I think what I will try is leading with the pinky and see how that works as far as a straight shot. When I throw at spares straight I have some axis rotation but the rev rate is very low like sub 200, so it doesn't hook. I am more looking for a strike release on short oil patterns, so I still want the revs but with much less break.

Try your spare release for a strike shot on short patterns. Since it still has some axis rotation, it might just be what you need. This is why I suggested some time back drilling up a short oil ball with the index finger to help go more up the back of the ball.

After watching these videos and seeing how I used to bowl. You might need a coach to show you videos of yourself what you are doing wrong.

I can clearly see the muscling, hitting up on the ball, grabbing the ball quickly and no follow thru. Whats your hurry? Are you trying to kill the ball? Just saying.

The ball should beyond your knee and not release until you're at your center of gravity in a fluid and muscle-free swing.

The bowling alley was on fire so I had to hurry, and my superhuman strength makes me rip through the ball with such ease, I just can't help myself.

I really hate when the lanes catch on fire. It happened to me twice last year. Once, the ballast in the light in the men's room started burning when it overheated. The second time when an opponent's ball got caught in the ball return roller, and started to smoke. Should have seen the groove gouged in his ball. The Mgr said the ball was OK because the gouge wasn't in his Track. He almost got punched.

And, those of us with above human strength have a problem slowing down. It's just normal to knock a wall down when the door is locked.

Ya'know DD, sometimes I have trouble with recommendations that try to make all of us the same. We are all not made from the same cookie cutter. I understand the logic behind getting the ball to roll and react better. But, some of us are not build to do some of those things, and may not be able to physically do others.

That's why I appreciated my Coach when he watched me after an accident I had a year and a half ago. I now, cannot bend at the sliding hip and occasionally am stiff legged and erect on the slide. As a result, he said we have to work with what ever we have, and we went from there.

What I found is that we can adapt. My release is no longer smooth to the floor, and I sometimes get too much loft, but it is a physical thing that I have to work around. And, it can be done. And, with success, I might add.

I guess that's why bowlers are some of the most unathletic, out of shape people in any sport. A body of all types, shapes and abilities can do this.

I still size up opponents by their physical appearance. It's an old thing from athletic competition. Two weeks ago, in our league, my opponent was a short, dumpy, uncoordinated guy. In a boxing ring, I would have had all the confidence in the world, even though he outweighed me. On the lanes, he rolled 20 mph, roundhouse cranked a 14 # ball, lofted 10+ feet, and tripped over his feet a couple of times. But, he rolled the same ball over and over again for strings of strikes, and beat me.

Can't tell a book by its cover.

Dennis, I agree and I am trying to adapt these recomendations to work for me. I read an article about changing axis rotation and I am going to work on that quite a bit so I can be more versatile. One THS though, I am having a hard time seeing the need to change what I am doing now. I do however want to perfect throwing straight at spares, I do see the benefit in that.

I am trying to learn new things and at the same time, not screw up what I do well. It is coming along slowly.

This is why I think a THS hurts your game. You get rewarded for bad Execution. When I say "you", I mean everyone. Consistency and accuracy just aren't important on a THS and you can trade these for bad habits.

You need to figure out what you want to get out of bowling. If scoring well on house shots is what matters to you, by all means go focus on that. If being an all around good bowler is what you want to work on, then you're going to have to be willing to make gains on more demanding conditions that may not improve your average very much on a house shot.

I quit all house shot leagues a couple years ago because I got tired of making bad shots and striking. Doing that wasn't fun to me and I got really frustrated knowing that my scores did not reflect my Execution. In one league I was averaging 237 after the half way point and finished up at 231. I know that I'm no where near good enough to average that. There are dozens of people around here that didn't average that high that I know are much better than me. Since then I haven't bowled in a house shot league.

Again, you have to figure out what you want bowling to be for you. There's no wrong decision either. I just don't think you're going to be happy trying to straddle the fence.

Unless I wanna drive 80+ miles I don't have many options. So THS is what I have available to me. I think it is perfectly acceptable to try and develop more of a complete game, but foresaking what works well on THS doesn't seem like a smart move if I can develop other parts of my game as well.

I am smart enough to know the difference between when I am executing and when I am getting lucky. Yeah, sure THS gets boring at times, but I have no dillusions about going Pro anytime soon, so having a few beers and shooting well at the same time appeals to me on some levels. On some levels I want more of a challenge, and I am going to see what I can work out with the owner of the center in my town as far as having a Sport League or even just some tournements throughout the year.

Straddling the fence is really the best option I have to me at this time. You gotta remember I live in BFE and Tulsa is 80 miles away, Wichita is 110, Kansas City is 140. I'd love to have more options but I don't.

Also please consider that I have missed most of the innovations in this game since about 1989 and I have a lot of catching up to do. I have said it before though, I averaged 200+ in the 80's, 90's and 2000's so I must be doing something right on some level. I have only been back to bowling for 7 weeks now, after only bowling 2 seasons of the past 18 years.

Many people on this site have been very helpful and I appreciate the feedback despite my resistance at times. I have seen improvement in my game and its slowly coming along. I am slowly coming around to just accepting that the PBAX league I joined is really just a sport shot league, and now I can concentrate on dealing with what is out there instead of expecting certain things to work, and getting pissed off when they don't. So please don't think you haven't gotten through to me at least a little bit.

If all your trying to accomplish is to throw a ball that is on a more direct line with only about 5 boards of movement or so. Why not just throw a plastic ball, with the amount of revs that you put on the ball I'm willing to bet it would still move.

The problem is carry and control. If you lift on the ball as you release it, the ball will tend to hydroplane and not grab the lane at the right point and either over hook or under hook. A plastic ball on today's oil would be even worse, it would over skid and never grab the lane and over deflect as it hits the pins.

What DD is trying to accomplish is to be able to alter his release without lifting on the ball. This is a difficult task for bowlers like him and myself who have been lifting the ball at the release for many years.