Newbie

[lefty]

Hello to all bowlers. My name is James, and I have started to love bowling at a late age of 38, and i have been at it for a few months now, and keep getting non-consistent scoring......
I use my friends ball that he gave me, it's a Pro Max right handed ball, but i bowl left handed. And it's probably 15 years old or so. And for some reason i bowl without using the thumb. It just feels weird trying to hook a ball with my thumb in it.....idk And do i look at the pins, or am i suppose to only look at the dots and arrows?
A typical series for me might be like 179/210/243/201/186/169.....When i bowl, its always on Saturday night at the cosmic bowl.
Now im just trying to become consistently over 200.

Any thoughts or suggestions? I recently started watching PBA on ESPN, just about everyone has their own way of bowling, so i don't see how watching them would help...

[branstew]

Hello and welcome. The main things that would help you are your own bowl that is drilled for you and your own shoes as I feel that they make one hell of a difference and then it is down to practice, practice, practice.

[mrbill]

Hello to all bowlers. My name is James, and I have started to love bowling at a late age of 38, and i have been at it for a few months now, and keep getting non-consistent scoring......
I use my friends ball that he gave me, it's a Pro Max right handed ball, but i bowl left handed. And it's probably 15 years old or so. And for some reason i bowl without using the thumb. It just feels weird trying to hook a ball with my thumb in it.....idk And do i look at the pins, or am i suppose to only look at the dots and arrows?
A typical series for me might be like 179/210/243/201/186/169.....When i bowl, its always on Saturday night at the cosmic bowl.
Now im just trying to become consistently over 200.

Any thoughts or suggestions? I recently started watching PBA on ESPN, just about everyone has their own way of bowling, so i don't see how watching them would help...

Welcome Lefty, great question.
Ya Lefty branstew is right, and I like your scores for just getting back in to bowling, My scores go up and down as well but that's due to fatigue on my part.
We all know getting your own ball,shoes and a nice bag to put them in will help a lot, but.
Repetition Repetition Repetition Repetition Repetition Repetition Repetition Repetition is the key

[dpmusic70]

Welcome to the site James. Those are some pretty good scores you had. I'm sure you will get some expert advice from the many experienced bowlers on this site so good luck to you.

[bowl1820]

Hello to all bowlers. My name is James, and I have started to love bowling at a late age of 38, and i have been at it for a few months now, and keep getting non-consistent scoring......
I use my friends ball that he gave me, it's a Pro Max right handed ball, but i bowl left handed. And it's probably 15 years old or so. And for some reason i bowl without using the thumb. It just feels weird trying to hook a ball with my thumb in it.....idk And do i look at the pins, or am i suppose to only look at the dots and arrows?
A typical series for me might be like 179/210/243/201/186/169.....When i bowl, its always on Saturday night at the cosmic bowl.
Now im just trying to become consistently over 200.

Any thoughts or suggestions? I recently started watching PBA on ESPN, just about everyone has their own way of bowling, so i don't see how watching them would help...

Welcome to bowlingboards,

My suggestions are get a new ball fitted for you and your own shoes, if you don't have your own already.
Join a league and practice. With the scores your showing now, you should quickly be consistently over 200.

[Jamski]

Wow! With scores like that, I'm not sure I'd change much except to practice. And I'd do that a lot. Myself, I don't do all that well at the "Cosmic" stuff, as I am a bit impaired visually, and in the dim light I can't see the target very well.

[lefty]

Well, ya i don't have my own anything....lol I have been using the ball my buddy gave me, but since i don't use the thumb, i figure there's no left or right ball i guess.

I just use the bowling alley's shoes. Basically i just line my left foot on the 4th dot from the left and when i throw the ball, i aim for the #7 pin and it usually curves back to hit in the pocket area........And that's all i have done...lol

Typically i get about 6 or 7 strikes a game, but it just depends on how many open frames i have to see if my game is bad , good , or great........lol
For what ever reason i have a hard time getting the spare, when i leave pins on the right side. being a lefty, i should be able to get those easier, but i dont. If i try a straight ball, i never seem to be able to throw it staright enough..lol