Expert: Russ King - 8/25/2007

Question
Hello. I bowl in Summer leagues at my local bowling alley with a straight ball & my average just gets lower & lower. I want to try a hook ball but I don't know what kind or weight I should get. What's a good beginner hook ball? And what weight. I'm 24 year old female, about 5'3 and 115 pounds. Thanks!

Answer
FIRST THING , you really need to know what is holding you back.Is it a too light a ball ? Is it a fingertip grip you need/want ? Is it you can't hit what your aiming at ? Is it good basics you need ? Is it a bad fitting grip ?Is it lack of practicing the right way ?

 A fingertip grip will increase what you do to the ball. If you can't hit what your aiming at right now , you are just going to miss your mark by more boards & miss the pins even further.
 YOU ARE JUST GETTING FRUSTRATED & TRYING TOO HARD.

FIRST , make sure your conventional grip fits right. If the ball sticks,rubs,gives blisters,feels bad,it needs correcting . THAT IS STEP ONE.
STEP 2
 YOU NEED TO HAVE GOOD BASICS.GOOD BASICS ARE THE KEY!!!IF YOU DO NOT HAVE GOOD BASICS, YOU COULD BUY A $300.00 BALL & ONLY GET 5 BUCKS WORTH OUT OF IT.
PRACTICE SOME GOOD BASICS.1.YOUR SHOT STARTS WHEN YOU GET UP FROM YOUR CHAIR.2.DO EVERYTHING THE SAME EVERY TIME TO DEVELOP CONSISTENCY.Walking up to the ball the same way,same foot steps up un the approach,put your hand in the grip at the same time of your approach,hold the ball the same way ,throw with the same speed every time.THIS WILL BUILD CONSISTENCY.
 As you get up from your seat, you have already looked at the scores while you were seated.Walk up to your ball the same way.Pick up the ball with both hands & position it to where the grip is right on top where you can easily put your fingers in & thumb in without even looking at the ball.Look at the pins making sure all 10 are there.On the back of the approach, line up your mark to where you are standing. Pretend to pull a string from your mark to you.Then step up on the approach into the line that the string shows you.THIS WILL CLOSE TO BEING SQUARED UP TO YOUR TARGET.
 NOW,WALK UP TO WHERE EVER YOUR DISTANCE IS FROM THE FOUL LINE(YOU DON'T NEED THE DOTS ANYMORE!)YOUR LINING UP ON THE STRING LINE.YOUR TOES ARE POINTING ALONG THAT STRING LINE.YOUR FACING THE TARGET.PUT YOUR HAND IN THE GRIP & GET INTO YOUR APPROACH STANCE.HOLD THE BALL WITH YOUR YOUR ARM FROM YOUR SHOULDER TO YOUR ELBOW STRAIGHT DOWN IN CLOSE TO YOUR SIDE.FROM YOUR ELBOW TO YOUR WRIST, SHOULD BE POINTING TO YOUR TARGET . YOUR ARM IS TRACING THAT STRING LINE TO YOUR TARGET.YOUR HAND IS UNDER THE BALL WITH THE WEIGHT EVENLY FELT IN YOUR HAND.(NOW PRETEND YOUR THUMB IS THE REAR SIGHT OF A GUN & YOUR FINGERS ARE THE FRONT SIGHT.THEY WILL LINE UP STRAIGHT DOWN YOUR ARM.THIS WILL LINE UP EVERYTHING . NOW TAKE A NICE SEMI-DEEP BREATH & RELAX!EYES ON TARGET!STEP INTO THE STRING LINE GOING TO YOUR TARGET. PUSH THE BALL ALSO ALONG THAT STRING LINE OUT TO WHERE YOUR ELBOW BEGINS TO LOCK THEN STARTING DOWN INTO THE BACK SWING.YOUR WRIST IS LOCKED INTO THE SAME POSITION ALL THE WAY THRU FROM YOUR STANCE THRU THE FOLLOW THRU.NOW, AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ARMSWING, WITH YOUR WRIST & ELBOW LOCKED,YOU HAVE A PENDULUM ARMSWING.YOUR ARM IS IN CLOSE TO YOUR SIDE.AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR ARMSWING, YOUR THUMB SHOULD BE FACING THE TARGET WITH THE FINGERS RIGHT BEHIND YOUR THUMB. THIS MEANS NO TWISTING YOUR WRIST SIDE TO SIDE.>>> LEFT/RIGHT MOVEMENT TAKES AWAY ENERGY & ACCURACY FROM YOUR SHOT.<<<  YOUR BACKSWING IS RELAXED & SMOOTH.YOUR STILL WALKING ALONG THAT STRING LINE. AS YOU SLIDE INTO YOUR LAST STEP, YOU SLIDE ALONG THAT STRING LINE.THIS KEEPS YOUR MARK DIRECTLY INFRONT OF YOU.THIS KEEPS YOUR ARMSWING STRAIGHT & SQUARED UP.YOUR FOLLOW THRU GO STRAIGHT OUT TO YOUR MARK & UP INTO THE SKY WITH YOUR THUMB POINTING STRAIGHT UP INTO THE SKY.AS THE BALL PASSES YOUR MARK,THE BALL COMES INTO YOUR SIGHT.( YOU NEVER TAKE YOUR EYES OFF OF YOUR MARK UNTIL THE BALL PASSES THE MARK.).

 THIS STRING LINE WILL WORK WITH EVERY STRIKE LINE & SPARE LINE.IF YOUR GOING AFTER SAY A 7 PIN,WHERE EVERY YOUR STANDING GETTING READY TO STEP UP ON THE APPROACH YOU PULL THAT STRING FROM THE 7 PIN TO YOU.THEN YOU STEP UP ON THE APPROACH ALONG THAT LINE & DO THE EXACTLY SAME THING YOU DO FOR THE STRIKE BALL.WHEN YOU PULL THE STRING & STEP UP INTO THAT STRING LINE, NO MATTER IF IT IS AIMING AT A STRIKE,7 PIN OR TEN PIN THE TARGET PIN IS ALWAYS DIRECTLY INFRONT OF YOU.NOW FOR EVERY SHOT,YOU ARE THROWING THE EXACT SAME SHOT EXACTLY THE SAME.(THERES NO WALKING STRAIGHT DOWN THE BOARDS ANGLING THE ARMSWING AS TO PULL THE BALL INFRONT OF YOU TO MAKE THAT 7 PIN ON THE LEFT SIDE OF YOUR APPROACH).IF YOU WALK ALONG THAT STRING LINE, THE TARGET IS ALWAYS DIRECTLY INFRONT OF YOU.

THE BALL SHOULD RELEASE VERY SMOOTH.IF IT DOES NOT, YOU NEED IT CORRECTED.IF YOU DO NOT HAVE YOUR OWN SHOES, YOU REALLY SHOULD GET YOUR OWN PAIR.THIS BUILDS CONSISTENCY ON THE CONTACT WITH THE APPROACH & SLIDE.
 TRY THIS FOR A WHILE . THEN GET BACK WITH ME ON HOW IT IS WORKING.YOU MAY NEED SOME TWEAKING ON A FEW THINGS TO SMOOTH THEM OUT.

YOU WILL NEED THESE GOOD BASICS TO START ON YOUR QUEST FOR BETTER BOWLING & A HIGHER AVERAGE.
 THE FINGERTIP BALL IS IN YOUR FUTURE.JUST NOT RIGHT NOW.YOU NEED TO BE READY FOR IT.THEN IT WILL IMPROVE YOUR GAME. NOT HURT IT.