straight vs hook at spares

[got_a_300]

I can still throw my strike ball straight also if I want to but using plastic takes
any and all lane conditions out of play where my strike ball may move 2 or 3 or
more boards when trying to throw it straight on drier conditions the plastic ball
does not move hardly at all.

[JerseyJim]

I prefer throwing a plastic ball at spares. I can straighten out any of the balls that I own, but why put the extra mileage on a $200 ball?

[archerbrad]

Hooking the ball into the spares is easier for me, seeing as how I can't throw a ball straight to save my life. The only reason I still use my plastic White Dot is because it gets some gentle hook on it which is good in certain situations.

[billf]

I go straight at spares and have found using plastic I don't need to alter my release nearly as much. By doing so I have figured out how to convert roughly 20% of my 7-10 splits. The more I learned to rev the ball up the harder it became for me to throw my ball straight. Some can, I can't.

[x-mantwohand]

i use a entry performance ball to hook the ball alittle to the pins. like with the 10 pin i hook my slingshot to the 10 pin

[bowl1820]

When shooting spares, you need a shot that increase's the probability that you will convert the spare. You should be able to do both when needed.

As the lanes dry out during league bowling or in a tournament, they will get harder to convert both the right and left side spares. Also when the lanes are very wet, they can also be very difficult to convert the spares using just a hooking ball for a spare shot.

Like shooting the ten pin, The straight Ball cross lane will give you the widest margin of error. Hooking at the ten pin, you need to be a lot more accurate to get the ball to roll into the center of the pin, not just clip it on the side. Because you run the risk of the ball hooking past the pin more often.

[striker12]

bets thing too do is do streght ball cause then u can have much more accuracy rather thenthrowing it left or right of the spare spare pins and missing andthen blaming it on the ball for not moving in.

another reason why streght shot spares is the best is because you have a much better chance of making splits like the 7-10 or the big 4 cause if you throw a hook ball then you would cut the pins by only hitting 1 maby 2 or missing them all together

[The Mayor]

You should always throw straight at your spares unless you have a sleeper, 2-4-8-10 (3-6-7-9 for lefties) or you want to throw a strike shot at an 8 pin to figure out your line. Basically, if you had your strike shot figured out you wouldn't be shooting at spares, so why would you throw your strike ball at your spares? Better to go straight at them and take the lane out of play.

[striker12]

yeha mayor its is better to throw streght cause then you dont have to worry about missing any pins but you will get that once and awhile cut of a pin form being like 1 board off but thats normal i cut a few pins but only up the left side of the lane on the right i msot of the time miss the 10 but i wif it

[aussiedave]

i have recently taught myself to roll my ball straight at spares and i was just wondering how many people on here also throw straight? i dont mean just throwing straight at the left side for lefties or the right side for righties i mean all your spares i havent seen too many people who do this i am one of if not the only one on my league of 120+ who does this and i have noticed even pros hook at their spares i have found since i throw like this i am a much better spare shooter i have rolled 2 games without an open since i have taught myself this as opposed to only 1 or 2 before

Straight is the easiest and safest imho. You can conserve energy and minimize costs too by getting a lightweight plastic ball, which also saves your more expensive equipment. It does not take a 15 or 16 pound ball to knock over a few pins.
By all means, go for the hook if on the safe side of the lane (left hand side pins for a righty), but straight for those on the challenging side. I love the plastic for the 10 pin - I can go hard and straight because it is a lighter ball and be confident it won't curve frustratingly away at the last minute!
It might take a little getting used to if you have done the hook thing on all your deliveries up til now, but over time you will see the rewards.
And of course, there are certain spares where an angle is advantageous to increase your chances of getting the spare so the hook is not going away altogether - especially if you can see that a regular hook ball into the pocket is the best chance to pick it up as well.
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