Spare ball:I have come to the conclusion.......

[dgz924s]

....that is a waste of bag space and would better serve as a lawn ornament. Been working on using it but not so good of results. I may hit 3/10 ten pins using it but using the IT I can hit 8/10. Kind of maddening really, cheapest and nicest looking ball in the bag and it just refuses to produce spares. But I guess for a 50.00 ball what should I expect huh! Ok, now just to get the record straight, it is NOT the bowler I absolutely refuse to accept any responsibilty:rolleyes:

So here is a poll regarding spare ball usage.

Due to this being my first poll I failed to mention plastic for the 3rd question.

....And since I did not get this choice in...if you don't use plastic...just post that.

[JerseyJim]

DGZ - If you can find it, dig up a copy of Rolf Gauger's TRIAX spare system. It's geared towards using plastic balls. If you practice it diligently you'll definitely notice an increase in your spare shooting percentage.

[Josch]

I have to use a plastic ball for 10 pins and I use it for everything else too. The way I release the ball it will hook, even with no axis rotation. My axis tilt is enough to produce a large hook with a reactive ball. My average would be a lot worst if it wasn't for plastic.

[Davec13]

you need a poll option for what's a spare ball ;)
I was taught the 3, 6, 9 method of sparing and it works well enough for me to not worry about carrying another ball. Granted I still miss the occasional 10 pin, but don't we all?

[J Anderson]

The poll definitely needs a fourth choice; no spare ball.

I have a white dot that I got for shooting spares shortly after finally switching to fingertip grip / reactive resin. I had been using my old conventional grip rubber ball for spares, but it didn't feel right switching back and forth between the two types of grips. The ball is now sitting on a shelf because after two years the ball started chipping around the finger grips. So now I use the Norm duke technique of killing the hook.

[dgz924s]

I agree on that choice of no spare ball. Being a rookie pollster I need a way to edit the poll but at a loss of how?

[dgz924s]

DGZ - If you can find it, dig up a copy of Rolf Gauger's TRIAX spare system. It's geared towards using plastic balls. If you practice it diligently you'll definitely notice an increase in your spare shooting percentage.

I will do just that, thanks for the lead! Even though the name Rolf Gauger sounds like it came out of a WWII spy novel, has to ge a good read!

[billf]

I use plastic for the majority of my spare combinations. I have learned to control it well enough to even hook it enough to catch 2-8, 4-7 and even for the 1,2,4,7,10. I've tried Duke's method with zero success. I even use my plastic ball for the third game of league when the lanes are real dry. I find it helps keep my release correct also as I have to use a ton of hand to hook it a lot.

[JerseyJim]

I will do just that, thanks for the lead! Even though the name Rolf Gauger sounds like it came out of a WWII spy novel, has to ge a good read!

He was a famous bowling coach who wrote articles for Bowling this Month magazine, and was one of the instructors at the BTM Super School. He passed away a few years ago, but his articles still get republished in BTM.

I found a copy of the article.

home.earthlink.net/~litefrozen/downloads/Triax_spare.pdf

[MICHAEL]

I did away with plastic!! My Red Alien has gone flat, and it WORKS GREAT for the 10 pin~ Today I bowled about 10 games, and I bet I hit
90 percent... maybe missed one out of a Billion!! I love the Alien for 10 pins, it has just enough stick to hang on to the edge when I stand way left, and HIT the center arrow !! I do much better with it then the
plastic, that is now at the goodwill!! So good balls that go flat, still have a reason to be kept! IMHA~~

[dgz924s]

Thanks for the link

[bowl1820]

....that is a waste of bag space and would better serve as a lawn ornament. Been working on using it but not so good of results. I may hit 3/10 ten pins using it but using the IT I can hit 8/10. Kind of maddening really, cheapest and nicest looking ball in the bag and it just refuses to produce spares. But I guess for a 50.00 ball what should I expect huh! Ok, now just to get the record straight, it is NOT the bowler I absolutely refuse to accept any responsibilty:rolleyes:

So here is a poll regarding spare ball usage.

Due to this being my first poll I failed to mention plastic for the 3rd question.

....And while I have your attention how do you edit a poll??

The obvious thing first is if your using a "IT" in your other balls, then put one in the plastic ball. Then your spare percentage of ten pins should go up with the plastic ball.

I've read a lot posts from bowler's that complain about plastic balls and how they can't hit anything with it.

Most of the time the problem is they don't throw a straight ball, all they know is how to crank a ball. They'll say "If I throw a straight ball I can't hit anything!" That's because a plastic ball will show you just how inaccurate you are.

Take the time to practice with it, learn to throw it straight and improve your accuracy. Use it when appropriate.

TO EDIT THE POLL-

Look next to the Poll title "View Poll Results: What ball do you use for spares?" and click on the Pencil Icon. This will let you edit the poll.

[dgz924s]

TO EDIT THE POLL-

Look next to the Poll title "View Poll Results: What ball do you use for spares?" and click on the Pencil Icon. This will let you edit the poll.

Now this odd what shows up top is view poll results. This AM the tabs to vote and/or view were there but are now gone and is stuck on the results portion. Also my quick reply is now gone, this issue we have already brought up.....Thanks for the suggestion on tackling spares!

[bowl1820]

Now this odd what shows up top is view poll results. This AM the tabs to vote and/or view were there but are now gone and is stuck on the results portion. Also my quick reply is now gone, this issue we have already brought up.....Thanks for the suggestion on tackling spares!

You only get to vote once on a poll. Once you have voted on a poll, the voting buttons disappear. (so you can't keep voting over and over again)

[dgz924s]

Understood. So that leaves me no way to edit the poll as there is no pencil now. That said I did vote and the tabs were there post voting but for some odd reason are gone this AM....gremlins.

Also odd is my quick reply is fine on the first page but not on the second page, just threw that in to the mix so if you are trying to sort out the bugs, there is another.
Thanks!

[bowl1820]

Understood. So that leaves me no way to edit the poll as there is no pencil now. That said I did vote and the tabs were there post voting but for some odd reason are gone this AM....gremlins.

Also odd is my quick reply is fine on the first page but not on the second page, just threw that in to the mix so if you are trying to sort out the bugs, there is another.
Thanks!

I did some tests, it's possible you might not have earned enough permissions to access some features. Some features don't become available till you have a certain number of posts. But I'm not sure how they have all the forum set up now.

1-The quick reply format toolbar only seems to appear on the first page of of a multi-page thread. Regardless of how many posts a user has made. This may just be how the system is set to work or a setting maybe need to be changed to allow it.

2-As for editing a poll, my test user can't access it either. this may be because the option isn't available yet do to post count or just not turned on or this may be a feature only mods. have.
Update: I've been looking and Vbulletin might not have the option for regular users to edit their poll once its made.

Now this is from the FAQ's and may be a factor also.

Can I edit or delete my posts?

If you have registered and are logged in, you may be able to edit and delete your posts (although the administrator may have turned off this option). Your ability to edit your posts may be time-limited, depending on how the administrator has set up the forum.

To edit or delete your posts, click the Edit Post button by the particular post. If your post was the first in the thread, then deleting it may remove the entire thread.

Once you've made your modifications, a note may appear to inform other users that you have edited your post.

If the edit time and date appear as a link you can click on this to see the differences between the original and edited versions, or between edits if there have been multiple edits.

[dgz924s]

Well post count permission does make sense. I have seen this on many vBulletin forums but only pertained to the profile, mainly signatures and in some rare instances,avatars. But I would not be surprized that permission could be set for many functions.

I have never been a fan of the post count feature anyway or at least only for certain allowances to other functions but the count should only be accessible to the administrators IMHO.

Thanks again for looking into this, my next poll will go much smoother I'm sure.

[bowl1820]

Well post count permission does make sense. I have seen this on many vBulletin forums but only pertained to the profile, mainly signatures and in some rare instances,avatars. But I would not be surprised that permission could be set for many functions.

I have never been a fan of the post count feature anyway or at least only for certain allowances to other functions but the count should only be accessible to the administrators IMHO.

Thanks again for looking into this, my next poll will go much smoother I'm sure.

I don't think it's post count that's affecting it, as you said that's usually only profile, mainly signatures and avatars but I'll cover my bases and include it as a possible cause.

They just upgraded Vbulletin a while back, so still maybe some bugs here and there.


I have never been a fan of the post count feature anyway or at least only for certain allowances to other functions but the count should only be accessible to the administrators IMHO.

The Administrators are the only ones with access to the post count feature setting's.

Using post count to limit access to certain features, has it's place. It helps cut back on those who sign up just to post spam signatures or images or otherwise abuse the forum privileges .

[dgz924s]

Yes something is not quite right and bugs may be the reason, I'll stick with that..lol....My issue with post counts, agreed it does serve a good purpose, is a large count does not make the user an expert/guru and may be misleading to new members thinking a high count is the person to ask.

[martin]

i generally use plastic for pins left on the right side (6-9-10) no matter if it's single pin or more (i'm right-handed), and use reactive for pins center and on the left side..

[Stormed1]

Part of this summers plans of improvement is using my spare ball for all spares other than those which require hook (ie.2-4-8-10). Although i can pick up the 10 pin if i wanted with my hookingest ball my margin for error is much greater with plastic.

[americantrotter]

I dont use a spare ball. But I am joining the Have a Ball league this summer so I'll pick up a White Dot or Tzone. It'll be good to practice with.

I can't throw straight very well with a thumb in. Due to playing thumb out exclusively for a year now. i can still roll it straight at spares when needed.

Seems like a plastic or spare ball is really needed depending on a bowler's style. I'll see if i can work it into my game, because if I can do better I'd like to.

[billf]

Since I have gone to plastic exclusively for my spare, my conversion percentage has gone way up. It takes lane conditions right out of the equation and increases the margin of error from 11" to 22"