New to the sport!! and new to the forum have some questions please help!!

[NYallstar]

hey everyone my name is nick, and im some what new to the sport of bowling. i have been bowling for about 4 months now and need some help and have questions.....

now i dont know what style of bowler i am i never really thought about it or knew what a stroker, tweener, or cranker was, i dont know my ball speed i guess its somewhee between slow and medium lol ball speed. those things really never grabbed my attention since all ive been doing for the past 4 months is learning to bowl and bowl a hook. my average i would have to say would be a 120-130 and i bowl at my local AMF lanes. dont even know the lane conditions either...which idk if hat is a problem how would i know what the conditions are ? I have got my basic steps down like holding the ball and stuff. ill list below the things i would liek answers too f you guys on here can help me out!

1. How do you know where to stand ( middle, to the left, to the right )?
2. where should you aim on the boards ? between the head arrow and the arrow next to it on the right ?
3. i bowl with a cyclone that a friend gave me and i got it drilled fingertip so it fits like a glove perfect is this a good ball to learn the hook and all ?
4. the guy at my pro shop drilled a basic layout on my ball with the pin above and to the right of the right finger hole is this okay to learn how to hook ? or should i get a layout that will give me a better shot of hooking ?

and finally, i feel like i can get a hook packed down but the ball just isnt hooking for me im doing all the right movements and all that but the ball just goes tot he gutter its aggravating....

orry if this is to much just over whelmed!! i want to be able to hook! lol just dont know where to stand on the boards and how to release the ball ( if thats what im doing wrong))

[chrono00]

hey everyone my name is nick, and im some what new to the sport of bowling. i have been bowling for about 4 months now and need some help and have questions.....

now i dont know what style of bowler i am i never really thought about it or knew what a stroker, tweener, or cranker was, i dont know my ball speed i guess its somewhee between slow and medium lol ball speed. those things really never grabbed my attention since all ive been doing for the past 4 months is learning to bowl and bowl a hook. my average i would have to say would be a 120-130 and i bowl at my local AMF lanes. dont even know the lane conditions either...which idk if hat is a problem how would i know what the conditions are ? I have got my basic steps down like holding the ball and stuff. ill list below the things i would liek answers too f you guys on here can help me out!

1. How do you know where to stand ( middle, to the left, to the right )?
2. where should you aim on the boards ? between the head arrow and the arrow next to it on the right ?
3. i bowl with a cyclone that a friend gave me and i got it drilled fingertip so it fits like a glove perfect is this a good ball to learn the hook and all ?
4. the guy at my pro shop drilled a basic layout on my ball with the pin above and to the right of the right finger hole is this okay to learn how to hook ? or should i get a layout that will give me a better shot of hooking ?

and finally, i feel like i can get a hook packed down but the ball just isnt hooking for me im doing all the right movements and all that but the ball just goes tot he gutter its aggravating....

orry if this is to much just over whelmed!! i want to be able to hook! lol just dont know where to stand on the boards and how to release the ball ( if thats what im doing wrong))



i'm sure you'll get better answers as i'm not nearly as seasoned as most here but.

as far as stroker/tweener and such, you could probably ask a vet from your house or the pro shop guy to watch you and tell what kind of style your throwing currently.
most lanes if you look at the screen after you throw it will tell how what the mph of your ball is

1. that depends on your style/oil pattern and such. your probabably best starting in the middle, and you can make adjustments once you learn some more about yourself and the lanes to make proeper adjustments
2. again, that depends on the oil conditions and your style. I tend to aim out slightly to the right of the 2nd arrow. (2nd from the right side) depending on where the oil is/your style and revs, it may be a little different
3. if you had it drilled for your hand, and feels good, your on your way already. the cyclone is a good starting ball i believe? good for a beginner, so yes it may be good for you right now
4. pin up like that is usually good for beginners as it promotes more flare (hook potential) I had my virtual energy drilled the same way, as I couldn't hook a ball to save my life when I started. now I barely use it because when I finally learned how to stay behind and under the ball, the thing's a dam hook monster that I have trouble controlling. doesn't help that the thumb hole for it is too big so I squeeze it.

if you FEEL like your doing it right but the ball is just going to the gutter, it myabe be your not actually staying under the ball. I threw gutter balls maybe anywhere from 1-10 times a night. when my one teamate finally got it to click for me, to LOCK my wrist in position, my hook was way more consistant, my average jumped about 20 pins, and i went from maybe 10 gutters a night to 1 or zero (not counting those dam 10 pin leaves)

as far as hook, it doesn't matter where you stand to get it to hook. just learn to lock your wrist so it stays straight. be consistant with your approach/follow through and release. once you do that, and your ball hooks close to what you want it to, you can worry about moving left or right, changing ball speed and such to make it hook into the pocket more often. just work on one thing at a time, untill it all sort of comes together to work.

[billf]

Ask at the pro shop of they could recommend a good, reasonably priced coach. A coach can help tremendously, especially at this stage. Don't spend for the expensive, over-hyped coach either. Just like other things in life, you get what you pay for until you reach the point of diminishing returns. If possible take a video of yourself bowling and post it here. That will give all of us a lot more info to be able to make suggestions based on how you are currently bowling.

[dgz924s]

Welcome to the forums and to bowling! In my opinion for you at this stage I would suggest getting a coach. Usually all houses have one and the cost is reasonable. You are at a very basic stage and need to get the basic elements understood before moving on to a level of technique beyond the beginner level.

Getting the ball to hook is a multi faceted thing. The ball itself has a coverstock (outer shell) that will create hook. The drill layout will also have some role and the ball design physics detemine when, where and how much a ball will hook. The bowler also has some input on creating hook. But in simple terms you can just roll the ball and it will hook on it's own with little or no effort on your part. So for now forget about learning how to hook and concentrate on the basic alignment, approach and physical mechanics.

Learning how to control the hook is most important now over how to hook it. And this starts with the basics, where to stand, how many steps in the approach, timing, arm/ball swing, release and balance. Having a good coach can look at all these and get you started on the right path, the rest is PRACTICE....getting your muscle memory to duplicate the entire rolling of the ball from start to finish repeatedly. Then once you have the basics down then you can learn the ways to create hook and/or take hook out of the ball by altering those basic elements you now have down.

For some reading material on bowling from beginner to advanced http://www.bowlingball.com/BowlVersity/ has many articles you can read to help you get started just click on beginning bowlers.

[NYallstar]

Ask at the pro shop of they could recommend a good, reasonably priced coach. A coach can help tremendously, especially at this stage. Don't spend for the expensive, over-hyped coach either. Just like other things in life, you get what you pay for until you reach the point of diminishing returns. If possible take a video of yourself bowling and post it here. That will give all of us a lot more info to be able to make suggestions based on how you are currently bowling.

hey thanks i will take a video and post here for you guys. and i will be going this weekend to get a coach. maybe my old high school gym teacher( who is the bowling coach now) will help me i see him at the league meets every tuesday.

[NYallstar]

ill be putting up vids now guys sorry for the crappy quality idk why it came out liek that. if they arent good than i guess ill try to get a better quality

[NYallstar]

some question....
1. the way i am swinging my arm back and how it moves to the left is that a problem ? should my arm when rotate be straight ?
2.is it important to slide at the end ?
3. should you twist your wrist also has your rolling the ball off with your finger tips ?
4. seems like everytime i go to hook the ball has LITTLE hook basically goes straight...i get lucky here and there wiht the hooks but i soon forget how i did it haha.
5. should i slow down my walking speed ?
6.

[J Anderson]

Click here for video 1 (http://s1101.photobucket.com/albums/g423/mikefs2/?action=view&current=IMG_5620.mp4)

Click here for video 2 (http://s1101.photobucket.com/albums/g423/mikefs2/?action=view&current=IMG_7332.mp4)

Click here for video 3 (http://s1101.photobucket.com/albums/g423/mikefs2/?action=view&current=IMG_1048.mp4)

Click here for video 4 (http://s1101.photobucket.com/albums/g423/mikefs2/?action=view&current=IMG_9157.mp4)

some question....
1. the way i am swinging my arm back and how it moves to the left is that a problem ? should my arm when rotate be straight ?
2.is it important to slide at the end ?
3. should you twist your wrist also has your rolling the ball off with your finger tips ?
4. seems like everytime i go to hook the ball has LITTLE hook basically goes straight...i get lucky here and there wiht the hooks but i soon forget how i did it haha.
5. should i slow down my walking speed ?
6.

1: Your arm seems to be going behind your back. I think this is why your ball doesn't seem to hit the same target twice. Your arm should not rotate during the swing, the inside of the elbow should be facing your target throughout.
2: For some people it is very important, others don't slide at all. You need to figure out what works for you.
3: You can throw a basic hook with no wrist rotation. Bowling coach Fred Borden calls this the money shot, partly because your thumb is pointed at the hip pocket where many people keep their wallets, also because it is very easy to repeat. That's where the pros make their money - repeating good shots! Basically you lock your hand and wrist in the position you want them to be in at release at the start of the swing. Google Fred Borden and you can probably find a clip of him teaching this.
4: Normal part of the learning curve.
5: Your walk should be as close to your normal walk as possible considering that you're swinging a 12 -16 pound ball at the same time.

[billf]

1. John is correct, you are taking your arm from in front of your body and arcing it around and behind you. Most people will tend to go froward in the same direction that they went back in, hence the yank to the left. I do the same thing so to solve that issue I hold my arm AND ball totally off to my side, elbow tucked in tight and back when in my stance. Just to be clear, when John says point towards your target, that's wherever you are aiming at (arrows, board, etc.) and not necessarily the head pin.
Also, your arm/ball are too far away from your sliding ankle. The goal is to have them as close as possible.

2. slide it personal preference. I don't slide but I also tend to throw it harder than the average person.

3. Although I am an advocate of keeping the elbow inside of the hand, the position and technique John is referring to is an excellent way to learn the feel for the basic release position.
Hold your arm at a 45 degree angle, elbow locked. Don't just read, try it. Palm up. Now pull your thumb back slightly. Notice how your middle and ring fingers are on each side of the 6:00 position? Now rotate just those two fingers to 3;00 & 4:00 respectively. See how the hand and wrist naturally rotate without any effort from you? If you do that just as your thumb exits the ball on your downswing, just before it gets to your left ankle, it will create axis rotation and therefor hook potential.

4. welcome to bowling lol

5. Ron Hatfield, Gold certified coach who works with Fred Borden on www.mybowlingcoach.com said he dreads hearing people say to slow down. As long as your walk speed matches your arm speed, leave it alone. Down the road you can practice altering the speed to help make adjustments but for now, use what you are comfortable with..

[billf]

Ron Clifton has some great articles, with pictures, that may help also
www.bowl4fun.com

[NYallstar]

1: Your arm seems to be going behind your back. I think this is why your ball doesn't seem to hit the same target twice. Your arm should not rotate during the swing, the inside of the elbow should be facing your target throughout.
2: For some people it is very important, others don't slide at all. You need to figure out what works for you.
3: You can throw a basic hook with no wrist rotation. Bowling coach Fred Borden calls this the money shot, partly because your thumb is pointed at the hip pocket where many people keep their wallets, also because it is very easy to repeat. That's where the pros make their money - repeating good shots! Basically you lock your hand and wrist in the position you want them to be in at release at the start of the swing. Google Fred Borden and you can probably find a clip of him teaching this.
4: Normal part of the learning curve.
5: Your walk should be as close to your normal walk as possible considering that you're swinging a 12 -16 pound ball at the same time.

thanks!


1. John is correct, you are taking your arm from in front of your body and arcing it around and behind you. Most people will tend to go froward in the same direction that they went back in, hence the yank to the left. I do the same thing so to solve that issue I hold my arm AND ball totally off to my side, elbow tucked in tight and back when in my stance. Just to be clear, when John says point towards your target, that's wherever you are aiming at (arrows, board, etc.) and not necessarily the head pin.
Also, your arm/ball are too far away from your sliding ankle. The goal is to have them as close as possible.

2. slide it personal preference. I don't slide but I also tend to throw it harder than the average person.

3. Although I am an advocate of keeping the elbow inside of the hand, the position and technique John is referring to is an excellent way to learn the feel for the basic release position.
Hold your arm at a 45 degree angle, elbow locked. Don't just read, try it. Palm up. Now pull your thumb back slightly. Notice how your middle and ring fingers are on each side of the 6:00 position? Now rotate just those two fingers to 3;00 & 4:00 respectively. See how the hand and wrist naturally rotate without any effort from you? If you do that just as your thumb exits the ball on your downswing, just before it gets to your left ankle, it will create axis rotation and therefor hook potential.

4. welcome to bowling lol

5. Ron Hatfield, Gold certified coach who works with Fred Borden on www.mybowlingcoach.com said he dreads hearing people say to slow down. As long as your walk speed matches your arm speed, leave it alone. Down the road you can practice altering the speed to help make adjustments but for now, use what you are comfortable with..

thanks guys i appreciate the point outs next time i practice ill try all of tht and video tape it for ya. im also in the process of getting a coach t help me too.

[chrono00]

also....use any other camera other then the one you used. you can barely even tell what's going on it's so blurry

[NYallstar]

its funny i reorded it wiht my iphone 4s and its crystal clear HD but when i upload it to photobucket its all chopped up and crappy! ill post them to youtube next....

[chrono00]

its funny i reorded it wiht my iphone 4s and its crystal clear HD but when i upload it to photobucket its all chopped up and crappy! ill post them to youtube next....

yea might wanna try that. I just used the webcam on my laptop when i recorded myself to put on youtube and it's plenty enough clear.