Don't add weight—instead, accelerate

Bowling Digest, Spring, 2004 by Bill Spigner

* I've always used a 15-pound ball. I'm a healthy male at 6'2" and 220 pounds and throw with medium to high revs and a speed of 16.5 to 17.5 mph (18 mph at spares).

I've recently bought a 16-pound reactive resin ball, hoping to get more hitting power and pin action. I do, but I only seem to throw this ball at 13.5 to 14.5 mph using my same five-step approach as always.

What would you suggest I do to boost my ball speed, other than going back to a 15-pound ball?

That's a lot of speed to lose just by changing the weight of the ball by one pound, assuming the lane conditions are the same. Now, when the lanes have less oil, that could slow your speed down.

But let's assume that's not the case and you're losing speed on the same oil condition. You are a medium- to high-rev player, which tells me you are getting your fingers under the ball. To do this you have to slightly cup your wrist and/or slightly bend your elbow. With the extra pound, you may have to exert more effort to get under the ball, which could slow down your swing speed. If this is the case, concentrate on freeing your swing and not getting under the ball as much. This will help get more speed back on the ball.

When you said you purchased a reactive resin ball, it sounded like you may have been using a plastic or conventional urethane ball previously. Resin balls grab the lane much more than plastic and urethane, and that slows down the ball. If that's what is happening, you need to polish the ball so it doesn't grab the lane as quickly.

Keep in mind as well that the new ball may flare more than your old one. The more flare the ball track has, the quicker the ball slows down. If you now have a high-flaring ball, you may want to get it redrilled so the ball flares less and breaks later.

To physically add more speed, you need to be able to get your arm to travel taster just before your release. In other words, you have to create a better "acceleration zone."

Your acceleration zone should begin about 12 to 18 inches before the ball reaches the bottom of your swing (in other words, just before the ball reaches the back of your leg), so that the ball is traveling at its peak speed when it releases off the thumb. The armswing needs to gradually build up speed from top to bottom. Don't pull the swing down let gravity bring the ball down. That way, when your body gets set up for the release, you'll have a stable position to release the ball from, enabling you to accelerate the arm and hand through the release zone.

The timing has to be right. Your sliding foot has to have stopped with the ball still about a foot behind it so you'll have the leverage to accelerate your swing.

As a final note, very few high-level players use 16-pound balls any longer. They can throw a lighter ball harder, with less effort, at 15 pounds. Today's balls grab the lane so much more, they don't deflect as much. Don't be stubborn about having to have to use a 16-pound ball.

* I have been struggling for most of the season, and my average has dropped about 15 pins. I have three balls: the Sledge Hammer, Truck, and Brunswick Zone HPD. The first game I play slow, around the 10-board. The second and third games, I have to move left and play inside out with a lot of speed. The lanes are oiled 20 feet, buffed out to 38 feet. I have seen the owner struggle and throw up to six different balls around 20 mph from the 5- to 10-board.

The owner was in another bowling center for 20 years and just bought this center. I bowl two nights per week and have done so for 25 years. The lanes are not consistent on any night. Why am I down so much this year?

The first thing I would think is that the lane conditions have changed from last season to this one. With a new owner has come a different lane-maintenance philosophy. The lanes being oiled 20 feet with 18 feet of buff can create a very different way to play than on a pattern with a longer run of oil.

You need to rethink how to play the lanes. Divide the lane into thirds: The first 20 feet are the heads, time next 20 the mid-lane, and the last 20 feet to the head pin the back end. In your center the most oil is applied to the heads, which is normal. The oil on the mid-lane is only what was left on the brush. The back ends are dry.

With a short run of oil (20 feet), there will not be a lot of hold in the mid-lane. Even though the oil is short in the heads, I would bet there is still an oil line. Knowing the owner plays between the 1st and 2nd arrows with a lot of speed tells me the lanes are pretty dry to the right of the 10-board.

If the oil line is around the 8- to 10-board, that's the area you have to play. With the oil being short, you have to throw the bail very firmly and on line to take advantage of the nil line in the heads--this will give you more margin for error on your shots.

If you slow-hook the ball on this condition, you can't take advantage of the oil line in the heads, so what you are currently doing is the opposite of your needs.

Start out the night hard and straight. As the oil line deteriorates and there is some carrydown, move in. That way you'll move with the oil line, swing the ball a little more, and slow down so the ball can hook through the carrydown.