Why don't more people use spare balls?

[billf]

A teammate of mine bowls thumbless. We took a weak ball, added polish like crazy, drilled it to go very, very, long but for the opposite hand. It's worked well for him so far. It hooks about three boards tops.
Maybe one day I will think inside the box or at least near the box.

[unclemantis]

A teammate of mine bowls thumbless. We took a weak ball, added polish like crazy, drilled it to go very, very, long but for the opposite hand. It's worked well for him so far. It hooks about three boards tops.
Maybe one day I will think inside the box or at least near the box.

My 10 pin pickup rate has gone UP but i am still not anywhere near my goal of 80 to 90 percent! More like along the lines of 40 to 50 percent!!

[swingset]

That's the big confusion I see with my friends on league - they think that spare ball automatically means "throwing it different/straight". You can still throw your regular hook style with a plastic ball....cause polished and with a weak core it's not going anywhere but straight. I don't bowl a different release for my spares, I just use plastic and it goes straight - that's the whole idea. It takes the lane out of the equation.

Most people who swear they don't need them are also only bowling on THS. Try some sport patterns or worse a PBA pattern - you'll understand why relying on a hook for your spares is a bad thing when conditions are not the same week to week.

[noeymc]

That's the big confusion I see with my friends on league - they think that spare ball automatically means "throwing it different/straight". You can still throw your regular hook style with a plastic ball....cause polished and with a weak core it's not going anywhere but straight. I don't bowl a different release for my spares, I just use plastic and it goes straight - that's the whole idea. It takes the lane out of the equation.

Most people who swear they don't need them are also only bowling on THS. Try some sport patterns or worse a PBA pattern - you'll understand why relying on a hook for your spares is a bad thing when conditions are not the same week to week.

bowled on a 40 ft sport shot on yesterday shot a 187 i warmed up on a ths waled 2 lanes over and bowled no spare ball 2 open frames

[swingset]

bowled on a 40 ft sport shot on yesterday shot a 187 i warmed up on a ths waled 2 lanes over and bowled no spare ball 2 open frames

Good for you.

[unclemantis]

This one should match up nicely with my Nail. Thoughts?

[billf]

They look too much alike for me. I would end up grabbing the wrong ball lol

[greycat]

I perfer the plastic ball. this thrusday I took the bet of spare vs resin. Yeah, I won had a 4 bagger with the tzone. I warned him not to go easy on me but I think the pressure to match a guy with a spare was too much. I Played 5 board and stood back a step. I wanted to teach him the importance of finding your mark that picks up spares. basically the 3-6-9.

It's not a joke when you read guys saying don't get on a tough pattern without a spare ball. You have to bowl with a spare game where you know what arrows to throw at to pickup any pin leaves. Guys fail at this simply if you aren't striking you don't know the balls motion to the oil. Guy throws the second ball still don't get the motion needed and miss the spare.

Now put me on ths and I will do whatever I please to make the spare. On wednesday in league I used my urethane and threw a backup ball at left side spares and nearly got a spilt. I really had five 7 pins in a row. The other team was laughing so hard. They couldn't believe I had that many revs same arm either spin direction. I played straight down 5 and ball hooked to the 7 pin.

[ArtVandelay]

Its tough watching someone practice and figuring out whats going on... If Im having trouble with my strike ball (and if time permits) sometimes I will go practice but ONLY throw a strike ball. It doesnt matter what the leave is, my next ball is being thrown as if all 10 pins are still there. Im looking for location and the roll phase to be correct.

But more often I will just pick a pin and shoot for that. I worry about placing the ball where I want it more than anything. A game without an open frame is just as rewarding to me as a 240 game. Spares matter.

Heres a fun one: have you ever practiced throwing a brooklyn strike? Ive bowled whole games like that just working on my angles. Sometimes the ball hits the pocket spinning weird and you will get one of those odd splits. If you can throw brooklyn you have a good shot kicking one of those pins on the left off to the right and taking out the 10 for your split conversion. Its one of my favorite shots. Some people think its an impressive conversion, but I bet I pick it up 75% of the time now.

[SmilingBowler]

Art: I love that you brought up testing angles. I have bowled entire games in practice and some early frames in league play to try a different line, using that method. When I get a new ball, I often find myself doing it more often in practice. Sometimes I'll throw an entire game aiming to go Brooklyn (or Jersey as we call it here in the Philly area). Sometimes I play a game of 22, aiming at the 10 and 7 pin. Lowest score wins - gutter balls count as 5 pins.

Note to Mod: I know this is "off topic" and perhaps someone would like to start a thread about bowling drills, or recommend one?