Graaille

Little Things 2 - Learning from the Lanes

Rate this Entry
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, you'll be surprised at how much better you feel and how much more ready you are to conquer the lanes.

While you're standing in the settee area or by the scoring table, take your ball and swing it a few times by your side. (Watch where you're swinging it, though--since you're not on lane, someone may be in your swing path.) This will loosen your arm and shoulder up--now when the lane is opened or becomes available, you're ready to bowl. Now that you have stretched out, you can try to apply what you have observed on the lanes.

Paying attention to each and every shot you throw is the cheapest lesson bowlers can give themselves. When you throw your first practice shot, understand that it's probably going to be slower than your normal shot, but notice where the ball goes through the arrows and where it rolls down the lane--particularly in regard to how it hooks and where it hooks. This can help you on your very next practice shot, because you can use what you learned to select your next ball.

For example, let's say your first shot with a medium-hooking ball hooks across the headpin, as if to go to the Brooklyn side. Chances are you're not completely loose yet because it's your first shot. As you get loose and start to pick up your speed, your ball will probably straighten out somewhat, so you can continue to use that ball. However, if that ball went dead-straight on your first shot, you'll realize that that ball isn't grabbing the lane, and so you'll choose a stronger-hooking ball.

Some bowlers stand far inside during practice and try to throw the ball out toward the gutter. However, most houses have a greater amount of oil in the centers of the lanes, and by standing inside and throwing outside you'll carry a great deal of oil down the lane to your break point, probably more than you realize. The oil is going to carry down eventually at some point, but there's no reason to help it--unless this is what you're trying to do. (On certain conditions carrydown can be an advantage; it can actually help your ball hold a line to the pocket longer.)

The better practice technique is to vary where you stand for your first few shots--stand so that you're throwing the ball straight up the lane instead of across it. Once you get loose, you won't keep throwing that straight shot. As you loosen up you'll start naturally swinging the ball around.

By watching your first few practice shots, you can also learn a lot about how you want to shoot your spares. For instance, I highly recommend that you shoot at least one 7-pin and one 10-pin before any game. Try to get the feel of what your ball does as it goes across the lane. You'll have a big advantage right away if you're quick to realize whether your ball is hooking excessively or isn't hooking at all.

In fact, watching how three different shots go down the lane will enable you to make adjustments for virtually any spare. The first ball is your strike ball, wherever you find that shot. The second is the right-hand corner of the lane, the 10-pin side, and the third is the left-hand, or 7-pin, corner of the lane. Throw these three shots, watch the results carefully, and file it away in the back of your mind for whenever you need it.

Submit "Little Things 2 - Learning from the Lanes" to Digg Submit "Little Things 2 - Learning from the Lanes" to del.icio.us Submit "Little Things 2 - Learning from the Lanes" to StumbleUpon Submit "Little Things 2 - Learning from the Lanes" to Google

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

Tags: None Add / Edit Tags
Categories
Uncategorized

Comments