I never used a spare ball.......

[Tampabaybob]

Having bowled with Lou yesterday, seeing him struggle with his ten pin shots, I can tell you that for a low speed senior bowler, a spare ball is almost a necessity. It's a very cheap investment, IMO, to cure several frustrations. You can explain, demonstrate, and do whatever to get someone to flatten their hand out, but you can't throw the ball for them. Keep in mind his natural delivery has quite a few revs on the ball, so that coupled with drier back ends do not make a good fit.

I stopped using a spare ball several years ago and just flattened out and broke my wrist at the release point. It worked well, however, when the lanes changed oil patterns and I started missing a few. So back to a spare ball. Easy, no hassle.

[Amyers]

Having bowled with Lou yesterday, seeing him struggle with his ten pin shots, I can tell you that for a low speed senior bowler, a spare ball is almost a necessity. It's a very cheap investment, IMO, to cure several frustrations. You can explain, demonstrate, and do whatever to get someone to flatten their hand out, but you can't throw the ball for them. Keep in mind his natural delivery has quite a few revs on the ball, so that coupled with drier back ends do not make a good fit.

I stopped using a spare ball several years ago and just flattened out and broke my wrist at the release point. It worked well, however, when the lanes changed oil patterns and I started missing a few. So back to a spare ball. Easy, no hassle.

I am a slower speed bowler myself although not a senior but I bowl one or two leagues a season on older wood lanes and there is simply no way I can adjust my delivery enough to consistently hit 10's on those lanes when they are drier. On synthetics I can do it's just not optimum.

[Tampabaybob]

I'm with you, when you said it's not optimum. I like always falling back on the KISS theory. I'm pushing 70 and still get my spare ball measuring at 17mph at the cameras, so could I throw my strike ball at the spares but why take the chance of it hooking up and missing.

[LOUVIT]

Spare ball or not to Spare ball....that is the question...lol

Looks like a good debate here

[bowl1820]

Another good reason for using a spare ball is saving the wear and tear on your strike ball.

Think about the times when someone misses a ten pin, ball goes in the gutter and It takes a big bounce or theres a pin jam in that corner and the ball smashes into those stuck pins. Then it comes back with gouge, scratches on it.

[RobLV1]

Bowling changed in the 1990's when reactive resin balls with powerful cores were introduced. Bowlers who learned how to bowl prior to that time need to forget about five beliefs that have no place in bowling in the 21st Century:

1). Reach for the ceiling on your follow through. There are no pins on the ceiling and bowlers today must project the ball down the lane. Reach for the pins, not the ceiling.

2. Don't drop your shoulder. "DYDS" says it all.

3. Don't bend from the waist. That helped bowlers to lift the ball. Today we don't lift, we roll. Spine tilt that increases through the shot is a good thing.

4. When the ball stops hooking, move right (right handers) to avoid the carrydown. Carrydown is a thing of the past. Today, when the ball stops hooking it's because it is losing energy from too much friction. When the ball stops hooking, move left to find more oil.

5. To pick up right corner spares, flatten out your hand to keep it from hooking. Today, a flat hand will not keep a powerful ball from hooking. The core makes it hook all by itself. I'll say it again: 99% of the top bowlers in the world use plastic spare balls. If you think that you can be as accurate by flattening out your hand on a powerful strike ball, you're delusional... unless your last name is Duke!

[got_a_300]

If you think that you can be as accurate by flattening out your hand on a powerful strike ball, you're delusional... unless your last name is Duke!

Well for the last 5 weeks using my strike ball and flattening out my hand
I'm 100% on 10 pins and around 90% on all other single pin spares.

I did manage to flatten it out too much and slid by a 4 pin on the right side
of it a couple of times instead of hooking at it and slid by a 6 pin on the
right side of it also a couple of times.

I really had no other choice except to use one of my strike balls except for
maybe using a house ball that is hard to hold onto as my old T-Zone plastic
ball decided to crack all around the finger holes and down the middle of it.

Yes I could go and buy myself another spare ball but that will have to wait
for a little while as I have other financial matters to attend to at the moment.

So I guess everyone can just call me Duke Sr. LOL!!!!!!

[LOUVIT]

I really want to use my strike ball as a spare ball. with my old NVS that I started with 4 months ago I didn't miss a 10 pin, then again that ball didn't move, my new ball is flying. if I can make 2 out of 9 like yesterday I can learn to make them all....considering my only issue is the 10 pin, I don't want a ball just for 10 pins, that's crazy. I need to know why I left 9 10 pins in 3 games... all on the inside line, the lanes seemed to be dry I was going through the nose between the 1st and second arrow on the outside line so I moved inside and the ball was way out on the lane and left 10 pins.

[foreverincamo]

I wish I had a plastic spare ball when my sport league started the first 6 weeks with short oil patterns. I ended up taking a ball and taking it to 4000 Abralon and then polishing it with a slip agent. Now with longer oil patterns I don't have a problem at all with that ball. It skids forever on 47 feet of oil.

[RobLV1]

I really want to use my strike ball as a spare ball. with my old NVS that I started with 4 months ago I didn't miss a 10 pin, then again that ball didn't move, my new ball is flying. if I can make 2 out of 9 like yesterday I can learn to make them all....considering my only issue is the 10 pin, I don't want a ball just for 10 pins, that's crazy. I need to know why I left 9 10 pins in 3 games... all on the inside line, the lanes seemed to be dry I was going through the nose between the 1st and second arrow on the outside line so I moved inside and the ball was way out on the lane and left 10 pins.

I really want to win the lottery. Until I do, I'll throw a plastic spare ball and pretend that I'm bowling in the 21st century!