Expert: Russ King - 2/26/2007

Question
I just got my first bowling ball and I am getting it drilled straight. How do I know when I am ready to get a hook ball.

Answer
As soon as you can get 90% of your easy spares & at least 60% of baby splits & 20% of splits.No more than 4-5 total opens per 3 game set.The more accurate you get with a straight ball, the better you will be with a hook. Since you are just starting out, you do not know if you will be a cranker,stroker or a tweener.You need to do what comes natural to you.Develope your style,form,steps,speed,ect.. Your hand & eyes have to work as one.Your style will be bits & parts of what people show you,what you see & the main part of YOU!
When you get good at single pin spares, try hitting the single pin on the very right side then the left side then dead center.
You do not need to go for strikes in every frame right now. They will come. Right now is learning your style & hitting what you look at.This time frame could be as short as one league season or 3 or more seasons.
As soon as you can hit what you look at, you can plug up that ball & redrill it fingertip. A plastic ball will get you thru the first stage right thru to your first fingertip thru to a good spare ball to fill the frames inbetween the strikes.
>>>> A GOOD SPARE BALL IS THE MOST IMPORTANT BALL IN YOUR ARSENAL!!!  <<<<<
 This plastic conventional grip ball redrilled into a fingertip will give you minimal hook to ease you into bending the ball.>> The question is " how much bend will you end up with ".The same lessons should be applied to your first fingertip as you learned conventional grip.You need to develop the same skills but now with a bend to it. The same time frame applies.I can't tell you any further than this because You don't even know how you will be throwing the ball ( big bend,down & in,tweener).
 You will know when you try one way & when you get frustrated, you turn back to a certain form. This is the comfy zone for you. This will determine your style.Everybody will have an opinion & tell you how to bowl the only way they know.You listen to 80%,think about 60%,try 30% and adapt 5% into your style.As you build up a bunch of stuff to do, you will throw away the junk & fine tune the stuff that works for YOU not them.REMEMBER, MOST COACHES COACH THEIR STYLE.FEW WILL NOT CHANGE YOU . THEY WILL IMPROVE YOU!
When I was a beginner,I tried from 4 steps to 7.I held the ball in many different places.Many speeds & hand positions.What you have to work hard at is , just letting it happen.