One of the reasons the house I bowl in is tightening the shot is because, as the manager said to me, "there were way too many people with averages well above their abilities", and he was right about that. There must've been, oh, 10 or so people in the scratch league I bowled in who were well above their ability in terms of their average. For them, if they weren't striking, they weren't making spares, either. That just shows you their true colors.
I agree. Last night my higher game of 145 was mostly from spare pickups. My average dropped a bit as the lane was do dry, and had trouble of throwing my ball to break off the 5th.
To the OP, while I cant do it very well myself yet, having a relaxed arm swing is greatness.