Where do you target?

*robbo*

*robbo*

Member
Hey all, i've been speaking to a few people and just thought i'd throw this up, just curious how many of you don't target at or near the arrows, i know a few target dots, i myself target at or just under or past the arrows according to the condition, so where do you aim???
 
Roysa said:
Good thread.

I think I'm in the minority. Dots.
Click to expand...


I think you might be surprised Roy. Many people aim at the dots, including myself. Sometimes, I'll aim further up the lane a bit, if I want it to go a bit longer.

Watch Wes Malott bowl. He aims at the dots on the foul line!
 
Hey Andy...

I feel my balance (which isn't great at the bed of times) is off when I look too far down lane. The dots seem the perfect spot for me.

Surprised given your height you don't look further down the majority of the time.
 
Aiming at dots you need to maintain greater accuracy. ( e.g. I/2board at the dots is much further out at the pins, than 1/2 board out at the arrows ) For years I used dots - 5 or 6 years ago, I changed to arrows. Initially it worked, threw a couple of 290s, and a 289 as part of a 750 series. Currently can't score hardly at all - might help if I aim at the pins?
 
I will literally throw myself under a bus by saying I start by aiming at or around the arrows ... As I go through my approach though I shift my target to the base of the pins. On my first shot it can be anywhere from the left side of the 10 pin to the same of the 6pin ... Sounds really weird I know, but I have always been a pin targeter. I spent a few solid days of work with a Gold USBC coach back in 2011 that actually didn't disagree entirely with this ... I believe he called it the 'quiet eye approach' to targeting on the lanes ... But honestly with the pattern play I'm struggling and will be watching the more elite players responses with interest.
 
It depends what pattern it is and what kind of roll I would like on the ball.
On a short pattern I will look at the dots and if I need to start making my ball roll later then I will change where I look. On a long and a house pattern I will also look at the arrows
 
OK,

First of all let me start by saying, Geoff, that's funny.

Ok, as a junior I found I could not hit the side of a barn to save myself. As an adult I now understand why, I am so one eye dominate that I need to aim 4 boards right of what I want to hit.

So I aim for the arrows ( well the one i think i am going to hit), but my real target is my break point, the area I need to make the ball go throw to hit the pocket. The arrows are just there to give me a line up point to focus at.

Now if only that worked.
 
Norm duke describes hitting the mark quite well and describes it in depth in his DVD “ learn to bowl competitively “ with his “figure 8” description whereby he aims at the arrows about 15 feet , but isn’t looking at the arrows as such but is glaring at where the arrows are as he is building a spot in his peripheral vision at the break point down the lane, this way he can track his ball trajectory and make adjustments with his swing plane . The science behind this was if he hits the 25 board arrow and it rolls and breaks at the 4 board then there is a 21 board variance. He adds that to the 25 board (target) which gives him a pushaway target at the 46 board ( basically the gutter cap). He then uses imaginary gridlines to dictate ball speed , up for more, down for less. The as the lane starts to transition he makes adjustments accordingly.
 
I am different again. For me I have the dots but use a 3 point system. Dots is for the heads, arrow area (dependant on pattern volume, shape and length) and a breakpoint I want the to move back at to ensure pocket hit and hopefully, carry.
 
As a relative newby, I am making a lot of assumptions when reading this thread:
- The dots are those on the foul line.
- You are keeping an eye on your "target", which means that (for those who use the dots to target) when you release the ball you are looking at the foul line (not down the lane).
- You are "acquiring the target" when back on the approaches, in your initial stance.

Am I right, or am I reading this wrong?

Personally, I aim at an arrow - the theory is that I trust the ball to do the right thing after it has gone over the arrow. This trust is assuming that the ball won't grab (or start to swing) before the arrow (for my reactive). As you can see - I am making a lot of assumptions! Like John_Velo a couple of posts back, "now only if that worked"!
 
I can't speak for anyone else but I'm not referring to dots at foul line. I look at the dots between the foul line and arrows.
 
I find it easier to hit targets at the dots, but I also put the ball down a lot earlier when I do this, compared to when I look at the arrows.

It really depends. If I need more length, I look at the arrows. My goal is to hit my target at the arrows or dots, but ultimately make it to my breakpoint target (usually some odd reflection)
 
At different times over the years I would target either arrows or dots, depending how far down the lane I wanted to land the ball, found it useful to adjust entry angle by landing in a different spot without having to make a starting position or line of the ball change.
These days I'm using my start position, the arrows and a point on one of the pins as the line I want to bowl down and concentrate on a breakpoint along that line. I have an imaginary line through the 3 points and my swing line is parallel with that line. Am now using speed adjustment to change how far down the line the breakpoint occurs.
I count boards at the pins to adjust the line I'm bowling on, by using 1 board for each of following... outside left pin edge,, left side of pin base,, middle of pin base,, right side of pin base,, outside right of pin base,, gap between pins ...(as counting 6 boards)

Warning, I'm bowling worse than ever, so dont follow me
 
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