Had a situation in league last night and I have a question that I hope the fine folks here can give me some insight.

I had three back to back to back 7 - 10 splits last night and narrowly avoided a fourth one in a later frame. Was this just a fluke.........bad luck, or is there some adjustment that can be made to avoid this mess? I know this is probably a stupid question, but I currently have no answer and this has been bugging me all day.

I believe 7-10s usually occur when the ball breaks just a tad later than one that strikes and comes in at a bit of an extreme angle hitting low on the head pin. Moving a board or two out might get the ball to break at the right point and face up better. Also a ball with more surface might help.

Follow up question: What is the best way try and make a 7-10 split?

Thanks.

Direct hit on the non-gutter pin that traps that pin in corner. The pin's only place to go is up & over the ball onto the pin deck; from there it is all luck.

~ John

Thanks ljohn83. I guess you would also want to throw it as hard as possible to bounce it out of the pit.

What is the non-gutter pin? Is that the one opposite the ball return?

Ha! Ha! Yes. I mean the outside gutter away from the ball return.
I have read here that the ball return gutter is deeper and has less chance of a pin coming out of it. IE: To max out chance of picking up the 7-10, target 10 pin on right lane, left lane target 7 pin.
As a side note: one of my goals in bowling is to pick up the 7-10 split. I am lined up to shoot my single 7's & 10's with that in mind. So when I finally leave a 7-10 I am excited and ready to make it. I shoot my normal shot (no harder or softer) and hope for the best; been close but haven't made it yet.

PS My normal is probably considered hard! - 18mph on the overhead.

I've been plagued by 7-10's lately too. Pocket 7 10 cost me a 300 last Sunday and I had a 7 strike , 1 missed pocket 194 game with 2 7 10's.. one in the tenth..
I'm not sure what the deal is.. For me a 7 10 is usually wide and a little long before the ball gets to the pocket.

I will say there is something to bouncing the pins out.. I know speed seems to help. We have guys that throw the ball really hard and pins are always bouncing out all over. One guy picked up the 7 10 twice in one night..

There is another guy that doesn't throw the ball fast at all but for some reason always has the 10 pin bounce back on the deck when he shoots it. I counted 6 times one night. Maybe it is his ball but he doesn't throw anything different then anyone else.. I think a maxim..
Maybe it is his speed , rotation, and angle into the ten pin.

When i leave the 7-10 I look to myself, because I notice that the ball has a weirder different roll on it than I've rolling the rest of the night. So for me, it's in the release.

Whew! Thanks for unconfusing me which doesn't take much these days! Yes, I think I have read the same here that the pit has a slight tilt to it towards the ball return. Makes sense so the ball rolls back to the return mechanism.

Sometimes I'll use my plastic ball which is a little lighter and try to hurl it down the lanes at the corner pin. Heavier ball goes slower but has more mass so pick your poison.

Thanks much.

Generally speaking, in my experience, your ball is nearly DOA (in terms of power) when it hits the pocket.

You end up leaving a weak 10 but then the 4 pin misses the 7, thus you end up with a 7-10 split.

I would never move after leaving just 1 of those, because it likely was just a bad delivery or you missed your mark. However, after a 2nd one it's definitely something with the lanes, your release, or how you are playing.

I usually tell people to just make a minor adjustment (half step up/back on the approach, change your ball position slightly, etc.) That's all it usually means, after all, you're hitting the pocket.

A good drill is simply to hold your finish and watch your ball reaction. If it's coming up too late, you're risking the 10 pin, the 7-10, the 2-10, or even the 2-8-10. If you're coming up too soon, then you say hello to the 4-9, 4-6, 4-6-10, 4-7-10, among others.

This game can be so frustrating sometimes right! LOL

(you reminded me of a night I was bowling Colorama in Alaska and I shot 868. The one miss? A pocket 7-10