Left Handed Sport Shot Line

[Basisud]

I bowled this weekend on a sport shot for a collegiate event. I think it was 42' with a 2-1 ratio. Anyways, the inside was thick with oil. I was throwing a sanded down Virtual Gravity inside around 2nd arrow and no matter how slow or how much I got behind the ball, it would sit inside. I saw some other lefties playing way outside around 2 - 5 board playing down and in. I made the move with my VG and it went brooklyn. I switched to a polished Hammer Road Hawg and I was in the pocket most of the day. Is this normal for left handed lines or was their oiling machine not working correctly?

[J Anderson]

I bowled this weekend on a sport shot for a collegiate event. I think it was 42' with a 2-1 ratio. Anyways, the inside was thick with oil. I was throwing a sanded down Virtual Gravity inside around 2nd arrow and no matter how slow or how much I got behind the ball, it would sit inside. I saw some other lefties playing way outside around 2 - 5 board playing down and in. I made the move with my VG and it went brooklyn. I switched to a polished Hammer Road Hawg and I was in the pocket most of the day. Is this normal for left handed lines or was their oiling machine not working correctly?

What do you mean by "it would sit inside"? Do you mean it just kept sliding by the pocket?

In theory, your ball should have been exiting the oil at the 11 board. With a VG this would probably mean standing further right and targeting around the third arrow. I doubt that the machine was off although without running a tape there's no way to know. Its very common on sport patterns to just slide by if you miss outside by a single board, or if you're playing the wrong line.

Perhaps because they use the other half of their brains, lefties sometimes think 'outside the box' and have success playing lines that challeng the standard rules of thumb.

[Basisud]

What do you mean by "it would sit inside"? Do you mean it just kept sliding by the pocket?

In theory, your ball should have been exiting the oil at the 11 board. With a VG this would probably mean standing further right and targeting around the third arrow. I doubt that the machine was off although without running a tape there's no way to know. Its very common on sport patterns to just slide by if you miss outside by a single board, or if you're playing the wrong line.

Perhaps because they use the other half of their brains, lefties sometimes think 'outside the box' and have success playing lines that challeng the standard rules of thumb.

It may have just been a comfort thing as well. When I play deep, I tend to miss left and try to play out to the gutter because of all the time spent on house shots. Yes what I meant by sitting inside is sliding past the expected break point. I know there was a tape done so I'm sure it wasn't the oiling machine. This was a rather big tournament with a lot of the best bowling schools in the nation that attended. I find I'm a lot more accurate when I play a straighter line too. Is that common?

[J Anderson]

It may have just been a comfort thing as well. When I play deep, I tend to miss left and try to play out to the gutter because of all the time spent on house shots. Yes what I meant by sitting inside is sliding past the expected break point. I know there was a tape done so I'm sure it wasn't the oiling machine. This was a rather big tournament with a lot of the best bowling schools in the nation that attended. I find I'm a lot more accurate when I play a straighter line too. Is that common?

I think its more a matter of how you learned to bowl. People who start off trying to throw the big hook are going to have a hard time throwing the straighter line because they're used to that open shoulder. For those who learned more of a stroker style to start, its harder to trust the ball to go out and come back. This is why it pays to practice different lines. I normally play down and in. Probably from all the times I watched Walter Ray and Earl Anthony on TV. I knew that Monday I would be bowling on Shark. Saturday I spent 1/4 of my time on 10 pins, 1/4 on throwing first arrow with an aggressive ball and my white dot, 1/4 on shooting at the 4th arrow, and 1/4 on picking up what was left. On Monday, I tried playing straight down 2nd arrow but kept going brooklyn or through the nose when on target. Moved ten boards in with my feet and targeted the third arrow and I was able to hit the pocket. Having practice playing the 4th arrow, 3rd didn't seem nearly as much of an adjustment.

[Basisud]

It was weird because as the shot broke down, the righties were playing over the gutter cap. They would start in front of the ball return and take 2 or 3 steps. I don't know how I would deal with that adjustment if I had to. I was the only brave lefty willing to play out to the 2 board so my shot was there most of the day. I have watched lefties on tour play out that far with relative success so that is the only reason I started that. I have been in league situations where I had to play 3rd or 4th arrow but there it doesn't matter if you get it out or in because of the way the oil is designed. I think this is why I am not successful playing in as much as I am playing straight on extreme outside lines. That will definitely be something I practice. I have practice tonight so I will try that as well as maintaining accuracy outside. Do you know of any drills for this or just practice different lines? Is there different approaches to playing outside? Is it more successful with more side rotation or is it shot dependent? I can change the rotation on my bowling ball with my hand direction and staying behind it longer etc...

[J Anderson]

Doug Wiedman in Bowling Steps to Success describes what he calls Mark Roth's target practice. Start with the first arrow as your target. Throw ten shots, making whatever adjustments you need to to hit the pocket. Do not change balls! Move to the second arrow. Again make any needed adjustments with starting position, ball speed, axis rotation to get the ball into the pocket. Keep track of your first ball count. After 10 shots move on to the third arrow and then to the fourth. Figure out which line had your lowest pin carry and practice that one again.

All approaches to playing any part of the lane are dependent on the actual lane condition. There are some bowlers who maintain quite high averages by keeping their game very simple, one line, one release, one speed, and a few simple adjustments to keep the ball in the pocket. Then there are crazy people like me who are always trying something new and trying to reinvent the wheel. I think the best bowlers are somewhere in between. They have sound fundamentals so that once they take the first step its all on autopilot, but they have a good sized bag of tricks to use when their favorite shot isn't working.

[billf]

Have you learned how to read the oil sheet? I'm not trying to be mean but asking honestly. Most tournaments, especially collegiate level, will have a printout of the pattern showing where the lane is oiled and how much. You can use the info to find the edge of the heavy oil and use that to determine your break point.

[Basisud]

Doug Wiedman in Bowling Steps to Success describes what he calls Mark Roth's target practice. Start with the first arrow as your target. Throw ten shots, making whatever adjustments you need to to hit the pocket. Do not change balls! Move to the second arrow. Again make any needed adjustments with starting position, ball speed, axis rotation to get the ball into the pocket. Keep track of your first ball count. After 10 shots move on to the third arrow and then to the fourth. Figure out which line had your lowest pin carry and practice that one again.

All approaches to playing any part of the lane are dependent on the actual lane condition. There are some bowlers who maintain quite high averages by keeping their game very simple, one line, one release, one speed, and a few simple adjustments to keep the ball in the pocket. Then there are crazy people like me who are always trying something new and trying to reinvent the wheel. I think the best bowlers are somewhere in between. They have sound fundamentals so that once they take the first step its all on autopilot, but they have a good sized bag of tricks to use when their favorite shot isn't working.

This is great. I have heard about this before but somehow it got lost in the vast amount of knowledge I have acquired. I will have to give this a try.

Have you learned how to read the oil sheet? I'm not trying to be mean but asking honestly. Most tournaments, especially collegiate level, will have a printout of the pattern showing where the lane is oiled and how much. You can use the info to find the edge of the heavy oil and use that to determine your break point.

I have a pretty good idea how to read an oil sheet. I moved outside because all of the heavy oil was on the inside of the lane. I figured if I could get out into lighter oil, I would have an earlier break point. There is so much to learn about bowling balls that I think I could write a lengthy paper on it.

[bowl1820]

Some good info! Not much I could add.