The best way to get good help is see a coach. Any you get without seeing you bowl is just guessing.
Senior Bowling Help
I need some help. I was out of bowling for 20 years and now I started bowling in a senior league. Back in the old days my average was in the 190s. Now it's 120 to 130. I have a plate in the left knee and a knee replacement in the right. With other problems this 66 year old needs some help. I have to start my approach by the front of the ball return. I've been using a 14 pound DV8 Hooligan and a Radical Score. My ball speed is around 11. My two biggest concerns are lack of strikes and missing spares on the left side. I am right handed. I can hang the around the pocket but
Carry is an issue. I realize my good days on the lanes are long gone but I'm hoping to be around 165 to 170. If you have a suggestion please let my know. Thanks in advance.
The best way to get good help is see a coach. Any you get without seeing you bowl is just guessing.
Fordman1 hit the nail on the head. Go see a coach, or look for a special in your area where they have a coaching session for a large group. It's usually cheaper that way.
Just to let you know, I have a coach. I stopped bowling after my first child was born. She was a " special needs " child and very expensive, so I shelved my equipment and spent my money on her, and my other kids. After we lost her, plus now my wife works, I can afford to bowl. The equipment had changed so much over 20 years, I needed help catching up so I got a coach. I pay $50 an hour plus the house gets $5 for the lane. Not cheap but I'm averaging 209 so I'm seeing results.
Originally Posted by Timbrr
you sound like my clone...lol....I am 61 and also been on break for 20 years, I am using an old ebinite nvs and feel I am throwing it good. i leave the 5 pin alot. it is a 16# ball and will NOT hook. in the old days on old surfaces I threw a nice hook and blew the 5 pin. I have back issues but I think my ball may be the issue , not me. I have been at it for 3 months now and can shoot from 110 to 210 very disturbing. I feel I need a ball that will grab the lane and actually hook. Tom Daugherty owns the pro shop that I use in brandon florida. he mentioned the hammer scorpion for a hooking ball and to drop to a 15# ball. My question is ..is the nvs that bad of a ball that it will not hook or is it me...sorry if I hijcked this thread.
Finding a coach is definitely a good idea, however if there are none in your area, try this. Whenever I give lessons to bowlers who first learned to bowl prior to the mid 1990's, or were taught to bowl by someone from that era, I always have to emphasize the difference in the bowling balls. Prior to reactive resin balls with dynamic cores, bowlers had to do something with their release to make the ball hook. That is no longer the case. Modern balls are so strong that they hook all by themselves without any help from the bowler. In fact, the more you try to make the ball hook, the less power that you will see. Try this: start with your hand under the bowling ball, so that the ball is sitting on your palm with your thumb pointing at 3 o'clock. Simply stay in this position, concentrating on rolling the ball rather than throwing it. As you release the ball (not before), simply rotate your hand in a counter-clockwise direction, making sure that your thumb does not go past 12 o'clock. That's all there is to it. Learn to let the ball do the work for you.
that's great info Rob, I am for sure trying real hard to get the old nvs to hook. So your post is telling me I'm trying to hard and to get a modern ball. What do you think of the hammer scorpion? or do you have any opinions. I can't really afford a new ball right now but I do not want to get stuck with a bad ball like when I bought the nvs used.
With out seeing you bowl it is hard to say. On your spares are you throwing them across lane or a more straight on approach?
I recently moved to more straight on approach and I like it better. Only time I miss is if I am not focusing on my mark or try throwing to hard and jerk
Timbrr - Being a Senior myself and having worked with many seniors, I personally know some of the agonies that go into participating in our sport. Especially when you have replacements in your knees. First off I'm glad to see you've already dropped down to a 14# ball. The days are gone when you need a 16#er to score well.
As I read your thread, my interest spiked on what you said about not getting enough strikes but you're also having trouble with your spares. What I would tell you is to focus on your accuracy on spares, and when that accuracy increases, that accuracy, will carry over to your first ball and you'll be getting more strikes.
Now onto your spare problem. I teach a spare shooting system, I developed years ago, that is totally visual. By this I mean when you step up on the approach you "do not" look at your feet or where you're standing. (By now you probably think I'm nuts, but I've taught this system to literally hundreds upon hundreds of bowlers )
Lets say you leave a 4 pin. Step up on the approach, don't look at where you're standing, and visually draw a straight line between your ball (held in the middle of your body), the middle arrow and the object pin, in this case the 4 pin. With me so far? Next what you're going to do is shoot the arrow to the right of the middle arrow, in this case the 3rd arrow. You will walk towards the middle arrow as thats where your target pin is. Now why am I using this combination? This area on the lane has the highest concentration of oil, and now you'll be using it to your advantage. It may take a few ttys to get used to it, but you can shoot EVERY spare from this way of visual alignment.
Give it a try, and if you have any questions you can email me at: Tampabaybob77@yahoo.com By the way, most people I've taught this to, are usually utterly amazed at how simple it is and why they had never heard about it before. With this spare shooting system, it's not beyond reality that you could average 80 - 90% on your spare conversions. Good Luck, Give it a shot.
Bob
"There truly is such a thing as a bad night and when these doomed evenings arrive you can't avoid them. But there's a bright side to this, it's that bad nights won't kill you, and sometimes will make you a little smarter."
tb Bob what house do you bowl out of. I'm in Brandon and bowl at Oakfield. I only really have issues with left side spares
search some of my threads, I also am making a comback, I got some good advice so far
Last edited by LOUVIT; 06-13-2016 at 05:37 PM.
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