Why not bowl straight?

[NewToBowling]

Look, I like and want to hook the ball. It just looks "cooler" and I hear all arguments that it increases pin carry and angle of entry is better, etc...

But honestly I think "most" people would be better served bowling straight. First of all it's easier to master. No movement of wrists or hands. Just roll off your hand. I know the margin for error is greater as a little off of the release and you are probably hitting the gutters and not the pocket.

But you don't have to worry about oil conditions. Every lane will play the same. And your spare game will be better because you don't have to switch between hook and straight releases.

The enthusiast or league player would probably be more consistent with straight bowling. I know a lot of hook bowlers have inconsistent games with +/- 20-40 pin counts a night. I'm guessing a straight bowler would probably maintain a more consistent average.

Full disclosure I hook my balls (at least attempt) and don't bowl straight. Just food for thought...

[Aslan]

Bowl1820 (I think) posted a really interesting video of where they did a study related to the entry angle the ball hits the pocket...and what they found was that in order to hit the pocket in an optimum way to strike consistently; a person throwing a straight ball would need to stand one lane over. So a "true straight" player would have terrible time with carry and in this new era of bowling...would be destroyed by the competition even with spectacular spare shooting ability.

That being said, the 'arguement' that 'straighter is greater' is more in relation to how MUCH hook a bowler should add to their game. Generally, the more hook you add, the more you open up the lanes, the better your entry angle and the better your strikeability. E.J. Tacket and Belmo are good examples of power players that have completely opened up the lane and maximize their entry angle and are very successful.

HOWEVER...especially at the amateur level...you find that as you open up those lanes and increase those angles...you run into generally 3 problems:
1) Shot repeatability suffers. Ability to hit your mark suffers.
2) When you miss...you tend to leave less make-able spares.
3) The lane conditions greatly determine your success.

The guys who tend towards a straighter game (but still with enough hook to have a good entry angle) don't deal with the disadvantages above...but give up carry. And while it seems like an easy trade-off...carry has become crucial in this era of bowling...which is why you continue to see ball manufacturers and high level bowlers try to get as much angle as possible despite the negatives.

If you click on my USBC# you can go watch the 1st Annual Billy Hardwick Memorial Aslan vs. ZDawg Southern California Invitational and one takeaway (I would say even MWhite would agree...but I'm not as brave nor as foolish as RobM) from that event was that the superior bowler (MWhite) came in 3rd out of 3...and one possible reason is/was that he had the "highest rev" type of style...on lane conditions that weren't optimum. ZDawg came in 2nd...and had the higher rev release of Aslan and himself. So, the lane conditions were bad...and that affected the higher rev guys much more than the straighter player (Aslan). This then played out the following match when Aslan and MWhite played on old wood lanes. Aslan again beat the better bowler because the wood lanes maximized the straighter play and made things very difficult on a higher rev player (MWhite).

Unfortunately we didn't tape the Wood Lane Challenge...because that footage would have been really interesting to show the dramatic differences...and it'd be fun to insert in any response to MWhite where there is snarkiness...which is 93%...but I digress.

And it's why I love to watch high rev guys fail...and I'll usually say "Live by the hook, die by the hook." When those "big hook" guys are "on"...they can be nearly unbeatable. I watched a semi-pro (pro shop guy I think is affiliated with RotGrip) in a recent tournament...thumbless style...and he was impossible to beat. When he missed...it was almost always an open. I think he made like 40% of his single-pin spares....but it didn't matter because he'd string 6 strikes together like it was nothing.

Thats my thoughts on it anyways.

[Amyers]

When I first got into bowling back in the 80's there were still a lot of straight players in the game at my house. Most of them were guys who thew the ball about 19 mph down the lane and when it hit the pins would fly up into the air unfortunately for them very often there was a pin still standing. I never seen any of them average much over the 180-190 range for a season. Now back in those days you could compete with those kind of scores especially if you were having a good day. Today if you are bowling even top level in the house you better be able to put out 230-240 on at least a somewhat consistent basis or your going to lose a lot more than you win.

As far as lower level bowlers goes it doesn't matter if you are throwing straight as an arrow or hooking the lane if you can't repeat shots your gonna stink. It's really not any harder to repeat shots throwing a hook than it is throwing straight. Lane condition wise you may have a point I have seen some to some extent on some really sorry lanes you may be better off but even then I haven't seen lanes bad enough I couldn't throw my plastic ball and keep it in the pocket (not saying they don't exists) and I'm perfectly capable of throwing 200+ with it on a good day.

Now you may see a lot of lower level and even mid level bowlers or who have too much ball for the conditions. I had a friend of mine ask me to come watch him bowl because he couldn't figure out why his scores were coming down so much in the 2nd and third games. Got there the guy was trying to throw a Brunswick Mastermind on wood lanes with light oil.

[Aslan]

As far as lower level bowlers goes it doesn't matter if you are throwing straight as an arrow or hooking the lane if you can't repeat shots your gonna stink. It's really not any harder to repeat shots throwing a hook than it is throwing straight.

Thumbless and 2-handers loft the ball a good distance. The further out you place the ball...the harder it is to hit that spot consistently. Thats why bowlers have been taught for decades that you aim for the arrows not the pins. So...unless you're a high rev player that sets the ball down on the foul line...I stand by my comment.

Lane condition wise you may have a point I have seen some to some extent on some really sorry lanes you may be better off but even then I haven't seen lanes bad enough I couldn't throw my plastic ball and keep it in the pocket (not saying they don't exists) and I'm perfectly capable of throwing 200+ with it on a good day.

Ask MWhite about throwing a plastic ball on my old wood lanes...I'm sure he'll have lots to say on the topic.

Now you may see a lot of lower level and even mid level bowlers or who have too much ball for the conditions. I had a friend of mine ask me to come watch him bowl because he couldn't figure out why his scores were coming down so much in the 2nd and third games. Got there the guy was trying to throw a Brunswick Mastermind on wood lanes with light oil.

I'm kinda torn on this one. My stance has always been that ball technology doesn't matter that much in the big scheme of things. But, on the other hand, I've seen guys get new, aggressive equipment and even when they miss they strike...so maybe I downplay it too much. My teammate just got a Motiv Jackal and we were joking that he could just throw it anywhere and it'd strike. He'd miss 3 boards left or 9 boards right...STRIKE. Meanwhile I miss 1 board left and leave a 4-6....3 boards right and leave a 1-2-8.

[NewToBowling]

Good stuff. I know at the end of the day to maintain high scores I do think hook bowling is necessary. But I'm sure some would be content with 180-190 avg with straight bowling

[swingset]

But I'm sure some would be content with 180-190 avg with straight bowling

Yeah, and some could be content eating their own boogers, doesn't mean it's the best dish on the menu.

Hooking a ball can be done rather effortlessly if you learn some basic mechanics, with no more strain or movement on the wrist/arm than conventional. If you can get your hand behind the ball and swing freely, it's gonna hook...a little or a lot. All the exaggerated body mechanics, cupping, muscling, wrist-flip is extra work that doesn't create hook but exaggerates it. I hook quite a bit, but my release is no more strenuous or inconsistent than a house bowler with a poly ball.

Further, one of the best advantages a hook ball has is that it creates a margin for error on many oil patterns - it has nothing to do with looking cool. Entry angle is one thing, the other is being able to miss more boards and still recover to the pocket.

[Amyers]

Thumbless and 2-handers loft the ball a good distance. The further out you place the ball...the harder it is to hit that spot consistently. Thats why bowlers have been taught for decades that you aim for the arrows not the pins. So...unless you're a high rev player that sets the ball down on the foul line...I stand by my comment.


Ask MWhite about throwing a plastic ball on my old wood lanes...I'm sure he'll have lots to say on the topic.


I'm kinda torn on this one. My stance has always been that ball technology doesn't matter that much in the big scheme of things. But, on the other hand, I've seen guys get new, aggressive equipment and even when they miss they strike...so maybe I downplay it too much. My teammate just got a Motiv Jackal and we were joking that he could just throw it anywhere and it'd strike. He'd miss 3 boards left or 9 boards right...STRIKE. Meanwhile I miss 1 board left and leave a 4-6....3 boards right and leave a 1-2-8.

1. Thumbless and Two Handed are a different conversation We were discussing hooking the ball in general. Hook does not always = loft

2. That was why (not saying they don't exist) was there

3. The equipment has to match the lane oily conditions yeah use the more aggressive equipment not saying it doesn't have it's place. You have to generate the bare minimum amount of revs though or no equipment is going to make a difference hitting what your aiming at helps too.

As far as how much hook goes and where you play the lanes those are a product of your bowling style, what you like to do, what the lanes are dictating, and your ability level to control your speed, revs, axis tilt, and other things.

[rv driver]

Yeah, and some could be content eating their own boogers, doesn't mean it's the best dish on the menu.

Hooking a ball can be done rather effortlessly if you learn some basic mechanics, with no more strain or movement on the wrist/arm than conventional. If you can get your hand behind the ball and swing freely, it's gonna hook...a little or a lot. All the exaggerated body mechanics, cupping, muscling, wrist-flip is extra work that doesn't create hook but exaggerates it. I hook quite a bit, but my release is no more strenuous or inconsistent than a house bowler with a poly ball.

Further, one of the best advantages a hook ball has is that it creates a margin for error on many oil patterns - it has nothing to do with looking cool. Entry angle is one thing, the other is being able to miss more boards and still recover to the pocket.

Yeah, I've noticed that playing straight requires far more accuracy than playing a hook.

[bowl1820]

Bowl1820 (I think) posted a really interesting video of where they did a study related to the entry angle the ball hits the pocket...and what they found was that in order to hit the pocket in an optimum way to strike consistently; a person throwing a straight ball would need to stand one lane over.

What Aslan is referring to is the USBC Pin Carry Study, which at the time found that a ball entering at a 6° angle with a 2 1/2" offset produced the highest percentages of strikes. (Though this info needs updating, do to advances in ball technology.)

To achieve that angle with a straight ball, you'd have to be about two lanes over.

If you throw a straight ball from the corner of your lane to the pocket, that's about a 1.5° angle. At a 1.5° angle the percentages of strikes falls off sharply if you get off, So you'd have to be very accurate.

But you don't have to worry about oil conditions. Every lane will play the same.

As for it taking the conditions out play, while for the most that's true when shooting spares. When shooting strikes the conditions can affect things like ball speed and deflection
.

[fortheloveofbowling]

I guess you could go with the helicopter style like some of the taiwan bowlers. The way they throw it the lanes are taken totally out of play.