Throwing more of an arc rather than a "straight" hook and shoulders

[bowl1820]

The only thing that you have to be careful of is making sure that your feet still move parallel to the boards and not toward your intended line. In other words, your slide foot should end up on the same board where it started regardless of the intended line of your ball.

The bold section is pure bogus.

I'm guessing you are going to say:

It should be "Walk Parallel to Intended Path to the intended path of the ball" instead of "walking parallel to the boards".

Walking parallel to the intended path is a valid method, but so is walking parallel to the boards. Both methods are referred to in the Bronze manual and have their use.

Rob did leave off part of it though that the shoulders should be open to the intended target when walking parallel to the boards.

[Mike White]

I'm guessing you are going to say:

It should be "Walk Parallel to Intended Path to the intended path of the ball" instead of "walking parallel to the boards".

Walking parallel to the intended path is a valid method, but so is walking parallel to the boards. Both methods are referred to in the Bronze manual and have their use.

Rob did leave off part of it though that the shoulders should be open to the intended target when walking parallel to the boards.

If the Bronze manual says it's ok to walk parallel to the boards while playing a left to right shot, the manual needs some work.

It would require a loopy arm swing that would be next to impossible to repeat.

Imagine a top down view of the bowler, and the arm swing. Walking parallel to the intended path keeps the arm swing on the intended path the entire way.

Walking parallel to the boards would be walking diagonal to the intended path.

There is no good way to describe the route the ball would have to take to end up on the intended path.

If you start the ball towards your target, then move your shoulder left of that path, the ball is not going to return towards that target.


One thing I do see quite often (because people need to walk around the ball return), is to walk left until the power step, then while the ball is at the peak of the backswing (very little forward momentum), they change directions, push off the power step, and slide parallel to the intended target. Again, not easy to repeat, but well within the tolerances of today's conditions.

If that happens to return to the same board they started on, it's coincidence.

[Mike White]

"nugget of crap" there's a real intelligent response! But considering how a lot of the posts on here have been I guess it's par for the course.

Like I said before why don't you just give a alternate opinion or if you disagree with someones view just say that and explain why.

I'm sure the customer's in your pro-shop would love to see how you act with those that have a different view than you do.

Try responding in a more professional manner and others on here may have more respect for your opinions.

For such a self professed expert in all thing's related to bowling it should be easy for you not to be such a tool in your responses.

Then again it might not not be easy for you.

When I did give an alternate opinion, I was told by Rob that I was just confusing people.

Odd how facts can confuse people, but his wrong info supposedly made things clear.

My customers don't get preached to. If they ask a question, I will go into as much detail as they desire.

I never referred to my self as an expert, however I do have a lot of experience, and I pay attention to the details.

In my span of 40+ yrs of bowling, (20 not active) I've competed with and against many top level bowlers, from many generations.

Back in the 80's I was hooking the ball as much as anyone you see on TV now, just at a slower speed than todays bowlers.

Since I was playing a game that was different than those who had well documented achievements, there were plenty of discussions about how I should conform.

They did most of their top level bowling during the days of lacquer lane finishes where the oil (applied once a week) actually absorbed into the finish, and didn't move around.

Their game was all about accuracy because there was very little friction between a rubber ball, and a lacquer finish compared to the modern ball / synthetic lane.

In the 80's, there were plastic balls, and water based urethane lane finishes. The ball was capable of hooking more than rubber on lacquer.

After explaining why I did things different than they did, then executing the shot to demonstrate the result of those differences they no longer suggested I conform.

I learned the fundamentals from those bowlers, and was given the freedom to use a different technique.

A number of local HOF bowlers agreed if they were younger and on the conditions of the 80's, they would try to throw the ball the same as I did.

[Doghouse Reilly]

When I did give an alternate opinion, I was told by Rob that I was just confusing people.

Odd how facts can confuse people, but his wrong info supposedly made things clear.

My customers don't get preached to. If they ask a question, I will go into as much detail as they desire.

I never referred to my self as an expert, however I do have a lot of experience, and I pay attention to the details.

In my span of 40+ yrs of bowling, (20 not active) I've competed with and against many top level bowlers, from many generations.

Back in the 80's I was hooking the ball as much as anyone you see on TV now, just at a slower speed than todays bowlers.

Since I was playing a game that was different than those who had well documented achievements, there were plenty of discussions about how I should conform.

They did most of their top level bowling during the days of lacquer lane finishes where the oil (applied once a week) actually absorbed into the finish, and didn't move around.

Their game was all about accuracy because there was very little friction between a rubber ball, and a lacquer finish compared to the modern ball / synthetic lane.

In the 80's, there were plastic balls, and water based urethane lane finishes. The ball was capable of hooking more than rubber on lacquer.

After explaining why I did things different than they did, then executing the shot to demonstrate the result of those differences they no longer suggested I conform.

I learned the fundamentals from those bowlers, and was given the freedom to use a different technique.

A number of local HOF bowlers agreed if they were younger and on the conditions of the 80's, they would try to throw the ball the same as I did.

Okay, you have listed your experience and you might make some valid points in your posts. But that's beside point, it's the way you state you opinion that's based on that experience.

I'm sure your customers don't get preached to, a shop wouldn't last long if the operator told a customer what he thought was "Crap, bogus" etc. You show them some respect.

The point is why can't you show people that make a post here that same respect and not say things like their opinion is crap.

Your opinions and information would carry more weight if they weren't overshadowed by the animosity you show in your posts.

[Hammer]

To Mike White: Look at the YOUTUBE video Analysis of modern 10-pin bowling swing and release. The pros in that video walk parallel to the boards but yet their ball goes to the right. What I notice is that the pros have a loopy swing. Their backswing comes straight back but on the way forward the ball seems to come toward their body a little plus their hand stays on the inside lower quadrant of the ball so when they reach the release area these two things make the ball end up going to the right. Some of these guys you can see slide parallel to the left gutter but the ball crosses board 20 and goes toward the right gutter. From your replies it seems like you are right and everyone else is wrong about the right technique. What I would tell everyone is to try both ways and see which one works for you.

We are all different and can get the job done different ways. Plus we need to have more respect in our replies to peoples opinions. The pros seem to be doing okay walking parallel to the boards and throwing right because they have the inside out release like in the video.

[Mike White]

To Mike White: Look at the YOUTUBE video Analysis of modern 10-pin bowling swing and release. The pros in that video walk parallel to the boards but yet their ball goes to the right. What I notice is that the pros have a loopy swing. Their backswing comes straight back but on the way forward the ball seems to come toward their body a little plus their hand stays on the inside lower quadrant of the ball so when they reach the release area these two things make the ball end up going to the right. Some of these guys you can see slide parallel to the left gutter but the ball crosses board 20 and goes toward the right gutter. From your replies it seems like you are right and everyone else is wrong about the right technique. What I would tell everyone is to try both ways and see which one works for you.

We are all different and can get the job done different ways. Plus we need to have more respect in our replies to peoples opinions. The pros seem to be doing okay walking parallel to the boards and throwing right because they have the inside out release like in the video.

In that video the only time you can see someone's complete walk is either from a side view which is difficult to see if it is parallel or not, and Mika's rear view when they were discussing Swing Planes.

In Mika's case he was walking left until the last step which was back to the right.

The two direction walk is common if you learned to play inside before the THS and had to walk around the ball return.

The key to a two direction walk is to change directions while the ball is at the peak of the back swing, since it has the least amount of momentum at that moment.

The shot of Brian Voss was the closest to walking along a path parallel to the ball path (i.e. left to right)

Sean Rash seems to be the only one walking left all the way, and somehow throwing the ball left to right.

At the 43 second mark of the video, you see Chris Barnes playing more of an outside line.

His left foot clearly moved to the right at least 4 boards between the last two (left foot steps)

In that video, there is more evidence that the pros don't walk parallel to the board, than evidence that they do.

What I would tell everyone is to try both ways and see which one works for you.

The only thing that you have to be careful of is making sure that your feet still move parallel to the boards and not toward your intended line.

I wasn't the one telling people there is only one way to do things.

Is there any evidence of someone walking parallel to the boards, and playing a left to right shot?

Probably, but it isn't what is commonly done.

[sprocket]

The biggest thing is understating that the angle is never that big. If I had a dollar for every bowler I saw who lined up playing inside like the angle was huge, I would have a lot of dollars.

What happens when you set up with too much angle is that you will drift right and miss right. The ball will then over hook and you will be thinking "Oh, the lanes hook so much", when really you have plenty of room to adjust if you weren't drifting three miles to the right.

Another problem can be walking fairly straight but opening up too far. This can result in the ball going behind the back and then looping around at release. The ball loses projection, accuracy is all over the place and again the lanes look like they are hooking more than they actually are.

[sprocket]

About the parallel to the boards thing:

When playing inside and still walking parallel to the boards a bowler is actually drifting LEFT relative to their target line. This is an advanced technique most pros use because they sometimes have to play so far left that the ball return would get in the way if they walked parallel to their target line. Hell, many of them drift left ALWAYS. They NEVER walk parallel to their target line.

The question is: Which is easier for the average bowler and what is really necessary? Well if you are going to play really deep you had better learn how to walk parallel to the boards which is drifting left of the target line in many cases. If you are never or almost never going to play that deep then I see NO BENEFIT to ever doing anything other than walking parallel to the intended target line.