straight vs hook at spares

[kahgknow]

i have recently taught myself to roll my ball straight at spares and i was just wondering how many people on here also throw straight? i dont mean just throwing straight at the left side for lefties or the right side for righties i mean all your spares i havent seen too many people who do this i am one of if not the only one on my league of 120+ who does this and i have noticed even pros hook at their spares i have found since i throw like this i am a much better spare shooter i have rolled 2 games without an open since i have taught myself this as opposed to only 1 or 2 before

[10-in-the-pit]

I bowl basically straight at most spares. There are a few times where I'll hook it like when I leave a washout and need to go Brook. I typically use my spare ball for everything else to help take lane conditions out of play and just use speed and angle to take out what's left out there.

[RyanC]

Hooked at all my spares my whole life carried a 210+ avg the last 3 years. Just last week i bought a plastic ball and am starting to go straight

[JaMau24]

I throw a hook at my spares.. I use a regular strike ball and hook it to hit any combination or single pins including pins 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8... For pins 3, 6, 9, and 10 I use a plastic ball. The only spare I have some trouble with is the 10 pin. I probably pick it up 85%-90% of the time and would like to get up to at least 95%.. Every other single pin I'm 99%-100%...

Its interesting you bring this up though because I have been practicing lately to throw my plastic ball at all spares and throw it straight because when doing so, you don't have to worry about the different oil conditions you'll have to face on different patterns. I've seen more pros throw straight balls to pick up spares, but there are still quite a few that hook it as well.

In league, I've yet to spot anyone throw a straight ball to pick up spares. That's probably because we shoot on the same house shot every week and there's no reason to throw it straight when you know the conditions.

[kahgknow]

i agree that theres really no reason to throw straight on a house shot but its alot easier to pick up a spare throwing straight if you make a mistake than if you hook and make a mistake i dont know how many times i have seen my team mate hook at his 10 pin only to drop it in the gutter and yes the pros are starting to lean more toward straight at their spares but there are a few guys out there who would benefit from throwing straight at all of there spares and also you guys say you use plastic to throw straight at spares why? i can easily make my strike ball go straight i dont see the need to buy another bowling ball thats going to cost me 150+ (including drilling) would it be a good idea to get a plastic ball? or is it ok to use a strike ball? i know that may sound like a stupid question but is it going to affect the performance of my strike ball if i use it to throw straight at spares?

[JaMau24]

i agree that theres really no reason to throw straight on a house shot but its alot easier to pick up a spare throwing straight if you make a mistake than if you hook and make a mistake i dont know how many times i have seen my team mate hook at his 10 pin only to drop it in the gutter and yes the pros are starting to lean more toward straight at their spares but there are a few guys out there who would benefit from throwing straight at all of there spares and also you guys say you use plastic to throw straight at spares why? i can easily make my strike ball go straight i dont see the need to buy another bowling ball thats going to cost me 150+ (including drilling) would it be a good idea to get a plastic ball? or is it ok to use a strike ball? i know that may sound like a stupid question but is it going to affect the performance of my strike ball if i use it to throw straight at spares?

It's completely fine throwing your strike ball straight if you can do it. I can do it as well, but since I already have a plastic ball, I figured I'd just use that to start throwing straight at my spares.

No, it will not affect the performance of your strike ball at all to throw it straight at spares.

On a side note, where the heck do you get your balls drilled if it would cost you $150+ including drilling for a plastic ball!? If you are get a plastic Viz-A-Ball that run for $150-$200+ then I understand, but it only cost me a little over $50 for a plastic T Zone Brunswick ball online and the drilling was $60 (funny the drilling was more than the ball) and that was only because I was lazy and didn't wanna drive another half hour because I could have got it drilled for half of that price.

[got_a_300]

Back when I first started bowling back in the early 80's i tried to hook
at all my spares 10 pin included that is until I realized like the old saying
goes straighter is greater.

I would miss probably 8 out of 10 attempts at the 10 pin and 4 pin and
other single pin spares. After I learned to go straight at my single pin
spares I started making somewhere around 95% of them and if I have
double wood I still try to throw straight at them. If I have say the diner
bucket or several pins in a cluster I sometimes hook the ball at them but
I try to throw the ball as straight as much as I can at my spares and splits.

Take Walter Ray Williams for instance he almost always goes straight at
his spares and they don't call him Ol' Dead Eye for missing his spares LOL.

Wow $150.00 for a plastic spare ball I paid I think it was something like
$80.00 for my plastic T Zone with drilling included in the price.

[MFein]

Straight, no debate. I can understand throwing a slight rotation just to give yourself some leeway if you miss right, which is what I do, but I don't need a spare ball to make my spares. I'm comfortable making them head on with any ball I throw because I can make it go straight, no matter what oil pattern it is. It's a very versatile thing to learn to throw it straight, because all it takes is a really short oil pattern and you can do the same thing for strikes, but tweak at the bottom just a tad.

[kahgknow]

i was figuring 100 for the ball and 50 for drilling thats why i said 150 and i agree MFein i am comfortable throwing straight with any ball i throw and i have had a few times when i try to tell someone they should throw straight and they try to tell me that they cant with the ball they have which is not true at all

[resstealth]

It depends, anything on the left side, I use one of my strike balls and throw a hook (right handed). Anything on the 10 side, im throwing a straight ball. Any kind of washout, hooking. Any kind of tough spare, im throwing a HARD straight ball, trying to deflect a pin off the back.

[got_a_300]

I can still throw my strike ball straight also if I want to but using plastic takes
any and all lane conditions out of play where my strike ball may move 2 or 3 or
more boards when trying to throw it straight on drier conditions the plastic ball
does not move hardly at all.

[JerseyJim]

I prefer throwing a plastic ball at spares. I can straighten out any of the balls that I own, but why put the extra mileage on a $200 ball?

[archerbrad]

Hooking the ball into the spares is easier for me, seeing as how I can't throw a ball straight to save my life. The only reason I still use my plastic White Dot is because it gets some gentle hook on it which is good in certain situations.

[billf]

I go straight at spares and have found using plastic I don't need to alter my release nearly as much. By doing so I have figured out how to convert roughly 20% of my 7-10 splits. The more I learned to rev the ball up the harder it became for me to throw my ball straight. Some can, I can't.

[x-mantwohand]

i use a entry performance ball to hook the ball alittle to the pins. like with the 10 pin i hook my slingshot to the 10 pin

[bowl1820]

When shooting spares, you need a shot that increase's the probability that you will convert the spare. You should be able to do both when needed.

As the lanes dry out during league bowling or in a tournament, they will get harder to convert both the right and left side spares. Also when the lanes are very wet, they can also be very difficult to convert the spares using just a hooking ball for a spare shot.

Like shooting the ten pin, The straight Ball cross lane will give you the widest margin of error. Hooking at the ten pin, you need to be a lot more accurate to get the ball to roll into the center of the pin, not just clip it on the side. Because you run the risk of the ball hooking past the pin more often.

[striker12]

bets thing too do is do streght ball cause then u can have much more accuracy rather thenthrowing it left or right of the spare spare pins and missing andthen blaming it on the ball for not moving in.

another reason why streght shot spares is the best is because you have a much better chance of making splits like the 7-10 or the big 4 cause if you throw a hook ball then you would cut the pins by only hitting 1 maby 2 or missing them all together

[The Mayor]

You should always throw straight at your spares unless you have a sleeper, 2-4-8-10 (3-6-7-9 for lefties) or you want to throw a strike shot at an 8 pin to figure out your line. Basically, if you had your strike shot figured out you wouldn't be shooting at spares, so why would you throw your strike ball at your spares? Better to go straight at them and take the lane out of play.

[striker12]

yeha mayor its is better to throw streght cause then you dont have to worry about missing any pins but you will get that once and awhile cut of a pin form being like 1 board off but thats normal i cut a few pins but only up the left side of the lane on the right i msot of the time miss the 10 but i wif it

[aussiedave]

i have recently taught myself to roll my ball straight at spares and i was just wondering how many people on here also throw straight? i dont mean just throwing straight at the left side for lefties or the right side for righties i mean all your spares i havent seen too many people who do this i am one of if not the only one on my league of 120+ who does this and i have noticed even pros hook at their spares i have found since i throw like this i am a much better spare shooter i have rolled 2 games without an open since i have taught myself this as opposed to only 1 or 2 before

Straight is the easiest and safest imho. You can conserve energy and minimize costs too by getting a lightweight plastic ball, which also saves your more expensive equipment. It does not take a 15 or 16 pound ball to knock over a few pins.
By all means, go for the hook if on the safe side of the lane (left hand side pins for a righty), but straight for those on the challenging side. I love the plastic for the 10 pin - I can go hard and straight because it is a lighter ball and be confident it won't curve frustratingly away at the last minute!
It might take a little getting used to if you have done the hook thing on all your deliveries up til now, but over time you will see the rewards.
And of course, there are certain spares where an angle is advantageous to increase your chances of getting the spare so the hook is not going away altogether - especially if you can see that a regular hook ball into the pocket is the best chance to pick it up as well.
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[aussiedave]

You should always throw straight at your spares unless you have a sleeper, 2-4-8-10 (3-6-7-9 for lefties) or you want to throw a strike shot at an 8 pin to figure out your line. Basically, if you had your strike shot figured out you wouldn't be shooting at spares, so why would you throw your strike ball at your spares? Better to go straight at them and take the lane out of play.

I usually throw straight as well, but was faced with a 1-5-7 last night in league so decided my regular hook delivery into the pocket was the way to go. I am happy to report I picked it up - never looked like missing! Got a great cheer from the "gallery". :cool:
ad.

[greycat]

I was given advice I never understood til I struggled on difficult patterns or at new houses. Never throw at a spare your strike throw can't pickup. He explained you should know how to throw strong and weak pocket hits that will cover inside pins. he would never throw a brooklin to hit spares like 1-2-4-7. If he knew it wouldn't cover he threw the spare ball. In league it looked hard headed but tourneys came n went and he always cashed.

[BOWLWEST73]

I tend to throw straight at 90% of my spares with the exception being double wood (2-8) or something like a 3-6-9-10.

[CeKnauss]

As of late, I've been working to throw straight at my spares. I previously used a plastic spare ball, but as I have become more comfortable with my equipment, I prefer to use my oldest ball (a 14lb Brunswick Evil Siege). Being a bit lighter than my newer array of 15lb equipment, it can still hook if I use it on specific patterns, but as it has become quite oil soaked, I can get it to go straight with enough tip in the back end to cover slightly errant shots to the right. My 10 pin conversion rate has risen dramatically since switching to this as I can throw the ball like a strike ball from all the way left and it will hydroplane to the 10 pin. I can break my wrist and throw the ball straight if I need, but I generally begin to start pulling shots or assuming they have enough room and miss right.

[travkoiboi]

to me it's personal preference. I normally hook at my spares, but may go the straight route... less error %

[martin]

for me, it all depends on the remaining pins actually.. most spares i use straight w/ plastic ball, some other spares i tend to hook it..

[edpup316]

Im a righty. so when i was growing up, when YABA was a thing, all my friends hooked the ball. I thought to myself thats fine and all but what happens when you go to a sport shot tourny or even one with a pba pattern? That hook isn't always the same, but ya know what is? Thats right a straight ball. If you dont plan on bowling anywhere else then go for the hook but if not then a straight ball is a very valuable tool.