walk direction and ball placement direction

[Beagle]

so answer is push/place ball toward target when walking relatively straight.......

[bowl1820]

Okay, let's look at this using simple mathematics. If you are standing on 28, your laydown point should be around 20 (giving you the benefit of the doubt). If you lay the ball down on 20, and throw it straight to a target of 11 at the arrows, it will be in the gutter before it gets to 25 feet. Targeting 11 is not "playing inside." If you are standing 28 and laying down on 20, you should be targeting around 14-15. You need to get the whole concept of trying to help the ball out of your mind, and just let it go!

heres a graphic:

Red is laydown on 20 target 11
Green is laydown on 20 target 14/15

[Amyers]

heres a graphic:

Red is laydown on 20 target 11
Green is laydown on 20 target 14/15

Great graphic bowl

[Mike White]

heres a graphic:

Red is laydown on 20 target 11
Green is laydown on 20 target 14/15

My shot on a house condition is similar to the green line.

If I miss right by 2 boards it's likely to be a 0, but if it stays on the lane, it's coming back sweet.

If I miss left by 1 board it hits the hold area and tends not to carry well.

[fortheloveofbowling]

That is when you make a little 3 & 2 move (3 right with the feet and 2 right with the eyes) and play closer to that shim. That will still give you the bump off the dry and on a miss left set up in the hold a little earlier.

[Aslan]

Okay, let's look at this using simple mathematics. If you are standing on 28, your laydown point should be around 20 (giving you the benefit of the doubt). If you lay the ball down on 20, and throw it straight to a target of 11 at the arrows, it will be in the gutter before it gets to 25 feet. Targeting 11 is not "playing inside." If you are standing 28 and laying down on 20, you should be targeting around 14-15. You need to get the whole concept of trying to help the ball out of your mind, and just let it go!

I'm still trying to work out the whole lateral movement and targeting. Rob is absolutely right...once you start moving left...if your target doesn't move with you...you end up with a straight shot into the gutter. My formula usually involves moving my feet 4 boards and my target 1 board. As long as I move the target with the feet, I usually don't run into trouble. But...the further left I get...the bigger that gap gets...trouble.

The evolving concept that I'm trying to wrap my head around is "targeting". We talk about laydown and targeting arrows. But in the USBC video, they talk about targeting a "break point" and "moving your eyes". I've noticed now that my lanes have range finders...no matter how it gets there...if the ball gets to the right edge of the far right range finder...it usually strikes. If it is anywhere else, I usually leave a spare. So, no matter where I'm aiming or standing...what really matters is whether the ball gets to the proper break point. Obvioiusly it's not quite THAT simple...and there are other considerations...but it's remarkably consistant.

So, how do we "do that"? I don't know. I've seen all kinds of new age targeting, 3-point targeting, foul line targeting, pin shadow targeting....I don't know. I've tried 3-point and didn't like it. I tried targeting the dots...didn't like that either. So I stick with the arrows. But, work in progress.

[RobLV1]

The main thing is not where you target, but being aware of where your ball is all the way from the laydown point to the breakpoint. Personally I target at the reflections of the pins, but I am aware of where the ball is when it crosses the arrows. I can do this by looking initially at my laydown point which insures that I am not walking right, shifting my eyes to the arrows to insure the correct angle, and finally focusing on my target at the point of release. This takes a little bit of practice, but the more I practice it, the better I get at it.

[fortheloveofbowling]

On a house shot i like to find a break point that i know is going to get me to the pocket with hopefully a little tug to the left. At that point i then determine where at the arrows i need to hit to get the right reaction from that break point. These 2 things will tell you exactly where your lay down point should be. That is where the problem occurs for many people because you have to know how far away from your sliding foot the middle of the ball is upon release. Once you figure that out you can draw that imaginary line and really visualize your shot all the way down the lane before you step on the approach. That might be weird but it gives me a good thought process on what i'm trying to do. Its kind of like a pool player trying to find a certain spot on a cushion to play a bank shot. Sorry, just rambling.

[rv driver]

It's really not a difficult concept. You walk perpendicular to the foul line. Your hips and shoulders are "open," or twisted, to the right (for a right-hander), perpendicular to the line of travel you wish the ball to take. I think I'm gathering, though, that as you move left, you keep your shoulder/hip angle the same. You don't "open more."

[fortheloveofbowling]

Rob could tell you for sure but i think walking a little left is ideal. That is to get your hips out of the way on your back swing so it doesn't bump out. Most important though i would think is to repeat the approach consistently.