I Got A Bad Break

How often do we hear this, or think this ourselves? As much as we’d all like to believe it, there really aren’t any “bad breaks”, just shots that didn’t do what we wanted. Let’s take a look at some common leaves (from a right-handed prospective – use a mirror, lefties) and why they happen.

First, let’s look at why we leave the ever common 10-pin. You can lay the 6-pin in the channel or send it orbiting around the 10-pin, but in either case the ball didn’t get high enough into the pocket. While this sounds simple, the solution can be to move in either direction to get the ball where it needs to be in the pocket. The safest move is left with your feet 1-2 boards. This will cause the ball to skid through more oil in the front of the lane, saving more for the back end of the lane. In most cases, this will change the angle of the ball into the pocket to carry the 10-pin.

When you leave the 4-pin, this is an indication that the ball is too high in the pocket – move left immediately! If you don’t, the next spare you leave will be a 4-9 or a “Greek Church (4-6-7-9-10), and you lose an extra 13 pins for not heeding the warning! Move at least 1 board left, usually 3-1 (3 with your feet and 1 with your
target), or 5-2 (even a 7-3 left is possible if the lanes are about to change significantly). If you wait to move, you lose.

Obviously, any wide open split means move now and move fast, but how much? At least 5-2 is recommended, usually 7-3, and if a whole strip of the lane dries up at once (it does happen), a 10-4 to 12-5 move left might be the right move! If you don’t believe this, go with some people and practice playing a 7-board wide strip of the lane together, preferably between 13-20 board. Watch for the ball starting to hook early and jump left, then try making the biggest move you think you would have the courage to make – and see if it was big enough!

So what about those other “back row” single pins – the 7, 8 and 9 pins? Yes, there’s a message from them as well, if you listen. The 7-pin is generally too high in the pocket, so get the ball to skid farther down the lane, or hook sooner (it can be either) and less if it’s already skidding too much (remember to make the ball slow down 30’ down the lane). The 8-pin means the ball deflected too much or not enough when entering the pocket – make an adjustment to make the ball react a little better in the pocket. The 9-pin is a warning that you’re going high – see the part above about 4-pins!

The other thing we didn’t talk about was changing balls, which has been discussed in a previous article. Remember, you can sit there and complain about your bad breaks, or make a change to improve your ball reaction. Bowling in the 21st Century means that people who sit and complain go home without a check, and people who respond to what the ball and the pins tell them go home with money in their pockets.