How do you throw your plastic spare ball?

[can-ham]

Hey Gang I'm again at a cross roads with my spare shooting. At this point I know I just need to get out a practice (easier said than done).

But this year I've transitioned through three styles of throwing my spare ball.

Cupped wrist exactly like I throw my strike ball (with side spin)
Broken wrist (complete reverse cup with 0 spin)
Strait wrist (with some forward spin) The main thing for me is consistently hitting my mark, I currently suck with all these styles.

What do you do and why?

[Nor Cal Bowler]

ive been told to throw your spare like you throw your strike as far as form. i say practice on full racks and pick on 6-10 / 4-7 pins.

[idlehourlegend]

I throw it like my strike ball, just with more of a top spin.

[Steve1591]

Ive done it all three ways, but for me it doesnt matter how i throw it...when i shoot my 10 pins that ball goes down the lane at about 26..its not going anywhere no matter what :p

Shoot it however you want to, as long as you can be accurate with it

[Stampy79]

If I may offer some advise. One thing I see a lot of guys do is throw the ball alot harder than normal. Just throw it your normal speed and it will help improve your accuracy a bunch. It did mine. I rarely ever mis a single pin spare nowdays

[JoshWithrow]

I throw my tuff just like my strike ball, and the movement I get causes me to miss spares once in awhile.

I need to learn to throw more accurately with a broken wrist.

[Stampy79]

well, try this guys. I hold my ball like a suitcase grip (thumb lft side ,fingers right) As I throw the ball, I rotate it backwards, I mean like I am trying to back it up. Not violently, just roll you hand clockwise at release. It will go straight I know ! Try it, its easy and it helps keep your arm online and elbow straight

[can-ham]

If I may offer some advise. One thing I see a lot of guys do is throw the ball alot harder than normal. Just throw it your normal speed and it will help improve your accuracy a bunch. It did mine. I rarely ever mis a single pin spare nowdays


Stampy this is a great point. A lot of times I take out my frustration from bad pin action or a crappy strike ball, on my spare and this will only add to the pain as the extra speed will mess with my timing and accuracy.

[can-ham]

well, try this guys. I hold my ball like a suitcase grip (thumb lft side ,fingers right) As I throw the ball, I rotate it backwards, I mean like I am trying to back it up. Not violently, just roll you hand clockwise at release. It will go straight I know ! Try it, its easy and it helps keep your arm online and elbow straight


Now this is very interesting as well. I have been trying to start with my hand behind the ball a wrist strait. But maybe I should keep the mechanics the same just get behind in a release time...

Stampy do you have to adjust between shooting right side and left side spares?

I find I'm 85% on the right side ones but on the left I'm suffering (about 50%). On the right I line up square to the foul line, but for the left I need to line my body perpendicular with the line to the pin (not the foul line). This will bring drift in to the picture and I tend to miss my mark to the right.

[Stampy79]

I throw cross lane at everything I can. Some guys dont, but to me its more comfy. The pros are about 50/50 on that so who knows ! When you throw cross lane on a house shot, you stay in the oil longer and less chance of movement !

[idlehourlegend]

I throw cross lane at everything I can. Some guys dont, but to me its more comfy. The pros are about 50/50 on that so who knows ! When you throw cross lane on a house shot, you stay in the oil longer and less chance of movement !

I do that also, usually throw crosslane and let it hold in the oil depending on how much, if its dry I throw straight up 10 to make my ten pins (left handed) and I throw off 20-23 with a spare ball for my 7 pins (depends on whats working for me that day).

[Thepainscoming]

Well i dont have a "spare" ball. But i use my inferno thats now at 2000 polished with a broken wrist. Stampy i throw it faster because if i try and throw it my same speed, i for some reason put spin on it. Last night i had my first clean game in a while for the first time of going straight at everything with my inferno. And i never really have timing problems with throwing it fast because i just remember to get it in the swing faster than normal.

[xGatez]

I do the suitcase method as well, a good way to get an idea on how to do it is watch Wes Malott since he throws at this spares this way and its actually how i got the idea to try it.

[Stampy79]

I learned to do it when I used a wristband. Now I just feel comfy doing it

[Dave34]

I throw it the same as my strike shot, but I don't get much sidespin on my normal shot anyway.

[VmsTopGun]

When I learned to bowl in second grade there was only one technique, flat wrist, thumb out first and a little flick/roll off the fingers. Since I now have polyester spare ball I stand about 15 and throw over the 10 @ the 10 pin using that release and havent missed one in weeks(rh). for left side spares, use any strike ball on the rack and take almost all my hand out of it and throw cross ally standing about 10. I allow for about 4 boards of hook. Clean games are going up rapidly.

[boilermakerloc7]

Don't use one myself just use my "Strike" ball.. With a straight wrist

[hbhammerhead]

okay for me it really depends on the spare...10 pins i throw straight as an arrow. anything to the left of the headpin i throw exactly like my strike ball to get a little hook into the pin (it helps me pick up splits).

[slap]

I throw mine end over end, WRW style. I release it well you can hear it rolling over the thumb hole. As a kid, that was how I was taught to release a straight ball.

[Rowdy]

Now,let's find out what the single pin percentage is between the top two methods. I throw my spare and strike ball the same. I had 22 single pin attempts last Sunday. Made 21 of them.

[can-ham]

Now,let's find out what the single pin percentage is between the top two methods. I throw my spare and strike ball the same. I had 22 single pin attempts last Sunday. Made 21 of them.

Rowdy do you change anything at all like tilt, axis, wrist cup or speed?

In practice I tried to do my same strike shot at the 10 pin with my spare ball it's not going to happen unless the oil is just right.

[hbhammerhead]

ya i couldn't throw at ten pins the same way as my strike. i throw like slap said end over end with the thumb making the thumping sound. i hit practically all of my single pin conversions. don't know the exact percentage...i'll get back to you on that.

[Rowdy]

Rowdy do you change anything at all like tilt, axis, wrist cup or speed?

In practice I tried to do my same strike shot at the 10 pin with my spare ball it's not going to happen unless the oil is just right.

I don't change a thing. Unless you look at which ball I'm throwing,there's no way to tell if I'm throwing for a strike or a spare. I figure that having one consistant swing is hard enough,much less two of them. Why make things harder than they have to be? I don't understand why the oil has to be just right for you to shoot a spare. Aim dead at the pin in practice and see what the ball does,make adjustments from there. I know my spare ball is gonna hook back half a pin width. So I aim at the right side of the pin and let the ball hook into the pin.

[acvar]

I don't change a thing. Unless you look at which ball I'm throwing,there's no way to tell if I'm throwing for a strike or a spare. I figure that having one consistant swing is hard enough,much less two of them. Why make things harder than they have to be? I don't understand why the oil has to be just right for you to shoot a spare. Aim dead at the pin in practice and see what the ball does,make adjustments from there. I know my spare ball is gonna hook back half a pin width. So I aim at the right side of the pin and let the ball hook into the pin.

And in a tournament 6 games later is it still hooking the same amount as in practice? The spare ball should be an insurance policy not a crutch. One swing and 1 release is just not enough to be good at this sport. The reason to learn a different release and swing is to get better. Versatility is a big part of being good in this sport. Learning to control your axis rotation for spares will help you to learn how to control it for your strike ball, and that is a very handy skill to have.

[Thepainscoming]

Hey rowdy, y do u need a whole different swing just to throw the ball with less revs? i know i dont

[JaraTo]

Hey rowdy, y do u need a whole different swing just to throw the ball with less revs? i know i dont

Sarcasm? Rowdy was against having a different swing.

[acvar]

Lets keep in mind that the best spare shooter in the game has both a different swing and release when he shoots his spares. Its not by accident that he is the best. Most pros have a different swing when they shoot spares. They throw the ball much harder at their spares. Many have different releases also. Why go to all the trouble if it doesn't make a difference?

[idlehourlegend]

Lets keep in mind that the best spare shooter in the game has both a different swing and release when he shoots his spares. Its not by accident that he is the best. Most pros have a different swing when they shoot spares. They throw the ball much harder at their spares. Many have different releases also. Why go to all the trouble if it doesn't make a difference?

o.k. you may not know this but I was talking to the guy that drills my stuff and he goes out on the tour a lot, the main reason that those guys throw that ball so much faster is because a lot of them (not saying all) a lot of them use 13lb maybe 14lb spare balls, they go super straight and they can throw them faster without having to strain themselves. But I do agree with the other stuff you said, WRW does run the ball over his thumb hole on the spare shots, but I try not to mess with my release that drastically just for a ball that goes straight, I just throw it and put more of a top spin on it just to keep the ball in line.

[JaraTo]

I totally roll end over end thumbhole style like my boy WRW

[Street Racer]

i throw it.......

[Rowdy]

And in a tournament 6 games later is it still hooking the same amount as in practice? The spare ball should be an insurance policy not a crutch. One swing and 1 release is just not enough to be good at this sport. The reason to learn a different release and swing is to get better. Versatility is a big part of being good in this sport. Learning to control your axis rotation for spares will help you to learn how to control it for your strike ball, and that is a very handy skill to have.

Whoa. Where did THIS bilge water come from? I happen to have more than one swing,thank you very much. As for axis rotation,I have that under control,too. I shoot spares with the same swing I'm using for strikes. I just didn't say WHICH swing I was using for strikes.

[can-ham]

When I throw my strike shot I'm going for maximum revs (I can get) with accuracy and entry angle. When I throw my spare shot I want it to go strait and over my mark.

The swing my be the same or similar but wrist cup and hand tilt are different. I will vary my hand position for strike shooting, but the plan for spares is a single strait way that is different from my strike shot. I can execute this great in practice but during a game I can't hit my damn mark. In practice I'm spare shooting 90% on simple spares during league it's 50%. I'm happy with my forward roll spare shooting approach, now I just need the confidence and relaxation to execute it!

Rowdy I have seen many post by you about speed, tilt and axis adjustments. These are part of why I'm learning more versatility with my strike shot, and that I can adjust these for a more accurate spare shot.

[can-ham]

Ok so Last night in league I started off with my exact problem. Went strike open (single 10 pin) then 5 in a row. So I'm thinking I'm going to kill it for a nice 230 , no dice I leave three opens in a row for an even 200 and lose by 2 pins. Now I'm frustrated and embarrassed and have a very crappy 164 second game with lot's of opens.

By game three my buddie gave me some good advice about visualizing my shot be for shooting. And I realize in practice when I'm hitting 90% of my spare I'm doing it back to back only throwing my spare ball so muscle memory is there.

So I tried adding two things to my pre-shot routine for spares.

Before stepping on the approach I would take my spare ball and freely swing it with a strait arm twice (to get the muscle memory back).
once I was lined up I would close my eyes take an extra breath and picture throwing my ball over my mark.Well it was like night and day. I was still struggling with my strike shot but I picked up 6 of seven spares in game three for a 193 and had two opens in a game 4 for a 187, but one was a split and the other I aimed at the wrong pin. So over all I was 8/11 in the last two game which was a huge improvement over my less than 50% in the first two games.


Anyway If you throw strait at your spares and are struggling I highly recommend just swinging the ball freely in your hand before you shoot.

[No Mercy07]

I throw the same as my strikes...

Same amount of revs....

No wonder I miss soo many... Good thing I strike a lot...

[JaraTo]

Actually realized the other night that it depends on.... nothing at all. It's sporadic. One night it'll be end over end forward roll, the next it's strike release.

[uberamd]

Anyway If you throw strait at your spares and are struggling I highly recommend just swinging the ball freely in your hand before you shoot.
I will give that a try for sure, as I can pick up spares in practice and stuff usually, but come league time after sitting between frames and if I get a strike or two in a row, trying to roll a straight ball isn't easy and I miss the 7 pin for me (lefty) a lot.