Q:  I have a terrible time hitting my target; I’m missing it 20 percent of the time or more. It’s getting very frustrating. Any suggestions? — Jay C., via email

A: Work on allowing the ball to swing the arm from the pushaway through the downswing, through the backswing,  and all the way through the release. This will help create muscle memory and, with practice, enable you to repeat shots and hit your target more consistently. During your approach, point your opposite arm toward the wall; this will help keep you in balance.

Q: If you were going to recommend one of the bowling camps, which one would you choose? I am a higher average bowler and I want to improve to a level where I can compete successfully in tournament competition.              — Victor Hampton, Victoria, B.C.

A: In the intererst of full disclosure, I have not been to all of the different bowling camps, so I’m not an expert in this area. That said, I feel confident recommending the camps run by Dick Ritger and Mark Baker. You can be confident in the expertise of the instructors because you’d be learning from people who have have actually experienced the pressure of top-flight professional bowling competition. That means they know what it’s like to throw the ball when all the chips are on the line. No matter how much knowledge or even what type of certification an instructor has, it can’t replicate the experience that comes from needing to throw one strike with tens of thousands of dollars on the line. Ritger and Baker have both been there. The Kegel Training Center also receives high praise from a number of pros. It has a an excellent staff of coaches and is packed with high-tech teaching aides that also could help you get to that next level.

Q: I recently bowled in a tournament where I was throwing the ball all over the place. Sometimes I missed the headpin, and other times I was through the nose. I think I was playing the right line, because some of the bowlers who shot well also played that line. Do you have any ideas for my situation on that type of lane condition?          — Bobby Gilson, Ft. Collins, CO
 
A: When I am faced with this type of situation, I try to eliminate one of the problems by changing my release. For instance, if I  wanted to stop missing the headpin on the pocket side, I would hold my hand in a handshake position throughout the downswing and release. It’s very difficult to throw the ball too far toward the gutter side of the pocket when you do this.  Once you’ve narrowed your “spray area,” you can begin to make other small adjustments — such as where you’re targeting — which will help you hit the pocket consistently.

Q: I am relatively new to the sport, and have been reading a lot about it. A number of bowlers have said that Mark Roth changed the game. Can you tell me what Roth did differently that set him apart from other professional bowlers?                                — Billy Claxton, Salem, OR

A: Roth’s two main influences had to do with his timing and the manner in which he released the ball. Most of the bowlers prior to Roth would strive to release the ball in conjunction with their slide; this was considered proper timing for bowling.  Roth did not have much of a slide, however, and his slide foot arrived ahead of the downswing — this generated a leverage point for the ball.  Secondly, Roth cupped his wrist so he could increase the amount of rotation on the ball. Put these two actions together, and it gave Roth tremendous hooking power on the ball and hitting power at the pins. He represents the beginning of the transition of bowling from a game of accuracy to a game of power.

Q:  I bowl in a league, and it seems that the line to the pocket changes drastically from the first game to the second. What is the cause of this drastic change in how you have to play the lane?                            — Debbie Heath, Vero Beach, FL

A: Most centers now condition their lanes just prior to the evening league session.  The lanes are cleaned, and then fresh conditioner is applied. Thus, you have a clean and conditioned lane when the first ball is thrown in practice. But today’s bowling balls carry this new conditioner down the lane with every delivery. As a result, the line is really changing on every ball thrown, but it takes a number of shots before that change becomes apparent. Many pros now actually change lines slightly even when they’re on a long string of strikes — in anticipation of conditioner movement impacting their next shot.

Need help with your game?
Write to Mike McGrath at
Bowlers Journal International,
122 S. Michigan Ave., Suite
1506, Chicago, IL 60603, or
mikempba13@aol.com.

To order your own copy of Bowler’s Journal International, please visit Luby Publishing Bowlers Journal Subscription.

Republished with permission from Luby Publishing.

Time May Fly, But the Truly Timeless Never Dies…  Like BJI, for Instance

BOWLERS JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL — the oldest sports magazine in the country — is celebrating its 95th year with this issue. That is much more than a great accomplishment. It is historical. And considering that the magazine continues to flourish when many major industry integers have toppled into ignominy, it is nothing short of heroic.

One of the last bastions of a formidable army that has withered from a force of almost 10 million regulars at its peak to less than 2.5 million over the years, BJI continues to rally the troops with such Thomas Paines of bowling as Mort Luby Jr., Jim Dressel, Bob Johnson, Wally Hall, Lyle Zikes, Mike McGrath, J.R.  Schmidt, Bill Spigner, etc.

Among the many contributions of these writers, none is more relevant and critical to the sport than their combined effort to preserve and remind us of bowling’s glorious past. 

One of the most misguided and alarming expressions I hear in bowling is that smug and cynical expression: “The past is dead.” This assertion is often made by neophytes who keep filtering into a struggling industry. 

Unfamiliar with the real nature of the beast and not wanting to display their ignorance of what has transpired in years gone by, they flippantly assert, “What counts is today and tomorrow. The past is dead and over with.”

Let me assure you that the past is never dead; it is very much alive, for good or evil.

I would agree that the public-at-large does not have a vivid sense of the past. Most people live in the present and in the future, and are well satisfied in doing so. But for those who would lead with- out a keen sense of the past, the present is blurred and the future is akin to a nightmare.

The concern is not so much that the past tends to repeat itself, but that without knowledge of the past, we are much less able to forecast and prepare for the future.  Indeed, much of what we plan for today and tomorrow is wisely predicated on what we have learned from the models and patterns of the past.  Since recorded history began, many great nations have come and gone, but many of their problems remain; especially the one that great democracies are still attempting to solve — how to realize both freedom and security at the same time. Continuing to study past attempts may help us find a solution.

Likewise, to a large extent, team bowling is dead; but the spirit it generated years ago is not dead, and will never die. Yet, until the leadership in this sports business learns what that spirit means, and how it behaves under varying conditions, we will never be qualified to handle its return. 

Furthermore, the past often seems dead because it is presented in a deadly fashion. The great teachers of bowling are almost as rare as the great teachers of history.  They know more than pendulum swing, step-cadence, pin-inside, angle-of-entry, etc., that bland methodology that can be found in almost any basic instructional manual. More important, exalted tutors know how to motivate and inspire.

To make the past come alive requires passion as well as knowledge. After digesting the rudiments of the game, the bowling instructor ideally should be more of a poet than a scholar. He must grasp the philosophy of the sport, or he has grasped nothing. 

If we continue to lose regulars in this dwindling army of bowlers, it will probably be because we continue to pay too much attention to the immediate, short-term needs of the present, and too little attention to the industry’s foundations of the past.

People fade away, objects perish, but the past persists forever.  Lacking this understanding, we succumb to false hopes, pursuits and expectations.

Again, hats off to “the Journal” and all who contributed through the years to make it the promising beacon that it is. 

It was a privilege to have been part of the first 95.

May the next 95 be as eventful.

Republished with permission of Luby Publishing.

Q: I am a stroker and would like to know how I can get more revs on the ball. Also, can I use the same ball after making this change?
— Rocco Mayo, Farmingdale, NJ
A: A good way to get more revs is to cup your wrist in a similar fashion to PBA champion Del Ballard Jr. Also keep your back straight during the release and bend with your knee, rather than bending forward at the waist. As for using or not using the same ball, I suggest using a ball that has a lot of skid in the front portion of the lane and a strong backend hooking action. By increasing your revs, this type of ball will give you a “long and strong” ball motion on the lanes. Continue reading ‘Ask The Coach’ »

I am not a power player, but I would like to find timing that will allow me to cup the ball at the top of the backswing. After watching Chris Warren bowl again, should I adapt the same technique where I’d wait for the ball to reach the top of the backswing before making the last step?
— R.J. Nalasco, Pearl River, N.J.
The easiest way to create a power game is to develop footwork that is slightly ahead of the swing, so that the slide foot arrives at the foul line ahead of the downswing. If, for example, you are a four-step bowler, you would take your first step before putting the ball into the swing. In that way, you’d arrive in a power position prior to the release. As for cupping the ball like Chris Warren, he does employ an approach that is ahead of the swing, and simply allows the ball to be cupped during the backswing and downswing. Continue reading ‘One Approach to Developing a Power Game’ »

YOU’VE PICKED YOUR LOCATION. YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE on financing. Now it’s time to determine what merchandise you’ll put in your new pro shop.

This sounds a lot easier than it is because it’s very, very easy to go overboard and end up with goods that sit on the shelves and/or strain your finances to the breaking point. Continue reading ‘How to Think Like Most of Your Clients’ »