"Left or Right"

J

John_Velo

Active Member
Hi All,

This is my final post for 2010. So my goal once again is ten minutes start to finish.

The observation, “Left or Right”, which types rolls the ball the best. Before the argument starts over who has the best side of the lane or not, that is not what I am talking about. It’s about the way a lefties ball rolls. Not the lefties that crank and wish they were like the Righties, but the classic lefty.

As a junior I was always amazed at the likes of Steve Lovell and Fred Allsopp, they had a particular roll on the ball that a right hander does not get. Then at the same time there was Earl Anthony, again a particular roll. It is almost like the ball is patient for them, waits for the end of the oil then turns on, revs up as required.

Looking at other classic left hander’s, Johnny Petraglia and Parker Bohn. Especially look at Johnny SR testing some of the Brunswick stuff for Buddies Pro Shop on YouTube. Their ball just rolls different to a right hander. Even look at Dr CU from the last PBA telecast. The other pros rated him as a hack. But there he stood and the end, again that roll that a right hander never seems to get. Check out George F’s delivery again the ball is so patient for the lefties.

It’s a delivery different to Righties, Norm Duke does not have it, Walter Ray does not have it the same, yet both amazing bowlers.

Is it a mechanical make up of a left hander?

Do we drill our bowling balls wrong?

Try and emulate a lefties delivery as a Right hander and it never really has the same shape when mirror reversed.

Do the lefties know something we Righties don’t?

And that’s my ten minutes done.
 
Having just become a lefty, from being a righty, and using the same balls redrilled, I can say for a fact, that the ball is easier to get down the lane on the left than the right.

With the sandpaper covered balls these days, even on "hard" synthetic lanes, the surface gets chewed up, which creates more friction. Because of most house shots, righties are forced to play between 2-3 arrow. Most have a gumby wristed release and use balls sanded to 320 grit to create movement. The lane gets chewed up and plays like a tracked out wood surface after a few years. Throw the ball out too far, and smoother surface outside acts like out of bounds... Opposite is true if you try to play up the gutter.... tug it, instant hook.

Lefties have to opportunity to stay further left longer, due to surface not as damaged, and the oil holding up longer. Again, less friction, more energy retained downlane, and possibly more hitting power for less hand. There are not many lefties around with a rev rate over 400... Jason Couch, Rhino Page and back in the day, John Gant are the exception.

Now my head hurts :p
 
Hi John, l think the delay you speak of is more about as Androoooo says, the lane rather than the release. Couch, Page and Gant can certainly produce earlier ball reaction and none wear wrist support. Fred, George and Scroggins get a lot of delay on ball pick up due to the brace. I purchased a ball from George last year and copied the drilling, (Storm Hyroad) in his hands it was smooth and got great length. I barely bowled a game with it before getting it drilled a little tamer, it was the biggest hooking ball l had and too aggressive off the break even with more ball speed. I think more right handers at tournament level have just evolved into higher rev rate players as well, but more through necessity due to the fact they have to keep moving deeper to find the oil. Maybe there should be less right handers and then they wouldn't have this problem, lol.
 
Part of the unique way lefties roll the ball relates to the brain quadrants utilised by each player. Most lefties are "right brained" hence tend to be more rythmical, as a result tend to have slightly less mechanical movements during their swing/approach. Might be the unique roll you are thinking about
 
Keeping in mind we are talking about the way the ball "looks" whilst rolling down the lane, rather than the actual logical benefits of the lane surface:

I think one thing that can partially explain what you think you see john, is the fact that our eye & mind is that used to seeing right handed bowling that it leaves an imprint in our memory - seeing a left handed roll the ball seems stranegly different because its not what we normally associate with the action.

The reason I come up with that is because I experience the same thing when digital drawing, as do many other artists - portraits in particular are a good example. People will draw a face, & it will look completely symetrical to them, the way they draw it. But when they mirror the image, it shows inconcistancy & distortion - because we favor sight from one eye, & our mind fills in the rest.
 
Hi All,

First of all, Happy New Year to all. No I am not completely nuts posting at 1:15AM New Year night. But sleep is kind of out of the question with a joint party in the street and 100 teenager partying in my drive way. Good bunch of kids. Just glad mine are with their mother tonight and not over there adding to the racket.

Ok, To the feed backs. I am definitely not talking about lane conditions, those we can’t change. If I look back to when I was around the age of 18, I worked in a bowl. After the place closed I would through 10 or so games. Sometimes left handed other right handed. Whilst left was really uncomfortable, I could get that roll I am talking about. That was on bone dry lanes. With an old Blue Dot.

Brenton is maybe on to something here. The mind works differently. I had a discussion with Stephen Cowland a few week back about always missing your spot and accepting the target you hit. The conversation was around left and right eye view and how the brain works / computes that information. So maybe it is slightly genetic orientated. A rhythmical natural flow maybe as suggested by Brenton.

This then maybe leans a little on Troyza, maybe mirror reversing is purely an optical illusion. Viewing the video reversed it still looks different to a right hander. But maybe just an illusion.

Should right hander’s be using a harder ball so that it is less effected by the lane surface?

Thanks guys, it is good to hear from both sides of the camp ( no pun intended ) and from some that have switch right to left.

It’s all about understanding and learning to make us all that little bit better.
 
Hi John
You have to take lane conditions into account because they dictate what release you put on the ball as this effects the roll. Brenton is also correct, and he knows his stuff, but you have to release the ball effectively and the mind simply makes decisions on what it sees. So if the lane allows a shot that will get down the lane you can be more ... whatever suits.
You can use a harder ball but in competitions the best performers are those throwing a shot they are comfortable with. You can only adjust so much and it is a real accomplishment to beat someone throwing their natural shot whilst you are not.
I have to say you raise some great subjects.
 
Brenton is on the money. The left / right sporting action "thing" has been analyzed by all sports for decades. They have spent zillions of $$$ on the question.

It is to do with the brains hemispheres and left brain / right brain and the transfer of information, from a "thought" process to a "doing" action.

There have been many prognoses by many elite universities, mental training facilities and Olympic studies across many countries.

All surmise the answer, but few will be eager to definitively say that the brain quadrants are the rascal.

There is a world of difference between the athlete's action (left brain / right brain) and the end result of the sporting impliment being used.

Top question - huge answers.

The more we research - The more we find.
 
It is a very interesting subject
It has been overhauled many times

A good friend of mine and I decided we would bowl a doubles league
together but we had to bowl opposite hands So he bowled Left handed and I
Bowled right handed.
I out averaged him 145 to 141, We both averaged + 200 normally
This was back in 1987 on wood lanes with non reactive bowling balls

I , being a lefty , have heard forever and a day by Right hand bowlers
how easy it is on the left and how we have an advantage over right
hand bowlers. Frankly I think that is a loud of rubbish

There are so many examples that i have seen in person of " New Lanes",
"Newly resurfaced lanes"," Relaquered lanes" " New Synthetic Lanes" when ALL things are equal for all bowlers at the same time, even back in the day when oil patterns were
not even known about, we used nappies and a floor polisher with a fly
spray applicator to distribute the oil
With all this happening I still sore both Left and Right handers win, sure
some people dominated for periods of time, both left and right handed

Other sports at times have a domination of left handers , as did Australian
cricket with Langer, Hayden, Gilchrist, Border, Taylor , Hooks etc

SO as Brenton and Geoff have said the theory of the right / Left brain
issue has always been the one that i think makes sense

Cheers
Geoff
 
Hi Guys,

I am really glad this thread has been seen for its intended purpose. Lane conditions aside there is a difference and it may very well not be mechanical but mental wiring.

Can it be trained into a Right hander and vice versa. But the one thing that is nice to see, every one in this thread is calling bowling a "sport" and using phrases like "sports science". That's great. It is a sport and not just a game. Bowling is unique as it can be enjoyed by all.

24 for year away from the sport I grew up with and the love for the science and mechanics still puts a smile on my face. Yet it is all weirdly new.

Forums for me are about learning. Sharing the knowledge so our sport can grow. Thanks guys, I feel very privileged to have some of the biggest names in Australian Bowling making comments and taking the time to share their knowledge.


Thank you.
 
John,

As a follow up, I also believe this "mental wiring" is partly the reason that lefties are far less adaptable to unfavourable lane conditions than righties. Even back in the lacquer days lefties were inclined to plug away with the outside line, rather than adjust to something further inside.

Not only is it a matter of necessity for right handers to be more adaptable, but also a part of their makeup. I have often been described as a "left brained left hander" (among many other less complimentary names) because what I do is not natural and I tend to look more inside when the outside shot doesn't give me the look I want. I often feel very comfortable shooting inside 4th arrow tight, as long as it gives me a look I feel comfortable with.

Am I drawing too long a bow here? I don't believe so, but without absolute empirical evidence one way or the other, I don't know if I am on the right track or just blowing smoke up your butt. :confused:
 
For whatever reason my first coach has, he asked me to bowl with my left eye (I am right-handed). I have since adjusted and been bowling that way. I aim with my left eye and that is the only thing I do on the left side. Everything else is right.

I think it "probably" allowed me to push the ball further right when I needed to, and/or not missing my targeting on the right side? I seriously don't know how it helped it, because I never bowled "right-eyed" much.
 
Hi Carlin,

That is an interesting point you make. I have a mate that does trap shooting and what eye to aim with maybe a conversation worth having.

Maybe a Google search on shooting sports / throwing sports such as base ball and basket ball may have some studies on left v right and the techniques used by each. I could not tell you how many times I got in trouble as a junior for not being able to hit my spot. I developed a technique of aiming for an area on the lane where I wanted the ball before it would break. Funny, looking back at it now, as 20+ years on and that technique would work well now.

There is still so much to be learnt with our sport. Looking at the two handed delivery as the next big thing. Image what the next 20 years will bring in delivery techniques. Certainly exiting to be a part of.
 
carlin_lee said:
For whatever reason my first coach has, he asked me to bowl with my left eye (I am right-handed). I have since adjusted and been bowling that way. I aim with my left eye and that is the only thing I do on the left side. Everything else is right.

I think it "probably" allowed me to push the ball further right when I needed to, and/or not missing my targeting on the right side? I seriously don't know how it helped it, because I never bowled "right-eyed" much.
Click to expand...

Carlin,

Your coach may be looking to overcome some right eye dominance that might have been causing major "sighting error", meaning that you might have been putting the ball where you thought you weren't.

To explain. Often bowlers think they have hit a certain target, when in fact, due to "sighting error" caused by dominance of one eye over the other, means you are actually hitting a target well inside or outside where you think
you are hitting. I know, for example, that I have to target 2 boards left of where I actually want the ball to go. Very interesting for a lefty when I want to shoot 1 board! I have to look the equivalent of 2 boards into the gutter.
 
Brenton_Davy said:
Part of the unique way lefties roll the ball relates to the brain quadrants utilised by each player. Most lefties are "right brained" hence tend to be more rythmical, as a result tend to have slightly less mechanical movements during their swing/approach. Might be the unique roll you are thinking about
Click to expand...

In my view - spot on Brenton.

What you speak of is known as the Hermann Brain Dominance Instrument. It speaks of how the brain decides how to carry out orders given to it. It includes the level of analytical, sequential, interpersonal and imaginative thinking involved in carrying out a task.....Bowling included :p

Lefties (generally right-brained) think differently to the left-brained (or right-handed) bowler. They put their shot together a lot simpler and with a lot less technicality than the righties, which could well be the reason why they get such a different roll.
 
Hmmm... First of all, yes, I know about the left vs. right brain, analytical vs. wholistic, reasoning vs. creative, etc. school of thought. It's proven that the two sides provide different functions and that they tend to dominate in accordance with hand usage.

Brenton Davy and George Frilingos have the classic "break point free" roll, but are two of the most technically-minded players around. I can emulate that long break "region" look with a long (5+") pin to PAP pin-down layout in a symmetrical cored ball. (In fact it's about all I drill these days.) I'm working on getting my hand even further out of the release and this is also getting me closer to bowling Nirvana in the modern game.

Why do I suddenly get a similar length of break point? Because I am using lower rotation, rev rate and tilt combined a layout that makes the ball roll transition slower, elongating the breakpoint. Combined with the fact that I use very smooth ball surfaces (2000 grit is pretty aggressive for me), it makes me think that Androooo is on the money and it's all about surface friction, which is 65% of ball reaction and even more when you consider what else it drives. Let's face it, there's usually a lot more friction on the RHS.

I can roll a ball much slower through the heads cleaner on the LHS the the RHS at Tuggeranong. Even the long pin to PAP layouts, which are more aggressive when thrown left handed. Admittedly, the joint is a cathedral to left-handedness, but you get the picture.

I think there are more physical than metaphysical reasons that the looks are so different from side to side. You simply can't get away with the "fudge up 5" on the right that often, as the lanes are burned up to the left of you fast and then you're in a world of hurt. Paul Trotter or Steven Cowland are about as close as we get on the right and they don't get it that often. They're pretty damned good when they do though! :)
 
Hi Jason,

I am really glad you have piped up. One of the question I posed early was " do we right hander’s simply not understanding the ball layout or do we need to change our understanding to get a lefty look in?"

Since coming back I have changed my delivery so many times to get the ball to work the way I believe it should. I have been slowly improving. But as you state, get it wrong and it’s a world of pain. Split after split with a shot that did not look to bad. Just dead when it gets there cause the ball looks to have rolled out a few feet to early.

I have seen an interesting article on how Norm Duke lays out his bowling kit. Always the same with little variation.

Norm Duke: http://www.kegel.net/library/foArticles.asp?iKodYazi=43

Chris Barns: http://www.kegel.net/library/foArticles.asp?iKodYazi=45

Jason, again thank you for your input. I have a few bowling balls now and tried a number of different layouts. The symmetrical ball is just a lot easier to control. Makes my lack of talent a little less obvious.
 
Brenton Davy and George Frilingos have the classic "break point free" roll, I'll take this as a compliment, thanks Jason ;)

My game and ability to 'push' the ball through the front of the lane is a testiment to my early days bowling in Townsville where 'friction' was well in abundance at both Kirwan and Currajong. This 'push' has proven to be the key to my success as it allows me to take the heads almost out of play and stay in the same part of the lane longer. Maybe once or twice a year I am forced to have the ball roll early but most time, I can play my natural game.

I have seen right handers do what I can do but usually it's an all or nothing shot with limited success. It comes down to the high performance balls stripping the lane of oil and the amount of traffic on the right. I must say watching Cowland play the edge at Strikezone was impressive but opportunities like that for right handers are far and few between due to sheer traffic usually.

I was always told from a young age that left handers had a more natural turning action with their wrist, something to do with the 'left/right' brain info that was mentioned earlier. As history shows, most lefties tend to be strokers and very smooth to say the least. The right handed game whilst all starting as strokers changed due to stronger balls and being forced to create stronger angles from having to move deeper.

Try opening a door handle with your right hand, then use your left to open the same handle. Easier isn't it :)
 
GeorgeF said:


Try opening a door handle with your right hand, then use your left to open the same handle. Easier isn't it :)
Click to expand...


Depends whether the door is hinged on the right or on the left. Try it and see.

I'm Right, am I not?.............. or Left, as the case may be??
 
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