Okay Ive been progressing on my bowling game on my own nicely. Only now Ive hit a brick wall of sorts. When i play with my buddies on open play and even right now with bowling center skimping on summer league oil i find myself needing to move deep. I have medium revs and medium to slow ball speed...

I know that i need to move further and further to the left to find more oil. I start in the middle of the lane and score well up to the end of the first game beginning of the 2nd then when i start going high or threw the nose and begin moving left it all starts going down hill.

Ive been watching the better bowlers and they all can stand pretty much up against the ball return (on the side that has it) and swing the ball out to 10 or so and still make it back to the pocket. My ball either doesn't make it to the correct board, makes it to the board and doesn't turn the corner (this is my main problem), or it goes into the gutter.

what should i be doing different if im moving deeper. I usually throw from about 30-20 to 10-5 and score decent till it drys up.

The deeper you play (typically) the more accurate you have to be. So you have to put accuracy into the equation.

Now if you get further left and your ball doesn't turn the corner enough, then you are a bit too deep. Or you can try targetting closer to get the ball into an ealier roll and therefore turn the corner.

Erin

There are several things that contribute to not playing well inside:

1. Lack of axis rotation
2. Too strong of a ball, where the ball is grabbing early and losing it's axis rotation and burning out.
3. Lack of ball speed causes the same results as #2
4. Lack of revs The ball doesn't have enough energy from you to make the turn. If this is the case, get a weak ball and stay where you are until you can get a coach and take some lessons.

Sometimes I have anxiety attacks playing inside and will pull the ball left of target. I have to really concentrate on keeping my shoulder in line with my target.

I can attest to all of thess.

(disclaimer - I'm not a coach)

With my skid-Flip ball, I find also that too much speed makes it skid past the break point.
You have to have the right ball and be precise in aim, release technique, speed, and follow-thru (follow-thru ensures that the release is consistent and the axis rotation and revs match the chosen breakpoint).

Also, the oil must cooperate. By following the inside line you're basically trusting the oil to assure a skid until a specific exit point, e.g. 40 ft, and if the oil isn't there, either due to light oiling or pattern, or due to previous bowling, - or if it's too long to allow the ball to react strongly off the oil - you're toast.

The shot you make and the line you follow is a choice. Sometimes another choice is wiser.

trust i dont try to play the line because of how it looks hooking. Thats where people score the highest at that point in time...

Get an old ball and practice throwing the ball down the gutter from various angles, after you get used to it and have a nice 0 game, it will be easy to keep the ball on the lane from any angle. If you don't get a 0 you have to start over and do another game until you end up with a score of 0. Every time you throw the ball in the gutter, you need to aim at the same point down lane where the ball fell into the gutter and hit it from 5 boards deeper with your feet.

It is like huge weight being lifted when you are finished, you will have nothing to fear and will be able to play any angle without fear. Well at least what ever angle your ability allows you to, and you will find that you are capable of playing far deeper than you thought as long as you don't put so much pressure on yourself.

We did this exercise in a clinic once with Dean Hinitz. His point was that people were so ingrained to avoid the gutter that they couldn't throw it in the gutter even if they tried. He put a coin at the one board about 40 feet down the lane. And instructed us to put the ball in the gutter at that point. It was amazing how difficult this was for most people.

Erin