the ball to hit

Know where you want the ball to hit

Strikes are most common when the ball hits the “pocket,” the space between the front center pin and the next pin behind it, directly. For right handed bowlers this means curving the ball so it strikes right between the front pin and the second pin on the right. This scatters the front set of pins, cascading them into all of the pins behind them.^[7]

• More power means the pins scatter faster, potentially knocking over more pins.
• Curving the ball is essential to hit consistent strikes. Remember to work on snapping your fingers and wrist as you follow through.
• Left-handers want to hit between the front pin and the left pin in the second row.
• Know how lane conditions affect your throw for strikes. An unknown secret of bowling is that every lane is a little different. Lanes are oiled up so that the ball glides straight over the wood without hooking constantly. When the ball is in less oiled, or “dry” areas, it tends to hook more, taking it off the line you threw it on. To make matters even more complicated, the lane patterns will change throughout the game. But bowling your best game ever requires you to read the lane and adjust your shots accordingly, not throwing the same shot 23 times.^[8]
  • The most common pattern is wet in the front and middle, and dry on the outsides and back, like a big triangle of oil pointing into the center of the lane. This means a throw to the outside will curve back to the middle, where a throw in the middle might not curve until the last second. This is why you aim out to the side, instead of down the center — it cause the ball to move out, then curve back in right to the pocket.
  • As the day goes on, oil gets picked up by the balls, making the lane drier and causing the shots to hook more.
  • Many tournaments have “alternate” oil patterns that force you to change your shots to get strikes. Ask to see an oil pattern or warm-up with different angles and starting positions to find your strike mark.