Graaille

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 your spare game.

First of all, lets define who we are talking about. When I say "Great Bowlers Of Today", I am not talking about the local hotshot who averages 200-225 on a walled up condition, has bastardized his game to conform to one house, and still misses 10-20% of his corner pins. I am referring to most of the players on the pro tours as well as the many great professional amateurs who perform in the megabuck events and smaller tours around the country. I have had the pleasure of coaching, bowling alongside of and learning from these players over the last several years. From these players and their approach to the sport in general and spare shooting in particular, I have not only improved my own spare game but have hopefully gotten some insight into what makes them successful at making spares.

SAVE THOSE DOUBLES
Most bowlers when faced with a baby split or a washout automatically go on the defensive. They come back shaking their head, wondering what when wrong or how that shot could have come from them. Many times they get up to shoot the spare, still trying to figure out what happened on the first ball or how and if they are going to move for the next frame. The "Great Bowlers Of Today" or GBOTs as I will refer to them, view a washout as an opportunity to save a double. It takes two shots to get a double, but by converting a washout or a baby split or any other tough spare, they can achieve the equivalent with only one shot. GBOTs go on the offense when faced with a tough spare. They do not come back shaking their head because they realize the importance of the next shot. They are not thinking about the next frame yet, because this frame is not over. They are as confident when they attempt the spare as if they were on a six-bagger, because they have practiced this shot countless times and are sure they will make it. GBOTs have this attitude because they fully realize the importance of spare shooting and how crucial spare making has been to their previous successes. Many, many, far too many local hotshots with 210+ league averages have the attitude that spares are for sissies and that washouts and baby splits are pesky little creatures that will go away if you just ignore them. Of course they have the same attitude about buckets, 3-6-9-10s, 2-8s, 10 pins and most any other spare you can think of. They are into striking, not sparing. The success of their day is determined by the percentage of strikes they achieved in that league or that tournament. GBOTs are into bowling well. The success of their day is determined by how well they threw the ball and whether or not they got the most out of their game that day. That is often measured by how well they spared. The local hotshots have the view that they need strings of strikes to cover up those open frames. GBOTs have the view that they have to stay clean so that their strings of strikes mean something. Of course GBOTs usually end up on or near the top of the prize list, ahead of many who had more strikes, simply because they saved more doubles.

TO KILL IT OR NOT TO KILL IT
Until the late 70s, GBOTs as a rule threw the same ball for spares with a similar release and were very successful. The rest of us did too, though not as successfully. Then along came plastic lane surfaces and plastic balls. Striking got easier and for the same reason (friction), spares got harder. Now, that 10 pin conversion required a different strategy and a different release than before. We all struggled from time to time with spares, trying to readjust our spare games to handle the new equipment. Then Mark Roth showed us how to do it. Mark created a lot of controversy with his super-cranking style. Most coaches rooted against him because they were afraid every youth bowler in America would end up throwing it like Mark. Many of them did, but the most revolutionary part of his game, and I think the most lasting was his spare making. He threw it straight. Nobody ever did that before. At least no one with the national exposure that he had. He was outstriking most of the other pros, but he was outsparing them as well. If kids had copied his spare game instead of his strike ball, they would have been better off.

Today, with much more friction to deal with, a kill shot is even more of a necessity. At least for right-handers, it is. However, I think to be a GBOT, lefties should learn to kill it as well, but as a rule, they haven?t been forced to learn a kill shot like the righties have. This is not a slap against southpaws, they just haven?t had to traverse a bone-dry track area shooting a 7 pin enough times to force them to rethink their strategy. Righties see this situation often. Many righthanders though, have only halfway committed to a ?kill shot?. I see right-handed bowlers all over the country shooting 10 pins with a plastic ball and using the same hook release as their strike ball. At their home house in league, this probably works fairly well because there is probably enough oil piled up in the middle that Rudy Revs couldn?t hook an LT48 across that puddle. However, when they get out of their home house and into unfamiliar territory and unfamiliar conditions, they often get a rude awakening. Now sometimes, there isn?t a big puddle in the middle and that plastic ball with the hook release breaks 6-10 boards instead of 1 or 2. They now have no room for error using their prior alignment and miss 25-70% of their 10 pins. Sometimes they run into a reverse block and can?t get it over to the 10 pin and if they get it a little wide, it hits the outside oil and slides into the gutter. Now you see some serious head shaking. Most GBOTs never have this problem. This dilemma never enters into their mind. Why? Because they have developed kill shots that will go straight on any condition. I repeat, any condition. If you can throw it straight on toasted lanes, you can throw it straight anywhere. GBOTs don?t have to take the lane conditions into account when shooting a 10 pin. Imagine the freedom. Imagine your sigh of relief if that load could be lifted off your shoulders.
Using your normal release on a spare shot with a plastic or rubber ball is still better than trying to convert them with the reactive bombs we throw for strikes today. Your sparemaking percentage will improve some. But if you are still doing this and are at the stage in your development where you haven?t improved in a while and are wondering how to get over the hump, think about really making a commitment to improve this part of your game. At some point in their development as a bowler, GBOTs made that commitment to learn how to deliver the ball with little or no hook. It is not an easy task. But really, you don?t have to learn how to throw it straight as much as unlearn or forget how to hook it. When you first started bowling, you probably threw it pretty straight, with a simple, clean release. If you are currently hooking the ball at all on your ?kill shots?, you can still develop this release. But whether you develop a straight up, end over end rolling kill shot, put one finger in the ball, or use some other method to make it go straight, the most important thing is to make that commitment. You can?t just try it for a while to see if you like it. You can?t just do it half way. You must decide in your mind if you want to be a great spare shooter. Once you make that commitment, you will find a way to kill it. You will want to practice it. You will go on the offense when faced with a tough spare and you will beat bowlers who have more strike power.

In the coming issues, we will take a closer look at how to throw it straight, how to move for different spares, and just how accurate you really have to be to be a great spare shooter.