Everybody likes to make strikes. I'm no exception. Even after many years spent in wheeling that ball down the lanes, I still get a real thrill out of seeing a perfect strike sweep the pins clean.
Strikes serve a dual purpose. First, they bring a bonus because they count ten points each, plus all you can score on your two succeeding throws. Then, too, they automatically remove any chance you might have had of either missing a spare or getting a split, or railroad.
Novices, as well as a good many veteran bowlers, are tremendously impressed by strikes, so much so that they neglect the rest of their game in a dogged effort to chalk up that magic "x" in the corner of the frame set aside for "Marks." Unfortunately, they concentrate so much on this phase of the game that their improvement is slowed down, for anyone who develops an accurate spare delivery automatically improves in the strike department.
It's a good deal like a rookie pitcher in the big leagues. When he first hits the majors, he thinks the idea is to impress everyone by striking out every batter. He looks good, too, for a short time.
Then the wily veterans begin to wait him out and to plaster his fast ball to distant places. A few such hammerings and he begins to perceive that strike-outs are only a means to an end-the real idea is to keep the batters from hitting the ball cleanly. When he smartens up a little, he starts "mixing up" his deliveries, tossing a curve, slow ball, a drop, or other deliveries which he may have evolved, and he saves his "fast one" for a real pinch. Then he is on his way to being a winning pitcher.
This is also true of the bowling beginner. When he learns that strikes are only part of the game and not the entire game, he is on his way to bigger and better bowling. Many beginners think that blinding speed is the way to score strikes. So they get on the approach, back up as far as they can, rush madly to the foul line and let fly with all their strength. Occasionally they do score a strike-the law of averages takes care of that. But more often they clip off three or four pins and miss the headpin completely. Their spare shots are almost automatic misses and they are genuinely surprised when they hit the remaining pins. All they are making of the game of bowling is a "strike or no-count" proposition. Such bowlers seldom succeed in becoming good at the game.
Now, let's take up the matter of how to make strikes. First, because of the pattern in which the ten pins are arranged, all of them can be toppled more often by directing the ball into the 1-3 pocket (the space between the 1-pin and the 3-pin) than into any other place. One might score strikes in almost any other fashion, too, but the 1-3 pocket furnishes by far the greatest chance for success. The ball, on such a hit, -strikes the 1-pin, then the 3-pin, next the 5-pin, and finally the 9-pin, the other pins being accounted for by the action of these pins.
Having determined that the ideal spot at which your ball should contact the pins is the 1\3 pocket, let us take up one at a time the type of ball to be delivered. There are four main divisions-the straight ball, hook, curve and backup.
THE STRAIGHT BALL
Unless you throw a natural hook from the first time you pick up a bowling ball, I suggest the use of a straight ball until control has been mastered. All too many beginners see the experts using an effective hook and try to copy it without first laying a solid ground-work of footwork and timing.
The straight ball is delivered with no turn of the wrist or fingers, the ball being released with the thumb on top and the fingers underneath. As a general rule, it is the easiest to throw, but the straight ball is not a great "strike-getter" like the hook and the curve, because it does not produce a real "mixing" action on the pins, and it is easily deflected.
When you begin with the straight ball, however, you have a more natural delivery and consequently make fewer mistakes. The bowling beginner who immediately starts out throwing a hook must watch not only his stance, footwork and timing, but in addition must co-ordinate perfectly his release of the ball in order to make certain that all other departments of his game are working correctly.
Otherwise he may be at a loss to discover just where he is making his mistakes.
THE HOOK BALL
The hook ball, the best of all "strike-getting" deliveries, makes a slightly sharper "break" than does the so-called "curve," and is easier to control. Nevertheless, the latter is a highly effective pinspiller itself. Some of our greatest stars of the past and present made their reputations with the curve ball.
In general the hook is favored by most experts because it has proved to be more uniformly successful under varying conditions. The curve-ball expert has been known to soar to dizzy scoring heights on one lane and plumb the depths on the adjoining alley. The hook devotee, meanwhile, continues to make good scores on nearly any lane or under the most variable conditions.
There are actually four ways in which to make a ball hook. The first is the "natural hook," in which the ball is held so that the thumb and forefinger form a "V" with the thumb alongside the body. After the full release of the ball, the "V" formed by the thumb and forefinger should be pointed directly at the target on a horizontal plane. The two things that make a natural hook work are a comfortably loose thumbhole and a good follow-through.
The ball hooks because the thumb, being short, comes out of the ball first, and the fingers alone complete the follow-through. This gives a natural spin to the ball.
The "lift" is the second type of hook. In this delivery the hand is directly under the ball, with the thumb on top. In the delivery, the ball rolls right off the tips of the fingers. In both the natural and the "lift" hooks, there is no turn or wrist action.
The third way of making hooks is the "turn." As the hand comes forward with the fingers held as they are for a natural hook, the wrist is turned from right to left after the ball has passed the left foot. No lift action is used.
The fourth style of hook is the "lift and turn." In this delivery, nothing is done to the ball until it passes the bowler's left foot at the foul line. At this moment the player's hand should be directly behind the ball as if to lift it. As the ball passes the bowler's foot, he lifts the ball with his fingers and turns his wrist from right to left. A bowler may use as much lift or as much turn as he desires or can control.
THE CURVE BALL
The curve ball, as mentioned before, is a potent strike-getter when controlled. It is thrown with less lift and more turn than the usual hook ball, and it also traverses a wider arc. Obviously, this type of delivery requires long practice to determine its point of finish and to hold it in a grooved path.
THE BACKUP BALL
The fact that I describe the backup ball does not mean that I recommend it. Quite the contrary. I disapprove of it for several reasons. The first is that it is a poor strike-getter and it results in a large number of bad leaves and splits. It is also difficult to control over long periods of time. In my opinion, it is more tiring than other, more orthodox deliveries.
The backup ball is a ball that fades to the right as it nears the pins. This action is caused by turning the wrist from left'to right, at or near the moment of release. Women, as a general rule, are more plagued by this delivery than men, possibly because their wrists are weaker. It can be cured easily with intelligent practice, and should not be thrown at all if one can avoid it.
The backup ball, to be most effective, would actually have to come into the pins in the 1-2 pocket, since its curve is similar to that of a left-hander. But even in that favored spot, its effect is not good. And incidentally, anyone who throws a hook, curve, or straight ball should never try using a backup delivery to play the 10-pin. One might succeed fairly often, but seriously risks the loss of his regular grooved delivery.
These are the four fundamental ways of making a ball hook. There are many variations, depending upon the individual and his ability to control a particular type of delivery.
SUMMARY
No matter what type of delivery you use, the main idea is to be able to repeat your performance until every little feature of your game is as automatic as possible (assuming that you are going about it right in the first place). The expert likes his strikes, to be sure, but if he doesn't happen to get them at one time or another he simply waits, for he knows that his consistent machinelike delivery will bring him his share over a period of time. So, develop one type of ball and stick to it-don't mix them up.
Don't worry over the fact that strikes seem to be few and far between when you're learning the game. Actually, you are getting a break and don't realize it, for whenever you fail to count a strike you get a chance to shoot at a spare. And shooting at spares eventually grooves your swing, sharpens your timing, and improves your foot-work to the point where you perform these actions almost unconsciously. Then you will begin to notice a steady upswing in your average. From that point on, you are on your way.
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