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Practice Q&A [1-20] [21-40] [61-80]  Andrea October 30, 2006 Padova Italy DEAR SIG. WALTER RAY My Name È Andrew (Male) it is Alive In Italy it has Been being For A couple of Years That I Play Á. Bowling And My Average it is Of 175. 1.96 are Tall I HAVE A PROBLEM WHEN I GO DOWN WITH THE BALL TO UNHOOK I DON'T SUCCEED HER Á. FARE HIM MY THUMB IT DOESN'T GO OUT Á. VOLTE AND ACCORDINGLY THE BALL DOESN'T HAVE TURNS. HOW DO I HAVE TO DO? I WOULD HAVE NEED OF A TRAINER GRADO TO FOLLOW ME. CAN MI HELP.? I DESIRE TO ARRIVE Á. BUONI YOU LEVEL AND ONE DAY TO MEET HER/IT WHEN IT COMES IN EUROPE. HE ANCHORS THANKS AND GOOD-BYE Á. ANDREW. Hi Andrew, It is difficult to understand exactly what you are asking, but here it goes. Find a good coach or get some instructional bowling videos. Keep practicing. Alan June 8, 2006 Tallahassee FL I sometimes practice with a PLASTIC ball. Seems like this hones good technique for hooking the ball & also hones accuracy and versatility skills. Do you think is a smart practice technique, even if you don't plan on using this ball in leagues or tourneys for strike ball? Any dangers? Thanks Hi Alan, I think that using a plastic ball for practice is a very good thing, except that you might want to practice with a ball that hooks once in a while so that you are a little used to 'swinging' the ball when it is needed. Larry June 6, 2006 Hoover AL Hello Walter Ray, When I practice, I focus on approach, timing, release and target. My question to you, as you are the most consistent bowler ever, is how can I improve my accuracy? Is there some type of regimen that you used such as playing darts or something? Hi Larry, When I practice I try to work on hitting my target. This also means that I would rather practice on tough lanes as easy lanes don't let you know when you make a bad shot. If you bowl on an easy lane condition and miss, the ball may still go to the pocket and all you have learned is that it is ok to throw a bad shot. Play a part of the lane that seems impossible, either outside of the 1st arrow or inside of the 5th arrow or practice on a sport shot. That will show you your mistakes and what you need to work on. Bakhodir April 3, 2006 Tashkent, Uzbekistan Hi Walter Ray, Would you be so kind of telling me how to pick up the 7-10 pins. Is there any strategy and secret? It's very importante to me. Your help in this matter will be very usefull. You said that you have picked up 7-10 a few times in PBA and I am sure you did many time while practicing too. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank very much for your great concern. Sincerely Yours, Bakhodir Arifov p.s. can i get your ball's picture, i mean layout side Hi Bakhodir, To pick up the 7-10 split you need to throw the ball extremely hard and get the pin you hit to bounce out of the back. I think that I have only picked it up 3 times and never in practice. I don't throw the ball extremely hard, so I don't get the pins to jump out of the back very often. Alvin March 14, 2006 Singaproe Hi, i am currently a stroker and use the second arrow as my target. (i am right-handed) I use a 5-step approach and my pushaway is during the second step. This is the way i release the ball -- Initially, my thumb is pointing at 12o'clock, then i turn my wrist to handshake position and follow through to create side rotation. However, i have this problem. During my pushaway, my wrist will break and thus i try to compensate that by attempting to make it straight again at the point of release. However, i have read that this will make things complicated and i might not get the best out of it. I have also been told to apply pressure using my index finger on the ball to prevent my wrist from breaking. However, i still find it difficult. Do you have any other tips to help me maintain a straight wrist throughout the whole armswing? Thanks in advance. Hi Alvin, You might want to try using a strong wrist support. If you have an instructor who can help you, you might want to have them help you. There are a few guys on tour that wear them. Anything that will help your delivery be more consistent is bound to help your game get better! Michael November 27, 2005 Omaha NE Walter Ray, I'm a 200+ league bowler, who ahs dreams of coming on tour. My question is on t.v they always show the players strike and spare percentages, how is that calculated so i know how i compare or rate against some of the best bowlers in the world. Thanks Hi Michael, The stats they show are on PBA lane conditions which are most likely 10 to 30 pins tougher than the lane conditions you bowl on. All you need to do is keep track of your shots. Strike percentage is 100 X (number of strikes) / (number of shots) and the spare percentage is 100 X (number of spares) / (number of attempted spares). You might want to bowl in some sport condition leagues to really test yourself. Bakhodir (or just BAHO) August 24, 2005 Tashkent Uzbekistan Dear Walter Ray, My name is Bakhodir from Uzbekistan (it was part of USSR) and I am 29 years old. I start to bowl here about 2,5 years and I love to do it everyday at our Uzbolwing center. My average is about 203, but sometimes it gets worse when I do different things. A couple days ago I had a big chance to win invitation to the AMF World Cup 2005 as a participant from Uzbekistan. But I became in 3 place so couldn't make it because here is any teacher or persons who can give useful lessons. So I'm writing you to ask to practice with you while you are doing it there in United States. I would very like you to be my teacher or couch to get to know some strategy and secret of bowling. I know that my country is very very far from US but anyway I want to visit you. My bowling style is very close to yours so it would super, great if I will be my teacher. However, I want to visit Germany (10th to 18th September) to participate on the 1st Viernheim Open 2005 Tournament. I am trying to visit all big tournaments to see how aother bowlers bowl from all around world. Last month I participated at Moscow Summer Open 2005 where I have played 10 games with average 201. So have to get to improve myself with professionals like you. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you for your great concern. Sincerely Yours, Bakhodir Arifov Hi Bakhodir, I don't normally give lessons. If you want lessons you need to let me know when you are available as I have a very limited time since I do a lot of traveling. If we can't get together I can give you names of good coaches. Allen July 31, 2005 Pacifica CA Dear Mr.Williams My average is 190 to 200 and I practice 6 to 7 game every day, can you give me any suggestion how to get my average over 200. Also, I live in bay area,(San Francisco) do you have a plan to come here to have a bowling class? Thank You very much Hi Allen, You could always search out a coach to help you with your game. I know that there are many good coaches in your area. I don't have plans to do any formal bowling classes anywhere at this time. Shelley April 30, 2005 Los Angeles CA Hi Walter Ray, I've been bowling for about 3 years now and I don't use the arrows. I use the pins! I tried using the arrows but the ball never goes where I want it to and sometimes I don't even know which arrow to throw it at. Could you give me some pointers about how to start using the arrows? Thank you. Hi Shelley, The idea of using the arrows or the boards on the lane about 15' past the foul line is that most bowlers hook the ball. It would be a tool to determine if you threw a good shot say aiming for the 6 pin, but the ball hits the 1 and 3 pins. If you are aiming at the 15th board and hit it then you know if you made a good shot. If the ball doesn't go to the pocket then you need to adjust your feet and or your target. That comes with trial and error. You might start by writing down where you are standing and your target and seeing where the ball ends up. When the ball ends up where you want then hopefully you have found a good place to stand and target to shoot for. If you throw the ball perfectly straight then you won't have to ever move your feet or target to get it to the pocket once you have it figured out. The problem is that about 99% of the really good bowlers hook the ball so different lane conditions require a different place to stand and or target to shoot at. Hopefully after keeping track of where you are standing and your target, then you will see some sort of pattern which should work for you. Quentin March 23, 2005 Chicago IL Hi Walter Ray, I've been bowling for a while and I still have a lot of bad habits. I noticed when I taped ma self that on my approach when I back swing I bring the ball behind my back. I release the ball I alway fall out my shot or hop out my shot. Is there anything I can do to stop these habits? What should I do to practice on my balance approach and follow through? Huge fan: Quentin Hi Quentin, I don't know that having your back swing going behind your back is all that bad unless it is getting to your other side. Many players do fall off (including me) after releasing the ball, so I think it depends on the severity of how you fall off. Nelson Burton Jr used to say to hold your pose after your delivery. I think if you try to do that, it will help you with your fall off step. Leigh March 22, 2005 Sydney Australia Hey there, I've never actually been to your website before and don't really know who you are, how ever after reading about all the praise tallented bowlers give you from these questions I checked you out on the PBA website and you really make bowling look like a true sport... Of course bowlers will all defend the fact that bowling IS a true sport, yet we aren't recognised with multi million dollar tournaments such as our counterpart golfers or tennis players recieve so just saying people like yourself really do a lot for the spot. Any how I don't know if this question has been asked, or rather how many times this question has been asked but I'm having trouble with three spares, the 7-10 and the 6-7-10 even more so 4-7-10. I have been watching Kingpin the movie and at the end he actually spares the 7-10 and I don't get how it's done. As they say in the movie it's impossible to slide the 7 into the 10 or vice versa, so what exactly do you rely on for the spare to work? The pin bouncing off the back? Also with the 6-7-10 I always get so close to sparing it, but the 6 always drifts behind the 7 by what looks like the slightest margin, any advice? And for 4-7-10 can someone right handed spare this with a hook ball? I find it impossible to get the right angle to slide the 4 across any where near the 10. I've been bowling for 11 years on and off just socially but take my social league fairly serious with my 4 man team :). Thanks for any advice u could give, if you could email me I'd be very thankful and will understand if you don't get around to it im sure you're very busy :) reguards - leigh Hi Leigh, The 7-10 split is considered and impossible split to convert even though it isn't. Pretty much you need to throw the ball extremely hard and get lucky having the pin bounce out of the back and into the other remaining pin. The 6-7-10 is a difficult spare as you have very little room for error in sliding the pin over. For a right hander, the 4-7-10 becomes even more difficult when you hook the ball at it. Unless it is to win a game, I would suggest going for the 2 pins when shooting these splits as you will lose more pins in count than you would get by making the spare unless you are a top bowler. John March 10, 2005 Steelville MO Where should I stand if I'm left handed and want to curve the ball a little and how do I keep my wrist straight? Hi John, If you want to hook the ball, you might want to cup your wrist slightly. If you are having trouble with you wrist bending back during your delivery you can get a wrist support, but you should probably get some lessons. You will want to stand more on the right or center side of the lane if you do hook the ball. Mioia March 9, 2005 Buffalo NY Is there any time in the next couple of years that that you or the pba would be in or around buffalo for pro ams or anything? Hi Mioia, I would imagine that the PBA Regional will have tournaments somewhere close to Buffalo. But I very seldom bowl regionals, especially when they are out of my region (the south). Check the PBA website for the eastern region schedule. Kevin February 12, 2005 Taylors SC Hey Walter Ray, I just turned 15 and I carry about a 175 average in my leagues. I've been incresing little by little. Obviously there is something holding me back from carrying a 200 average. I feel that my coaches aren't helping me out enough. do i need to try a new center or try a different technipue or something. Please reply and thanks for the help. Hi Kevin, You are bowling pretty well. Getting to be a top athlete in any sport takes a lot of time and work. I don't know if your coach is helping you or not. Changing bowling centers may make your scores improve, but it won't necessarily make you a better bowler. Good luck and hang in there! Steven November 28, 2004 Eugene OR Walter Ray, congradulations on your last title that was a a good match.i have high school tournys in my area,and we are pretty good we have a had three tournyes.we placed 1st 2nd and 1st again.my question is that i have been bowling very well but when i throw my ball it seems that y body gets ahead of my self.and i throw the ball to fast so my ball wont hook into the pocket.i have slowed my feet sown it seems to work but it my arm is in the back and my body is ahead of myself.how do i fick this mistake,or is it a mistake.good luck on tour. Hi Steven, If you have a big concern about your game and arm swing you might want to ask your bowling coach about it. You can also see a lot with video. Many of today's power players have arm swings which are delayed so that they can create more leverage and power at their release. Martin December 6, 2004 Lima Hi Walter Ray, im a kid of 12 years old. I can throw with either hand equally well. Do you recomend me to play as a rightie or as a leftie? Another question. How do you hook the ball, i have try it but i dont get it. Do you have to put your fingerson the ball or do you have to put your fingers behind the ball? Can you explain me steps by steps please. Hi Martin, Bowling left handed has its advantages at times. I would bowl with whatever hand you are comfortable with. To hook the ball, imagine that you are tossing a football underhanded with a nice spiral. If you can get a similar motion when releasing a bowling ball, it will have a nice hook. You might want to get a coach to help you. Steven September 19, 2004 Philadelphia PA Dear Walter Ray, I've hit a slump in my bowling. Iam having serious issues of coming around the ball to get it to hook. Do you have any suggestions on what I can do to solve this problem. Hi Steven, You might want to find a local coach to work with you. They can give you some things to work on. Without seeing you bowl, it is really impossible to give good advice. Good luck. Jeff May 30, 2004 Lansdale PA Dear Walter Ray, Congratulations on another fine season! I had the opportunity to meet you in the PBA event in Philadelphia two years ago, and it was truly an amazing experience to meet you as well as all of your counterparts on the PBA Tour. My question is this... I have set a goal for myself, that being to get my tour card within three years. I just got back into bowling again three years ago, after a ten year hiatus. I bowl four winter leagues, and two summer leagues currently, so I do get my fair share of lane time. What I was wondering, is there someone you know of, in the Philadelphia area, that I could contact with regard to perhaps giving me some private coaching? I have all of the latest equipment that I can get my hands on, i get a fair amount of lane time(on very tough conditions...I might add. Our house,with OLD wood lanes, is one of the toughest shots in the area), but I feel that some coaching would possibly help me elevate my game to the next level, which will be necessary, if you and I are going to compete against each other on the seniors tour a number of years down the road!! Best wishes to both you and Paige!! Hopefully I will get the opportunity to see you this year in New Jersey. Thanks for whatever advice you may offer, Jeff Hi Jeff, I am not familiar with the bowling instructors in the Philadelphia area. I am sure that there are some good instructors in your area. If not, I know that there are some good coaches in New Jersey. Getting on tour isn't going to be as easy as it used to be, so best wishes in your goal. Try to get into some regional tournaments and see what happens from there! Kevin May 27, 2004 Euless TX Walter Ray, I'm a fairly high average bowler (215-225). I feel like I have hit the ceiling in how much I can improve in my game. I want to practice on a sport shot or even a PBA shot but they are generally unavailable. Do you have any suggestions on how I can practice on a typical house shot. I can use different releases and play multiple lines but I don't feel I'm getting an accurate gauge on how my ball reacts with different break points. The tough shot I really want to master is when the lanes are dry in the middle with oil from about ten out. Hi Kevin, Unless you can get your local bowling centers to put out tough shots for you to practice on, you will need to improvise. You could practice around the 5th or 6th arrow or even the 1st arrow or right. It will probably be very difficult, but that is part of the idea. Also, bowling on lanes that are about to be oiled should be a bit more difficult. Good luck. Mike May 4, 2004 Reno NV When I go out and practice, I always bowl more than three games. One game will be ten pins, one will be seven pins, and one where I throw only my strike ball. The other games are normal games to test what I have practiced. Keeping this in mind, is there any other vital components of the game that I should practice? Your response will help me in my summer league Hi Mike, Unless you are having trouble with your corner pin spares, I don’t think it is necessary to bowl entire games that way. One thing I would practice on is bowling on different lane conditions if possible and playing different lines, from the 1st arrow or out all the way to 6th arrow or in. A top bowler needs to be comfortable playing all parts of the lane. Kenneth April 7, 2004 Flushing NY I recieved an answer from you recently pertaining to a question about practice. You replied to me that I should try to find a coach and I should be fine. Do you know of any websites I can go to? I went to www.bowl.com and I did find a coach, but he claimed he did not coach any more. Do you know of any other websites besides bowl.com? Thanks so much for the previous advice you gave me. Hi Kenneth, I believe Tommy Delutz has a pro shop in your area. I would suggest asking around to find Tommy. He should be able to either coach you or suggest a good coach in your area. Good luck. Practice Q&A [1-20] [21-40] [61-80] | ||