In that case, I think I'm fine. But for some reason, I have the feeling that my wrist is a a somewhat strong position, at least straight. That's fine for me. My coach also tells me I'm never under the ball anyways, so what I doing with my hand in my stance is essentially pointless(except for comfortability). He suggested I lower my armswing to accomodate this, since it's easier to stay under the ball then. At the top of my swing as it is, I'm on top of the ball and have nothing of a good position like Tommy Jones.

So I guess I should worry more about the free armswing than the stature of my wrist and how many revs I get, since accuracy will probably take me a much longer way than more revs. Although, I can't totally knock down the idea of more revs because I've found that it gives you a little more room for error and better carry percentage. Agree or disagree?

I would disagree about the more revs being a better margin of error. I would have to say that you have more margin for error if you let your ball do the work. I've bowled with high rev bowlers and with low rev bowlers and witht he higher revs unless they are really good they've had to wait for the lanes to be right for them. I've seen many high rev bowlers go from 250+ games to 140 and 150 games.

But on the flip side that extra power does help if you are off a little. However, I'd rather throw a lot of good accurate balls with a few lucky ones than throw 5 or 6 lucky ones and then have my luck run out.

Yeah there's a few people around here with high revs that are good at what they do. Sometimes they just have too much room for anyone to compete with in my opinion, since over/under happens less for them I think. Either way, it's also kinda back and forth. Sometimes strokers have the advantage, sometimes crankers so. By that I mean if a cranker misses in a way that the ball will come in light and can't carry that way, chances are the stroker can carry light and probably solid as well. Same with the other way around.

But in terms of hitting the head pin, I say people with high revs have the highest chance of doing so, with the exception of pretty accurate strokers. So obviously if high revs were a requirement to be good(and it's not, it just helps sometimes), the PBA tour would probably have the lowest rev rate being something like 350 at least.

Amateur, I would suggest that higher rev bowlers, in your term, Crankers, would be more affected by oil spread, carrydown, where it requires a very manageable adjustment for the stroker. Certainly, heavier oil concentration on the outside soes much more damage to the cranker's game.

In terms of how the ball carries, it really is a matter of entry angle, axis of rotation, and tilt, and either method can adjust their delivery to affect these. The outside play is the problem for the cranker. they need a bounce or it's 10 pin city.

It all depends i think if you can control those revs. I seen Cranker who have high revs and cant control them and seen them for from 250 down to 170.

I also seem high Revs player who can control there revs on given lane condition with change of hand position and are able to keep up with lane transition vs Cranker who cant control his revs.

So, reverse blocks or any other patterns where more concentration of oil is outside is basically trouble for the cranker? This is probably true, but I find that the good bowlers will find a way at least to the pocket. Carry might be another issue. I'm not a great bowler, but I see myself as a tweener, maybe just under it, and I think for my level I'm not that bad at changing things to turn carry in my favor. I'm doing a summer league at a house that if you throw a good shot and don't carry, change something because "eventually they'll go down" doesn't apply there. That's how I found out I'm pretty capable of changing whatever i need to in order to carry better.



I can do 300, then I can do 200 or less(not sure what it is. But the only way I can do 200 or less is to use only either the ring or middle finger. That's basically what I would do on really dry lanes if I don't want to move further in. Other than that I change axis rotation and or tilt to minipulate my roll. The only thing is if I'm going for something like 15-30 degrees I lose revs naturally because I don't turn my hand on that release, I just hold my hand the way I want to come out of it in my stance and keep it that way. That way there's almost no way I can overturn it and accidentally get unwanted rotation. Maybe that's one thing to practice, turning my hand at release to just the amount of rotation I want.

Then why ask the question if you are so adept at changing or using this style? It doesn't make sense really. If you would rather err on the side of luck or at least a perceived notion of skill, then why ask us if it is a good idea? It sounds like you've already made up your mind, you just want someone else to pat you on the back and say it's okay or good job.

I think what everyone is trying to find out or at least say to your question is, would you rather be lucky than skillful? Because from my experience it takes a long time for crankers and palmers to get good,and a lot of the times I see them it seems to me that they rely on the lanes being perfect for them or luck. Or maybe your asking is it okay to be skillfully lucky i.e. to have talent?

Ahh, what do I know, I've only been bowling competitively for a year and a month.

I was asking about the different styles out of pure curiosity since I was under the impression that more revs gave a bigger margin of error than the strokers have. But now that I think about it, and from my experience in league today, I think you're right about letting the ball do the work gives more margin for error.

Now I'm really curious about whether or not my balance arm plays a big part in my accuracy. What I mean to ask is, should I stick with this "stiff arm" type of movement I do with my balance arm(kinda like T.Jones), or do I need to have it more parallel to my target line from start to finish just like my hips and shoulders?

It depends really. If you're going to do the T. Jones shoulder dip thing I'd say you are fine with it the way it is. It's primary function is to balance you. As for myself, I use it to help balance myself and keep my shoulders parallel and square. If more of a stroker type style is what you want the it could have a bigger role, but it doesn't have to, in my opinion. My coach he's a tweener that has his balance arm pointed down a little and back a smidge. It really doesn't look like it does much for him.

The thing I like about letting the ball do the work are the times when you know you threw it right and you can turn around and know you got a strike. It's nice to do every now and again, especially for an intimidation factor. What's even better is when you time a motion with the sound of the ball hitting the pins. Hey every now and again it feels good to show off.

Oh but that aside you have a much greater margin of error because essentially you are attacking or going to the lanes instead of letting them come to you. Instead of waiting for a 230 game, you can attack and get three low 200 games and do just as well if not better than a patient bowler.

Yeah, I'm just thinking about keeping my balance arm straight out(maybe a little low too) to my side for consistency purposes. Sometimes, I belly the ball too far out and it's either due to the balance arm opening my shoulders more or the trail leg flying to the left opening my hips at release. Either way, I don't think it's impossible to swing it with my balance arm to my side, I just gotta make sure I line up right. This would sort of help me on my left hand spares because I would miss a lot of them to the right if there was more oil than the THS(the Shark for example).

Tell me what you think. Regardless I'll probably give it a try on Monday but I bet I won't get used to it right away. It's something I'll have to work on for sure. WRW is a perfect example of what I'd be going for with that arm.