Bowling season is in full swing and we may need to brush up on a few areas of our game this year. Spare shooting is one of the most important pieces of having a successful bowling season. How many of you have missed a spare or two in a game and your team has lost a close match? How many spares did you miss as a team and what was the outcome? I know this is one area of bowling that seems to really hit a nerve with me.  Most people today just don’t practice spare shooting enough. Earlier this year I showed the major impact that spare shooting has on a score in bowling. This week I would like to cover some additional tips on how to attack spares.

For a long time we as bowlers were taught a couple spare shooting systems that have stood the test of time. But with todays oil patterns and more advanced bowling equipment there are a few more tips that you can use to increase your spare conversion percentage.

First let’s start off with the system that has been around the sport for a long time; the 3-6-9 system. This is a simple system to help you know how many boards on the approach you should move given a certain pin or pins left on the lane. For Right handed bowlers, if you leave a 2 pin for example, you should move 3 boards right with your feet from your original starting position, and aim at the same target on the lane. If you leave a 4 pin, you should move 6 boards, and a 7 pin you should move 9 boards. Now this is a very good system, for certain level of bowlers. If you roll a plastic, or a straight release, this system will work. If you are using more aggressive equipment this system does not always work.

If you are using a reactive cover stock bowling ball, what happens to that bowling ball when it starts to roll over the dryer boards on the lane? It creates friction and hooks sooner. If you use the system that was mentioned above, your bowling ball will have too much friction to the lane surface thereby hooking sooner, increasing the chance of missing your spare. Let’s break down your spare game a little more. How many of you have hooked by the intended pins you were trying to make? I see that a lot. So how do you increase your spare shooting percentage? This is really quite simple. You roll a straight bowling ball. Now I am not saying you need to go out and buy a new plastic bowling ball. If you do we have them in stock (shameless plug for a sale)! You can use a different release that we talked about two weeks ago. You can use your weakest hand position with your bowling ball and make it go straight. Isn’t the shortest distance between two points a straight line? So why would you decide to hook your bowling ball at spares?

One more thing that I would like to talk about is the mental side of shooting spares. I don’t know how many people have told me that they have trouble shooting single pin spares because there is only one pin up there. I understand that there is only one pin up there, but do you really know how much room you have to make that single pin? Look at the width of your bowling ball. The width of a bowling ball is 8.5 inches. So if you are to shoot at a single pin on the lane, you have the width of the bowling ball, on both sides of the bowling pin, along with the width of the bowling pin which is 4.75 inches wide. Let’s add all this up to get a clearer picture. You have a bowling lane that is 39 inches wide and you have a total amount of 21.75 inches to make a single pin. So in essence you have over half the width of the bowling lane to make a single pin. So now does it really seem that single pins are hard to make? Now shooting either the 10 pin or the 7 pin, you would cut that in half, due to the gutter.

So let’s recap spare shooting, part two. You can still use the 3-6-9 system if you intend on throwing a straight release with your reactive cover stock bowling ball. You can use the same release as you would with your strike ball if you use a plastic spare ball, or you can use the method I use, which is to use your weakest release with a spare ball. This allows me to make sure that nothing interferes with my intended path for my spare shot. Also let’s truly remember that you have a lot more room to make a single pin than you visually see. That is probably the biggest thing you should take away from this weeks article.  Go out to your local bowling center and practice these tips for spare shooting. Increasing your spare conversions can increase your bowling scores, and will also increase your confidence on the bowling lane.

The Bowling season has finally arrived!  Everyone is starting to dust off their bowling equipment, getting ready for the next 30 some odd weeks of bowling.  Just think before you know it, it will be spring time again and you will be doing whatever it is you do in the spring.  Getting back to bowling; a lot of people in the last couple weeks have come into the shop looking for the latest and greatest to have this year.  A lot of people are looking to make what they have work for them this year as well.  I have also had the chance to hear some interesting terminology.  I have heard people say they want a ball to “go short”.  People always say they want a ball to “hook”. Other Bowlers ask simply: What ball will work for me this year? I always follow up with:  What are you using now?   The answer I get is “a bowling ball”.  But the question is what kind of bowling ball?  What do you mean by hook?  What do you mean by going short?  This week I would like to talk about the terminology used in the bowling community and what it all means.  By using and understanding these terms, we can better understand each other, which will help you make better purchasing decisions. 

Let’s first start off with some basic terms and there definitions.  Let’s take a look at the ever common question: I want a ball to hook?  Hook is defined as the amount the bowling ball deviates or changes direction from its original path. When you say you want a ball to hook, where do you want it to hook? How much hook do you want? Let’s clarify a couple things, if you want more hook down the lane, then you mean you want more back end hook.  If you are bowling on oily lanes, then you want a bowling ball that will hook sooner. This covers the other term mentioned having a ball go short.   

On to the next one: What will work for me this year?  Well if a pro shop operator knows what you are currently using, that is a big help.  If you do not bring in your current bowling ball then we honestly don’t know what will work. Pro shop operators need to see what you have to make a better determination of what might work for you in the future.  Knowing where you bowl and what type of lane surface there is at the bowling center will also help tremendously. There are so many good bowling balls out this year that there really isn’t one or two that will standout over the rest. Every ball is specific for a style of bowler and lane condition.  I am including a list of some terms that you may or may not recognize.  Knowing these terms will definitely help in your bowling game this year. If it doesn’t then, well at least you can sound more knowledgeable. 

Hook: The amount measured in boards and angle that a bowling ball will change direction from its intended path. 

Back End: The last 15 ft of the lane preceding the head pin 

Mid Lane: The middle part of the lane, generally from past the first fifteen feet of the lane to the last fifteen feet of the lane 

Heads: The first fifteen feet of the bowling lane. 

Skid: The area in which the friction from the bowling ball to the lane is the least, causing the bowling ball to have less traction to the lane surface 

Snap: A bowling ball that will have a more defined sharper movement in the back end.

Flare Potential: Refers to the bowling ball changing it’s axis of rotation while seeking its preferred spin axis down the lane. This is usually visible by several oil rings on the bowling ball. 

Cover stock: The outer shell of a bowling ball 

Breakpoint: The area in which the bowling ball makes its greatest change of direction. 

Carry down: Oil moved down the lane by the bowling ball.  

These are just a few of the most common terms used in today’s bowling environment. Believe me there are others.  This will at least give you some helpful knowledge.  If you would like to know more, simply post a comment or contact us and we will be more then happy to answer any questions you might have. 

One last thing, if you can not afford to purchase a new bowling ball this year, why not have the bowling ball reconditioned or resurfaced? This will make your bowling ball have a fresh cover stock and bring the life back to your current bowling ball.  

T.J. Yeip is the Manager of GLC Bowling and the Lead Technical Advisor. He is an IBPSIA Advanced Certified Member and former PBA member. You can email your questions to him personally at thomas.yeip@glcbowling.com