First time with new fingertip ball

[jetson]

I never bowled fingertip before and wasn't too frequent a bowler before the past few months. My earlier thread about this is here.

Last night I bowled the new Arson for the first time other than some practice with the pro who drilled it for me. I'll start with the summary. I bowled a bunch of practice then scores of 137, 157, 172 and 141. I'd appreciate it if you guys could review and tell me what you think of my thinking and answer a couple questions.

On the 137 game I had a lot of splits and just poor rolls - I don't recall which split was most common but there were many. The lane was dry, I thought this because there were no oil trails on the ball, and where I had the ball drilled I was bowling left foot 25th to the 10th board arrow set up with the pro. Last night, after some adjustment it seemed to be pretty close at 35th foot and 12th board aiming target. I didn't figure that out until pretty late in the game. I ended with X XX8 and still got the 137. So you can see there wasn't much good going on before that late found adjustment.

The 157 game had a mix of some strikes and again splits. Sorry, nothing that I can report on that game really except a lot of splits and resulting open frames again.

The 172 game started with leaving the 10 pin and sparing. Then 2 strikes, then 4 times in a row I left the 10 pin standing, converting the spare 2 or 3 times out of the 4. Then I tried to fix leaving the 10 pin by moving feet about 2 boards left (correct?) threw a bad first ball(probably too much thinking) and decided to go back to the 35th/12th board line.

The 141 was mostly fatigue, my fingertips were a bit swollen (didn't fit into the holes as far) and my ring finger was getting pretty sore. I had a bit of thumb soreness but not too much, it was from just right of my thumbnail towards the middle of the finger. I don't know if any of this tells you anything about my grip. BTW Pro told me that "for now" I should start and end with my palm facing my body, rather than try and spin the ball/"open the door" etc. He wants me to take out another variable until the rest of my arm is consistent. Also, I should note that at the place I was bowling, the score display suggests foot and target board adjustments after the first ball. I followed them and they helped take a lot of guesswork out of it for me.

One last question, the ball got a pretty good scuff in one spot (about an inch long, maybe 0.015" deep) is that fairly normal?

Thanks for taking the time and helping me improve.
Jim

[10-in-the-pit]

I like to keep things simple. If it were me, forget the scores and just practice rolling a consistent shot/roll. Issues with any type of pain or discomfort should be addressed first. I would then work on bowling form and release. Spare shooting or certain spares might require a different release/angle, so you might want to focus a number of games on your strike shot and some games for different spare shots.

If it's a scuff, it's not a big deal. Don't forget to clean the ball regularly.

[J Anderson]

The 172 game started with leaving the 10 pin and sparing. Then 2 strikes, then 4 times in a row I left the 10 pin standing, converting the spare 2 or 3 times out of the 4. Then I tried to fix leaving the 10 pin by moving feet about 2 boards left (correct?) threw a bad first ball(probably too much thinking) and decided to go back to the 35th/12th board line.
Jim

First let me say that I agree with 10-in-the-pit that for a new bowler the best practice is to work on accuracy and consistent form and not worry about pin counts.

But since you did ask about adjusting to try and get rid of that nasty old ten pin I'll try to give you an answer. If you moved 2 left with your feet and aimed at the same target you most likely missed the pocket completely. First of all, did you actually hit your target on those four ten pins? On many typical house shots a ball can miss the target and still make it back to the pocket, or in my case, look like its in the pocket from 60' away without my glasses on. Even though it looks like a pocket hit, its not hitting at the same angle as if it hit the target. Therefore, if you did not hit your target, or can't say whether you hit your target, DO NOT ADJUST.

When I leave a flat or soft 10 pin, i.e. there is a pin lying in the gutter, my usual adjustment is to move my feet to the right 1/4 to 1/2 a board. Others swear by half a foot back from the foul line, trying to get the ball on the lane earlier. Others move closer to the foul line to throw the ball a bit slower. Either of these should make the ball react sooner and hopefully hit flush in the pocket instead of light.

I don't adjust off ringing tens. I write them off as bad luck. Someone who believes that there is a cure for them will have to advise you on these.

[billf]

Curre for a ringing ten pin? Eat four leaf clovers and stuff your pants with horse shoes.

The above advice is spot on. Scores are for when you're bowling against somebody. Practice is what you do to make yourself a better bowler. Watching the scoreboard has never made anybody better.

[jetson]

If you moved 2 left with your feet and aimed at the same target you most likely missed the pocket completely. First of all, did you actually hit your target on those four ten pins? On many typical house shots a ball can miss the target and still make it back to the pocket, or in my case, look like its in the pocket from 60' away without my glasses on. Even though it looks like a pocket hit, its not hitting at the same angle as if it hit the target. Therefore, if you did not hit your target, or can't say whether you hit your target, DO NOT ADJUST.

Yes, I thought I was hitting the pocket, but as you said, from 60 feet away, maybe I was wrong. And yes, after my adjustment, I missed the pocket completely, which is why I went back to my original start board and target.

Thanks guys for the other advice. I will try and keep it in mind and worry about consistent technique and not scores during practice, but all my games are practice in a sense. I don't play competitively, e.g. in a league, nor do I intend to; I just play weekly with friends and want to continually improve, so keeping track of my scoring is one way to judge the success of that.

Thanks again,
Jim

[Tampabaybob]

Yes, I thought I was hitting the pocket, but as you said, from 60 feet away, maybe I was wrong. And yes, after my adjustment, I missed the pocket completely, which is why I went back to my original start board and target.

Thanks guys for the other advice. I will try and keep it in mind and worry about consistent technique and not scores during practice, but all my games are practice in a sense. I don't play competitively, e.g. in a league, nor do I intend to; I just play weekly with friends and want to continually improve, so keeping track of my scoring is one way to judge the success of that.

Thanks again,
Jim

Jim, as Bill will attest to this, the three most important things in bowling is Accuracy, Accuracy, & Accuracy. Watch your ball rollover your target AND THEN follow the ball with your eyes down the lane and watch it fall off of the pin deck. Your ball will give you a ton of information as to what adjustments if any you have to make. And remember "You can't hit, what you don't see".

Good luck and let us know if we can help.

[Hammer]

You should not be getting swollen fingers from bowling. You might have span issues. You should have your finger holes and thumb hole checked for correct size. Having a sore thumb you might be giving your ball a death grip on the forward swing and gripping tooo hard at release which will give you a pulled shot. If leaving the 10 pin maybe you should have moved your sliding foot to the 20th board and throw your ball between the 5 and 10 board arrow. What board does your ball hit at around the 40 foot mark? Are you hitting between the one board and the seven board at your breakpoint? When you target you don't just use the board on the approach and the arrow target on the alley. It takes two points to make a straight line. You have to see where your ball starts to hook towards the pins. The dry part of a THS pattern starts at the 10 board to the gutter. If you don't get your ball to that dry part if you are hooking your ball it will hit too much oil and not hook to the pocket.

This link might help you with the breakpoint targeting.
http://www.bowl4fun.com/ron/tip18.htm