10 Pin Shooting

[RobLV1]

Amazing bad math.


The "perfect" shot has the ball hitting the 5 pin exactly in the center of the pin.

Lets calculate how much off of perfect you can be and still hit the 5 pin.

The pin is 4 3/4" wide, and the ball is 8 1/2" wide, so if you are more than 6 5/8" off of perfect, you miss the pin.

That's 1/2 the width of the pin, plus 1/2 the width of the ball.

Since you have that room for error both left and right, you have a total area of 13 1/4" to hit the 5 pin.

Things are different for a 10 pin.

You have the same 6 5/8" before you miss on the left, but only 2 3/4" on the right before the ball is off the edge of the lane.

Thats a total of 9 3/8" for a 10 pin.

You can add a small amount to that because it's possible to hit the 10 pin as the ball is barely falling off the edge of the lane.

The point is that it is still a very big target. Kinda like the big forest filled with all the trees that you keep bumping into.

[Cdolcejr]

I think that a lot of the problem with shooting ten pins comes from the stress involved in the fear of missing. The stress results in fast feet that results in late timing which results in misses to the right. Often bowlers realize this and slow their feet down too much which results in early timing and missing to the left. Consider this: When you shoot at a single five pin, you have the pin that is 4 3/4" wide, plus 8 1/2" on the left side (the bowling ball is 8 3/4" in diameter), and 8 1/2" on the right side - that is a target that is 21 3/4" wide! With a ten pin, you still have the 4 3/4" for the pin, 8 1/2" to the left of the pin, and 4 1/4" to the right (1/2 of the diameter of the ball). That is still a target that is 18" wide. To put this in perspective, a standard shoe box is 11 1/2" long. Could you hit a shoe box that is on the far right side of the pin deck? Of course you could!

Once you put the task in perspective, hopefully it will help you to free up your armswing and just let the ball go. Unless, of course, you are one of the 18% above that chooses to use a reactive ball to shoot the ten pin, in which case I have no sympathy for you at all. 99% of the top bowlers in the world throw plastic for a reason!

I think the fear of missing is what ultimately fuels my inconsistency. Instead of just throwing my normal shot, I'm putting way too much pressure on myself which ultimately causes me to miss the 10.

[bobforsaken]

I've been better at shooting the 10 pin since I started targeting the Pin itself and on my last step drawing a quick line to the arrows from that pin and hitting the mark.
Unfortunately when just "standing here and throwing to here" left me with days I was constantly missing left or constantly dumping it in the gutter because my walk path was changing.

I usually walk perpendicular to the foul line for strike shots and straight at the pin for spare shots.. The problem is I'm not consistent at walking straight toward the pin which changes dramatically the laydown point so I can't use the same target. (most often because I tend to drift more towards a perpendicular walk path like I do for my strike shots)

I'm only at about 80%, but that is a BIG improvement from before.

[vdubtx]

I think the fear of missing is what ultimately fuels my inconsistency. Instead of just throwing my normal shot, I'm putting way too much pressure on myself which ultimately causes me to miss the 10.

Exactly. You mind is your worst enemy, especially so on the lanes. Aslan can vouch for that first hand. The 5 voices in his head never shut up.

[J Anderson]

Amazing bad math.


The "perfect" shot has the ball hitting the 5 pin exactly in the center of the pin.

Lets calculate how much off of perfect you can be and still hit the 5 pin.

The pin is 4 3/4" wide, and the ball is 8 1/2" wide, so if you are more than 6 5/8" off of perfect, you miss the pin.

That's 1/2 the width of the pin, plus 1/2 the width of the ball.

Since you have that room for error both left and right, you have a total area of 13 1/4" to hit the 5 pin.

Things are different for a 10 pin.

You have the same 6 5/8" before you miss on the left, but only 2 3/4" on the right before the ball is off the edge of the lane.

Thats a total of 9 3/8" for a 10 pin.

You can add a small amount to that because it's possible to hit the 10 pin as the ball is barely falling off the edge of the lane.

"Consider this: When you shoot at a single five pin, you have the pin that is 4 3/4" wide, plus 8 1/2" on the left side (the bowling ball is 8 3/4" in diameter), and 8 1/2" on the right side - that is a target that is 21 3/4" wide! "

I've been seeing statements like this for years and have always disagreed with them. Thanks for a good explanation of how big the miss area really is.

Even using Mike's numbers, you have three times as much room to make a 10 pin as to hit the pocket.

The problem is that the house shot is designed to help funnel the ball into the pocket, which is why bowlers feel like they have to be more accurate to make the corner pins.

[Cdolcejr]

So in league last night... first 3 frames of the night- yep, you guessed it! TEN PINS! You can't make this stuff up. I made the first one and then missed the other 2. I threw them too far out and they went right in the gutter- partly because I was frustrated from throwing 3 pocket shots and leaving three 10's meanwhile the guys we were bowling against would hit the 3 pin and carry a strike every time somehow. I ultimately moved more inside on my strike ball and left only 2 ten pins the rest of the way. Not many nights do I start off with 2 opens in three frames and bowl 727. Overall, I converted 3 of 5 ten pins. I threw them with my urethane- it felt more controllable than my plastic blue dot. I think I just need to practice a little more with the urethane to get used to it and start aiming at the pin instead of the arrows.

[HowDoIHookAgain]

I tend to not use a spare ball to make my 10 pin unless there is absolutely no oil on the lanes and my ball just glides. I'll stand about 30 and shoot 15, and normally I can get the spare. But for a lot of stuff like this, practice can only do so much. Practicing a shot in bowling is only about 50% of the game. The other 50% is your mental game (not putting pressure on yourself, relaxing, trying not to force anything, etc.). Just throw your ball out to the mark, and let the ball do the rest.

[PauL757]

I don't own a spare ball yet. I flatten out my hand and don't lift with the fingers for the ten pin. Where I stand depends on what the lane conditions are like.

[SRB57]

Use to flatten my hand out but as the balls got stronger and I got older switched to plastic and currently using a roto grip own it spare ball. I also change my mark as lane conditions change.

[Stormed1]

Currently I am using a Seismic Desperado le drilled 60x5c30 @4k plus Storm Extra Shine and Brunswick Royal Shine polish. I stand 40 with my left foot and target 17 with my hand coming straight up the back of the ball. I will be drilling a Rebel tank with the pin under the bridge and the cg straight down for my fall leagues. It will azlso double as a ball for when they are toasted