That’s one of the beauties of bowling. Every ad- justment is blind. You can’t see the oil and don’t know where your hazards are. You have to make the best guess possible, and then after you throw the shot you have to make another adjustment.
KELLY KULICK: If I can fi gure out the answer to staying ahead of the transition I might win again! You do have to look for signs. The guys that
see it the best are the most successful. Typi- cally, the back end gets tighter. Most of the men move left and go to a stronger ball. I can get caught a little in the transition because I’m usually an arrow to the right of them, so when I move left I move into where they started. The warning signs come when the ball push- es a little further down the lane. You might see a 2 pin or a weak 10 pin. Watch how your ball rolls off the end of the pin deck. Is it de- fl ecting? If it is still moving into the 8 pin chances are you’re still in pretty good shape. But if it starts to run too long and defl ects, it’s time to move or make a ball change. It may call for a slight angle change as well.
Kelly Kulick
Also watch the other bowlers you’re paired with. Let’s say the players in your group all struck the frame before you moved pairs. If you come to a new pair and they all go Brook- lyn with their fi rst shot on the new pair, that’s pretty good indication that the lane is hook- ing a little more. And vice versa if they miss the head pin to the right. So there are things to look for that will help you make your best guess.
WES MALOTT: There are warning signs that will tell you it might be time to move. A fl at 10 pin or a 4 pin are indicators. The fl at 10 tells me the ball is burning up early and hook- ing early. That tells you it’s not driving. Then, when you do get it to “face up” it leaves a 4 pin. That tells you to switch to something that gets down the lane a little bit better with a little more angle. That’s a typical move. Another scenario is that the ball starts going too long or not reading early enough. At that point you need to determine which one it is. That’s what makes this game tough. Even players at our
17 USBOWLER MARCH 2012
level might see it one way when in truth it is the other. Hopefully if we make the wrong decision, we can recognize that quickly. I think the pros know how to read off their bad shots as well as off their good shots. We understand what our bad shots do and how they feel, and we adjust off that. Also, out here on tour you’re with the best bowl- ers in the world. Go out and fi nd the one’s that are bowling well and see what part of the lane they’re on and what ball they’re throw- ing. Ideally, you like to fi nd a bowler with your style, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Chris Barnes, being one of the best of the best, is worth watching even though we don’t throw the same. I know the differences in our games, so there’s still value in me watching him.
Wes Malott
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