Yes you read it correctly 28 videos. The owner of my local house and I got together and played with the lane machine. So we will call this the Psuedo-chameleon. Its about as close as we could get anyways with a Century Phoenix.

There is a good mix of good and bad shots, some bad balance, some errant targeting, some poor lane play. So its all there for you. This was over the course of 3 games, in about a 20 minute span. Very hot and humid today, and I use my practice time as exercise time as well, so you may think I am moving a bit too fast.

Anyways. Here are the videos.

The first one is a nice [censored], no hit release, not 100% as far behind the ball as I can but far enough for any legitimate shot out there.


Second is a repeat of the first nice shot in general I thought. Did fall off the shot late but not too bad.



Third one, I got this one out a but too far and it never came back.



Forth one, is the spare from the previous frame. Just poor form and I grabbed at it at the bottom.



Fifth just another nice strike.



Sixth, light hit.



Seventh, straight at the spare.



Eighth, too far right and too fast.



Ninth, is a weak hit that carried.



Tenth, another weak hit. Left 7 pin.



Eleven, just plain missed right of target.



Twelve, weak again and left a 2 pin. I need to adjust.



Thirteen, adjustment made with feet, but still not ideal. Late ten pin on this one.



Fourteen, late and weak again, must have not moved my feet that one.



Fifteen, is a 6 pin spare with reactive ball.



Sixteen, is the bucket throwing straight.



Seventeen, moving deeper, and yeah that was stupid.



Eighteen, another spare attempt.



Nineteen, yeah, I am a slow learner and I go to the well once again.



Twenty, more direct like the one a few frames ago. OH [censored] there is that 10 pin.



Twenty-one, spared it up.



Twenty-two, ummm, yeah again with the bad line.



Twenty-three, There it is dummy, stay direct.



Twenty-four, just a bad shot, I knew what I should do by this time and just didn't execute it.



Twenty-five, missed the spare the same darn way.



Twenty-six, wow amazing how it works when you hit your target.



Twenty-seven, DUH!!!!



Last one. This is what it should look like everytime. Straight up the middle with almost no hook.

What you need to do next is to learn to scoot the ball. Scooting the ball to the target creates a longer flat spot at the bottom of your swing which gives you a bigger sweet spot to release the ball in. In your videos some of the shots are off be cause of either releasing the ball early or late. Apart from adjusting your grip so you don't have to consciously let the ball go, your only other alternative is to learn to scoot the ball to your target.

Scooting the ball the way Ron Clifton taught me to do it, he had me stand at the foul line and get in a release stance to let the ball swing. He then had me hold the ball at my side and reach as low as I could, then let the ball swing back and forth, the then had me reach back as far as I could and scoot the ball to my target by reaching as low as I could. This exercise also creates good extension which helps keep the ball on line.

Here are some related tips:
http://www.bowl4fun.com/ron/tip28.htm
http://www.bowl4fun.com/ron/tip29.htm
http://www.bowl4fun.com/ron/tip40.htm
http://www.bowl4fun.com/ron/tip26.htm

Good point, Jim. I don't thing DD can use the hand position as all others recommend. He has a natural tilt by using his last 2 fingers. However, if he projects the ball out on the lane rather than pitch it, it will provide a more consistent result, in ball roll and targeting.

I actually tried using my last two fingers instead of my middle two, and there is a distinct difference. Although, the ball rested on my index finger at presentation, It was definitely tilted to the left.

And, as others have suggested, getting my last two fingers behind the ball fully, was near impossible for me without wrist discomfort. Don't think that can be done.
This has been an interesting exercise.

As my coach said about my stiff leg, you have to work with what you have.

The very last shot number 28 represents that absolute extent of my ability to get behind the ball. The ball goes dead straight so its pretty obvious something has changed. All these shots except a couple spares were rolled with the most aggressive ball in my bag. This is the same ball I was hooking the lane with on the Chameleon this past Monday.

My axis tilt is still the same, and I don't see it changing either. This already feels un-natural to me, but I am willing to give it an honest try.

DD, not saying your tilt changed. Mine did from my normal grip to yours. I don't think yours can change after I threw a ball like you.

I was faced with the decision of turning my wrist to keep my fingers behind the ball or keeping the ball with fingers at 7-8 o'clock and rest on my index finger. I tried the fingers behind the ball. My wrist, as some have pointed out about your release, was turned throughout the armswing, as a result.

Doing it your way, I couldn't do what I normally would.

I have decided that my release is what it is, I can make small changes to it, but I am limited. I will make due with what I have, which is one powerful release and limited versatility. I will just have to make my equipment work for me, and make my adjustments that way.