Graaille

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 convert a straight spare. A straight (or "down-and-in") player won't bust triples or four-baggers very often, but probably will earn more marks in a game than a power player. Obviously, there are positive attributes to both styles--you just have to know when to use them.

Most bowlers today want to know how to get more hook -which can create more power--to eventually knock over more pins. That's fine, and if you can learn how to hook the ball more and more---especially with the types of balls that are out in today's market--you can raise your game to another level. But with every step taken toward hooking the ball, you could be losing control of your shot, and control is still a big aspect of bowling.

Bowlers who hook the ball still have to get to the pocket consistently. If you're finding yourself leaving many designs (big splits, missing the head pin) and a cluster of spares, you've lost any advantage you had in being a hook player. If you're throwing two or three strikes in a row and backing it up with a big split or a big open, chances are you'll have the same 200 game as the guy who kept the ball down the lane straight and in play every shot. The straight player might throw only one or two doubles a game, but he or she keeps it clean. So even though you're hooking the ball, if you can't control it, it might not be the right style for you.

The straight player can't hook the ball like other bowlers. He or she lives with throwing the ball straight up 5 or straight up 10, with very little hook on the back end at all. This type of bowler usually isn't going to throw big strings of strikes, but because of the player's simple fundamentals, he or she will likely pick up most spares because they're going to be relatively easy one- and 2-pin spares. The ball also is going to be into the pocket eight or nine times out of 10. Occasionally, a straight player will get a few strikes, even triples or four-baggers. But even with a "quieter" game, chances are a solid straight player is going to hit that 200 to 210 mark almost every time, simply by filling the frames and throwing a double here and there.

It's a sexy play, but ...

One big advantage to hooking the ball is the ability to throw pins around the pin deck, to scatter the pins all over the place. Kids today like to come in late to the pocket and watch the head pin fly into the sidewall and come flying across the deck and take out the 7 pin or the 10 pin. They think that looks really cool. It does look really cool--but counting on that head pin to come back across the deck to take out your corner pin isn't exactly the premier strike. You're relying too much on luck, hoping that pin hits the wall the right way and bounces back across.

The straight player is confident that he or she will nail the target or be very close to it. Straight-ballers usually don't have to rely on luck to get the head pin to come across the wall and hit the 7 or 10, or even the 5 pin now and then (although today's ball usually gets rid of that). Is there less power and less pizzazz in rolling a straight ball? Sure. But a straight-ball player knows where the ball is going most of the time and is relatively sure that if the first shot misses, there's a great chance for a spare basically by shooting the same way the first shot was attempted: down and in with very little hook. A straight-bailer who plays a spare the same as the strike ball is going to be much more confident in making a spare or filling frames. The reason is simple: A straight player's ball is under control at all times.

If a hook-ball player leaves a one-pin spare and tries to hook it again, the ball is going to get away sometimes. When the ball starts to get away from you, either by hooking too much or not enough, that's probably why you left that one-pin spare or cluster spare in the first place. Now you're trying to hook it again at the remaining pins without being sure of where the ball went on the first try. How, then, can you possibly know where it's going on the second try?

You see, there's really a tradeoff when you're looking for hook and power to knock down pins, because accuracy and keeping your ball on line can give you the same number of pins. No one throws a strike every ball, so filling frames is still a major necessity.

To be sure, bowling is a form of entertainment, something to enjoy. Going out and throwing lots of strikes is definitely entertaining and enjoyable. But if you get up in the 10th frame of your third game and hook by a one-pin spare to lose the game, I can tell you right now, you're going home on a sour note. The entertainment level definitely increases when you're trying to make the pins dance, but the ultimate enjoyment comes in knowing that you or your team won.

Know when to use either shot

How do you know whether you want to hook the ball or keep it straight? The easiest way to answer that question is to look at the average bowler around you.

Let's start on the lower end and say you're bowling in a league. Watching the guys who hook the ball a lot in your league is a great way to determine how you should play on a given day. If it seems as if their ball is getting to the pocket routinely, then maybe hooking is something you want to try. Your window of opportunity to get to the pocket should be wide open.

On the other hand, if the guys who hook the ball are missing the head pin right and their next shot is through the nose, leaving cluster spares, think just the opposite. A bowler who's going down and in, or straighter, has the advantage. With the lanes in this condition, straighter is greater.

You'll find out by bowling a couple of scratch tournaments, or by eventually playing bigger events such as a PBA or PWBA event, certain players can play both ways. Most likely they play better with the hook or better down and in, but they still know when it's advantageous to play one way or the other. The tour's best players have the confidence and the know-how to keep their ball under control, whether that means throwing it straight down the first arrow or standing way inside and throwing the ball from the center of the lane out near the gutter and hooking it back.

The lane condition is another way to determine your approach. One week scores could be high, so hooking the ball is a big, big play. But in the previous two weeks, the scores might have been a bit lower, which tells you that hooking the ball a lot is not your best play. How can you make an accurate read of your lanes? A lot of it is trial and error. But an equally important part of it is watching your environment, seeing what's going on around you. The smart player looks for every advantage.

The best players keep their eyes open to what's going on around them. If you see big strings of strikes, there may be a wider window down the lane. Even the top PBA stars on tour are always looking for a way to be a step ahead of their opponents. If you see strikes being thrown all over the place, that likely means the lanes are a bit more forgiving. Players still have to figure it out and repeat shots, but forgiving lanes allow you to throw more strikes and miss a little bit inside or outside of your target.

If you look around and don't see as many strikes, and a lot of splits or spares are on the board, the lanes probably are playing a little bit tougher. That being the case, you would want to resort to throwing the ball more down and in instead of playing the big hook ball.

Keep in mind, there are always exceptions to the rule. There could be strikes all over the place, and yet you're focused on someone who's throwing down and in, striking as much as everybody else. Or vice versa: The lanes are very tough, and no one who's hooking the ball is doing very well, but you're watching this one guy whose ball is hooking a fair amount and he's striking like a mad dog.

Power in our sport doesn't necessarily mean strength. Somebody who can bench-press hundreds of pounds isn't necessarily going to be the best bowler. If throwing the ball hard would always knock down 10 pins, I wouldn't stand a chance.

Learning how to put that power into your ball, letting your ball do the talking, equates to true bowling strength. Norm Duke and Pete Weber are two of the smallest players we have on tour, yet they'll hook the ball as much as anybody out here, and give it a lot of power. Other guys might be twice as heavy but can't put near the power on the ball Norm or Pete can.

You want to formulate both styles into your game, no question about it. Remember, no matter how much you hook it, someone will hook it more. No matter how straight you throw it, someone will be more accurate. Trying to be as good as you possibly can on both ends of the spectrum will make you a well-balanced bowler.