Problem with ball hooking to soon or too late?

[TheSheibs]

So I've been reading about people having their ball hook too soon or not enough which resulting in not being able to hit the pocket. My last year of league bowling, I, being left handed, ran into a problem where I could not get my ball to hook like it use to. I tried everything, speeding up the ball, slowing down the ball, moving a board or two to one side or the other. I tried everything I could think of. Then I was talking to my grandfather, who stopped bowling at 88 due to not being able to hold the ball like he use to, and he suggested that I set up like I usually do and then move back just a little bit, not several inches but enough to change my starting position. It took me a few throws to get the adjustment needed but I was once again able to get the curve or hook that I had before. Too bad I also found out that I needed a heavier ball but thats a different story.

So heres a question. What do you do when your ball is hooking too much or not enough?

[billf]

Depends on my mood and lane conditions. I either change balls, move my feet and or target or even where I look on the lane. I even change axis rotation with a different release. Not the best ways to do it but it keeps it different.

[eugene02]

when the ball is hooking too much maybe that the player is inflicting more revs on the ball or the lane is too dry for the ball.. time to change to a lesser hook rating ball.. when the ball hooks not enough, it could mean that the person used too much strength that the ball was overpowered and just skid right through without biting the lane to get back into the pocket.. change to a higher hook rating ball..

[striker12]

for me if the ball is hooking too much i stay where i am for 1 more shot and streghting out my revs more and see what it dose and if it still over hooks i will mvoe left cause im a righty and open the lane up alot and then if the ball is still hooking too much i will go to a different ball thats weaker normaly my mid or entry lvl ball and if both of those are still voer hooking i will use a urathane ball and normaly it works perfectly.

if the ball dose not hook enoph i will move right and streghting up the lane and keep the same revs as i did on the first shot and keep adjusting my revs and speed

[eugene02]

the key is to adjust and to get the right spot! hahaha

[Florida Bowler]

I have found that I can change speed and have success changing the hook. I will slow it down to get more hook and speed it up to get less hook. Once the lanes start breaking down, I will start to move my feet and target.

-DJ

[TheSheibs]

Last night during my league, we noticed that no one on our team was having their ball break or curve like it should. One person started throwing at the head pin and I moved to the left and changed my angle that the ball was thrown. Low and behold my ball started to curve. I bowled a 198. It was an interesting night. Later we found out that the lane oiling machine had broke and was putting down more oil than it should have put down.

Question: Could the extra oil on the lanes still be effecting the ball after 2 games with 7 right handed bowlers and one left handed bowler? The lanes are also real wood. Could it be the extra oil that was obsorbed into the wood be causing this problem?

Lesson learned: if my ball is not breaking like it should I need to move one dot to the left and still aim for the same mark.

[billf]

It's possible. depends on how thick it was laying the oil down. Most house shots are 20ml thick while sport patterns average 50ml in the heavy area. Theoretically a broken machine could lay down a lot more than that.

[billf]

The real question is how thick, how far and how wide. Chances of it breaking evenly are slim at best.

[TheSheibs]

The real question is how thick, how far and how wide. Chances of it breaking evenly are slim at best.

That's what was happening. We were all having the ball break unevenly. Same shot, same ball, same path and it would break very late, like a foot or so later than it should. Most of the righties where breaking and hitting between the 3 and 6 pins. I, lefty, was hitting the opposite of that.

I also feel bad. After the first game I thought about moving to the left, but figured I had gotten a nice path going and that enough of the oil had been either obsorbed or pushed off. I knew to make the adjustment but didn't. I was also going to make an adjustment comment to my team mates but since they are older than me and have bowled a lot more than I have, I figured they would pick up on it. Oh well. There's still next week.