Why you don't get a strike on a pocket hit sometimes.......

[Hammer]

Sometimes it is the way you release the ball. If it is not a good release you might hit the pocket too light or too high. There is another reason though. The pin setter has a scanner that allows it to set your rack of pins correctly. If that scanner is not adjusted correctly it can set a pin off of it's correct spot. If that is the case then your pocket hit will get robbed of a strike that you deserve on a good pocket hit. The pin does not have to be off spot by much to ruin a pocket hit. If you are lucky sometimes you can spot a head pin off of it's mark. Maybe it is a little right or left of it's spot. If it is then you are allowed to do a rerack.

If you do a rerack and it doesn't change the situation then you have a problem the rest of the night. We all have had cases where we seem to be hitting the pocket good and keep getting one pin leaves or maybe worse. If you notice the pinsetter not spotting the pins right you should report it to the house. If the house cares about their equipment and the satisfaction of their customers they will do something about it.

So if you are getting pocket hits and are not striking and even after adjustments things are still not right you just might have a pinsetter that needs adjusting. Not getting strikes is not always your fault.

[RobLV1]

I think that it's very interesting that, like most bowlers, the first thing that you look to blame for a pocket hit that doesn't carry is your release. That's what most bowlers blame. Next, you jump right to the rack. For one thing, the pins are not set exactly the same for each rack. If your rack is bad, reset it. The USBC allows league bowlers to reset the pins as many times as you want to. Strangely enough, very few league bowlers ever take a re-rack. The two things that are the most consistent culprits in pocket hits failing to carry are having the wrong ball in your hand, or playing the wrong part of the lane. When you have the wrong ball in your hand, or are playing the wrong part of the lane, or God forbid, both, you can still strike, but everything else about your delivery had better be perfect. The idea is to play the right line, with the right ball in your hand, so that you DON'T have to be perfect, but can take advantage of the the forgiveness of the typical house shot.

[tr33frog]

Rob - I have noticed that if I cheat on my release, aka get my hand out from behind and off to the side, I can nail the pocket and leave a 10 pin just about every time. So I get the, blame the release piece.

[swingset]

I can change carry by doing nothing but changing my release...and for sure it can cause single pin leaves. He's not wrong about that. It changes the hook/roll so absolutely that can be a big factor if you've let it slip.

And, I've had pinsetters go off mark too. It can be hard to spot, but if they're substantially off it will absolutely wreck your carry. He's not wrong about that either. A little movement is not only allowable but normal. When it's visibly filling a gap? That's a whole different animal.

There's a lot more that can work against you (losing energy going into the pocket, wrong angle, coming in with too much speed for the angle you're playing), but they're both valid points.

The key to this game is learning what can go wrong, how to spot it, and then how to fix it. It's all a soup of physics, afterall.

[RobLV1]

I never said that they're not valid points. I simply pointed out that it is very interesting that many bowlers want to blame their release FIRST, before considering ball choice, or choice of line to play. Jumping from blaming your release to a bad rack is leaving out a whole lot of things in between. It's not a matter of right or wrong, it's just a matter of perception.

[Hammer]

Maybe I didn't state my post right but I do realize that not getting a strike on a pocket hit can happen because of a wrong ball choice, too much speed, wrong angle played or a faulty release. I just wanted to say that another thing could be a faulty pin setter. They do get out of adjustment just like anything else mechanical and can make you scratch your head on pocket hits that do not strike.

[Blacksox1]

Before you step unto the approach, check the alignment of pins. If it is not suitable, take a re-rack.

[Mudpuppy]

I think that it's very interesting that, like most bowlers, the first thing that you look to blame for a pocket hit that doesn't carry is your release. That's what most bowlers blame. Next, you jump right to the rack. For one thing, the pins are not set exactly the same for each rack. If your rack is bad, reset it. The USBC allows league bowlers to reset the pins as many times as you want to. Strangely enough, very few league bowlers ever take a re-rack. The two things that are the most consistent culprits in pocket hits failing to carry are having the wrong ball in your hand, or playing the wrong part of the lane. When you have the wrong ball in your hand, or are playing the wrong part of the lane, or God forbid, both, you can still strike, but everything else about your delivery had better be perfect. The idea is to play the right line, with the right ball in your hand, so that you DON'T have to be perfect, but can take advantage of the the forgiveness of the typical house shot.

Cliff Notes: A house ball in heavy oil on synthetic lanes playing the 1st arrow two handed even at 1,800 revs is a bad choice