with dreams of going pro.

Hammer
10-25-2021, 09:51 AM
Yes the internet can interfere with proper instruction. There's so much information available that it overwhelms our ability to sort out the true from the false, the useful from the trivial, and that which applies to our own problems from everything else. Yet it also allows us to have a polite discussion despite being separated by many miles and a couple of time zones. I think changes in bowling ball technology and the spread of easier house shots was equally bad for bowling instruction. The old ‘Why should I take lessons? All I need to do is buy a new ball and my average will go up by 10-15 pins’ attitude combined with lane conditions that let mediocre bowlers average 200 make lessons seem irrelevant.

I don’t think Hammer should be faulted for wanting to make a change in his delivery. It sounds from his reply to you that being off balance at the line is causing stress on his lower back. Looking at pro bowlers might not be the right way to go but I don’t think we should write him off just because he’s not 25 years old with dreams of going pro.

Thanks for the compliment. I am not dreaming about becoming a pro bowler, I just want a little better swing and delivery so I am more balanced at the foul line after my shot. I wasn't thinking about going crazy on opening my shoulders on my back swing. I was thinking just trying to open them a little at a time so I can see what my limit is of opening my shoulders up.

RobLV1
10-25-2021, 09:48 PM
In your original post, you didn't mention any strain on your back. You just talked about opening up the shoulders as a way of getting the ball closer to your body. If you need to open your shoulders to decrease pressure on your back, then by all means, try it. I hate to see long-time bowlers try to fix themselves. It usually backfires.

To answer your questions, I am 72 years old, and no, I don't intentionally open my shoulders on my backswing. I have degenerative bone disease the entire length of my spine, so my main goal when I bowl is not to hurt myself! I'm usually successful in that, and I can still, on rare occasions, bowl some decent games... though they are becoming fewer and farther between.

Hammer
10-25-2021, 10:45 PM
In your original post, you didn't mention any strain on your back. You just talked about opening up the shoulders as a way of getting the ball closer to your body. If you need to open your shoulders to decrease pressure on your back, then by all means, try it. I hate to see long-time bowlers try to fix themselves. It usually backfires.

To answer your questions, I am 72 years old, and no, I don't intentionally open my shoulders on my backswing. I have degenerative bone disease the entire length of my spine, so my main goal when I bowl is not to hurt myself! I'm usually successful in that, and I can still, on rare occasions, bowl some decent games... though they are becoming fewer and farther between.

I will be 75 soon. Because of my age my speed has slowed down and I make a slower and more careful approach. I had bot hips replaced and my knees are still somewhat okay. I am not consistent in my games. They go anywhere from a 135 to a 212. I usually get a lot of pocket hits on my first ball so I get a lot of 9 counts on my first ball. I opened my shoulders a little today and it seemed to work okay. If it wasn't for my osteoarthritis my body would be okay for the most part.

Timmyb
10-26-2021, 04:55 AM
I'm 55, and have been bowling for 47 of those years. Two shoulder surgeries (and another on the way, I think. Add the elbow in there for a topper), and degenerative arthritis, and all I can do to stay in this game is to find new ways for it not to hurt. I'm not sure what a "slot" is, but I'm pretty sure I'm nowhere near it. I bowl now just to stay in the game I love, and refuse to over-analyze it. Stay off the internet!

J Anderson
10-26-2021, 07:16 AM
I'm 55, and have been bowling for 47 of those years. Two shoulder surgeries (and another on the way, I think. Add the elbow in there for a topper), and degenerative arthritis, and all I can do to stay in this game is to find new ways for it not to hurt. I'm not sure what a "slot" is, but I'm pretty sure I'm nowhere near it. I bowl now just to stay in the game I love, and refuse to over-analyze it. Stay off the internet!

But if we stay off the internet we will miss your posts on trying to maintain, or perhaps improve your average. Not to mention the never ending soap opera of Aslan’s bowling life.😉

Ryster
10-26-2021, 07:43 AM
There is such a thing as "analysis paralysis". Best option is to keep things simple.

When we are bowling and people start to talk mechanics and start over-analyzing over minute aspect of the game, they usually end up struggling even more. They have so many things going through their head at that point that they tend to get lost in their own core mechanics.

I find that if I am struggling, and just take a minute to think about what I am doing, it becomes pretty clear what I am doing wrong in my own game that is causing my issues. Everyone has such a unique game that trying to incorporate [or mimic] what they do into your own game can many times be more detrimental than helpful.

Hammer
10-26-2021, 10:53 PM
I'm 55, and have been bowling for 47 of those years. Two shoulder surgeries (and another on the way, I think. Add the elbow in there for a topper), and degenerative arthritis, and all I can do to stay in this game is to find new ways for it not to hurt. I'm not sure what a "slot" is, but I'm pretty sure I'm nowhere near it. I bowl now just to stay in the game I love, and refuse to over-analyze it. Stay off the internet!

I wasn't making a drastic change in my approach and swing. Everything is going to remain the same the only thing that I wanted to change a little was my back swing. I wanted to see if I can open my shoulders a little so on the forward swing I can get my ball closer to my body so I wouldn't be off balance as I am now. I used to open my shoulders when I was younger and into my 60s. Somewhere along the line I started to keep my shoulder line parallel to the foul line. That is when the problem started and I didn't even realize that I was doing that.

Phonetek
10-27-2021, 12:04 PM
After have a coach check out some video of me before I recently hurt myself She noticed I raise my shoulder up at my release point. Once I get healthy again this is something I will work on. It is likely the cause of my lift which I previously attributed to not bending my knee enough.

Since I can’t possibly bend it any further without splitting my pants it’s nice to find out what is going on. I’ve watched my video a hundred times and I never caught it.

Hammer
01-14-2022, 10:10 PM
In your original post, you didn't mention any strain on your back. You just talked about opening up the shoulders as a way of getting the ball closer to your body. If you need to open your shoulders to decrease pressure on your back, then by all means, try it. I hate to see long-time bowlers try to fix themselves. It usually backfires.

To answer your questions, I am 72 years old, and no, I don't intentionally open my shoulders on my back swing. I have degenerative bone disease the entire length of my spine, so my main goal when I bowl is not to hurt myself! I'm usually successful in that, and I can still, on rare occasions, bowl some decent games... though they are becoming fewer and farther between.

I just want to say that there is no way that I can open my shoulders so that they are parallel with the gutter. I would probably pop a disc in my back. I would just adjust a little on my back swing so I don't get hurt. I got it to the point where I am closer so that I am not off balance and can post my release. I am at that age-75- where at warm up before league the first three balls I throw my body feels like it doesn't want to bend. After those first several throws my body is then okay with throwing a bowling ball.

Hammer
01-27-2022, 07:41 PM
In your original post, you didn't mention any strain on your back. You just talked about opening up the shoulders as a way of getting the ball closer to your body. If you need to open your shoulders to decrease pressure on your back, then by all means, try it. I hate to see long-time bowlers try to fix themselves. It usually backfires.

To answer your questions, I am 72 years old, and no, I don't intentionally open my shoulders on my backswing. I have degenerative bone disease the entire length of my spine, so my main goal when I bowl is not to hurt myself! I'm usually successful in that, and I can still, on rare occasions, bowl some decent games... though they are becoming fewer and farther between.

I am not Mr. consistency at the age I am at now in bowling which will be 75 very soon. I can bowl a game from 128 to a high of 211. Sometimes your body just doesn't want to work right with your approach and swing and release. Plus your ball just isn't working like it usually does. My speed can go from 10.5 to a high of 13. Even tough I will be 75 my body is still okay for the most part. I can make a normal approach and swing and have a good release and can post my shots. I want to bowl as long as I can.

J Anderson
01-28-2022, 07:08 AM
I am not Mr. consistency at the age I am at now in bowling which will be 75 very soon. I can bowl a game from 128 to a high of 211. Sometimes your body just doesn't want to work right with your approach and swing and release. Plus your ball just isn't working like it usually does. My speed can go from 10.5 to a high of 13. Even tough I will be 75 my body is still okay for the most part. I can make a normal approach and swing and have a good release and can post my shots. I want to bowl as long as I can.

I’m a decade behind you and I know that feeling of having the body suddenly not do what your mind intended. Still want to keep going as long as possible too.