Graaille

  1. It's my birthday and I'll bowl if I want to.

    Well the only thing I asked from my family this year was the opportunity to go bowling with the wife - just the two of us. This is something we literally haven't done in over a year, I've gone by myself, and I've taken my daughter bowling, but not just the wife and I.

    So last night we decide to hit the bed early - in our case it means 1am instead of 2am. Unfortunately daughter and son were both up at 4am, and son decided that he was unhappy again at 6am. Needless to say, our ...
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  2. Joys of change.

    So yesterday I got to do my first day of bowling after coach suggested that I make some changes to my approach. Seems that I was starting too close to the line, and doing a 4 step approach that made my timing very early, and putting more muscle than is needed in my swing. Also the suggestion came that I should start with the ball at the center of my body, thereby encouraging a figure-8 swing to help me project out more.

    So instead of starting 2-1/2 feet in front of the dots, I'm ...
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  3. No league meeting for me <sniff>

    What a joy it is to work 2nd shift, the options for morning leagues around here for people under the age of 65 and over the age of 16 this fall are slim and none. There are two other leagues running, but they are both closed leagues - everyones from the same company. The good news is that I should be able to get in some good practice time, but I'll miss the competition.

    Hopefully once a month or once every 2 months I can get some one on one coaching time, which I really need again. ...
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  4. Thumbhole Bevel Method

    by Mo Pinel - turned into usable english and reposted by Luckylefty.

    This method can make a lot of changes in pitch both forward reverse and left right workable....

    For testing front bevel....the important part under the flat of the thumb. If not correct one can get serious nerve damage and black spots under the front base of the thumb(many increasing their forward pitch experience these black marks and electric shock feelings if they do not increase their forward bevel ...
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  5. I have a dream . . . .

    You know how people go "If I had a million dollars/win the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes/win the lottery, I'd . . . " and then they come out with the new house, new cars, vacations, liposuction/plastic surgery, and the like? Well I have one of those dreams, and it centers around bowling.

    You see, I figure that I'm one of the few people who if they won a huge amount of money, I wouldn't quit work - I'd start working more. You see, my dream is to build my own bowling ...
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  6. Can you be faithful and a ballaholic too?

    Most anyone who knows me knows I throw Legends/Lanemasters exclusively, well, since I got serious about bowling. I'm one of those people who does research and checks out reviews, compares and contrasts, and expects things to last. Which is a serious consideration given the fact that I'm hurling a 15 pound object at 17 miles an hour towards 30+ pounds of wood between 36 and120 times a day. I'd taken bowling in college and still had my old 13# Ebonite Gyro drilled conventional, but when I was asked ...

    Updated 08-13-2009 at 10:36 PM by Graaille

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  7. 3 articles on spares from BTM, Article 3, part 2.

    I should state up front that the only time you should hook it at any spare, is if you have a pretty good idea where the oil line and/or breakpoint is. If you are unsure for any reason, then it is better in the long run to use the straight shot, even on clusters with sleepers. For example, you are moving several pairs after each game in a tournament and after a move you leave a 2-5-8 in the first frame. You pulled your first shot and it skidded all the way and barely hit the headpin. Sound familiar? ...
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  8. 3 articles on spares from BTM, Article 3, part 1

    Just How Hard Is It? by Jim King

    All of this talk about the Great Bowlers of Today (GBOTS) and those of yesterday might sound a little intimidating to a bowler who is serious about their game and thinking of making a switch to throwing it straight. I have heard people exclaim that it is just too hard to be that accurate. Or, they just don?t have time to practice enough to become that precise.

    I understand your present dilemma, if you have one. Hooking the ball at ...

    Updated 08-13-2009 at 09:24 PM by Graaille

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  9. 3 articles on spares from BTM, Article 2, part 2

    Now we are ready to start using targets for individual spares. I have a different methodology than many instructors. Most will teach you to use the same target and move your feet to adjust from say, a 6 pin and a 10 pin. I think this is fine on the left side spares for righthanders (though for a different reason) but for right side spares, I move my target and use the same starting point. I think other systems work pretty well, but let me explain my reasoning for having a different system for spares ...
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  10. 3 articles on spares from BTM. Article 2, part 1

    How to throw it straight. by Jim King

    Okay. You have decided that you want to be a GBOT (Great Bowler Of Today). You have made the commitment to learn a release that will make the ball go straight on any condition. You go to the lanes to practice and your "kill shot" still hooks. What happened? Why won't it go straight? You ask ?What can I do to kill it more?? Lets back up and analyze the entire situation.
    Of course, the easiest way to learn how to throw it straight ...

    Updated 08-13-2009 at 09:23 PM by Graaille

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  11. 3 articles on spares from BTM. Article 1

    by Jim King

    When I started bowling as a youngster, my father and any other coaches I had preached that the major difference between a good local bowler and the "Great Bowlers Of Yesterday" was that the great ones hardly ever missed any spares. I think that, to a large extent, it is still a true statement. I believe that most of the "Great Bowlers Of Today" are excellent spare shooters and over the next few issues, I will attempt to show you how you can improve ...

    Updated 08-13-2009 at 09:23 PM by Graaille

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  12. A Bowling Ball Rack how to.

    I've seen many posts about how to build a bowling ball rack, and there are some decent plans out there. Some quick and dirty (like my first one), and some more elegant (like the one I'm planning when I get money and time together). In the interim, I built my current one over the span of 5 weeks, buying parts $40 at a time. Why so expensive you ask? It's made out of 1" pvc pipe, and is modular, so I can expand as I need to. The 10' spans of pipe were only $3 apiece, but it was the connectors ...

    Updated 08-31-2009 at 06:36 PM by Graaille

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  13. RotoGrip's reply about resurfacing their equipment.

    Just thought I would pass this on. I asked Roto-Grip whether they recommended Abralon over Scotch-brite and this is the answer I got:
    They work, but not as effectively as abralon. For our official stance on surface alterations I will include a short essay I’ve written on the subject…
    Thank you for contacting us with your concern. As far as ball reaction is concerned, we have several recommendations to maintain ball performance and life, but the primary area of concern is with the ...
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  14. Bowling Accessories - Be Prepared (part 2)

    BRITEN YOUR BALL

    You have seen Scotch-Brite pads in a variety of places: in the supermarket "cleaning" aisle, at the auto parts store, in the Wal-Mart paint section, and other locations. Their universal use is to scratch an object's surface to prepare it for a job.

    This is also their purpose on a bowling ball or shoe. Generally there are different coarseness ratings as denoted by color ("Scotch-Brite" is a trade name ... you may find the pads with ...
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  15. Bowling Accessories - Be Prepared (Part 1)

    EVER WONDER WHAT PEOPLE carry in their bowling bags aside from a ball, a pair of shoes, and a bowling glove? I have compiled a list of items you may or may not have heard of, and the reasons for carrying them with you when you bowl. (I have just about every item on this list in my own accessory container.) Let's start with the item you should use to hold all your other bowling tools:

    YOUR BOWLING "BAG"

    There are the three preliminary rules of selecting an ...
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  16. Troubleshooting Your Game - Jeri Edwards (part 3)

    Sometimes your timing and swing are in good shape and you just need to put some effort into working on great feel at release. Feel is the same as your other bowling skills--it takes practice to develop the same feel at release over and over again. This is where practice is so critical. Spend time in your practice sessions developing great feel at release. You may even want to work on more than one release. It is especially helpful for most people to develop a minimum, medium, and maximum release. ...
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  17. Troubleshooting Your Game - Jeri Edwards (part 2)

    PROBLEM NO. 4 INCONSISTENCY TO THE TARGET

    Once again, this problem is mostly a physical issue with different causes. But the most common is a change in your timing.

    Alterations in your timing--even slight ones--can cause your direction to the target to change dramatically. If your timing is a little late, you're likely to throw the ball farther right because your shoulders haven't squared to the target when your body has reached the finish. If your timing is a little ...
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  18. Troubleshooting Your Game - Jeri Edwards (part 1)

    Some problems are common to many bowlers, and although there can be multiple solutions, the best one isn't necessarily the most obvious

    WHEN ANY BOWLER OBSERVES A problem in his or her game, the natural urge is to fix it. However, finding the correct cure is sometimes the greatest challenge, because the correct answer may not be the most obvious one. As with most things, there is usually more than one answer for the same question, and the trick is to find the correct answer for your ...
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  19. Teach Your Mind to Win - Jeri Edwards (part 2)

    When you begin to set some goals for yourself, you may want to remember the acronym "S.M.A.R.T.," which summarizes helpful cues in developing your goals.

    * "S" stands for specific. Is your goal specific enough? If it's not specific enough, restate it. A goal that states "I want to be the best bowler in my league" may be specific, but there are many steps that would lead to that end result, so break it down into smaller steps. For instance, your spare ...
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  20. Teach Your Mind to Win - Jeri Edwards (part 1)

    Just as you work on physical techniques like your steps and your delivery, you also need to work on mental skills that will strengthen your game

    YOGI BERRA ONCE SAID OF BASEBALL that "90% of this game is half mental." While the math is questionable, the importance of the mental game is not. And bowling certainly mirrors this philosophy.

    Developing and strengthening your mental approach to bowling will help you attain greater success in scoring and in enjoyment ...
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  21. Soft vs. Strong. Thoughts by PBIII

    The best players are able to do both, making the pins explode on a strike and using finesse for a spare

    IT'S AN ETERNAL QUESTION THAT rages not just in bowling, but in all sports: What wins out, power or finesse?

    The fact is, there are advantages to both styles in bowling. A player who bowls strictly for power (a "hook-ball" thrower) can make pins explode, garnering "oohs" and "aahs" from the crowd, but comes up short when it's time to ...
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  22. Little Things 5 - Keep your equipment flexible

    When you're bowling in your league at your local center, chances are that two bowling balls will be enough to get the job done most nights. As you start to bowl in more leagues and even the occasional tournament, however, you'll start to encounter a wider variety of lane conditions. When you do, it's very important to go through your arsenal of bowling balls and make sure you have enough equipment to go in both directions: if the lanes hook more or less than what you usually bowl on. If you want ...
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  23. Little Things 4 - Marathon vs. Sprint

    Most tournaments have a qualifying process of some kind. It may be five games or, like the pros on the PBA tour, it may be 64 games.

    In the qualifying portions of the tournament, including match play, you need to be a long-distance runner. During these portions, you're going to roll good frames and bad frames, but you have to maintain the attitude that you'll have time to make adjustments and make up for your mistakes.

    However, now you've made the cut to a stepladder ...
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  24. Little Things 3 - Adjusting to Competition

    As practice progresses, you'll notice that as you get looser your ball speed increases and your wrist movement is more pronounced. At the end of practice, you should have a pretty clear idea of where you want to start.

    When you begin actual competition, though, you may start to notice subtle changes in the lanes. Being aware of these changes can put you one step ahead of the other bowlers.

    First and foremost, if you're bowling the first squad of the day, you'll notice ...
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  25. Little Things 2 - Learning from the Lanes

    Let's assume you're totally prepared when you get to the bowling center. You feel at ease, you've had time to watch the bowlers bowl, and now it's time for your practice to begin. Whether it's a few shots or 10 minutes of concentrated practice, there are few things you can do to leave the lanes happy.

    The biggest thing I can encourage you to do is stretch out before you begin to bowl. If you do some leg and arm stretches, loosen up your back, and maybe roll your wrist back and forth, ...

    Updated 08-06-2009 at 12:48 AM by Graaille

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