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Technique Q&A [1-20] [21-40]
[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]  Clarence May 7, 2002 St. Joseph MO A fellow bowler has been talking about using a "dead hand delivery." He delivers the ball with a relaxed hand and comes straight up on the ball. His ball hooks very little. He said to let the ball do the work. Do you have any comments about this method? The lanes are usually dry outside 10 and heavy oil inside. I hold the ball with my wrist flat and fingers about 5 o clock and then at the release point I follow through slightly to the right with my thumb pointing to about 1 o clock. Is this correct? Hi Clarence, The oil pattern that you describe is very typical throughout the bowling world these days. The hand delivery that you describe sounds similar to a back up ball. I would keep your thumb closer to an 11 o'clock position at release. Keep working on it, but it sounds like you have a pretty good system. Rayko May 5, 2002 Sofia Bulgaria, Europe Hi Walter, i am a bowler from Bulgaria,Europe.I have been bowling cince i was seven but there was no information here for a very long period of time and for some 20 years i have been bowling without knowing anything about hooks,revs,fingertips,reactive balls and so and so.For the last year i discovered al these things-i started using fingertip grip and hook the ball.now i consider myself accurate and consistent player.i hit the pocket 95 of 100 shots,i feel very confident everywhere on the lane and on different lane conditions,i convert more than 90% of spares.Unfortunately this is just enough for 195-200 average.i have medium speed and revs and I use 14lbs AMF Fire Hawk(i use it also as a spare ball).The problem is that I have at least two splits per game and a lot of 10th and 4th pins for apparently good shots.The thing that i am asking is whether i have to work on my accuracy or I have to increase my ball speed and revolutions,or i have to change the ball-it is more than 500 games old. i am very skinny(120 lbs) and I don't know if I could manage with heavier ball. i suppose, it will be very difficult for you to decide without seeing somebody playing but even a rough guess will be greatly appreciated.Thanks and good luck Hi Rayko, If you are hitting the pocket almost every time (95 to 100%) then you are way ahead of me. I hit the pocket around 75 to 80% of the time on the PBA conditions. You shouldn't be leaving 2 splits per game, but the light weight of the ball might contribute to that if they are light pocket hits. The taps (4's and 10's) are a normal and frustrating part of bowling. You should be able to pick up 95-99% of those single pin spares. The combination spares are obviously more difficult, but if you hit the pocket every time you shouldn't be leaving those. Some more revolutions might help you, but it is hard to say. It sounds like you are doing what you should be doing. Keep working on it. Ray April 9, 2002 Honey Brook PA Walter Ray, Hey i was wondering how do you know to throw a certain spot on the lane. i usually throw 4th dot to 2nd arrow and i usually can do that all the time. like i usually have a bad first game then a lot better 2nd game the a worse first game. i would be able to find the pocket in practice then i would lose it then i would find it then i would lose it. i usually come in the in the first game and the last game i would still becoming in lite but the 2nd game i'm in the pocket. for example. 167 with maybe 4 strikes and 4 spares and 2 opens 207 with maybe 6 strikes and 4 spares and 1 open Hi Ray, If you are coming a little light in your first game you should probably move right (if you are right handed). It might be that you are not up to speed during practice and the extra speed would cause your ball to be light. Basically a bowler would make adjustments with their feet and target to get lined up. Normally a bowler moves right if they are missing right (at the pins) and left if ending up left of the desired area. Jose March 26, 2002 Union NJ hi walter,i have big hands and i get a lot of turn on the ball. my bowling pro wants me to bowl more end over end,to control my back end angle to the pocket. my pro keeps telling me," think walter ray, think walter ray".so can you please answer the following,if i were to take a picture of you're hand release(bottum of your swing) from behind, were would your thumb and fingers in the ball be,in relation to a clock if 12 o'clock is towards the cieling and 6 o'clock is towards the floor. Hi Jose, I don't know exactly where my thumb and fingers are at the point of release, but if you have some old videos you can look at them in slow motion to see for yourself. Basically I would say that my thumb is about 2 o'clock and my fingers are at about 7 o'clock. But in reality the hand is more under the ball at the start of release so those positions apply to 12 being back toward me and 6 being toward the pins. Having a lot of rotation on the ball is not necessarily a bad thing. In certain situations it would be advantageous to be able to throw the ball that way. So, you should remember how to do that, and ALSO learn to throw that ball straighter. The more versatility that you have in your game, the wider variety of conditions you will be able to score on! Also having some urethane balls or a 3 piece reactive ball would be good to keep around. Good luck. It is difficult to make major changes in your delivery as I would like to add a few revs! Joe March 23, 2002 Royalton MN What are some of the cues you use to make adjustments? Specifically, how do you know when to move deeper into the lane as opposed to a different hand position or changing equipment? Hi Joe, If I am going to make a small adjustment on the lanes I will normally move my feet and target. However if for some reason it looks like I need to move more than an arrow I will consider getting a different ball and most likely slow down and hook the ball (if I move inside), but it depends on how the players around me are playing. And unfortunately I don't always make the right move. Snarf March 20, 2002 Irvine CA Hello Walter, I have followed you for a number of years now. I wonder if you have any tips on my technique. I have an odd delivery, six steps, but what annoys me is I am always falling off to the right after throwing the ball. In other words, I can't keep my balance at the line. I average 200 right now, but I'm sure it costs me consistency. Any tips on how to correct it? Also, on fast lanes, I have trouble getting the ball to hook since I'm not a cranker. Do you have any suggestions on how to maybe change my hand position or anything like that on oily conditions to get the ball to hook? Thanks - Snarf Hi Snarf, Many bowlers fall off to the right. Some of them are even great bowlers, but most of the best bowlers have very good balance. You might want to try and 'pose' at the point of release for a second or so. It will be very tough, but it should help you get your balance. Six steps is not that unusual. I am not really the person to give advice on how to hook the ball. What I do is slow my speed down on oily lanes. You could practice throwing a light ball without your thumb to get the feel of how to hook the ball. But there is a big difference between throwing a 10 # ball without a thumb and a 15 or 16 # ball with your thumb. Lisa March 19, 2002 Temple TX Mr. Walter Ray, I have a couple of questions for you. 1) I need to wear a wrist brace but I can't find one that feels right. Do you have a suggestion on what kind to purchase? 2) I carry around a 197 to 199 average on my local leagues. How can I keep a persistent arm swing and ball speed on all types of lane conditions? Your suggestions on these questions would be greatly appreciated. I believe that you are one of the all time greatest bowlers ever. Your devoted bowling fan, Lisa Farrell Temple, Texas Hi Lisa, You say you need a wrist brace, but not why. Most male pros don't use wrist braces, but some of the female pros do. (I don't know what %). I am not familiar with wrist braces as I don't use one. I would ask your local pro shop operator that you trust. It would sound like you would want to throw the ball the same speed at all times, but sometimes you will want to throw the ball harder and sometimes slower. You can achieve this by taking a higher or lower push away and bigger or smaller steps. Concentrate on your push away and your speed of steps (size) and that should help you be more consistent. Siddik March 19, 2002 Kansas City MO Hi, I have seen that you bowl a dead straight ball for your spares. Is the spare ball of the same weight as your strike ball (I presume 16 pounds)? Do you use the same arm swing when throwing a spare? I will highly appreciate an answer. Thank you, Sid Hi Sid, The weight of my bowling balls are 15 #. I used to use 16, but a couple of years ago I needed a spare ball and the only one they had was 15. It felt good (the lighter weight) and I decided to try some 15's for my strike ball. I don't think that it has hurt my game too much. I would guess that about 30 - 50% of the male pros use 15 #. I try to have a similar arm swing, but my release is different when I throw at a spare. nungning March 13, 2002 Thailand Hello I adult felman bowling use ball about 12 pound. Would u mind if i use your span ball. and please tell me about playing technique. Thank u Hi Nungning, Most teachers in the U.S. would probably try to teach a gentle hook where the ball will move to the left for a right hander so that the ball will enter the pocket (1 and 3 pins) with a bit more angle than if thrown straight. This is so that the 5 pin can be knocked down easier when hitting the pocket. The delivery is basically 4 steps. The first 3 to get the ball in the back swing and the last step to deliver the ball. For a right hander the 1st step would be with the right foot with the left foot being the slide foot. Good luck. Billy March 9, 2002 Spartanburg SC Hi i was wondering do you follow through and release the same in horseshoes as you do in bowling ?and what is your favorite target ie board 'arrow 'etc ?good luck on tour thanks billy sewell Hi Billy, My follow through is similar in horseshoes and bowling, but obviously the release is very different. I like playing outside the best, but I don't mind playing the 30th board if the lanes will play that way for me. Bjørn February 27, 2002 Oslo Norway Hi Walter Ray, Thanks for one of the most interesting sites on the net. I have a question about how to get under the ball consistently. I have a problem getting a little bit late with the feet in the next to last step position, thus the ball starts to fall too early. My weight center is then falling forward, I am bending from the waist and the ball is projected down into the lane resulting in bad balance, poor siderotation, etc. Should I deliberately wait for the ball in the next to last step position, delay the pushaway or do you have some other tricks? One other question regarding your reports from the PBA tour; how do you exactly define pocket hits when you talk about statistics? regards, Bjorn Egil Ludvigsen Hi Bjorn, Everybody throws the ball a bit different and getting under the ball is something I do. I would say that getting your palm under the ball at the start of your delivery and try to keep your palm in a similar position until the point of release when you want to rotate around the ball. If you are starting your swing from the top early (if I understand you correctly), it sounds like you might want to try and get a bigger back swing to delay your timing. Imagine your former neighbor, Mika Koivuniemi, and his back swing or somebody like Randy Pedersen. I consider the pocket to be any point between a tripped 4 (a bit high) to a rip rack (light in the pocket) as pocket shots. Sometimes I will go a bit higher and trip the 4-7-10 and usually consider that as missing the pocket even though I might count it as a pocket shot at times. I am finding that I miss the pocket more than I would like. Mike February 18, 2002 Levittown PA Hi Walter, I have always loved watching you bowl. Whenever you make the T.V. show it's always a bonus. I have a full roller oil track on my ball that sometimes goes over the thumb hole and sometimes just misses it. The local pro here said I have a suitcase grip, and that it is hindering my ability to take advantage of the new balls out today. My question is how can I get rid of something like a suitcase grip? He showed me that my fingers and thumb need to be in "this o'clock position", but I couldn't execute it at the moment of release. Do you know of any technique or drill I could use to help? My average right now is 203 but I am leaving a lot of 10 pins and I'm pretty sure this is the cause. Thanks for your help, it is appreciated. Sincerely, Mike Hi Mike, I also leave a lot of 10 pins. One drill you could try is to walk up to the line and put your slide step in front of your other foot (a couple of feet in distance different) and throw the ball in the way that you think you want to deliver it. Since you are throwing the ball with a lot less speed you should be able to throw the ball with a bit more side rotation. Work with this until you are comfortable and then move your feet so that one step would get you to the foul line. Take one step and do the same thing. Then move back to your normal delivery after getting comfortable with this last 'step'. I hope this helps. It will probably take some time as you are used to throwing the ball and changing some of those habits can take quite a bit of repetition. Good luck. Jeff February 5, 2002 IL Hi Walter Ray, I would like to say first of all i really enjoy watching you bowl, i first started watching the PBA back in 1992 when i was 13 and i remember the great season you had that next year. I have watched you bowl many times on TV and i have never seen you miss a 10-pin spare conversion. I was wondering if you could tell me your technique on converting the 10-pin and if you use the same technique on all lane conditions that you bowl on. Thanks Walter Ray and I hope you get back to your number 1 ranked player in the world status, you are the best player on the tour in my opinion. Hi Jeff, Thanks for your praise. I do miss 10 pins. I even missed 2 in one game on TV one time. Basically I throw kind of a full roller where I don't put hardly any side rotation on the ball. I also use a plastic ball because I don't want the ball to hook. Sometimes on dry lanes I need to pay attention and make sure that I don't put any accidental side spin on the ball or else I could easily miss a 10 pin. Other than that I use that same release for most of my spares, except when I try to hook the ball and then I will use my strike ball. Dennis February 3, 2002 Castro Valley CA I read that Brett Wolfe, the left hander who won this year's Masters has a "right handed release". What does that mean? Is this something that left handers should learn? Could you tell me which PBA left handers have this kind of release so I can study their release? Hi Dennis, I have only seen Brett Wolfe bowl on TV and that was for a few frames. But he does seem to rev the ball pretty hard. I wouldn't say that is a right handed release, but many more of the current young right handed bowlers do tend to use more revs speed than the left handers. However there have been plenty of left handers who have and use power in their game. The left side doesn't get the amount of play as the right side does, so it might not be as much of an advantage for a left hander to have an extreme power game due to the lanes not breaking down as much so that the inside line would play. You could watch Jason Couch on the PBA tour. Or watch the power right handed players and what they do if that is what you want. Tony February 3, 2001 Buffalo NY Hi Walter Ray and Paige! I want to thank you for helping me with your suggestions on 7 (righty 10) pin spares! I got that down! My problem is now i switched to storm equipment and my line will hold until the last 3 or four feet and I'll leave unusual splits…I'm in the pocket but the end result is a split or a 7 pin...how can i correct this? Not to say i don't strike but...it's putting them together that's killing me.. i work at a house that is older(actually walt you pitched shoes there once before(leisureland or southtowns bowling center in hamburg ny!) you did good at shoes but didn't like the shot..well were more modernized now we went with kegel machines for conditioning…as a lefty i really don't mind oil. but for the last 4 weeks i think i'm mentally killing my self i do have ..and have tried all types of brands of bowling balls from ebinite to storm.. what to do? Any suggestions? ~tony Hi Tony, I am not sure what is happening, but maybe the ball is moving to much on the back end. Maybe what you need to do is get a ball which won't hook as much on the back end. I think you need to have your local pro watch you and help you. I typically don't like house shots as they tend to be too easy. Even the Kegel machines can do that also. I don't care for all of the oil which they put on the lanes on tour these days, but with most of the players using very aggressive balls and hooking the ball so much I am one of the few who feel that way (I think). Steven January 20, 2002 Victorville CA Walter Ray, I would like to know from your point of view, what are the most important aspects of the game ? How do you keep physically, and mentally focused through all games, whether it's just practice, league or tournament....HOW DO YOU DO IT DEADEYE ? Please write back if possible, don't trouble yourself too much, and give me a few helpfull pointers. I'd really appreciate this Walter... Steven Hi Steven, I think that technique is probably the most important to get started. Then at the top level the mental part of the game probably becomes the most important. The mental game is probably a bit harder for people to learn. I think that is something that some players have a more natural head start on. Practice is definitely a good thing, but tournament play is probably better. That way you can get accustomed to pressure, which is hard to duplicate in practice. Sometimes I don't do the things that I should do, as in this last week in Las Vegas. I didn't start out with a very good "mental outlook" and when I started to struggle, it just got worse! Hopefully, that won't happen anymore. Jay December 1, 2001 Cadillac MI First let me say that you have a very nice site. My wife and I have been bowling for a little over a year now. We are on a Thursday & Sunday couples league. I have a Black 2000 hammer, Hammer Reaper, Brunswick MR and a spare ball. Currently I have a 160 average that for some reason only goes down, not up J. I was taught to release the ball with my palm upward and to let my fingers spin the ball (finger tip balls). To make a long story short, are you able to give me instructions on how to snap the ball? I see people snap the ball from one side of the lane to the other and still hit the headpin. My release is nothing more then over the 2nd arrow (right handed) and hope the ball has enough spin to move over to the headpin. Thank you for your help, Jay Beydoun Hi Jay, Side rotation is a good way to improve a player's average, but accuracy is a great tool to have because the rotation is only good for certain conditions. If your average is 160 I would recommend a few more games of practice so that your accuracy improves. A simple way to think about putting good rotation on a ball is to think of holding a football in your hand and giving it an underhanded spiral. That is kind of what you want to do with a bowling ball. Practice and finding a good coach can help quite a bit. Good luck. Anthony November 29, 2001 Buffalo NY Hi Walter Ray! my biggest problem is corner pins! I'm left handed and I'm almost 100% on all spares except 7's and 10's! i don't switch balls considering i flatten my wrist and shoot right at the pin! i think my biggest problem is my stance! (AS A LEFTY} WERE SHOULD I STAND AND SHOULD I REALLLY GO TO A PLASTIC BALL WHEN I AM USE TO MY BALL FOR SPARES ??? I LAY MY BALL OUT FLAT IT'S WERE I PUT IT THATS THE PROBLEM! THANKS WALT ~TONY BUFFALO N.Y. Hi Tony, If you throw the ball straight at your spares you shouldn't need a low friction ball like plastic or urethane. Normally for the corner pins you would stand cross lane. So it doesn't matter if you are left or right handed. For a 10 pin you should start on the left side of the lane and for a 7 pin you should stand on the right side. It sounds like you need to do some practicing on these spares so that you know where you should stand and what target to look at. A little confidence can also go a long way which can come from practice. Rick November 13, 2001 Cincinnati OH Comments: Hi Walter, Congratulations on your 34th. I was there watching you qualify, The final match play round and the show. Please settle an argument, Do you use the arrows, dots to target your shot or do you sometime just look at the pins, Thanks in advance, rickykingpin. Hi Ricky, Normally I look at the arrows or a few feet in front of the arrows. I find that in the past few years I am more comfortable looking a few feet in front of the arrows. I never look at the pins when targeting. Charles November 1, 2001 Comments: My wife was the bowler when we met in 1946. She was in three leagues and always had high game and series and was the anchor lady on our 5 "man" teams. One day I watched her throw eight in a row. Between shots she sat with me as a watcher and knitted! After 46 years of marriage, she is fighting the effects of cancer and chemo. I still bowl because she insists and at 76 am bowling the best I ever have. I realize it is not possible for a human being to be accurate enough to purposely throw a strike. There are about a million places to get either a strike or a split and they are so close that you can't be serious when you think you know how to bowl, so I just throw the ball in the general direction and hope. Does Walter think like that or does he agree you have to get lucky, or hope a lot? Charles Hi Charles, I hope your wife knocks both her cancer and chemo down in one shot. I believe that you are basically right about the million places to strike or not strike which is why I think that a bowler should make the best shot possible and hope that the pins are cooperative. Sometimes the 'bad' shots strike and the 'good' shots don't. Luck is a factor in bowling, but if you make enough good shots you should maximum your strike potential. William October 31, 2001 Dearborn Heights MI Comments: Question Does Walter look at the pin or a spot when he is shooting spares? When leaving 10 pins many bowlers move their feet a few inches forward to change the break point. What does Walter try in order to carry the 10 pin? Hi William, I look at a spot on both my strike shots and spare shots. If I am leaving a 10 pin (or any other tap) I would not normally make any adjustments. If I was leaving a weak 10 pin and felt like I made a good shot then I might move my feet and target so that I can get the ball to hit the pocket better. Hitting the pocket is the best percentage in getting a strike. Hitting the pocket in certain ways can also increase that percentage. But if you can hit the pocket, that is a good thing. Technique Q&A [1-20] [21-40] [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] | ||