Bowling Ball Drilling Sitemap

Foreword - "Let's go bowling!" That's become the rallying cry of almost thirty million Americans throughout the United States who take their exercise in extremely palatable form: rolling a hard rubber ball down sixty feet of maple and pine toward ten standing pins. Today nearly everybody bowls—mother, dad, the kids—the whole family.

Introduction - Writing this book has been a source of great personal pleasure. It has also been somewhat of a professional triumph, for ever since I first took up the sport back in the 1930's, one of my supreme ambitions has been to present my bowling instruction methods in book form.

Bowling wasn't always as it is today. It wasn't too long ago that the sport—with its unreliable pin boys and its dark and cloistered settings—was on a social par with love-making on the front stoop.

01. Equipment - Although it isn't necessary to own your own equipment in order to enjoy bowling, I strongly recommend that you do. All bowling centers have "house balls" available for use at no charge to customers, and your local bowling center will rent bowling shoes. But you'll find your scores mount when you have equipment fitted to your individual specifications. When you buy a ball your bowling proprietor or his pro shop will drill it for you at no charge. If you're really serious about bowling, you should buy your own ball and have it drilled for your own physical make-up. It's like buying a tailor-made suit. It will fit you perfectly; it's yours alone.

02. The Stance - I can't impress upon the bowler the importance of taking a starting stance in the proper manner. If your stance isn't right, your delivery won't be right; and then the pins are go­ing to be particularly stubborn. Just as in golf, if you don't address the ball properly the chances are pretty good you won't hit it properly. So take time with your stance—get yourself properly set before you bowl.

03. Push Away - You've found your starting point, you've set your feet and your shoulders, and you're holding the ball properly. Now the action of the delivery begins—and it begins with a motion that is called the pushaway. The pushaway is triggered by the first step of your delivery. I describe it like this: it's a rather  slow-moving  motion  wherein  the  ball  is  "pushed" down, away, and slightly to the right of the body. Remember these words: down, away, and to the right. They describe the most important part of the pushaway motion.

04. Four-step - As I tour the country conducting "Free Bowling Clinics," giving individual instruction, and presenting exhibitions, I ad­vocate and teach the four-step delivery. I'm convinced you can't beat it. Most of the professional stars you see today use the four-step style, for it is the one that insures the sharpest timing and coordination.

05. Explosion - You can have a smooth delivery and a wonderfully co­ordinated approach, but if the manner in which you release the ball isn't right, then you are going to be just another duf­fer. Practice the proper release. You can even do it at home

Keep your wrist straight and firm. Here's the "perfect" wrist follow­ing release.

You don't have to make any delivery; just practice releasing your bowling ball into a pile of pillows or an old chair or sofa. It's crucial for you to learn to release properly.

06. Follow-through - No matter what the sport, the follow-through is an all-important motion. It is just as important to the batter in base­ball or the fielder as he throws the ball, as it is to the football player who kicks or passes. It is equally important in bowling. Following through in bowling simply means allowing your arm to continue its natural upward motion after the ball has left your hand—that is, immediately after the release or ex­plosion

07. Hook Ball - All the top professional stars in the country roll a sharp-breaking hook ball. Let me describe it for you: the ball starts out on almost a straight line toward the pins, but as it nears the pins, about two-thirds of the way down the lane, it breaks in sharply toward them. This is the kind of ball that gives you high scores—the one to strive for on both strike and spare shots.

08. Your Target - Now that you have mastered the approach, delivery, and release of the ball, you must learn to acquire accuracy. Of course, we all know the ball should strike the pins in the 1—3 pocket to achieve a strike, and further, that the hook ball, explained in the previous chapter, is the best method for hit­ting in the 1—3 pocket.

How do you direct the ball into the 1—3 pocket? Well, to answer that question, let me explain the spot-bowling system of targeting—the system I heartily advocate to all bowlers. Spot bowling is simply directing the ball so that it rolls over "spot" or directional guides on the lane in front of you and then moves into the pins.

09. Bowling Etiquette - Bowling, like any other sport, has a set of do's and don'ts that must be followed so that all can enjoy the game. The rules are based on common sense, and express courtesy and good sportsmanship.

Here are ten of the most important ones:

• DO yield the "right of way." When two bowlers are on adjacent lanes, and simultaneously ready to bowl, the bowler on the right delivers first. The other bowler ought to remain off or to the rear of the approach area. This rule doesn't apply if the bowler on the left is shooting for a spare.
• don't take a practice swing with your bowling ball on the concourse or behind the approach. Wait until you are up on the approach itself before doing any practice exercises.

10. Spare Shooting - Today's average bowler is more of a strike shooter than a spare shooter. He takes careful aim; he concentrates on the strike shot; but on spares he tends to get a little lax. This is a costly mistake. Spares are of prime importance, and should be granted as much, or more, concentration than the normal strike delivery.

Without the spare credits on your score, the strike balls aren't nearly as important as they might be. I tell my pupils to make their spares—the strikes will take care of themselves.

11. Correcting Faults - My purpose in the preceding chapters has been to teach you to bowl properly. As I visit different bowling centers through­out the country, I'm afraid I see incorrect and faulty styles as often as I do proper ones.

In this chapter I've tried to point out some of the most common faults. If any of these styles look like yours then my advice is to change. Your scores and your average are sure to benefit.

12. Advanced Bowler - Once you have mastered bowling's fundamentals, you will find that there are many subtleties of the approach and de­livery that still may be something of a mystery to you. Be heartened by the fact that even the most advanced bowling stars have scoring problems.

Some of the most common of these are listed below:

1) ALLEY SENSE

Bowlers too often "fight" the lane. The ball either hooks too much or it won't hook at all, so try to adjust to lane condi­tions

13. Score in Bowling - Scoring is a simple matter. It is simply a case of mastering a few basic symbols and using ordinary addition to arrive at the total score.

Here are some basic rules to follow:

1. A game consists of ten frames. Each box on your score-sheet represents one frame.
   
2. The maximum number of balls rolled in each frame is two.
   
3. If you get a "strike"—all ten pins with your first ball —score 10 in that box, plus the number of pins you knock down with your next two balls. Thus, the maximum score in each frame is 30—representing three strikes in a row.

14. Bowling Organizations - The tremendous spread of the popularity of bowling in re­cent years is due in large part to the organizational structure that is the sport's backbone. Organizations exist for average bowlers, for junior bowlers, and for professional stars.

You may be interested in joining one or more of these organizations. The benefits they offer are described on the following pages.

15. Champs Tips - 1960 PBA doubles champion—1960 Bowler of the Year, 1959 Eastern Open (Newsday) Champion.

"Use the proper weight ball for your own special physical char­acteristics. Be sure that a competent instructor, one who knows you and has seen you bowl, fits you for your bowling ball."

All time ABC singles record holder.

"Women in general have much better rhythm and coordination than men and should make better bowlers. But they fail to move the ball with their first step, and therefore their timing and co­ordination are upset.

Acknowledgment - I wish to thank the following people for their help in gathering together much of the editorial material and photo­graphs featured in this book:
Frank Baker, Executive Secretary of the American Bowl­ing Congress; George Burton, Director of Public Relations, Bowling Proprietors' Association of America; Alberta Crowe, President, Women's International Bowling Congress; Eleanor Debus, Director of Public Relations, WIBC; Jerry Donovan, Vice-President and Director of Public Relations, American Machine & Foundry Pinspotters, Inc........

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