Improve Your Spare Shooting

By bowlingball.com, 6/18/16

If you average between 170 and 190 you are already a skilled, advanced bowler. To improve your scores beyond your present average, you must improve your spare shooting.

Of course, it helps to become adept at hitting the pocket consistently to raise scores but the most overlooked factor bowlers averaging less than 200 is spare shooting.

There are several things to consider when committing to improving your spare shooting method.

The fastest way you can improve your spare shooting is probably one you will reject. Take a bowling lesson!

Spend a bit of money and use the services of an experienced instructor and ask for two simple tasks - tune your game and work on spare shooting.

Making good shots always helps your scores but making good shots using a reliable spare shooting method virtually improves your percentage of picking up spares.

Do not leave the session with the instructor until you have developed a sound system for adjusting to any spare combination left on the pin deck.

Some of your present methods for routine spares may still be effective. However, if you develop new ways to line up and target difficult spares which you are not using now, your odds of improving your spare shooting increase more so.

You may be asked to get a spare shooting bowling ball such as a plastic ball or a low flare, entry level reactive ball to reduce hook potential when shooting spares.

One thing for sure is that you will leave your coaching session without any doubts how you should attack virtually every spare combination you may face.

Regardless of which alignment and adjustment spare system you develop, plan on putting in practice time.

Use your practice session to take every spare you leave as vital to your game and place as much emphasis on picking up spares as you do for hitting the pocket for strikes.

Spare practice is tedious, boring, and likely little fun. Use some discipline and put in the needed practice time so you get very familiar and comfortable with any spare you will face.



You will want an effective spare alignment positioning on the approach to become very familiar to your eye. If you practice spares, your probability of improving your conversion rate increases correspondingly.

It is very difficult for anyone to recommend a specific spare shooting system for your game without watching you bowl in real time.

Using an experienced instructor is the best course of action to help develop a sound spare system.

Commit to becoming a great spare shooter and once you do, watch your scores and average rise.