bowl1820

This was a interesting post by John Jameson, of Innovative Bowling (aka ballspinner)


Always remember the power/control spectrum. The ideal situation, that creates the highest scores, is to use as much power as you can effectively control.

More surface = more control

If the lane gives you the control use all the power you can get your hands on that still allows you to hit the pocket consistently.

If the lanes are tough then using more surface gives the bowler more control. It may not be the hockey stick look the ego wants to see but you will hit the pocket more often and leave makeable spares. Hitting the pocket, getting a strike a high percentage of the time and when you do not strike leave a makeable spare wins tournaments.

In most cases bowlers do not have enough surface on the ball which is why they leave 10 pins (RH).

Know what surface is on your ball.
I like to start with not quite enough surface at the tournament site and adjust it to more surface as needed because I can do it in 1 step during practice. Moving to less surface needs to be done in multiple steps which is tough to do during practice on the concourse.

When you think you have found the right surface during practice, add 1 more. For example if you think you have it nailed at 2000 during practice, put 1500 on it. Trust me on this one. That surface will smooth out faster than you think and by doing this your ball will be dialed in by the 8th, 9th & 10th frame when you need it to be dialed in.

Before practice is finished you should then be looking at the ball you will switch to when the lanes dry out. Pick a ball with less cover than the ball you dialed in and put 2000 on it (in this scenario). This way you will know exactly what ball to switch to when your 1st ball stops striking. Throw it a few times during practice and remember how many boards you needed to move your feet from your starting ball to hit the pocket. This way you will not only know what ball to switch to but how many boards to move your feet.

If you are bowling a lot of games in 1 squad have a 3rd ball ready to go as well.

I've used this technique to help a lot of people win a lot of tournaments and matches against people who were better than they were. We just used our head more than they did.

The ball choices, layouts and balance hole decisions happened in the pro shop before we ever set foot on the lanes. This is how you set up the arsenal for the squad you are about to bowl.