Picking a 7 or 10 pin

[JasonNJ]

Yes, that's the way I feel. A straight ball seems difficult and unnatural....I don't even through much of a hook.

At first it might be but with anything it takes practice and really committing to it. In the past I would always go back to hooking at spares but I really committed to shooting spares straight this summer and I actually feel pretty good about my spare game now. Now if I miss a spare it was something I physically did wrong and not because my ball hooked more or less than I thought it would.

Also as a side benefit, you save some wear and tear on your more expensive strike ball. You are using it half as much so the ball should last twice as long before dying.

[C J]

Every time I try to throw a ball completely straight I throw it in the gutter lol. I have tried many times to throw a house ball straight at spares and it results in a gutter every time. I tried to throw my Tyrant straighter at them and thats better but my conversion rate wasn't very high.. Now I throw a small hook at the 10 pin with my Code Red and I will say I pick the 10 pin up 90% of the time now. If I miss one it's usually early on when I haven't gotten loosened up yet.... This isn't the best way but for me this is how I consistently pick them up.

[santos314]

Every time I try to throw a ball completely straight I throw it in the gutter lol. I have tried many times to throw a house ball straight at spares and it results in a gutter every time. I tried to throw my Tyrant straighter at them and thats better but my conversion rate wasn't very high.. Now I throw a small hook at the 10 pin with my Code Red and I will say I pick the 10 pin up 90% of the time now. If I miss one it's usually early on when I haven't gotten loosened up yet.... This isn't the best way but for me this is how I consistently pick them up.

Agreed.....especially on the 10 pin. I just feel safer like my ball will stay on the lane better with that little hook..

[santos314]

Actually, now that my memory comes back...lol, it was the Hall of Famer that gave me lessons when I was young. He told me, always shoot 7&10s across lane because your accuracy and chances are so much better.

[bowl1820]

Every time I try to throw a ball completely straight I throw it in the gutter lol.

Well that's a easy fix, just aim a little more left (or right as the case may be) and practice!

I have tried many times to throw a house ball straight at spares and it results in a gutter every time.

Forget the house ball and get one that "Fits" properly and as said above "PRACTICE".

[bowl1820]

The thing with a lot players who say they can't roll a straight ball is, it's not that they can't throw one (they can't flatten it out etc.). It's just when they do, they find out just how wildly inaccurate they really are.

Tell them that and say they just need to practice some and they think your crazy.

It's another symptom of the THS, there's such a wide margin of error on strike shots. They assume they are accurate, because they shoot a lot of strikes. So they figure it must be something else that causes them to miss when throwing a straight ball.

[djp1080]

The thing with a lot players who say they can't roll a straight ball is, it's not that they can't throw one (they can't flatten it out etc.). It's just when they do, they find out just how wildly inaccurate they really are.

Tell them that and say they just need to practice some and they think your crazy.

It's another symptom of the THS, there's such a wide margin of error on strike shots. They assume they are accurate, because they shoot a lot of strikes. So they figure it must be something else that causes them to miss when throwing a straight ball.

Yes! I've thought that hitting the pocket was much easier than picking up spares for a long, long time.
I've gotten better at hitting the right side spares by using a simple urethane ball (Storm's Mix) with just a little hook to it. I target board 12 and move my feet for the 3. 6 and 10. For left side spares the target becomes board 22. Been working on breaking my wrist back and changing the position of my hand for washouts lately and getting much better at that, too. If I keep at it, I'm hoping this will get my average up a notch or two.

[fordman1]

Hitting the pocket is easy. Carrying strikes not as easy. Making one pin spares other than the is a no brainer. I get so tired of shooting 7-8-9's and especially 10's. You shoot at the pocket every frame. The spare shot can be different every frame.

[santos314]

Practiced today....grabbed a house ball to throw a straight shot at some spares....yeah, I think I like it....Dang, now I am going to have to get a spare ball!

[vdubtx]

Straight at the corners diagonally cross lane is how I pick mine up. I have improved a ton this past year with the 10 pin in particular. My goal for this next season is to be in the 92% range for conversions. With my practice this summer I am exceeding that so hope it continues into the fall season.

This past spring I started using plastic to convert all of my spares. This really helps when shooting on a sport shot where you want to take the lane out of play when you are needing those spares to keep your scores going. Nothing worse than open frames.

Strikes for show, spares for dough.