You don't have to be a cranker to play inside........

[Hammer]

I started playing deeper inside this year. I thought I would never be able to because I don't have cranker type release. I just try to stay behind the ball as long as possible until my thumb comes out and then do a little turn of my hand only about an inch or two. Maybe it works for me because when I play more up the boards my ball speed is 13.5 to 14.8mph at the pins. The location on the approach for me is anywhere from board 28 to board 35 with the arch of my sliding foot.To find what arrow for a target is best I do what Rob Mautner says to do when playing deep which is to open the hips and shoulders and then walk straight and throw to your target left(I am a lefty). Say I start on board 30. I will make my approach and throw over the third arrow from the left. From there I see where my breakpoint is and what the ball does as far as where it hits the pins. Then from the third arrow which is board 15 I will stay on board 30 and swing my shot to go between the third and fourth arrow and then work my target little by little to the right to see what the ball does and where it hits the pins. This is how I find for myself what arrow is too far for a target and what is too close for a target for a good hit on the pins.

When the lanes break down you have a pretty good area to play with when you find your sweet spot that works with your swing. The ball that works for me playing deep is my Raw Hammer Anger ball which has an RG 2.50 and a 2000 Abralon surface matte finish. The pin is below my ring finger. The hardest thing to do when playing deep is to walk straight and throw left if you are a lefty and right if you are a righty. Your brain will fight this and you will feel that you will have to drift towards your target arrow on the alley to hit it. You don't though because your open hips and shoulders will let your arm swing go towards your target arrow even though you are walking straight. The way these modern balls are made with the cores they have you don't have to help the ball to hook from your breakpoint to the pocket. You just have to find your right target arrow to hit from which board you are standing on with your slide foot arch.

When I got comfortable with walking straight and throwing left at my target arrow on the alley I couldn't believe how much hook I was getting with my ball with my swing and release. I don't have a pro swing and release and it works for me. Rob Mautner has a link on this forum that has an article he wrote for Bowling This Month magazine that is called Jumping in Deep Without a Parachute. He explains the setup and the right approach for playing deep for guys like me that don't have a ton of revs but can still play deep and make the ball hook to the pocket without a lot of hand or help if you will. You have to have the right RG and surface ball to do this though. My Anger ball has the right stuff that works with my swing and release. You just have to jump in with both feet and try it. Find the right ball for you first.

[RobLV1]

Hammer: Glad to hear my article helped. Keep working at it. The deeper you can go in modern bowling, the more of an advantage you have over people who are stuck at the second arrow.

Rob Mautner

[Hammer]

I thought that my slow ball speed with a modern bowling ball would be a detriment to me playing deep. Maybe a higher ball speed for me with the ball I use would be the bad thing. I have no fear of bellying the ball towards the gutter. Once it hits the breakpoint it does what it is made to do which is a nice arc to the pocket. My 15# Anger hits hard in the roll phase. Now that I know that I can play deep I will be doing a little experimenting to see what I can do and what I can't. After bowling on this league for 27 years I guess it only goes to show you you can teach an old dog new tricks. I am working my way from a traditional bowler to a transitional bowler. Better late then never.

[swingset]

Probably the only lesson my high school coach ever gave me that's still worth anything was to practice playing every part of the lane you're not comfortable with. That includes playing deep inside, and and it's not a place I normally need to play from but I can do it when it's advantageous.

Sometimes in league I'll bring a heavy oil ball and start deeper inside than I normally play and use less hand. It's actually a very comfortable line because I can use much less hand and let the ball make the turn just staying behind it. I don't do it all the time, but it's nice to be comfortable with that part of the lane. I still struggle when the breakpoint needed to get back into the pocket is under the 5 board, I tend to sweat that shot a bit and miss a little left, but if it's in the 7-10 range I can play there all day long.