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Technique Q&A [1-20] [21-40]
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[141-160] [161-180] [181-200] [201-220] [221-240] [241-260] [261-280] [281-300] [301-320] [321-340] [341-360] Dave October 24, 2003 Brownsburg IN Walter Ray, I have been greatly motivated by your performance this past year as well as many other years that I have had the opportunity to view you in action on TV. I have bought many how to tapes and spend countless hours in local bowling alleys in order to practise the perfection of my relase to create good roll and hook on the ball. I have just heard so many ways to create hook and good roll on the ball and I find myself lost in how to make this work. I need to know what drills to practise and what I should truely do to create strong hook and good hook on the ball. I roll the ball pretty fast so I need to create lots of revs and I just dont know how!!!! Please share with me how to create revs and roll on the ball in your words!!!!!! Thanks Hi Dave, I find it amusing that you are asking me how to get a lot more revs on your ball since I am one of the straighter players out on tour. But, I will give it my best shot. Basically you need to get more leverage at the line. One way to do that is to bend your elbow a bit and cup your wrist. Maybe practicing without using your thumb will let you feel somewhat what it is like to get more revs. However, lots of revs isn't the only way to knock pins down. Repeating shots is much more important. Good luck. No Name No Town I read all your questions on your website. you said to throw a ball straighter you have to invent a realease. i tried millions of ways they dont work. i know you have your own style. but my question is whats the most way to throw the ball straight. is it thumb position or follow through need advice im a great fan of yours thanks Hi, There are a million ways to throw the ball straight. Most beginners throw the ball straight naturally. As we bowl more, we learn how to hook the ball and forget how to throw a straight ball. It is probably more affective to have your thumb pointing towards the pins with your fingers on a line away from the pins as you release the ball. Do not try to rotate your wrist at release. It takes practice to throw the ball straighter as it also takes practice to learn how to hook the ball. Good luck. Steven October 16, 2003 Springfield OR hey water ray.how are you doing latly.I have wrote to you before just wanted to write another.first off congratulations on winning three years in a row.i think you will go for a forth.I know you will.i have a couple questions to ask of your time.how many games a week do you bowl.i know this is kind of a lame question,but do you have a bowling ally in your house.what lane pattern do you have if you have a bowling ally in your house.I heard aboat your vidio no.what is it aboat.I will buy it.My last question that i have is,when you bowl you are a silent man when you bowl. I have started to do that and i bowled a lot better.is being silent make bowlers consintrat better.now when i bowl i try to keep silent,i seem to lokate my mark better.well wlter ray good luck on this year,"what you do not need luck you are walter ray.thank you for answering my questions.My name is steven and i'm 15 years old and i have a 162 average.plus i have been bowling for 7 years.the reason i told you this is because i wanted to get advise from a pro bowler.is this a good bowling pace do you think.I want to be a pro one day.so do you think that if i keep going at this pace i'll be a good bowler like you one day? thank you for your time. Hi Steven, I don't practice much when the tour is off and I do not have a bowling lane in my house. If I did I would put out different lengths of oil which were very tough to practice on. I am not always that quiet when I bowl, but I don't see the reason to make sure that everybody knows I am bowling by me voice or actions. I would rather let my bowling do my talking. My bowling video has some tips to hopefully help bowlers like you improve. It is hard to say if you will be a pro bowler or not. I didn't really start bowling until I was around 17 while many pros were averaging over 200 by the time they were 15. If you work hard at it, you may just become a professional bowler. Good luck. Glen October 7, 2003 Leavenworth KS Hi Walter Ray, Glad to here from you.A question that I would like to ask you is When you'r at the point of release , your thumb comes out first [of course],then your fingers come out quickly . When your fingers come out quickly ,does that mean that you pull your fingers back as the ball leaves your hand ,or does it mean that the ball naturally comes off your fingers quickly? What I'm trying to do is get more revs on my ball. I'm a3/4 roller and would like to get more revs. I know to stay as natural as possible and I think you can even if you do put more revs on the ball. I want more revs for the oily lanes instead of letting it slide so far before it hooks.I would like your advice on this. Thank You for your time.Glen Williams Hi Glen, I keep my wrist very firm during the release and accelerate my arm. This gives me some lift on the ball so that I get a decent amount of rotation on the ball. But the crankers do a couple of extra things to get the extra revs on the ball. If you bend your elbow, you get a little bit of extra leverage to hook the ball. Also, if you cup your wrist up to the point of release and then flip your wrist at the point of release so that your wrist is in a weak position just after release you will add extra revs. This is very difficult to do and takes much practice. Every time I try to do something like this I feel like I have no control, so I don't do it for very long. The other thing is that it takes a very strong wrist to attain the cupped wrist. Good luck. Steven September 23, 2003 Springfield OR Walter Ray, first i would like to say that you are my number one bowler.i think you are the best bowler in the world.i would like to be as good as bowler as you are now one day.but i have a question for you.i roll with a columbia razzle.good ball plenty of hook to it.but i would like to better my style at it.you know my own form to bowl.i ask my coach but she always says to me "let the ball drop and then bring it up and follow through".but as i see here bowl she has a perfect form and she does not drop the ball.she brings it up to her elbow.is that because she has been bowling longer.i have been bowling for aboat six years.and i would like to make a better form to myself.when i see you bowl on tv you have the most perfect form i have ever seen.i would like to bowl like a pro somewhat like you.if the coaches tell me different do i just do it on my own time.and just practice at it until i get good at it?i have one more question of your time.my coach said to me "steven i want you to weigh 225 by bowling starts".i said why.she said "it will make you bowl better." i weigh 250 and i think i bowl fine is that a true thing to lose weight to bowl better.i do not think that is true please help me out.thanks for you time walter ray. Hi Steven, Being overweight might not the best thing for your bowling game, but it shouldn't hurt it too much. Being in better shape will help in the long run with your body parts (knees and legs mainly). If you were to bowl in long tournaments, being overweight may be a detriment. Every body has different styles and I am sure that most coaches have a slightly different style they try to teach. Being able to use what they teach and incorporate it into your own style is the tough part, since some coaches want their students to use all of their advice. I don't know that my style is perfect, but it works for me. Keep working on your game. Gary September 10, 2003 McAllen TX I've always thrown a hook for my spares (most of them) and I'm finally getting out of doing that unfortunately throwing straight isn't that easy to pick up for me for some reason. I'm not quite sure of what type of line ups I should take for certain pins. I figure shooting at 10 pin i'd need to get pretty far left and throw right (i'm a righty). But what about the 7 pin? It seems like you throw pretty straight at it. I can't really tell where you line up exactly but your ball (and it seems like most pros) tend to have no angle when throwing at the left side of the lane. Any other tips for picking up spares is welcome too :) hehe Thanks for your time, Gary Hi Gary, I would recommend standing near the same part of the left side of the lane for spares on the right side of the lane (3, 9, 6, 10 and combinations) and standing on the right side of the lane shooting at spares on the left side of the lane (2, 4, 7, 8 and combinations) for both right and left handers. I target around the 4th arrow for right side pins and 3rd to 4th arrow for left side pins. Using a low friction ball can be a big help in going straighter for your spares. LADD July 5, 2003 NEW YORK NY HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR "A" GAME, FAVORITE LANE PATTERN, AND MOST USED BALL LAYOUT? THANK YOU VERY MUCH, LADD Hi Ladd, I tend to like to play an outside line (outside of 2nd arrow) with plenty of speed, but I don't mind playing a deep inside line if I have to. I prefer a tough lane pattern in which you have to be very accurate. My favorite ball layout tends to have the pin at around 1 or 2 o'clock with positive weights and I currently use a 15 pound ball. Yoni June 18, 2003 Netanya Israel Hi. I have been playing bowling for a year, and my average is about 180.I was wondering,how do you spin the ball in a way that it would go to the center. Hi Yoni, If you know what an American football is, this might help. If you were to toss a football underhanded so that it had a nice spiral to it that is a very similar type of release that you are looking for in a bowling ball. Or imagine that you were tossing a soccer ball to someone underhanded, but spinning it so that it hits the ground it bounces left. Of course a bowling ball is much heavier and harder to rotate, but the idea is similar. I hope this helps. Gerald June 15, 2003 Lake Charles LA In my aproach when I first started bowling, I was taught to line up and walk in the direction of my target. I have been reading several books on bowling and some of them seem to say always walk perpendicular to the fowl line and line up your shoulders in the direction of the swing. Which is the right way and which do you do? Hi Gerald, It would seem to make sense that a bowler should walk toward their target. But a lot of modern bowlers walk to the left (right handers). When I play an inside line I also walk to the left, but when I play an outside line I tend to walk straighter. One of the reasons bowlers walk left is so that they can open up their shoulders and throw the ball right. In my opinion there is no perfect way to bowl, but many good ways to bowl well. The key is finding something that you can repeat consistently. I would find an approach that feels good to you and use it. Good luck. Tim June 12, 2003 Chatham IL Walter Ray, Since you are at the top of the list on the tour when it comes to spare conversions today, I would like to ask you a few questions. Do you normally throw a plastic ball at conversions that are not double wood or go with what the lanes allow on that given day? Where do you stand (board) and what is your target on the lane, when converting 10 pin spares? Thanks for your response and the best of luck to you this fall on the tour. Hi Tim, I use a plastic ball on about 90% of my spares. I will even use it on double wood spares sometimes. My decision will depend on the lane conditions. For my 10 pin I stand with my feet touching on the 29th and 28th board and I shoot over the 21st board at the arrows. Also, I usually drift about 5 boards left when I shoot my 10 pin. Everybody is different so you need to find out what target and starting point work best for you. Good luck, keep working at it! Steve June 9, 2003 Castro Valley CA Walter Ray, My question to you is: When bowling do you position your thumb straight in the thumbhole or do you bend it in the hole? Steve Hi Steve, I would say that my thumb is pretty much straight in the thumb hole as there really isn't room for it to bend. Hope that helps. Allen June 9, 2003 Romulus MI Hello Mr. and Mrs. Williams, I have been bowling for about 5 years now and just got a new Monster Frenzy (Red and blue pearl). When I hook this new ball down the lane, I can actually see the pattern of the ball rotating and it's spinning almost like a tilted top but not quite. I thought, with my old ball, I had spun it like a full roller. I guess that's probably because it was a solid color and it was hard to detect the actual spin on the ball. I looked on the internet and found out my ball spin is like a semi-roller. Is this a good thing? My ball does hook pretty good but if this is an inconsistent or incorrect release I would like to correct myself. Is a full roller a recommend and consistent release for hooking? Thanks for your time and good luck with your season Walter Ray. Hi Allen, A semi-roller is a more recommended release in today's lane conditions than a full roller. You can get a better idea of how your ball rolls by looking at the pattern the oil leaves on the ball. If you are right handed and you are looking at the ball with the finger holes on top and the thumb hole below. If you have a track (where the oil is on the ball) which is left of the finger and thumb holes then that is a semi roller. A track which goes in between your fingers and thumb is a full roller. Dino June 8, 2003 Calgary Alberta Canada Hi Walter Ray, First of congratulations on another fabulous year. Keep up the good work. Also thanks very much for your tip last season on bowling without my wrist band. It helped me alot and I found had lots more control. I really like the way you shoot your spares. How do you make the ball go that straight? I use a really hard covered ball with a finger tip grip and find I still miss spares because the ball is hooking too much. Thanks very much, Dino Hi Dino, To pick up spares better I would advise throwing the ball as straight as possible. Go to the lanes which hook the most and using your ball with hooks the most go for the 10 pin on your 1st and 2nd shot for a game or two. You will probably need to figure out how to get your ball from hooking so that you have a chance to pick it up. You can do this by trying to throw a back up ball or fooling around with your release until you find one in which the ball doesn't hook very much. Then try to repeat it. Then alternate between your strike ball and your new spare release. And practice it. Good luck. Walter May 27, 2003 Baton Rouge LA Walter Ray, We have the same name but I don't have the game yet. I just changed from a plastic ball with a conventional grip to a Columbia Wild flipside with a fingertip grip. I am have trouble controling the hook. If a go right the ball breaks hard left. When I move to the left to about the third dot that helps but I am still hitting brooklyn. When I do hit the pocket I usually leave the ten pin. What should I do ? Hi Walter, When I first started using a finger tip ball I didn't really like the all of the hook that it gave me. But after time I got used to it and found that hook could be a good thing. You need to learn to control your hook and make proper adjustments like moving more left on the lane. It also sounds like it wouldn't hurt to pick up your speed a little bit. Spares are a very important part of scoring well consistently. Ten pin leaves usually mean you hit the pocket and are what I would consider "good shots". If I knew how to stop leaving ten pins…I would have a lot more titles than I do! Just keep making good shots and picking up those ten spin spares. Good luck. Kent May 17, 2003 Chula Vista CA Hi! I have been watching you bowl since you first started on the PBA tour. You are and incredible talent. I too have bowled in a few PBA regional events and am always amazed at the level of talent out there. To be able to win JUST ONE regional event would be quite an accomplishment. But to think that somebody could win many times over, as you have done on the national tour, is incredible and a testament to your talent and desire to win. Any serious bowler should do themselves favor by trying a regional event so that they can learn, firsthand, how "different" and difficult the PBA lane conditions really are! My question is, what type of physical adjustments do you make to optimize your scoring when the lanes are extremely "tight"? Thank you and best wishes for a successful 2003-04 season! Kent Hi Kent, When lanes are extremely tight, lots of oil, I will slow down my ball speed so that the ball will have more time to hook. I usually will move forward on the approach about 3 feet to slow my feet down which helps me roll the ball slower. I will sometimes also use a ball which has more friction or a sanded ball. It depends on the subtleties of the lane conditions as to exactly what ball I will use. Ken May 15, 2003 Philadelphia PA I have a fairly high track. It comes very close to my thumb. Sometimes it hits the thumb if I use a low flaring ball. Is the only way to lower the track to spin the ball more at the release? I notice that if I can release the ball with a slightly lower track it seems to hit harder and carry is better. Do you think it makes a difference? You are the greatest!! Thanks. Ken. Hi Ken, Your release determines the track on your ball. Getting more side spin on the ball will normally change the track so that it is farther away from the fingers and thumb. But the main thing is to be able to repeat shots and striking, so if that means that the ball 'thumps' down the lane, then let your opponents laugh as you beat them! William April 17, 2003 Sutherland Springs TX Dear Walter Ray and Paige, I have been bowling for about four years now. I bowl down and in so that I will be more consistant. I read alot about bowling and tape the PBA and PWBA tournaments and study them. I was doing pretty good (high game 257) until I started rotating my hand at the release. My ball began to hook alot and I am not able to control it. I already understand that I can control the hook with cover stock, speed, loft and drilling to reduce flare. My question is what is the hand suppose to be doing during the swing and release. Are you suppose to assume a position (like 12 0'clock with your thumb) and hold it all the way through the swing or are your suppose to rotate your hand to that position at the release? Also how should your ball be drilled for bowling down and in. If you could clarify this for me I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you, William C. Post Hi William, The 'simpler' the release, the 'simpler' the ball path. Throwing the ball with less hook is normally simpler and less confusing. However there are some advantages to throwing a bigger hook. The problem with learning how to hook the ball more is that it can be a bit overwhelming at first. But if you keep practicing hooking the ball, then you should be more comfortable with it. There is no ONE way to release the ball, but a good analogy is to think of tossing a football underhand so that it spirals. That is a good way to think about a good release of a bowling ball. I am not a ball driller. But I would think that for a down and in bowler that if you drill a ball with your pin at about 1 or 2 o'clock position, then that should be a 'good' drilling. I hope this helps, but I would ask a real pro shop operator. Tony April 13, 2003 Palm Beach Gardens FL I WAS JUST WONDERING WHEN YOU ARE BOWLING WHAT DO YOU FOCUS ON WHEN RELEASING THE BALL THE ARROWS OR FUTHER DOWN THE LANE? Hi Tony, I normally look at the 'arrows' or a couple of feet closer than that. It depends on how I feel at the time and how I am trying to attack the lanes. Edward March 29, 2003 Milwaukee WI HI, FIRST I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT YOUR STYLE IS THE WAY TO GO!!! I PLAY YOUR CLASSICAL DOWN AND IN STYLE.I'M A 195 AVERAGE IN 2 LEAUGES.MY QUESTION IS THAT MY STRIKE BALL IS KNOW AS A SPINNER TYPE SHOT.IT'S NOT A FULL SPINNER BUT MY BALL HAS A VERY LOW TRACK.THE PRO SHOP DRILLS MY BALL TO COMPENSATE FOR THIS AND MY BALL SNAPS INTO THE POCKET LIKE A MACK TRUCK.IT WORKS FOR ME AND I'M VERY HAPPY WITH IT.THE PROBLEM IS THAT EVERY BODY SAYS THAT I WILL NEVER GET ANY BETTER WITH THIS STYLE EVEN THOUGH I HAVE SHOT 2[300]GAMES AND MANY GAMES OVER 270 AND BEATEN MANY 200+ AVE. BOWLERS IN HEAD-TO-HEAD PLAY.IS IT POSSIBLE TO BECOME A PROFESSIONAL WITH THIS STYLE AND ARE THERE ANY PROS WHO USES THIS SHOT? THANKS, EDWARD L RAY Hi Edward, Everybody throws the ball differently. Just because you do something that is different than 'normal' doesn't mean that you can't be successful at it. It might be very difficult to be a top pro with your style, but maybe you can prove everybody wrong. It sounds like you are doing pretty well now. If you do feel like you have reached your maximum then maybe you could seek a coach and change your game. But that doesn't guarantee that you will be better after changing. Good luck. Tim March 21, 2003 Syracuse(Cicero) NY I have been watching you for years(since the early 80"s and have been bowling since the early 70's. I am wondering how do you get the rev's on your ball without cranking it. You put a lot more rev's than I do and we have pretty much the same game and style. An old pro Marty Pirano told me that I have a ball that accelerates to the pocket that is why my pins usually go into the pit without a messenger. You seem to get more action on the deck. We also have the same problem with the great shot flush into the pocket an the packed 8 pin. I call it the Walter Ray. I like to keep my game simple,I'm not looking to have the later in life change in the game(Mark Roth) or the operations to help with the damage done. thanks for any suggestions. Hi Tim, When I release the ball I try to keep my wrist in the same position through the release while lifting the ball with my follow through. When I follow through, I have a very strong accelerated follow through which is how I get my revs on the ball. However, most of the power players go from a cupped wrist to an extended wrist in the split second that they release the ball which gives them the extra revs. I don't normally get the pin action that the power players get, but I do get enough pin action to get a few strikes. Technique Q&A [1-20] [21-40] [41-60] [61-80] [81-100] [101-120] [141-160] [161-180] [181-200] [201-220] [221-240] [241-260] [261-280] [281-300] [301-320] [321-340] [341-360] | ||