QuestionHi Gary,
I am in an early morning league and have been having a hard time getting my ball into the pocket. I am a slow to medium speed bowler with not a whole lot of revs. At one point I was very comfortable and was averaging close to 200, but recently I have lost some confidence in my roll and my avg has slipped to the 160-170 range on oily lanes. The problem looks like this. When I bowl and I try to get the ball out far enough to the right of the head pin to get a good entry angle, the ball just keeps spinning, but doesn't make a move to the head so it ends up hitting the 3 pin. People have told me that my ball looks like it runs out of steam. If I move to the right and keep a similar target I get too close to the gutter (and sometimes in the gutter)If I aim a few boards to the left to get a straighter shot that stays away from the gutter, I either go Brooklyn or I hit the pocket, but end up leaving the 10 pin everytime. Occasionally I can throw the ball across the lane and get it to break at about the 3 pin and hit high flush and destroy the rack, but that is hard to control. I have a easy time adjusting to dry lane conditions by just moving further left and chucking it, but oily lanes I cannot get. I bowl with a 14# Storm Atomic Charge. Is an equipment change necessary? Do I maybe need to change the surface or layout of the ball? Should I get a heavier ball? or am I doing something grossly wrong?
Answer
www.TrueBowlerAdjustme
Hi PJ. I like the confidence you have in your abilities! You know you could do it before and probably not much has changed accept your ball, or the bowling environment. When you loose confidence in your "roll", or basically how your ball reacts, then you have to take action to solve the problem. I loved the Storm Atomic Charge and it's big brother the Depth Charge! Both are great weapons. I first would recommend refinishing your bowling ball. The surface gets matted down when you don't perform regular ball maintenance. Basically, the area on the bowling is very slick, and the ball doesn't grab the lane after it leaves the oil at the backend. As you know you gotta have friction to get the ball to move. Next, spinning the ball out of your hand is a rookie mistake on fresh oil! C'mon...(smile) In my new bowling book, True Bowler Adjustments, I warn bowlers of various times when it is not advisable to use a spinning release when there is high oil on the front end. You may need to hire a coach to work with you on your release. I have witnessed seasoned veteran bowlers of 20 years crumble at the thought of learning something new to improve there game. Hiring a bowling coach is a great investment if you are the bowler who truly is very busy, and doesn't have the time to perform regular ball maintenance.
In summary PJ. Your bowling ball may require replacement if you truly feel you just need a bowling ball the hooks sooner. The pro shop staff can help pick out a potential high end performance ball that bites through the oil. You also can simply try resurfacing your bowling ball because the ball you have has great versatility, and it can take changes. Generally speaking, as long as the pro shop operator have the proper pin distance they can use to potentially redrill or they can take a shot at resurfacing the ball to help your ball recover sooner down lane.
Lastly, PJ. If you are not truly aware of adjustments you can make on the lanes to deliver your ball more effectively at times you can contact a certified bowling coach. Often they will see something in your game that will catapult you back into competition status, or a place where you are more confident in your equipment and physical game. It's extremely difficult to do one without the other. Make the investment and it will pay off for you.
