Making Effective Ball Change Adjustments (LINK)

[RobLV1]

Bah Humbug. I'm taking my wine U-Dot and going home!

Rob Mautner

[Bunny]

Bah Humbug. I'm taking my wine U-Dot and going home!

Rob Mautner

Nooooo! Don't go!

We love you Rob!!!

[Aslan]

As far as high average house bowlers go, if you bowl exclusively in one center at the same time of the day or night all the time, you should be able to get by with two strike balls and a plastic spare ball.

Thats what I've been saying!!

Yes, I know, many bowlers think that since they've always used their strike ball and "flattened out" the shot to pick up a ten pin, they don't use a spare ball. All I can tell you is this: 99.99% of the top bowlers in the world use plastic,

99.8% of pros do lots of things. And many of them do things very differently. Thats the reason I often don't embrace the "the pros do it so should you" mantra. If I just do whatever the best bowler of the year does...I'd have to start developing a vertical backswing and then the next year switch to 2-handed. My opinion of course. [/QUOTE]

The one main exception to the 99.99% is Norm Duke who uses his strike ball for all his spares. I asked him about this, and he told me that the main reason he doesn't use plastic is that he doesn't want to lug an extra ball around. When I asked him his technique for straightening out his strike ball for spares, he told me that if he's using a less aggressive ball, he backs it up by one board to straighten it out. If he's using a medium ball, he backs it up two boards, and if he's using an aggressive ball, he backs it up by three boards. If you are good enough to do that, hopefully you're already out bowling on the Pro Tour. If not, use plastic!

Honestly...I CAN do that. But also honestly...totally NOT making room on the mantle for PBA trophies anytime soon. I just personally feel (and this is an opinion...opinions definitely vary) that especially for beginners or even lower level intermediates....there's VALUE in being able to know your ball, know the lanes, and use lateral movement to pick up spares. I admit...sometimes it's "making it harder on yourself". Absolutely. I honestly have missed more than a few spares stubbornly refusing to throw a "spare ball". And YES, on synthetic lanes when I throw my Hammer, I use the Frantic as a "back-up/spare" ball for right side leaves. Because the Rhythm's arc is too severe...and I don't "like" flattening my wrist with that ball. So I throw a lesser reactive (like what Norm Duke says). And...AND...I admit...sometimes I miss a few 10-pins and am VERY tempted to abandon the lateral movement philosophy and just start throwing cross lane. But...as I said originally...I just feel (my opinion) that for lower level bowlers there's some long term benefit in learning the basics. And it's not JUST ME being stubborn.

My first coach told me FLAT OUT...you don't need a spare ball. I personally think thats because I was a beginner throwing a lower level type of hook ball. I actually think if someone is throwing a more "big hook" ball...if not a spare ball...they at least need a "lower hook" ball to pick up spares on whatever side of the lane they are handed (right for righties, left for lefties). The "trick" (which makes Norm Duke "Norm Duke") is that for right side leaves (for a righty)...it's not "just" lateral movement. It's also a slight change in your target. And thats what causes me to be very UN-NormDukish...picking the wrong target.

I would continue on with this subject, but:
A) I've already written too much and will soon be mocked for creating an "article".
B) I actually want to start a seperate thread to comment on what I read on your website last night about "Physical Game". I had a couple questions/comments I'd be interested in getting your's and other input on.

Thanks.

[Aslan]

Modern game my a$$. Last time I checked there were 10 pins 60ft away that you had to hit at the right angle to knock them all down. What do I hear the commentators talking about on "Championship Bowling" from the early 60's? Hitting the pins in the right place at the right angle to knock them all down.

I have to admit....sprocket may have just elevated himself into "my valentine" status. I'll digress for now...and hopefully you haven't made Rob's head explode (ya know, the guy with the website titled "Modern Bowling")...but I have to admit...when I watch the greats like D. Weber, Anthony, Salvino, etc.. I just hate to think that ball manufacturers have changed the game SO much that it's no longer a game where those great bowlers could compete. Because I'll spend hours watching old "Championship Bowling" telecasts and really have no interest in watching Terrel Owens bowl.

[Bunny]

I thoroughly enjoy Rob's articles. My husband does as well.

Thank you for sharing your expert knowledge with us Rob!!

[RobLV1]

Actually, it was not the ball manufacturers that changed the game, it was the bowling proprietors when they decided that they could save bunches of dollars for insurance costs by switching from wooden lanes to synthetics. Once they started bowling on sythetic lanes, the oil began to move around, and the race was on between the ball manufacturers and the proprietors. It's interesting that you mention classic bowlers like Carmen Salvino, as he was one of the founders of the modern reactive bowling ball.

As far as using plastic for spares, many long-time bowlers still advocate using their strike ball for spares. When I say that virtually all the pros use plastic, I'm not suggesting jumping on the bandwagon for the latest craze. This has been going on for years. When you consider that just picking up one additional spare per game will raise your average by 10 pins, why would you possibly not want to give yourself every advantage.

I'll tell you that personally, nothing bugs me more than missing a makeable spare. I actually joined the technology age a couple of weeks ago when my wife and I decided to buy smart phones for Christmas. One of the first things that I did was to download a bowling app and started keeping track of my scores. In the last week, I have attempted 81 single pin spares and missed 4, all ten pins, and I use plastic! This drives me absolutely nuts because my own feeling is that there is no excuse for missing a single pin spare, although I hear that even Walter Ray misses about one a year.

Gotta go bowl league. Later.

Rob Mautner

[Aslan]

Actually, it was not the ball manufacturers that changed the game, it was the bowling proprietors when they decided that they could save bunches of dollars for insurance costs by switching from wooden lanes to synthetics.

I still bowl leagues on wood...so just FYI that much of my experience is STILL on wooden lanes. Going away this year...May I think. But...just FYI.

It's interesting that you mention classic bowlers like Carmen Salvino, as he was one of the founders of the modern reactive bowling ball.

One of my favs! I just wish there were more television broadcasts from back then. Limongello, Strampe, a young Billy Hardwick....I could watch those guys bowl all day!

I'll tell you that personally, nothing bugs me more than missing a makeable spare...This drives me absolutely nuts because my own feeling is that there is no excuse for missing a single pin spare, although I hear that even Walter Ray misses about one a year.

Agreed. And thats a topic that came up recently when I was chatting with one of the better players in my league. I told him that one of the things I noticed about his game was he rarely missed make-able spares. So much so, that it's actually exciting when he DOES miss them. I told him that I was watching an amateur tournament on the internet over the holidays...and the BIGGEST difference I saw between that level and pros....PBA pros rarely EVER miss makeable spares...yet amateurs do miss them. It was fun watching bowlers in a tournament miss things that I would miss...made it feel "more real".

And I see what you're saying about plastic spare balls. But I see a LOT of amateurs/intermediate bowlers using plastic balls and still missing spares. I personally feel like no matter what you use to pick up a spare...no matter what your preference...you pick up more spares as you get better. Kinda a chicken/egg thing. I'll bet anyone $20 that if I bowled against Rob and he could only use his strike ball...I'd have more opens than him after a series. He's by FAR a better bowler.

I'll probably use a "back-up" ball more often once I get my 16lb Slingshot drilled to replace my 15lb Frantic. At 17-19mph lofting it over the heads...that Slingshot is gonna go as straight as a plastic ball. Right now, on synthetic lanes where I roll my Hammer Rhythm...I really only go to a "back-up" (the Frantic) for 10-pins or some spares...and then splits. I'm more comfortable throwing the Rhythm because for me to switch to a back-up....I'm also switching weights. And after throwing a 16lb ball 4 times...a 15lb ball feels like a balloon...and it sometimes causes me timing issues. Just "FYI"....that it's not me just stubbornly pretending it's 1968.

[sprocket]

Hey Rob, just be clear I am in complete agreement that making effective ball changes is important. I just happen to think that has been the case for the last 30 years. So when I hear people saying it's not the same game any more and you can't just use one or two balls, I just think people are being led to believe that was true in the recent past. I don't think it was. My complaints about the equipment of today is what I was mostly writing about and the lane conditions that have changed with the equipment.

I wish there was a good, accurate history written on lane conditions. If my memory serves me, first generation synthetics required very little oil and plastic and pearl urethane worked very well on them. I thought the problem was that more aggressive urethane balls were stripping the oil off of them leaving nothing behind. Therefore the oil changed, then the surface to match the oil, then the oil again, then the surface again, etc. Maybe I've got it wrong because all I have is my memory to go by since I have never seen an intensive, accurate history of bowling during the last 30 years.

[Hampe]

99.8% of pros do lots of things. And many of them do things very differently. Thats the reason I often don't embrace the "the pros do it so should you" mantra.

Dude, you're totally missing the point here. Yes, the pros all do things differently.....some start with a hinge, some push out...some turn their hand out on the backswing, some don't....some have a high backswing, some have a low backswing...some have 5 step approaches, some take a different number of steps....BUT THEY ALL USE SPARE BALLS...maybe, if hundreds of pro's who can't agree on anything else can agree on one thing, maybe there's something to it then, no?

You're a bit confused about what we're telling you....Nobody's telling you "Well, Pro X won the tour last year throwing a spare ball, so we should probably all go get one" we're telling you "there is a clear advantage to having a spare ball (which you even admit yourself), which is WHY 99.9% of all the pros play with one".

Honestly...I CAN do that. But also honestly...totally NOT making room on the mantle for PBA trophies anytime soon. I just personally feel (and this is an opinion...opinions definitely vary) that especially for beginners or even lower level intermediates....there's VALUE in being able to know your ball, know the lanes, and use lateral movement to pick up spares. I admit...sometimes it's "making it harder on yourself". Absolutely. I honestly have missed more than a few spares stubbornly refusing to throw a "spare ball"
.......
My first coach told me FLAT OUT...you don't need a spare ball. I personally think thats because I was a beginner throwing a lower level type of hook ball.

Lol.....you admit yourself that not having a spare ball is probably hurting your game, but you still don't "need" one. Technically, you are right.....you don't NEED a spare ball, you don't NEED to improve your average just by having a reliable ball to clean up spares with. For feck's sake man....you've got how many hundreds of dollars worth of reactive balls in your closet just sitting there! Just plunk down 40$ on a freaking plastic spare ball already! Don't waste years like I did with a entry-level reactive spare ball (just because you CAN use it for spares), the sooner you get a plastic spare ball, the sooner you will be good with it.

Also, if you're a diligent ball cleaner like me, there's one less ball to clean each time you go bowling......that's worth the 40 bucks alone if you ask me

But I see a LOT of amateurs/intermediate bowlers using plastic balls and still missing spares. I personally feel like no matter what you use to pick up a spare...no matter what your preference...you pick up more spares as you get better. Kinda a chicken/egg thing.

It's definitely NOT a chicken and egg thing. Nobody is saying a plastic spare ball is an automatic 100% spare conversion.....you stil have to make the shots! But you will NEVER miss a spare with a plastic ball because the ball reacted a way you weren't expecting. All you have to do is hit your mark. That's it. With a reactive spare ball, you have to hit your mark WITH the right ball speed AND the correct hand release, or the ball isn't going where you planned and you might miss the spare. THAT is why it's such an advantage. THAT is why 99% of bowlers use spare balls when there is money on the line.

[vdubtx]

Dude, you're totally missing the point here. Yes, the pros all do things differently.....some start with a hinge, some push out...some turn their hand out on the backswing, some don't....some have a high backswing, some have a low backswing...some have 5 step approaches, some take a different number of steps....BUT THEY ALL USE SPARE BALLS...maybe, if hundreds of pro's who can't agree on anything else can agree on one thing, maybe there's something to it then, no?

You're a bit confused about what we're telling you....Nobody's telling you "Well, Pro X won the tour last year throwing a spare ball, so we should probably all go get one" we're telling you "there is a clear advantage to having a spare ball (which you even admit yourself), which is WHY 99.9% of all the pros play with one".



Lol.....you admit yourself that not having a spare ball is probably hurting your game, but you still don't "need" one. Technically, you are right.....you don't NEED a spare ball, you don't NEED to improve your average just by having a reliable ball to clean up spares with. For feck's sake man....you've got how many hundreds of dollars worth of reactive balls in your closet just sitting there! Just plunk down 40$ on a freaking plastic spare ball already! Don't waste years like I did with a entry-level reactive spare ball (just because you CAN use it for spares), the sooner you get a plastic spare ball, the sooner you will be good with it.

Also, if you're a diligent ball cleaner like me, there's one less ball to clean each time you go bowling......that's worth the 40 bucks alone if you ask me

It's definitely NOT a chicken and egg thing. Nobody is saying a plastic spare ball is an automatic 100% spare conversion.....you stil have to make the shots! But you will NEVER miss a spare with a plastic ball because the ball reacted a way you weren't expecting. All you have to do is hit your mark. That's it. With a reactive spare ball, you have to hit your mark WITH the right ball speed AND the correct hand release, or the ball isn't going where you planned and you might miss the spare. THAT is why it's such an advantage. THAT is why 99% of bowlers use spare balls when there is money on the line.

"A" for effort, but it's a lost cause trying to converse with him. He's thinks he is right and will make 1000 word posts to try and make his point no matter what anyone says, even someone like Rob Mautner who is very well respected in the industry.

As the saying goes, "In one ear out the other".