These past few weeks, I’ve spent a lot of time reading online, trying to find the best and most efficient means of getting the reactions you’re looking for out of the equipment you already have. Most of the literature I’ve come across has told me the best ways to change the reaction you get out a single ball are to alter the axis of rotation, alter the surface, alter the speed of the delivery and altering your rev rate.
First things first, a quick explanation of what all that stuff means.
Surface alteration is the act of sanding the ball to change the amount of friction the ball encounters on its journey towards the pins. Obviously, the more friction the ball encounters on its journey, the more the ball will hook. Surfaces range from 180 grit up to 4000 grit. The more friction, the higher up the lane the ball will break and the smoother the reaction will be at the breakpoint. For example, a 400 grit surface will likely produce a long, smooth gentle arc all the way down the lane, while a 4000 grit surface will likely skid down the lane and suddenly snap towards the pins, as if someone as kicked the ball.
The axis of rotation is simply the direction the ball is rotating relative to the lane. For example, 0° rotation means the ball is rotating straight down the lane in the direction of the pins, while 90° rotation means ball is rotating towards the gutter parallel to the foul line.
So how does axis rotation affect the ball on it’s journey towards the pins? Basically, the higher the degree of axis rotation the longer the ball will travel down the lane before making a move and the more violent that move will be. So continuing with the earlier rotation degrees, o° rotation will roll completely straight down the lane all the way to the pins, which is equivalent to the ball breaking as soon as it hits the lane. On the hand, 90° rotation will likely skid through the front part of the lane then suddenly snap towards the pin once it hits the dry boards on the backend.
Controlling speed is simply controlling how fast the ball travels from the foul line to the pins. Most professionals throw the ball at approximately 18 mph (about 29 kph), while most amateurs throw closer to 11 mph (about 18 kph). For practical translation 18 mph gets the ball down the lane in about 2.23 seconds, whereas 11 mph gets the ball down the lane in about about 3.6 seconds. However, most pros can adjust their speed to match the reaction they’re trying to get out of the ball on the specific lane conditions they’re playing on. This is something most amateurs, myself included, struggle to control and in my opinion is a matter of feel more than conscious control. I’m yet to really address this aspect of my game, but I will fill you in when I get to that.
Rev rate is simply the number of rotations measured in Revolutions per minute (rpm). Again, to illustrate, most professionals can achieve rev rates upwards of 400 rpm, while most amateurs bowl under 200 rpm. This explains why pros can throw the ball so much harder than amateurs and still get a much better reaction out their ball. Basically, the number revolutions you put on the ball directly affects the amount of friction the ball encounters because with each revolution, a new part of the ball touches the lane. The higher the rev rate, the more of the surface of the ball that “sees” the lane, which means your ball is likely to cover more boards at the break point.
So, of the all these aspects, rev rate, ball speed, ball surface and axis of rotation, the axis of rotation is by far the easiest one to change on the fly. To change the axis of rotation, you simply have to change your wrist position at the point of release. This is something I’ve been working on over the last few weeks, with good results. During one practise session, I only moved about 3 boards over 7 games with Jennifer. So after 70 frames of bowling, I had only moved 3 boards from my starting position, while on league night I often move as many as 7 boards over 90 frames per lane. I’m still working on this aspect of my game, but essentially, you can change the reaction of any ball in your arsenal, allowing you to stay in the same part of the lane for longer.
At some point in the near future, I plan to start working on ball speed which allows me to open up the lanes a little more. If I can get to point where I can change between 3 ball speeds and 3 or 4 releases, that gives me way more options when it counts.
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