Dots or arrows

[Brett]

When I bowl I aim at the dots on the lane but I am thinking of changing to aiming at the arrows. This is mainly due to the fact that spares like the 10 pin have no dots where I need to aim, and becuase my drift can be inconsistent, I find that aiming closer magnifies the amount I miss the spare by.

Could someone tell me what the advantages and disadvantages are of aiming at the dots and how I can fix my sparing problem?

Thanks

 

[MarkV]

I have found that aiming using the arrows is better for me for the 10 pin as it is a long way away and the arrows are a deeper target. You really should be using arrows and dots as guides only as you fine tune your shot. If you can get down the back of the lane and look back up it from the 10 pin spot to get an appreciation of just were it is in relation to the pocket. You will need to get someone to drop the rear curtain for you to see properly. Remember you only have to tap the pin to knock it over so with the ball diameter and the pin width you have a fair size target to hit. That being said I too miss a few of the buggers and find it handy at times to go and play a game where I just shoot for the tenpin both shots ( hopefully by the second shot it is already missing :roll: ) and score 1 point per succesful shot ( yes we have manual scoring ) My best to date has been 18 in a row. I also find it handy to aim past the dots to get my ball out on the lane instead of planting it at my feet. With the drift thing try getting a long piece of wood and just practice walking a straight line beside it at home with or without your ball. Be careful that you select a small one as you don't want to trip over it or roll your ankle on it . Hope that some of this helps and by all means seek guidance and help from a coach or bowling friends or even non bowling friends to help you identify what you are actually doing in regards to your walk you swing and whether you actually are hitting you target or not .Believe it or not this is not always so easy for you to tell as the ball is a big thing and in order for you to be hitting your target properly the ball's centre need to pass over it not half an inch or so either side of it . Hope this rambling is of some help to you and remember that there any many different ways/styles to achieve the same result and the key is consistency

 

[Gail Torrens]

cliff challenger

The answer to your dilemma is learn to bowl both. - for your strike try imagining a line from the dots and extending that target point 20 cm longer in the direction of the angle or line you are bowling. For your spares choose the same distance at the dots and make sure the ball rolls through the second target point also at the arrows. JUst sounds to me that you are not following through correctly once you are hitting your target at the dots - that's all.
When you try new targeting systems you will need to examine how it changes your swing - body position - release timing. Most people when they target further away release later. Practice Practise Practise all new things - get comfortable with using different markers and lines - Hope this information is of assistance.
Best wishes
Gail

 

[Brett]

Thanks a lot for the help.

I think I do need to work on my follow-through, i'll try working on what both of you suggested next time i practice.

 

[MinusZero]

I have been bowling off the dots for many years. i changed from the arrows because i found i wasnt hitting them consistantly enough. with the dots being so close, i find i hit the spot 9 times out of 10.

I play the third dot in (from the right) which is about equal to the second arrow, for my strike ball and anything on the left.

The 3 pin i stay on the third dot.
The 6 pin i move to the 4th dot and move where i start from.
The 10 pin i move to the 5th dot in and move over more where i start.

by moving the dot and the arrow i am cutting down the angle to the pin.

I did consider trying the arrows again now that i am more experienced, but i think i will stay on the dots while they work well for me.

 

[Gail Torrens]

Very good descriptions of targeting methods are being discussed. My answer previously was directed principally at aiming methods for using dots as one of the markers in the path of the ball for pocket hits - sparing is a completely different subject. The fact that there are no targeting guides in the centre of the lane should not deter you from using boards at this distance.

To spare the 10 pin your targeting area at the dots is a two board span on approximately the 24 and 23 board. The dots on the lane are on boards - 3 -5-8-11-14-26-29-32-35-37 so visually the boards you will be sighting through are two and three boards right of the 1st centre dot on the left side (right hander)- easy to see from your stance position.

The technique that you need to adopt is a straight swing and an open hand or broken wrist technique. If you employ and train both of these techniques (the swing and the hand position) you will be able to use your reactive ball to spare and it will not make a difference as you will be promoting end over end roll - that is how I train my athletes and how I teach at bowling camps. Believe it or not the hardest thing to do of those things is master the straight swing keeping your body square to the intended path of the ball.

The next critical thing is to override your muscle memory to 'release' the ball and drop the ball as close to the foul line as possible - giving the ball the direction to the target through the direction of the swing from upper arm only (its a feeling thing!). Your percentages for sparing the 10 pin on all conditions will be remarkable.

I would like to mention something for injury prevention also - when governing the amount of drift you have - and you are wanting to put an obstacle down at the foul line to assist train yourself to walk in a different direction always put something BIG on the lane like 2 small cushions (one on top of the other) rather than something low and flat on the lane - (put it on the instep side of your foot if you drift right - make sure the ball will clear the cushions and put it on the outside of the foot if you drift left - for a right handed bowler) if the obstacle is small and flat you are more likely to tread on it and jar yourself - and also the object will not be impacting on you enouth to keep you focused on the job at hand.

I have been away for just over a month - so have not been able to keep an eye on this section for total bowling - I can tell from the responses those bowlers who have been to coaching camps and also those who have been assisted by coaches. I am pleased with the answers that the bowlers submit to assist other bowlers, based on personal experience - why don't more coaches submit assistance? The responses to bowlers from ball drillers also is very good. I would like to know how you get on and how these tips assist you. Remember when we bowl and achieve things it motivates us to take the next step - Training should be fun - experiment: Warm up and stretch properly every time you train. You don't want your play time to prevent you from bowling tournaments - Grip and rip the ball - send the ball out and watch it come back - bowl fun matches with your friends and most important of all laugh at yourself when you make mistakes - the person who wins tournaments regularly is the person who makes the LEAST amount of mistakes - not the person who makes no mistakes.

Cheers
Gail Torrens

 

[Easy Tiger]

I have to say that I don't go by the arrows or the dots...I use individual boards. For a strike shot I know what board I need to hit, and I just do it. For spares, it varies a little bit. For example, for a 10 pin shot I am able to draw a point exactly to where I need to hit on the lane, right up to where I release the ball. By doing that it gives me an exact point further up the lane that I have to hit in order to spare the 10, and most times it is successful. In shooting for things like the 6 pin or the 6-10 I just move on the approah a little to my right. For a 6 pin its 3 boards right.

Same goes for anything on the left like a 4 or 7 pin. I draw up the angles and lines in my head and visualise where I need to hit, and just hit that board. Once again, this is more often than not successful. I don't like looking at the arrows or dots themselves when I am trying to deliver the ball, it is in an area of my vision that is uncomfortable for me personally. I find looking at a single board in the exact area that I find comfortable is much more benificial to my game, and I have tried both methods.

I guess that at the end of the day, it comes down to what is comfortable and works for you.

 

[quasi2k]

It's nice with synthetic lanes, because of the light and dark coloured boards. With wood, it's slightly more difficult.

Just draw a line back to where you feel more comfortable aiming.

 

[The Space Cowboy]

I have learned to play using arrows and using dots as targets, and I personally find no difference in the consistency of my spare conversions. However, I did find one exception- that when only the 10 pin is remaining, I personally find it is better to use an arrow as the target (the centre arrow for me as a right hander usually pays dividends). By using a dot as a target in this particular instance I find that I release the ball a little too early and the ball tends to drift left of the pin. But the point I'm trying to make is you need to try both and basically see which system is best for you.

laters

pommie boy

 

[Halo05]

to gail,

my previous coach was barbara richmond she was right as i was told always aim on that dot, i worked so hard to aim on dot when coach put 20 cents on that dot i was giggle she said no it not funny but that is serious that will work for strike but i feel more confience, she said to me never look at arrow for strike but if i get 10 pin or 7 pin always look at arrow, but i agree gail said always aim on dot 8)

 

[AdrianS]

These days(especially on the slick inside/ dryer out shots of today) the dots and arrows are more like a line of sight to your target(most of the time a 6 inch wide 3 inch deep box at about 40ft) On the tough stuff this doesn't apply of course but on the typical house condition or broken down tourney condition where the right side has opened up and the heads are still fairly oily this 'gunsight' method seems to be the best way to just stand left throw right and fire strikes. For the grind condition bring your target back, you'll probably have to sight earlier on the lane anyway to help get the ball down earlier to get it into a heavy roll on the 'slush'

 

[da_cowman]

Grip and rip the ball - send the ball out and watch it come back

Sorry, but I disagree with the above comment, please tell, is missing your target, at either dots or arrows, a mistake? the more you miss by, the bigger the mistake.

the person who wins tournaments regularly is the person who makes the LEAST amount of mistakes - not the person who makes no mistakes

A person who Grips and Rips as you say will be missing their targets fair often, creating alot of mistakes. Throw these guys on a tough shot, and, as the US Open proved, they are usless. Hitting boards consistantly is not the aim of the game anymore for most bowlers. It's hitting that roughage kinda area around 15ish board, yeah if I get it through there with enough revs I hopefully will get lucky enough to strike.
No offence to anyone out there, but I simply believe that people can still bowl and stroke the ball and still win. The ability to throw 20 revs at 25km is good a shot to have, but useless if you cant hit the backside of a barn. People could be taught how to bowl, and from there increase the amount of power in their game if nessacary.
Now, there are some great bowlers out there who 'Grip and Rip' there always will be the guys who have that natural ability to crank the ball hard and be good at it. But to be the best they still have to be accurate. But the Natural ability to do it is what is required. Theres no point teaching a a skinny little bloke to whack the hell out of it if he can't control it or throw it consistantly. Teaching a guy that has muscle to him the be able throw some revs is not a bad thing, has he has the natuaral ability to do it. Simply, allowing people to bowl in their own unique style is the best way to see them achieve in any game. Trying to make everyone the same only creates awesome bowlers that have the natural ability to throw that shot. In other words guy who can throw the big shots naturally will do well, the guys that can't, wont so as well as what they could do throwing a simpler shot down the boards.
What I'm getting at is let the bowler decide how they want to bowl, whether it be with awesome amounts of power covering all the boards on the lane, or the guy who covers 7 throwing straight up 10. Let the bowler decide then coach them from there, dont make desicions for them.

Just My opinion, feel free to blast me if you totally disagree

Later Da Cowman!

 

[Gail Torrens]

My quote has been taken out of context. The quote Grip and rip was used to describe getting more out of practise - motivation and having just plain fun - not the immediate topic subject.

Missing your target is what the bowler makes of it - nothing more or nothing less. You are forgetting the small percentage of 'great' bowlers who do not sight at targets but through feeling of swing only -

The amount of revs and tilt required on a ball to 'carry' at the pocket is dictated by the condition from the foul line to the said pocket.

Good reading - Par Bowling by Tom Kouros - describes accuracy and action - This is the desired outcome of all coaching practises.

YOur comments are valid - good to get your personal thoughts out and I agree on a 'flat condition' less hand is a better practise - but when the condition allows - what a great sight to see a talented player rip the racks with a ball that seems to literally explode at the pins. Good bowlers are accurate and also are able to rev the ball. You can reduce the leverage action of a high rev player however it is difficult to teach a low rev player how to high rev a ball
(but not impossible).

Best wishes Gail