QuestionI am hitting the pocket fine but cannot carry the 10 pin. Watching the ball it looks to me like it might be braking late but when I do go outside and it comes in strong, 10 pin! Currently I am underneath the ball till delivery then a small 1/4 turn. Do I need to just stay under it and let the ball fall off my hand more? The coach I sometimes get to work with says to let it fall off but not sure I am getting there. Thanks!
Answer
www.TrueBowlerAdjustme
Hello Bill, I know you have been just itching for me to answer this question and get you back on the lanes to success!
Problem is, there are several factors that I can mention that you will have to investigate before you, your ball driller, and your coach may find a solution.
I do ask up front that you consider getting my new book True Bowler Adjustments. If you have my book already, please write to me at the e-mail address given. It truly does give you all the solutions to making adjustments to carry the 10 pin.
Next, let's consider what you have written here and see if we can deal with what you have given us for an adjustment.
You say your are "hitting the pocket fine." I assume you are talking about the 1-3 pocket. When you hit the one three pocket and you bury the the 3 pin, you will leave 10 pins all day long "sometimes." This is because you hit too far right of the headpin, and you are not hitting the 3 pin "far enough to the left" of it's center.
Also, if your are "hitting the pocket fine," your bowling ball could be skidding with too much speed. Skidding, hooking, plus speed does not give the ball any surface contact. OMG Bill, it looks sooo good to us back on the approach and in the settee area, but it's an illusion at best. Doesn't matter if you are a cranker, tweener or stroker.
If we skid too much on the back end, via speed, carry down, or too high glossy ball surface, we leave that devilish 10 pin everytime. Especially, when it looks sooo good too. Ugggghhhhh!!!!
"And," I do know what you mean when you hook from the outside and get the same thing. Now, because you have bounced from the driest boards back to the inside, the freakin' ball just rolls out on you, and it still deflects on the back end, like a wet noodle. It's lost most of it's carrying speed, good revolutions, and axis tilt, still deflecting off the side of the headpin.
I will not step on any coach's toes when they are right there with you to "see" your delivery. Yet, you are writing to me because you need some "change" in your game! So let's work with your coach's words and see what we get?
The first thing that smacked me in the face when I began ball drilling was the sentence. "The main responsibility of the fingers is to create ball rotation!" Now to me, that means whether you are spinning the ball forward, spinning it to left to hook it, spinning it to the right for a back up ball, or spinning it so it skids backwards a little for a full roller, you should be using your finger pads in contact with the ball to make it happen. So rarely are you just letting the ball fall of your hand. You are rolling it in some direction using your fingers, or finger joints, or finger pads. If your coach is just giving you an adjustment to try, then go for it. Sounds to me like he/she is trying to get the ball off your hand early enough to turn sooner to the pins.
Getting the ball of the hand early does several things, as I cover them in my new book. It kills your ball's rotation, "makes it grab the lanes sooner." Getting the ball off your hand early, puts the ball down on the lane sooner which makes the ball have to travel longer down the lane, "making it grab the lane sooner." If the ball comes off your hand early, it lands the ball in the most oil on the lane and without speed, "more oil" actually slows the ball down sooner allowing the ball "to grab the lane sooner." To answer your last question about staying under the ball,"yes" if you are able to do so. This projection will cause the ball to roll earlier, and hopefully solve your adjustment issue when you leave the 10 pin. If you truly want to understand 10 pins, read my article to Calvin about "lane reading." I am sure your coach will appreciate it as would I. Take care and bowl well Bill.
