Why did I get into this?

[focuzzn]

Hello from Reedley, CA.
My name is Mike and I'm somewhat new to bowling. I am a big guy with large hands and I was sick and tired of going to bowling events (church youth groups bus driver) and cant find a ball that would work with me.
So I got a tax return, went to the local bowling pro shop and bought a ball. I had it drilled to fit me and its wonderful. But now I need to learn how to approach, throw and spin the ball. That's why I am here.

[The German Shepherd]

Welcome Mike! You will find a good lot of wisdm here. I would suggest that you check out YOUTUBE and get into some of the instructional videos that are available there. You will also find good input here.

Jay

Hello from Reedley, CA.
My name is Mike and I'm somewhat new to bowling. I am a big guy with large hands and I was sick and tired of going to bowling events (church youth groups bus driver) and cant find a ball that would work with me.
So I got a tax return, went to the local bowling pro shop and bought a ball. I had it drilled to fit me and its wonderful. But now I need to learn how to approach, throw and spin the ball. That's why I am here.

[ursus]

I would recommend that you find a certified coach (it is likely they have one at your center) and take a lesson from them. They can get you started right, with holdling the ball, getting a free arm swing, targeting, etc. It is more reasonable than you might think and will give you the fundamentals to work on on your own.

[billf]

Hello Mike. welcome to the forum. Bowling can be the most enjoyable frustration known to man next to raising kids. There is a lot of information here and some good (and bad) stuff on youtube. I also agree with getting a coach who can not only explain things but ensure you know how to implement them properly. Norm Duke and next bowling have parts of a great DVD on youtube. Good luck.

[Mike White]

On your list of things to do, put spin the ball absolutely last.
While it may look pretty on the lane, it makes all your other problems much harder to correct.
Get the approach (timing and balance) and throw (selecting targets and starting points) down
before you try to make the ball look pretty.

Master the straight ball first.
You should be able to hit the 1-3 pocket consistently with a small amount of practice.

You will probably not strike very often, but that has the benefit of providing a range of spares for you to shoot at.

There is a simple mathematical technique to figure how much adjustment to make based on
which pin you want the ball to hit to make the spare.

Rather than measure your progress by the score the on the screen, I would use 2 simple factors.

1) % of hitting the pocket
2) % of making "easy" spares.

If you can get both of those above 90% you are ready to start hooking the ball for strikes.

You almost never have to hook the ball for a spare.

[got_a_300]

Master the straight ball first.
You should be able to hit the 1-3 pocket consistently with a small amount of practice.

I agree you should master hitting the 1-3 pocket for right hander or 1-2 pocket for left hander
with a straight ball first and work on getting your spare shooting with a straight ball mastered
and getting your approach and a free arm swing mastered first before worrying about spinning
the ball or trying to make it hook.

It pays to learn how to throw the straight ball at your spares and when the lanes get to dry and
the hook ball doesn't work right you can always go to a plastic ball and throw it dead straight at
the pocket and take the lane condition completely out of play.

[TheSheibs]

I agree with what was said above. However, I would say go to bowl.com, and some of the other sites online to read up on some of the techniques and styles out there. You can also look up videos online that are done by some of the pros or ex-pros. This will help you see what is possible. Also find out how your ball was set up. It could be that the shop that drilled it set it up in a way that even if you throw it straight, it might still curve a little. I'm talking enough of a curve that when it gets to the pins it is not on the same board as you threw it. You need to know how your ball reacts. If the shop drilled it to make it curve half way down the lane, than throwing it straight at the pocket might not work and you would need to adjust.

So do some research and learn as much as possible. Knowledge is power and understanding why the ball reacts the way it does gives you more knowledge. Also welcome to the board and good luck.

[focuzzn]

Thanks for the warm reply, I will check out what you have suggested.