Pros don't always throw straight at spares.........

[LOUVIT]

6 or 10 is my only attempted straight shot

[Turkey Track Hammer]

Well I can't roll a Perfectly straight ball.

[LOUVIT]

I do not yet have a spare ball, Even when I do get one I will probably only use it for the 6 or 10. Right now I just take everything off the ball to make it hook less, in other words like a suitcase release with no follow through, I am still not accurate enough though I make maybe 50-60% of right corner pins destroys a lot of my games. I would move on the approach and throw my normal ball at buckets, etc...

[Mike White]

Well I can't roll a Perfectly straight ball.

Thats ok, since most balls are "perfectly" round.

[vdubtx]

I throw straight at 3-6-9-10 and most combinations of them. On Sport patters I will throw straight at all leaves.

When I leave a 3-6-9-10, I do hook at it to lessen chances of chopping and leaving the 9 pin.

[NewToBowling]

I throw straight at 3-6-9-10 and most combinations of them. On Sport patters I will throw straight at all leaves.

When I leave a 3-6-9-10, I do hook at it to lessen chances of chopping and leaving the 9 pin.

Huh???

[Mike White]

I throw straight at 3-6-9-10 and most combinations of them. On Sport patters I will throw straight at all leaves.

When I leave a 3-6-9-10, I do hook at it to lessen chances of chopping and leaving the 9 pin.

Huh???

Yeah there is a bit of Huh?? there.

My Huh? is on the last part.

It seems the word "chop" has mutated it's definition to something like, I got some, but not all of the pins.

To me chop means the ball deflected less than expected, causing one or more pins to be left.

Such as a 6-10 leave, where (for a right handed bowler) the ball hits the 6 pin slightly on the right, and drives the pin back without the ball contacting the 10 pin.

Hitting the 6 pin on the left, and sending it to the right, and around the 10 pin, or just into the right gutter, is not a chop the way I learned it's definition.

I've seen the comment.. I chopped the 5 off, leaving the 2-4. To that I say Huh???

[Amyers]

Huh???

I believe he meant that he throws straight at the 3-6-10 but hooks at the 3-6-9-10 due to the possibility of not taking the 9 out with the deflection of the spare. As mike stated I'm not sure that leaving the 9 in this instance is actually a chop but I'm not sure if there is a particular term for it. If you leave the 3-9 or 2-8 and hit the front pin but miss the back pin is that a chop also? I'm not sure myself.

[bowl1820]

I'm not sure that leaving the 9 in this instance is actually a chop

The classic definition of a "Chop" or "Chopping" is:

"knocking down only the front pin of a multi pin spare leave"
For the 3-6-9-10 leave in this case the true chop would be hitting just the 3 and leaving the rest.

And to be considered a true chop the ball should hit in the middle of the pin. (not left or right of the middle)

A slightly more modern variation is "To knock down one pin of a multi pin spare leave"

In the case of the 3-6-9-10 leave here, picking off just the 3 or 9 or 10 could be considered a "Chop".


Leaving only the 9 pin from the 3-6-9-10 leave, would not be considered "Chop" in any case.

[J Anderson]

Huh???

I believe that what Vdub means is that he throws a straight ball at any single pin leave to the right of the headpin as well as any multi-pin combination of them with the exception of the 3-6-9-10.