Need some advice

[mudinthang]

Lately ive been bowling at alot of alleys and have noticed the way my balls react. At my normal house i can usually throw between the middle and second arrow and hook it back like a ton of bricks. But know im getting to bowl in alot of oil patterns and have notice that i cant keep my ball on the right side of the lane. Alot of people say i get a high rev rate. I dont think i do i think i get meduim revs but i guess i get to many.

so do i poliish my balls or do i try to change my release?

[Crusher279757]

Just try to adjust where your standing and where you throw the ball. If that doesn't work, get a good light oil ball.

[Caveman]

There are a lot of possibilities here.

First of all, are you able to hit your target at the arrows? If the heads are dry, sometimes the ball can actually move off target in the first 15'. The cure is to add a bit of loft to bypass the heads.

If that is not the problem, look at the way the ball rolls. With a little more detailed observation, it is pretty easy to see if the ball is skidding, starting to hook, or rolling. You should have a breakpoint in mind, and the ball should skid almost completely to that point for maximum energy transfer. If the ball stops skidding before that, you're probably throwing too strong of equipment. Throw a weaker coverstock on the pattern.

Now, I list this last, but I think that it is much more important than anything else. I learned it from Palmer Fallgren. If you hit-up on a reactive ball at the release, it will grab as soon as it touches dry. It is why reactives destroyed so many games during the early 90's since *everybody* hit up on the ball in the 80's. Nowdays, the house patterns have enough oil to stop this problem. But to bowl well on all conditions, you need to learn how to 'project' the ball through the dry. Look at all of the power players on TV today. They still rip it, but they also project to their target really well. To do this make sure that you have a long low followthrough. Don't hit up on the ball at the release.

[ravenhammer]

Good advice Caveman. Keep moving left to find the oil(loft it over the gutter if you have too :eek: ), also move your target farther down the lane. This will help "project" the ball farther down the lane.

[BBspare]

Definately good advise. Remember there is lane inside of the second and third arrows. Polish will help get the balls further down lane before they hook, but because they don't lose energy, they will hook more.
Think of it like this: A dull ball will expend energy (hook) for 15 feet. That same ball shiny will lose energy in only 5 feet. The ball will hook the same amount, but because it's compressed when the ball is shiny it appears to be more. So you might not gain anything.
Moving left is definately the first step, but remember that you don't always have to throw the ball to the same spot. You can throw the ball over the left gutter and if that spot on the lane is dry enough, the ball will still hook too much. Try moving your mark on the lane further down toward the pins without moving it right.
This will allow you to avoid the drier area where you were playing, but you aren't swinging the ball any farther. A different release will also help. When you release the ball, try opening your hand like you're giving a high five. This will keep your fingers from getting too much leverage which could cause too much hook. Of course, the more you learn and practice, the more adjustments you will be able to make.
Good Luck