Technique HOW MUCH SURFACE?


How much surface should you adjust? There are so many options. A league bowler with one or two balls is likely to use equipment that’s not overly reactive to begin with, so the pro shop operator would probably suggest a 1000-grit Abralon pad on the ball to show fairly significant surface change. The higher-average bowler with multiple balls will probably try a variety of subtle surface changes to his or her arsenal. Grit sets range all the way from 180 to 4000, so there are a host of options.


And remember, your practice


should always have purpose. League is for score. Practice is for learning about the game and your equipment. Practice is where you’ll uncover all of the options and adjustments that will allow you to increase your score when you get back into league. One aspect of the game that few


bowlers, regardless of their level of play, take the time to address is get- ting to know their equipment. Bowl- ing balls are designed to do different things, and bowlers who own four or five balls go to league and tourna- ments and use them the exact same way every time. The typical scratch bowler may


have at least four balls, and the aver- age league bowler may only have two. Still, each can learn to make their ball do something different on the lanes by simply changing the surface of the ball. By that I mean


taking a shiny ball and dulling the finish or, conversely, taking a dull ball and making the surface shiny. These subtle changes will make the ball react differently. Observing and understanding the different reaction of the ball will teach you how to line up differently when you do get back to league play. Even if you are in a “fun” league


and have only one ball, this exercise could help. If your ball isn’t hooking, adding a little surface to the ball will allow you to line up in the same spot and create more hook.


LET’S GET STARTED If you’re going to practice on a typi- cal house pattern, take one of the balls in your arsenal and throw a game with it. Watch what the ball does. Watch how it reacts on the lane. Going into the next practice


game, change the surface of that ball. Few bowlers are familiar with changing the surface of their equip- ment, so I suggest asking the lo- cal pro shop owner to do it for you. Explain to the operator what you’re trying to accomplish. Share as much information about your game as you can. On the same lane, maintain your normal position, stance and target, and begin another game. Watch how differently that same ball reacts now that the surface has been altered. Make the appropriate adjustments on the lane, moving your feet to the left or to the right, and note the differ- ent reaction. Keep your adjustments simple. You’re trying to get a better understanding of how the surface change has affected your ball. After trying shiny and dull on one


lane, move to a fresh lane and see what the differences are. If you have to adjust to find the pocket, what


12 USBOWLER JUNE 2011


BOWLING TECHNIQUES TO MAKE YOU A BETTER BOWLER


adjustments would you make? Again, look for ball reaction, then move your feet accordingly left or right. The degree of difference in the


ball’s reaction is predicated on a variety of factors, like ball speed, rev rate, rotation off of the hand, etc. Ball speed is probably the biggest fac- tor with the average league bowler. If you throw the ball really hard, you’ll probably want more surface because your ball gets further down the lane before it has time to react. If you throw the ball slow on a house pat- tern, you’ll probably need your ball shined up a bit because it rolls a little sooner and grips the lane too soon. Better understanding of your


equipment will benefit your game in many ways. Higher-average bowlers will see a big difference, particularly in the newfound versatility of their ar- senal. A bowler who carries five balls for all practical purposes now carries nine or 10. And a ball they thought would never work on certain condi- tions is all of a sudden useful. Bowlers need to understand that


little adjustments like this can change the way they view their equipment, see the lane and recognize all of their options from week to week. — Carolyn Dorin-Ballard is United States Bowling Congress Director of Coaching Certification & Development.


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