"Good Spare Shooter" = winning?

[Mark O]

Some good comments by everyone and I can definitely speak to focus being key. Every shot deserves equal focus, not just your strike ball. The time you take the single pin for granted is the time you're going to miss it. If you throw plastic straight at spares then you have a TON of miss room to still make the spare and only way you're going to miss is due to a lack of focus or a timing issue causing you to drastically miss your target. I highly recommend that Susie Minshew article as well, it is really helpful for bowlers of skill levels!

Your question is it's own answer. A lefty is supposed to leave and struggle with 7-pins...just like a righty is supposed to leave and struggle with 10-pins.

As much as I thought there were a lot of good comments in this thread, this one really bothered me. I completely agree about the leaving the pin part, but couldn't disagree more about the struggling with it part. Almost every bowler I know hates shooting their respective corner pin and it's that mentality that causes you to miss it. If you throw plastic straight at the pin, you may not have as much miss room but you still have a lot of it to make the spare and the same rules apply, you're only going to miss it because of a lack of focus or a timing issue. Or perhaps I can add because of a lack of confidence. If you shoot your 10s expecting to miss, just hit the reset button and save yourself the effort. If you treat your 10s like it's any other pin that you've made 1000s of times your conversion percentage is going to rise dramatically.

[Aslan]

As much as I thought there were a lot of good comments in this thread, this one really bothered me. I completely agree about the leaving the pin part, but couldn't disagree more about the struggling with it part.

YAY! I get the bothering comment award!! The rest you can #*%^ it!! Aslan Rulz!! #reallybothering

The comment was essentially "I am frustrated because I leave a lot of 7-pins (as a lefty) and struggle to pick them up (more so than other pins). I responded by pointing out that on average most left handers WILL leave a 7-pin more often than any other pin...and due to the physics of a properly thrown bowling ball...are least likely to convert said pin versus other single pins.

And...at the risk of further bothering you with logic and whatnot...there IS a reason for this. You see, for a lefty...going right to left at the 7-pin...your ball will naturally want to move right...but due to where the 7-pin sits...you can't hit it from the left. Now, Bowl1820 had some actual numbers posted...but the MudpuppyCliffNotes version is the 7-pin is actually harder to pick up for a lefty (and 2nd hardest for a righty) simply due to it's placement in relation to the gutter.

Or perhaps I can add because of a lack of confidence. If you shoot your 10s expecting to miss, just hit the reset button and save yourself the effort. If you treat your 10s like it's any other pin that you've made 1000s of times your conversion percentage is going to rise dramatically.

So...in your world...the strategy is to lie to yourself and hope that in doing so...your self will be confused into thinking a 7-pin is a 2-pin....but your mind WILL remember to guide the ball into the 7-pin NOT the 2-pin upon execution??? Wow...my head would explode if on top of the several usual thoughts...I have to simultaneously try to trick myself.

The 7-pin is a 7-pin. It just is. It IS statistically harder to hit due to it's placement on the lane...hardEST to hit (of single-pin leaves) for a lefty throwing the standard (non-back-up ball) release. Those are the facts. Whether you like the facts...are scared of the facts...are "bothered" by the facts...etc...does not change that they are in fact...the Facts. My advice (humble at best) it to stop pretending the 7-pin is something it isn't...and find a line that allows you to consistently hit it.

[Mark O]

YAY! I get the bothering comment award!! The rest you can #*%^ it!! Aslan Rulz!! #reallybothering

The comment was essentially "I am frustrated because I leave a lot of 7-pins (as a lefty) and struggle to pick them up (more so than other pins). I responded by pointing out that on average most left handers WILL leave a 7-pin more often than any other pin...and due to the physics of a properly thrown bowling ball...are least likely to convert said pin versus other single pins.

And...at the risk of further bothering you with logic and whatnot...there IS a reason for this. You see, for a lefty...going right to left at the 7-pin...your ball will naturally want to move right...but due to where the 7-pin sits...you can't hit it from the left. Now, Bowl1820 had some actual numbers posted...but the MudpuppyCliffNotes version is the 7-pin is actually harder to pick up for a lefty (and 2nd hardest for a righty) simply due to it's placement in relation to the gutter.


So...in your world...the strategy is to lie to yourself and hope that in doing so...your self will be confused into thinking a 7-pin is a 2-pin....but your mind WILL remember to guide the ball into the 7-pin NOT the 2-pin upon execution??? Wow...my head would explode if on top of the several usual thoughts...I have to simultaneously try to trick myself.

The 7-pin is a 7-pin. It just is. It IS statistically harder to hit due to it's placement on the lane...hardEST to hit (of single-pin leaves) for a lefty throwing the standard (non-back-up ball) release. Those are the facts. Whether you like the facts...are scared of the facts...are "bothered" by the facts...etc...does not change that they are in fact...the Facts. My advice (humble at best) it to stop pretending the 7-pin is something it isn't...and find a line that allows you to consistently hit it.

I think you may have misunderstood what I was trying to say, I am in complete agreement with you! You're absolutely right, the corner pins are statistically harder to hit than the others, I mean it's common sense that the corner pins are the hardest single pins to make on the lane. Due to the pin's location in relation to the gutter, you effectively lose half of the miss room you have with other single pins and that alone makes it harder to convert without even taking into account how you actually throw the ball at the pin.

But I'm talking from a purely mental standpoint here, not a physical one. When you leave a 5 pin, you shoot it confidently because you know you're going to make it. So how come when it's a corner pin standing instead the confidence goes away? I know bowlers who are 90+% on non-corner single pin conversions but only 50% or worse on their corner pin conversions. They are more difficult...but they aren't THAT much more difficult that you go from making 9 out of 10 to only having a 50/50 shot because the pin is in the corner. I wouldn't want anyone to think of a 7 pin as 2 pin or 4 pin or any other pin, I want you to think of a 7 pin as a 7 pin and shoot the 7 pin. But I also want you to think that you know how to make it, you know you can make it, and then get lined up, throw a good shot, and make the damn thing!

I'm just tired of the excuse, oh I'm a righty/lefty, I'm supposed to struggle with the 10 pin/7 pin so it's okay that I can't make it often. Yes it's going to be your toughest pin, yes you aren't going to make as many of them as you would other pins, but that doesn't mean you can't shoot it with just as much confidence and make the majority of them.

[J Anderson]

I'm just tired of the excuse, oh I'm a righty/lefty, I'm supposed to struggle with the 10 pin/7 pin so it's okay that I can't make it often. Yes it's going to be your toughest pin, yes you aren't going to make as many of them as you would other pins, but that doesn't mean you can't shoot it with just as much confidence and make the majority of them.

Years ago following a Nelson Burton Jr. tip of the week, I started shooting the 10 pin on the first ball of each practice frame. I am now at the point where I would rather shoot the 10 than the "easier" 7 pin.

[fortheloveofbowling]

Years ago following a Nelson Burton Jr. tip of the week, I started shooting the 10 pin on the first ball of each practice frame. I am now at the point where I would rather shoot the 10 than the "easier" 7 pin.

That is a good idea. I'm going to try that some of my practice games.

[bowl1820]

Here I think is a good example of why spare shooting is important.

This is my last league set I had 7 opens.

The first game we lost big (by 106 pins), a guy on the other team shot a 275. Now my 3 opens wouldn't have meant anything as far as us winning if I had picked them up that game, but It cost me 32 pins so no 200 game.

The 2nd game only 3 opens again, we lost by (16 pins). So if I had picked up just 2 of those we would have won that game.

Now the 3rd game only 1 open and we won.

But lost total by only 49 pins, Those 7 opens equaled 74 pins.

We only won 2 points out of 7.

So my 7 missed spares cost 3 points for the team, two 200 games and what should have been a 649 series.

So here spares were important

[Mark O]

Years ago following a Nelson Burton Jr. tip of the week, I started shooting the 10 pin on the first ball of each practice frame. I am now at the point where I would rather shoot the 10 than the "easier" 7 pin.

That is a very good idea and it will really help! For the past two seasons whenever my teammates and I would go out to practice we would always shoot a game of low ball to practice our corners and it made much better spare shooters out of all of us.

And bowl that is a perfect example of why spare shooting is important, you aren't just missing 1 pin, you're throwing away around 10 with every open frame and those missed pins add up quick and are often the difference between winning and losing! I have the same mentality, I always think about the spares I missed and them costing the team. But I always try to keep in mind that in league bowling you win as a team and you lose as a team, it's not all on you.

[Aslan]

When you leave a 5 pin, you shoot it confidently because you know you're going to make it.

As MWhite would say, "You've obviously never seen Aslan shoot at 5-pins."

#spoiler81%

[Hampe]

As MWhite would say, "You've obviously never seen Aslan shoot at 5-pins."

#spoiler81%

For someone who only hits the pocket 40% of the time, I'd say 81% isn't too bad for the 5 pin....

:P

[Aslan]

For someone who only hits the pocket 40% of the time, I'd say 81% isn't too bad for the 5 pin....

:P

Fortunately, you don't have to hit the pocket to pick up the 5-pin. It helps though...