The wrath of the ringing 10 - Bowling Clinic

Bowling Digest, August, 2002 by Bill Spigner

* I have just returned to bowling this year and find carrying the 10-pin a problem. I'm trying to string strikes to improve my average, but hitting the pocket and carrying have been tough. What do I need to do to get the 10-pin to fall on good pocket hits?

The first priority for getting a chance to string strikes is being in the right part of the lane. In your practice and during competition, you want to find the easiest place on the lane to hit the pocket.

Once you have found the best place to play and you have confidence that you are going to hit the pocket when you roll a good shot, then you can start thinking about how to carry. The better you become at hitting the pocket, the better you will become at fine-tuning your shot to carry.

My adjustments are geared toward righthanders. If you're a lefty, just reverse the instructions.

There are two basic ways the 10-pin is left on good pocket hits. One is when the ball hits the pocket solidly and nine pins tumble into the pit, leaving the 10-pin behind. This is the "ringing 10" (or "solid 10," or any number of other expletives that we might use after leaving the 10-pin). What is so exasperating about a ringing 10 is that you feel you rolled the ball well--and you did--but it just didn't enter the pocket at the right angle.

There are two ways to leave a ringing 10. The first is when the ball enters the pocket a little too straight and is still sliding. The ball hits the headpin first, then deflects into the 3-pin. The 3-pin hits the 6 in the wrong place, which sends the 6 up and around the 10.

The second way to leave a dreaded ringing 10 is when the ball has some arc to it but breaks too soon. Because of the early break, the ball loses too much energy by the time it gets to the pocket and deflects too much. This is the most frustrating of 1 O-pin leaves because the roll felt perfect when it left our hand.

It's important to get past the disappointment of leaving the 10-pin and concentrate on figuring out how to get rid of it. There are a few adjustments you can make to try to keep from leaving the ringing 10 when the ball is entering the pocket and deflecting too much.

First, you need to understand the oiling pattern you are bowling on and if the ball is losing energy or still sliding. If the ball is still sliding and you are bowling on flat oil to a slight blend, you need to move your feet one board left and keep your target the same, rolling the ball slower to increase your angle. If you are bowling on a stronger blend, you can move your feet and target one board right to increase your angle.

If you are bowling on a blocked condition, moving your eyes a board right will increase your angle into the pocket. On this type of condition, you don't have to slow your speed down because you're throwing the ball into the drier part of the lane sooner. That slows the ball down because of the increased friction the ball encounters.

If the ball is losing energy when you leave the ringing 10, you need to get the ball to break a little later. You can increase your speed, which will probably force you to move a little right. Or you can increase your side roll, which will help the ball retain energy.

Another way the 10 is left is when the ball comes in from behind the headpin; the 6-pin doesn't come off the kickback to hit the 10, instead ending up in the gutter next to the 10-pin. This shot is called a weak 10. The basic move for this leave on flat oil to a very slight blend is to move the feet to the tight and the target one board tight. On a heavy blend, move your feet tight and your target one board tight. On a blocked lane, you only need to move your eyes a board right.

If you continue to leave 10-pins even after incorporating these basic adjustments, you'll need to make more dramatic changes. A switch of equipment may be in order. If the ball is going too long before breaking, you need a ball that will roll earlier. If the ball is rolling too early, it will lose hitting power and you will a ball that will go longer.

To change speeds, slow down to get the ball rolling earlier and speed up your ball to delay the hook. You can slow the ball down by holding the ball lower in your stance, which helps lower the backswing and reduce the length and speed of the swing. To get more speed, hold the ball higher in the stance to increase the length and speed of the swing.

Alter the rotation of the ball to change the angle that the ball is entering the pocket. You'll need to use more side roll if the ball is entering too straight and less side roll if the ball is entering the pocket at too wide of an angle.

Changing your target on the lane can help you get the ball rolling sooner or later. Spot closer to the foul line if you want to get the ball down on the lane faster to help the ball start to roll earlier. Spot farther down the lane to get the ball farther out on the lane and project it farther down the lane before it hooks.

Not everyone can make all the different adjustments that are possible, but you need to keep an open mind about what can be done and explore your options. Keep a good eye on how the ball looks going down the lane and entering the pocket when you leave the 10-pin, and see how it looks when you carry the 10. As you start to see the differences when you carry vs. when you don't, you'll also need to begin trying to feel the little differences in your release and where the ball is going when you don't carry. In all instances, the 10-pin is left because something isn't tight.