| Technique | ||
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Technique Q&A [21-40]
[41-60 [61-80] [81-100] [101-120] [121-140] [141-160] [161-180] [181-200] [201-220] [221-240] [241-260] [261-280] [281-300] [301-320] [321-340] [341-360] Michael April, 2001 West Lafayette IN hi Walter could you tell me the basics on how to consistently put games together you know how you shoot 240 or more the lanes change you move and your score drops you look up look back you change balls etc. etc. I'm a 200 plus bowler who recently went to rolling the ball straighter to eliminate being at the merc of the lane conditions as apposed to the tweeners or crankers help;;; thanks .... strikey mike. Hi Michael, Practice, knowledge, and experience are things that will help you to make better shots and make the correct adjustments. Everybody has games that are quite a bit apart. In a typical tournament a pro will have a spread of over 80 pins between his high game and low game in a 42 game tournament. It is actually very unusual to keep games within 10 or 20 pins even in the same 6 or 8 game block. Straighter might help you be somewhat more consistent, but without some side rotation it will be hard to get those scores up very high. Good luck. John April, 2001 BattleCreek MI Comments: Hi Mr. Williams! I was wondering why you made the switch from Brunswick to Hammer? I hadn't been keeping up on bowling lately because I developed tendonitis in my right hand (I'm right handed), so I was surprised that when I looked at the Fab site I sawyour picture! Congrats to on your title. I would also like to ask another question. When I leave pins I tend to leave the 10, the 6-10, and sometimes the 7 most frequently. I use a four step approach, and Standing left of center I, position my right foot 2 boards left of the second dot (farthest from foul line), and aim for the second arrow from the right gutter. I use a Reaper, and Monster. My average seems to be stuck right now at 175. I know working on my spare game will help out, but if there is no pins standing that helps out more. Thanks for any help.-John Brunswick did not offer me a contract and Faball offered me a contract that I felt I could live with. They are also a bowling company with bowlers who work in management. It is a family type of company. Hitting the pocket is best way to get strikes. If you are leaving the 10 pin or 7 pin you are probably hitting the pocket. That is good. But if you are leaving the 6 - 10 combination then you are probably hitting to high (left of the pocket). That is not a desired place to hit the pins. You might want to either move your feet left or aim a little bit right. You might need to work on your accuracy. You might also want to make sure that you are playing the lanes correctly. Around the 2nd arrow is usually close, but some houses will play differently than that. If you are not lined up properly that can hurt your score by quite a bit. Of course picking up your spares is helpful. Joe Marysville WA Comments: Walter Ray ,I was just shaking my head in disbelief when you kept hitting the pocket on the Las Vegas show only to be rewarded with a series of ten-pins. My question is this: When you have a series of leaves like this, do you consciously target for a result that is something other than a shot that's flush in the pocket? Perhaps a light hit that you feel may carry better? Thanks and good luck on the next stop. Joe Hi Joe, I have a different opinion about taps than most bowlers. Hitting the pocket is my main goal. A bad shot can strike, but the odds are a lot lower of it working. If you hit the pocket you are giving yourself the best chance there is to strike. If you are leaving a ringing 10 pin, you are right in the middle of the pocket that I like to hit. A little bit lighter and it should strike or a little bit higher and it should strike. Some houses seem to leave more ringing 10 pins than others. But I have a hard time adjusting off of a ringing 10. I am not that accurate to hit that exact same spot time after time. Keep plugging along. Mike Augusta Ga Comments: Walter,I have been a big fan of yours for a while and got the chance to meet you @Northside Lanes in North Augusta, SC when you were here for the PBA Regional afew years ago. I think you are a really great guy. The question I have for you is this : Within the past 5 years that I have been bowling I have raised my average from barely 100 to 180 but I seem to be stuck there. I have improved a lot on my single pin spares and rarely miss one. What kind of advice can you give me on getting to that 210+ mark it takes to make it out there on tour ??? Your help is greatly Appreciated, Mike Sikes Hi Mike, You might need to get some lessons from a local pro. Maybe there is something in your game that is holding you back. Practice is also one of the best ways to improve your game. Learning how to play different parts of the lane will come in handy when you really want to be better. Also the learning curve means that it is easier to improve from 100 to 150 than from 150 to 200. Those last 20 pins to a true 210 average are the most difficult. To make it out on tour you might need to be able to average 230 in your local house. I would also advise bowling in as many different places as possible. Good luck. Rick March, 2001 Virginia Beach VA Comments: Walter Ray, I've always admired your physics approach to the game. I was studying it quite a bit in 89 to prepare for my navy rating exams and got fascinated by the game because it seemed like pure applied calculus. I don't study the calculus or physics anymore, but I still think that Newton would have to be a big fan of the game. I followed you across the house in 98 when you were in Virginia Beach and was astounded by your accuracy. Your error range seemed so much smaller than everyone else's. I have been working to develop a shot between a kill and the normal release and have found that just moving my thumb inside just an inch in my stance seems to give me a shot with good fingerlift and little hook. I can move 5 boards right, hit the same target and hit the pocket with greatly reduced over/under. Is this similar to the approach you use? I was just curious to know if I was finally stumbling upon the correct path. Sincerely, Rick Harris P.S. My son's bowling demeanor is very similar to yours. I thank you forgiving him such a good role model to emulate. He's averaging 195 and may soon be kicking me off the island. Hi Rick, I think that accuracy is still the biggest factor. But lane conditions can give a player with a certain type of role more margin for error. I think that it is up to the player to figure out what will work best for him/her in a given situation. If that means throwing it straighter or hooking it more then you should do that or learn how to do that. Complaining about what somebody else is doing isn't the answer. I try to do the best I can, but there are times that would like to be able to do a lot more, maybe someday later on. Chris Port Clinton Ohio Comments: when I go to tournaments my arm-swing usually tenses up and makes me pull the ball, throw it too hard, and makes me not squared up at the foul line. I'd like advice on hot to keep my arm-swing relaxed and calm for the whole tournament. Thanks Hi Chris, Here are two thoughts for you to consider. Adjust to your tournament arm-swing, or learn how to relax. Everybody throws the ball a little different under pressure. I would try and adjust to that. If you throw it too hard, learn how to throw it really slow so that you can slow your speed down if you need to. Do you pull every shot or just some? I would work on getting a great follow through. Concentrate on that. Remember, tournaments are supposed to be enjoyable. Try to have fun and remember that it isn't life or death! Good luck. Corey March, 2001 Lawrenceville GA Comments: Hey Mr. Williams I shot my first 700 series (724) last summer with my Riot Zone (and I haven't shot a 600 since then)then I had to take a month off and I got my HPH for oily lanes but then I went into a big slump I just got out of it and I am going back in it now I am getting rid of the HPH I have a Zone Pro Azure sanded to 400 grit I think and that ball no matter how oily it will get full lane hook. Do you think you could help me out? Please one more question what is you highest scratch series? thanks, Corey Hi Corey, It is really hard to help someone without being there. I would suggest finding a local pro or bowling coach to help you. You might have developed a flaw in your swing that a coach can straighten out before it becomes too ingrained in your swing that you can't change it. My high 3 game set is 857 (300, 299, 258, 3 ringing 10 pins) in a PBA regional tournament in 1982. Easy lane conditions are the biggest reason for high scores. Donald Ponchatoula LA Comments: I am excited about this web site because Walter Ray is my favorite bowler. I try to pattern my game after him, but without much success. I read the bowling magazines say that you throw an end over end roll. What is meant by this and how would I go about achieving this. I now throw a three quarter roll but achieve this with a wrist device. I use to throw a full roller and can throw this very easily without the wrist device. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks. P.S. A few years ago the tour came to the center I bowled in. I watched Walter Ray bowl and have been a big fan ever since. I like his attitude on and off the lanes. Hope you have many more victories in the future. By the way that center was in Harvey Louisiana. The tour very seldom gets back here. I wish it would because I really like to watch the pros bowl. I have one more question I would like your response. They call you dead eye, where is it on the lanes that you spot. I spot at the dots. Is this wrong? Should I be spotting at the arrows? Thanks again and good luck in the future. Hi Donald, I am glad that you had a chance to watch the pros live. Most people have only seen us on TV and I think that they miss out on a lot of the action. I tend to throw the ball a lot straighter than most of the other touring players. Many people have described my roll as end over end, even though my normal strike release isn't really end over end. My normal spare release is an end over end roll. My spare release has basically a full roller track. However my strike release is actually a 3 / 4 roll with the track being very close to the fingers. I doubt that you need to change your release. I spot at the arrows or a few feet in front of the arrows. Spotting at the dots is ok if it works for you. There is one player on tour who spots at the pins. So there are many ways get good results. Sam New Castle PA Comments: Just wanted to say that I love the web site and I am a huge Walter Ray fan. My family enjoys bowling and we do it quite often. I have a ten year old brother who is very good and is showing interest in improving his game. What advice can you give me to help him improve his foot work to the line. I want him to develop tempo and timing now at an early age so that he will always have a good foundation which I believe is going to be key for him if he ever wants to become real good. Right now he just relies on great hand eye coordination. Hi Sam, It sounds like your brother has already been started on the right path. Learning at a young age is a great start. The biggest thing would be to make sure that he doesn't get a ball that is too heavy. Unfortunately, young boys want to show that they are young men and will get (want) a ball which is really too heavy for them. With a lighter ball they will have more control. The down side is that the ball might deflect too much. If he has good hand - eye coordination he should be able to pick up good timing on his own. But a few tips every now and then might go a long way. I would suggest keeping the speed down until they look like they have control. Eventually learning to have a higher backswing to create more speed and rotation on the ball as they get older. Isaac Singapore Hi, Mr. Williams, congrats on your new site its great an i hope it'll b better in times 2 come. What I would like 2 ask is if rolling a 15pound ball down the lane at about 2.1-2.3 sec each time. my ball revs are about 250-350 which in some lane conditions is too much. Rev wise I seem to get it naturally because I don't need much effort to get them. My school tournament is comin' up its lane cons. Are rather clean on the back end(its at anew bowling center synthetic lanes).I need some help in choosing I strong line 4 my game. I stand on the 28th board and rolls it over at the 15th at let the ball do the rest(that is if the lanes r suitable). ps. thanx 4 the tip on the sparing 4 pin 7-10 the end over end roll realy helps thanx!!! from, isaac eng (singapore) Hi Isaac, Without seeing you bowl or the lane conditions that you bowl on, it would be foolish to suggest where to play. Even after practicing on lanes I have a few ideas of what I think might work, but I might need to try something else if the results aren't up to what I think they should be or the reaction isn't quite what I want. Basically you need to pay attention to your shots and how the ball reacts and then make the appropriate adjustments when necessary. Typically move left when missing the pocket left and move right when missing right. Good luck. Tyler Feb, 2001 Lamberton MN Walter, I was wondering, that when you bowl and you are either leaving the 10 pin or the 8 pin all the time what do you do? I have problems with that all the time. Hi Tyler, If you are leaving the solid 10 pin (for a right hander) or 8 pin then I wouldn't move. I slight amount left or right and those are strikes. That is part of the game, getting tapped. I like to play the percentages. Hitting the pocket is the best place to get a strike. You can strike by missing the pocket, but I wouldn't want to hit there when I needed a strike even though it might strike. Some places carry well when you hit light, but I don't like to aim there, because if you miss right you miss the pocket. I like to give myself the most margin for error. Liz Feb, 2001 Troy New York Walter, I use a purple hammer and have been for a few years, the problem lately is that I have been having a problem on picking up the 10 pin, it breaks alot and I can't seem to get it at all, it hooks on me. I used to pick it up with no problem but forget it now. I have a 164 average and am always looking to improve my games and average. Please help me, i'm not a pro. I would like to see "how to pick up" pages, hints to the game of bowling. Hi Liz, You need to do one of two things. I would recommend both. Learn to throw a straight ball at the 10 pin and/or get a spare ball. There is a plastic hammer ball on its way. You can learn to throw a straight ball by trying to throw a backup ball. A little practice at the 10 pin for 1st and 2nd shots for a game or two will also help. Good luck. Sean Feb, 2001 Beavercreek Ohio First I would like to say Walter I love watching you bowl. I have seen you twice and you are the best pro to watch and your game is awesome. I bowl too. I average accumulatively 206 and am planning on bowling college. I have noticed that you are so accurate that you dont hit arrows or boards. You hit a certain grain on a certain board. !!!!! LOL. I am working on becoming more accurate. Obviously with todays conditions anyone can average 200. I want to be a lot more accurate and know that when i bowl it is because I am throwing great shots and not just playing the wall. Please any tips on being more accurate or what you do to be more accurate would be greatly appreciated!!! Keep ripping those racks!!! Hi Sean, Thanks for the compliment. I wish I could hit those grains you mentioned, it would help my score immensely. I would suggest practicing at a house that is the toughest in your area. Especially if nobody is averaging over 215 there (not many of those houses around), because then you can try your best to find a shot (one of the things to make you a better bowler, finding out where to play the lanes) and then learning how to execute. If when you practice and you miss your target by one board to the right (at the arrows) if the ball comes back to pocket all you have done is learn to miss right because you got rewarded. Also if you miss a board to the left and the ball still gets to the pocket you have learned to miss left. On a really tough shot a board miss to the right is going to miss the right (leaving some sort of 2 pin combination for a right hander) and a board to the left is going to have you going threw the nose for a split or something. If the house I bowl at isn't able to put out a 'tough' shot then I will usually play around the 5th arrow as that part of the lane is usually tougher than the 2nd or 3rd arrow. People watching me practice might think I am not that good because I have trouble shooting over 200's when I play that shot. But it teaches me that I am not repeating shots as well I would like. Good luck. Steve January 23, 2001 Chatham New Jersey Comments: CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR SITE.I AM 14 AND THIS SATURDAY I BOWLED MY FIRST 200 GAME IT WAS A 211 IT WAS WITH MY NEW DANGER ZONE HPH.I WOULD LIKE TO THROW A HOOK BUT I BROKE MY WRIST A COUPLE SUMMERS AGO AND I CANT THROW ONE LIKE OTHER BOWLERS. WHAT SHOULD I DO?THANZ YOU FOR LISTENING.I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING YOUR RESPONSE. P.S. GOOD LUCK ON TOUR. Hi Steve, I would ask for some help from one of your junior coaches. If your parents approved getting some lessons from a teaching pro would be invaluable. Basically though, to get rotation on a ball the thumb comes out first and the fingers lift the ball imparting the spin. Another way of looking at it is if you were holding a football and wanted to toss it underhanded and but a spiral spin on it, that is a similar type of motion you want for the release of the ball. The difference is that a bowling ball is quite a bit heavier and harder to control. It takes quite a bit of practice to get your wrist used to the type of motion with the ball. Nice bowling and good luck. Mike Easton Pennsylvania Walter, I have been watching you on television since the early 80's. I am 42 yrs. old so it's great to see you still have a great game after all of these years. I also saw you at Coram Lanes in NY a few years back where I participated. I love to bowl and watch the tournaments as often as I can. In your opinion, which would you rate as more important for throwing strikes: Power or Accuracy? I can hit the pocket on a regular basis, but carry of the 7's and 10's are no guarantee. I throw a 15lb, Ebonite Wildcat conventionallly drilled. As did the rest of us, I spent many years throwing Urethane before the introduction of the reactives and proactives. I would like to see a format someday where all the pros have to use the same equipment for one tournament(drilled however they would like). I think it would be interesting to see how the various styles would compare with the same equipment. Curious about your thoughts. Best of Luck in the future. Thanks, Mike Hi Mike, Bowling is a combination of power and accuracy. As you may have noticed on TV, even the pros have problems with the corner pins. A little more power (speed & rotation) might help get a few extra corners out, but you don't want to lose any accuracy because of it. A fingertip grip would probably enable you to increase you lift on the ball (more rotation) over the conventional drilling (unless you are specifying over the label in which case never mind!) As far as every player using the same ball and let them drill it goes. That is a very impractical idea as most of the top players have contracts with different ball manufacturers and those companies sure wouldn't want their players using another ball companies equipment. Raymond Castleton, NY Comments: I am 55 years old, and have been bowling for about 40 years. I have always looked at the foul line to bowl. I have had many 279, 289, 298 and 299 games. Would you suggest that I start to look out on the lanes? I am now starting to have trouble getting a good feel for the ball. I have tape in front and back. More tape now than before. I use the white tape front and back. But, the tape in front doesn't feel tacky. What would you suggest? What do you do with your old balls? Is there any way I could buy one of your old ones? My average for the last 15 years is around 218. Thank you. Hi Raymond, You seem to do very well with your unique style. But I would encourage you to look a few feet down the lanes to at least the dots if not the arrows. As far as the tape, I would recommend using some cork on the inside (front) of your thumb hole (towards the fingers) and use tape only on the back of your thumb hole. I usually only donate my old balls to charity events around the country. I don't like to sell them. I have been known to give them to caddies also. Branson Middletown, VA Comments: Just curious to know how you keep your consistency on hitting your mark all the time? I am starting to bowl and find It quite tough to keep hitting the same mark. Although at the end of my first year I managed a string of 600 sets to get my average to 180. Any recommendations would be great. Best of luck on tour. Hi Branson, I don't hit my mark all the time, but I usually don't miss by much. That and usually knowing how to line up to a shot with the right equipment helps a player get the most out of what he has (I don't always do that properly as evidenced by my performance in Reno). It sounds like another year and you could be averaging 220! If I didn't know any better I would say that you pitch horseshoes and are actually pretty good. Looking forward to competing with you on the courts and the lanes! Frederick Detroit, MI Comments: how can I get good timing on a four step approach i am a tall guy 6'4 thank you very much Hi Frederick, Timing is usually a fairly simple item, but if you have developed a slightly 'off' timing style then it might take a while to 'correct' it. I would locate a good teaching pro to help you with your timing. Basically though you want to have your first step be your push away step. Your second step should have your arm swing passing your legs. Your third step should have your arm reaching the top of the back-swing. And your sliding step should be while your arm is going forward. But a teaching pro would be much better for helping you. Your height shouldn't be a problem. Kelly January 5, 2001 Phoenix AZ comments: I read an article in Bowling This Month, by John Jowdy. It was discussing, (surprise), the loose arm swing. He stated that he considers you to have a free, loose arm swing, at least from the top of the back swing. (He may be a great coach, but I think he's been smoking more than cigars on this one!)How do you feel about your swing style? It looks like a grip it and rip it swing on videotape. Do you feel more "loose" when playing down the boards, or hooking the lane? Have a great 2001 season, and I'm looking forward to seeing you in Arizona! I don't really think that I have a loose arm swing. I think that I tend to 'muscle' and 'squeeze' the ball. That might be why I don't hook the ball more than I do. But I don't really know how the other players 'feel', just from what I have heard. It doesn't matter whether I am throwing it straight or trying to hook it, I almost always try to put everything into every shot. Of course what works for one person doesn't always work for someone else. Herman January 5, 2001 Tijuana, CA Mexico Comments: How do you do it, man you are really good. Later I am not really sure how I do it except that I started first as a horseshoe pitcher and was very good at a young age. I think having a good arm swing helped me get better at bowling. I love competition. Some of it must be natural because I have never really practiced an excessive amount. I also love puzzles and bowling has some puzzle work in it when you are trying to figure out the best way to play the lanes to get the most score. Technique Q&A [21-40] [41-60 [61-80] [81-100] [101-120] [121-140] [141-160] [161-180] [181-200] [201-220] [221-240] [241-260] [261-280] [281-300] [301-320] [321-340] [341-360] | ||