Sure, there are a handful of ac-
cepted general spare systems, but most bowlers make slight adjust- ments or alterations to even those. Just ask the pros. Tournaments
have been won and lost by both the ability and inability to com- plete even the simplest of spares. Not surprisingly, nearly ev-
ery pro utilizes a slightly different system. Where they stand, what angle they take to the pins, what ball they use…all top bowlers tin- ker with systems until they fi nd one they are comfortable with. What system do you use?
WALTER RAY WILLIAMS, JR.: I don’t really have a set system. I have my only little formulas, but they probably wouldn’t work for most bowlers because I drift kind of funny. When I’m on the right side shoot- ing at a left-hand spare, I walk pretty straight. When I’m shooting at a 10 pin, instead of walking to the right and toward the target I walk away from the target. Basically I walk left and throw right. It doesn’t make much sense and I wouldn’t teach it to bowlers, but it works okay for me. It’s also part of my overall game. When I’m throwing straighter on my strike shot I don’t drift very much left. But when I’m hooking the ball on my strike shot I drift a lot left. When I’m shooting the 10 pin, I’m not try- ing to hook the ball but my natural instinct is to drift left. Technically you want to walk towards your tar- get. That makes the most sense.
double wood, 2-8 or 3-6- 9-10. For most spares I use board 20, or the fourth arrow, and I pre- tend like that point is the fulcrum of a pair of scissors. My target doesn’t change, but my feet change the angle. The center of the scis- sors is board 20, and the handles represent a line to the 7 and 10 pins. Then I just close down the scissors for different pins.
UNIQUE APPROACH: Walter Ray Williams Jr. admits that his unique drifting hab- its force him to approach spares in a manner he wouldn’t recommend to others.
KELLY KULICK: Straighter is greater. Obviously, the shortest distance between two points is a
straight line. A good spare ball is crucial and I use a plastic spare ball. The only thing I hook at is
14 USBOWLER JUNE 2012
WES MALLOT: Typically, anything in the middle-left — anything with a 1, 2, 5, 8 — I’m always go- ing to hook at. It’s what I’m do- ing most of my shots, so I feel it’s easier to repeat a shot than to sud- denly switch to throwing straight. I will go straight at the 4, 7, 3, 9, 6 or 10. If a pattern has a lot of oil in the middle, I’ll hook at a 3 or 9. The problem is the patterns are flatter on Tour, and once you get into a different zone on the lane you really don’t know how the ball is going to react. In that case you almost have to throw it straight. With house patterns you can pretty much hook at anything because there’s just more built- in area to miss. If you miss right, it’s going to hook. If you miss in- side, it’s going to straighten out. On Tour going straight is a ne- cessity. Even at home, if I’m get- ting ready to go out on Tour or to a tournament where I know the patterns are going to be tougher, I’ll practice throwing straight just to get comfortable with it.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15