A DEDICATED, BUT SOMEWHAT CONFUSED, BOWLER wrote me a few weeks ago. His confusion centered over my reference to the "Two Gear Principle" in a recent column. Let's clear up the mystery.

When it comes to synchronizing the approach, I came up with a concept years ago that I thought best exemplified the process; namely, imagining two gears in operation. One represented the bowler's footwork, and the other represented the swing.

I reasoned that the secret to coordinating the footwork and the swing is revealed when one comes to understand the critical mechanical relationship between two engaged gears; namely, a specific point of one gear must be precisely aligned with the exact corresponding point of the other gear

So it is with my bowling analogy. Throughout the approach, if the gear of the feet and the gear of the swing are not properly aligned, the approach is negatively affected to a degree relative to the extent of the misalignment.

A bowling approach begins when at least one of the two gears is set in motion. It ends when each of the gears has been allowed to complete its cycle. The ideal interaction should be such so that, at the end of the approach, the gears disengage and the swing moves on to complete the release and follow-though.

It is an important part of this concept to understand that the footwork gear can operate independently at the beginning of the approach, as is the case with a 5-step approach. However, once engaged, the two gears are quite interdependent on one another until the very end of the approach.

During that portion of the shot when both gears are in operation, they must function as one. This will be realized when three conditions are met: 1) to a predominant degree, the swing exhibits pendulum motion even though the swing's speed and length is induced by force, at least to some extent; 2) the cadence of the steps is consistent and not excessively fast or slow; and 3) the spacing of the steps are taken in their proper length.

When these three conditions are met, the relationship between the two gears is most often positive and reliable. Keep in mind that it takes a strong and flagrant deviation for one gear to overpower the other when they are both in ideal motion.

The corresponding influence each gear has over the other can be used to great advantage. For example, slightly delaying the placement of the ball relative to the feet will induce more leverage in the swing. But, buyer beware -- the strong inclination of the two gears to function as one is also the cause of many attempted deviations, resulting in unorthodox or negative methodology, or both.

Indeed, if you initiate one gear negatively, most often the other gear will attempt to intuitively improvise so as to realize a positive result.

What is suggested here is that, with little exception, a bowler is well advised to stick within the realm of fundamental technique, although is doesn't necessarily have to be identical.

In this regard, the most critical point in fostering the ultimate degree of synchronization is at that precise moment of interaction between the ball placement and the initial movement of the "key step." The age-old advice in this matter is, "Get your swing and feet working properly at the very start, and most likely the rest of the approach will fall into place."

So as to clear up misconceptions, we should be made aware of the following. First, note that the term "pushaway" has not been used to describe the action initiating the swing. The word, "pushaway," implies a pushing force of the ball away from the body, often causing over-extending of the ball, tension and inconsistency in the beginning of the approach.

That's one big reason I substituted the phrase, "ball placement," to describe this initial action. The term more accurately describes the fact that the ball should move into the swing in a concise and relaxed manner, preferably with a slight arc, thus blending naturally into the swing.

Second, when using the term "key step," we are referring to the step on which the ball is moved. In the four-step approach, the key step is the first step.

Note a slight deviation in the application of the phrase in the five-step delivery, where the key step is commonly designated as the second step. However, technically speaking, this is not quite correct. Ideally, the ball in the five-step approach is placed after a step-and-a-half has been taken.

Moving the ball after the first step is taken in the five-step approach is premature and causes considerable loss of swing leverage. On the other hand, moving the ball after the second step is taken in the five-step approach burdens the swing heavily with too much leverage, thus negatively affecting the swing's pendulum.