Interesting video about ball motion and balling up and down

[JasonNJ]

Found this on YouTube and I thought it was interesting. From what I can tell balling up means an earlier rolling ball and balling down is a later rolling. I wanted to see what some of the more experienced guys thought of this video.

[RobLV1]

This is an incredible video! Watching the ball go through the pins is one of the most important things that a bowler can learn to do as it can give you an indication of what moves and/or ball changes are required BEFORE you start leaving ugly splits. I particularly liked the part at the end of the video where it explained that certain leaves can be avoided by balling up OR balling down. This has to do with the development of what I have called the "Dead Zone," and Joe Sloinski called "El Diablo," in separate articles in BTM. Most bowlers assume that as the lanes start to dry out, the only change is to ball down, when, in fact, there are other options.

[JasonNJ]

Yeah I think this video was pretty awesome and one of the best I've seen explaining the motion through the pin deck. Something I need to train myself to do better.

[RobLV1]

Hand in hand with watching the ball exit the pins is learning to check the rack before each frame that you bowl. Once you are aware of how the ball is going through the pins, it's pretty easy to see how having pins off spot can affect pin carry. In the PBA, bowlers are allowed two re-racks each game, and re-racking must be the first order of business... before they even pick up their balls off of the ball return. The USBC is much more lax, allowing unlimited re-racks and not specifying when the bowler takes them. Despite this, we rarely seeing league bowlers taking re-racks or even looking at the rack before bowling for that matter.

[Tony]

This was an interesting video and most of the time I was able to see the difference in ball path toward the 9 or 8 but there were a few times where the ball looked good and it was hard to tell as if was only off by a board one way or the other. It will take some practice to discern some of those close hits in real time at the bowling center.
I see the results of ball up and down adjustments, I'm interested to learn what other adjustments can change the trajectory by slight amounts and get you back on target. Thanks for posting this !

On the rack subject I rarely see anyone re-rack unless a pin is missing.

[J Anderson]

Hand in hand with watching the ball exit the pins is learning to check the rack before each frame that you bowl. Once you are aware of how the ball is going through the pins, it's pretty easy to see how having pins off spot can affect pin carry. In the PBA, bowlers are allowed two re-racks each game, and re-racking must be the first order of business... before they even pick up their balls off of the ball return. The USBC is much more lax, allowing unlimited re-racks and not specifying when the bowler takes them. Despite this, we rarely seeing league bowlers taking re-racks or even looking at the rack before bowling for that matter.

Many bowlers who target around the arrows never even look at the rack before rolling the ball. I had a teammate who once hit the sweep because he hadn't looked as far as the pins and therefore didn't see that the sweep had not gone back up.

While I do look at the rack as I'm setting up, at a distance of 70 feet, (length of my approach + distance from foul line to headpin), I'm not going to see that a pin is 1/4" off spot. If I were trying to earn a living as a professional bowler maybe I would be able to observe off spot pins.

[ChuckR]

This Is a great video. Re-Racking was mentioned. This is something I have not run across in either league I bowl in. Rob, have you seen or know what is allowed in the Red Rock league?

[RobLV1]

This Is a great video. Re-Racking was mentioned. This is something I have not run across in either league I bowl in. Rob, have you seen or know what is allowed in the Red Rock league?

Re-racking is allowed in any USBC sanctioned league. I have re-racked in Red Rock leagues on many, many occasions.

[ChuckR]

Thanks Rob. This is a great video. I would think the many parts of a strike also come into play. Speed is one issue I have to concentrate on. Also finger and hand position will alter ball action. Last, but not least is the line I am using which results in the angle to the pocket. We have many bowlers that spend the night changing balls and not the other components that are an easier adjustment. If I am rolling comfortable for me, then I can look at the ball. In my case it is ball up. I only have the Mastermind Genius and UpRoar. If it is time to throw the Columbia WD for a strike, WOW.
http://www.bowl4fun.com/ron/tip11.htm

[Aslan]

I think it's a great video to remind people that where the ball leaves the pin deck off a pocket hit is generally going to tell you something.

Where I disagree with the video is obviously this was done by a bowling store that wants to sell Radical bowling balls. So every solution is a different ball. For 99.9% of bowlers that is ridiculous and useless. For pros, throwing Radical, very interesting...but they have ball reps to tell and explain this to them in real time so no need for the video. For everyone else, you should have a strategy for lateral movement, approach adjustments, loft adjustments, etc... based on these type of ball motions versus a ball up and ball down strategy.

For example...on a pocket shot with an above average delivery (that is VERY important because you never adjust off of a bad shot)...and you leave a 4-pin, 9-pin, or 4-9 split...that's an automatic move 1 and 1 left. No question, no debate, most automatic decision in lateral movements. Now, what happens after making that move and making another above average shot...that will determine whether you made the proper adjustment or if a further adjustment and/or ball change is necessary.

The harder adjustments to make are for shots hitting weak...because as the video "sort of" explained (by proposing balling up AND down); a weak hit can be caused by 7-25 different factors. For example;

You hit weak, it was a decent shot, it hit pocket, it left a 10-pin...looked like a flat 10. What could have went wrong?

1) Your release (axis tilt) could be slightly flat.
2) Your speed could be 0.2-1.5mph faster than the previous shot on that lane.
3) There could be lane/oil transition taking place.
4) Your ball could be too strong and "burning up" (losing energy) before hitting the pocket.
5) Your ball could be going slightly too long for the angle you're trying to play.
6) You might have missed by 0.5-3 boards right.
7) Your loft may need to be increased to delay the hook motion and/or get the ball further down the lane.
8) Your loft may need to be decreased because it's causing the ball to hook too early and lose energy.
9) Your release may have been flat due to multiple factors from not getting under the ball enough, to your fingers and thumb coming out simultaneously, to just not getting your fingers to "flip it" enough.
10) You might just need to move right because the pattern is too long or wide for the line you are trying to play.

So there's 10, off the top of my head. Any of those or any combination of those...will APPEAR to result in the exact same thing...a flat 10-pin. Obviously, these type of videos make the mistake of taking the vastly most important part of 10-pin bowling...which is probably at LEAST responsible for 70% of our success (approach/release) and make that a constant. They can then show how differently balls behave. Perfectly logical...but misleading to beginner and intermediate bowlers that have approach/release "issues".