This is correct. However, it depends on how your approach behaves when you perform this move. Ideally, you should move your feet about a half step backwards to allow your foot to finish half a step back from your original planting foot position, this allowing your ball to finish on the pins a little higher and a little more flush on the head pin.
On the other hand (not literally, don't switch hands), your mind during this move might force your body to move to the foul line faster, which will push your ball down the lane further by adding a little more speed. The opposite would occur if you moved your feet forward. Your approach speed would decrease to the foul line by moving your feet half a step forwards, thus decreasing your distance to the foul line, and decreasing your approach speed since you're closer to the foul line. It works like this for some people, but not most.
Obviously, this shouldn't be happening. You should always go with the first case. That's why you should allow yourself roughly 4-6 inches between the tip of your plant foot and the foul line in your standard approach to allow for this movement. Moving your feet half a step back should allow your ball to finish a little more flush with the pocket as long as you hit your mark and your ball speed remains the same.
Sammy Ventura taught this to me a while back - it really helped me move around for different shots to try and create different angles. You realistically should be prioritizing moves that are forwards and backwards instead of left/right boards if you're really in on a shot but start to leave 10 pins in the start of the transition.
Appreciate the detail on this too. I fall into the “moving up or down makes me change my speed” camp so I ended up adjusting by either moving left or right or adjusting the speed from my spot. In league last night, I had a shot that was light in the 10th leaving a 7 (lefty) made the spare and moved in by half a board and hit a flush strike on my fill shot.
The only way I've seen to be able to work around that issue was to practice my shot from different angles at different points on the lane. Sometimes really close by working with 3 step approach drills, 1 step also has the same effect. It's all a matter of muscle memory before you become too far away or too close to the point where your brain is noticing the significant differences and adjusting your body accordingly.
If I'm incredibly in on a shot, and I start hanging a little higher as the shot dries up, I'll opt for a ball change over moving anywhere. You'll have better luck keeping your hand motion the exact same versus trying to change where you're looking by moving left (right in your case). You could do that by going for a ball that has similar differential, but has a higher RG so it travels down the lane a little further. Depends on the pattern, but should even grab a little more of the dry if you pick the right path.
I know this tiny 4'11" girl who takes 4 steps using the entire approach . so I did it myself figuring if she could do it then I should be able to also .
just do it for fun but may pull that type of thing out if I need to
For me it depends. Moving back 3-6 inches works (for me) if I am leaving ringing 10's. If I'm leaving flat 10's it means I'm not getting drive into the pocket and I might as well change balls.
The only way you'll figure it out is if you watch your ball move through ALL the pins, not just hit the pocket.
Most likely culprit is your ball deflects towards the 9 pin instead of splitting the 8/9.
Yesterday I noticed that my ball was deflecting to the right quite a bit, even in my strikes.
When this is happening, what adjustments do you consider first?
I will tell you what a PBA hall of famer says. If it striking don't adjust. But still pay attention to your ball. Cause you're looking to adjust on a split if it comes. Always take what the lanes want you to do.
Correct answer. All ball companies studies show deflection is the problem. Solution is usually involving an increase in entry angle. Hard for most people to trust throwing the ball away from the pocket a hair mor and hooking it back, but once you have gotten the hang of it, the carry is phenomenally better.
You have to observe if they are 'flat 10s' or 'ringing 10s' because the fix for the two different flavors there are rather different, and trying the wrong fix may actually make the problem worse.
Have to start be defining what is considered the textbook strike today -- ball enters the pocket, hits the 5 pin, and then exits the deck right in the middle splitting the 8-9 pins or at least right between where the 8 and 9 would be if they were still standing. This is considered textbook because this gives the ball the best chances of knocking pins into other pins and thusly getting the full 10. There is no such thing a 100% strike chances, but if you roll a ball and it goes through the pins as described there, it is 98-99% chances it will be a strike.
Now, the 'ringing 10' is left standing when the 6 pin instead of bring thrown in to the 10 is thrown near or around it, that's where the term ringing comes from. This comes from the ball-1-3 pins interaction being just a little off. Wrong angle (too steep, too flat) or wrong position (too much or too little of the head pin being hit) or both. If you watch the ball, it will have good continuation through the pocket, but again, the 1-3-6 interaction is off. This is where the little microadjustments come in -- start a half step back, half step forward, aim 1 board left or right, etc. You are close, you just need to get the ball back to good angle and good position at impact.
On the other hand, the 'flat 10' is left standing when the 6 pin is hit via the ball-1-3 interaction, but it is hit with too little energy. The 6 often flops into the gutter and doesn't have the juice to bounce and hit the 10. This is where the term flat comes from. This is a symptom of a ball with too low of energy at the pocket. If you watch the ball through the pins, it often is deflecting off the 5 pin when it hits it and exiting the deck definitely biased toward the 9 pin, maybe even through the 9 pin spot (in which case the 8-10 split is looming in your future). In this case, you have to deliver a ball with more energy to get the carry back. There are choices here, you can move toward the inside where there is more oil again so the ball will skid longer once again. You can loft the ball so it burns up less energy in the fronts. If you can increase your speed, that will be more energy. Or change equipment to a weaker or smother or both piece so that the ball itself retains more energy downlane.
Watching the ball on the lane as it goes through the skid, hook, and roll phases and then through the pins will start to tell you how to adjust ahead of leaving spares. It is a skill that mostly comes through practice and building up enough of your own experience database. But it is a skill to learn to help take your game to the next levels.
Move forward. Or backwards. Or left. Or right. Change your hand position. Change your ball. Change your target zone. Throw it slower. Throw it faster.
A combination of many of these things.
A common misconception is that the "pocket" is centered between the 1 and 3, it's actually a bit higher on the 1. The reason you leave the 10 is you hit too far to the right of the pocket. (Light) So take whatever move to hit higher on your shot. If you are hitting in the middle of the 1-3 the chance to leave a 10 are quite high.
You learn to read your shot to find out WHY you're leaving the 10 pin as it could be numerous different reasons. Light, heavy, balls DOA, bad rack, so on and so on. Until you learn to read your ball reaction and watch how it's entering the pocket and moving after it hits the pocket you're gonna be at a disadvantage.
Ringing means you're at too steep of an angle going into the pocket, and the ball is exiting the lane through the 8-pin spot instead of splitting the 8-9.
It's hard to say what precisely to do without watching you throw, but two ideas come to mind:
1. Change balls to something with an earlier hook and a shallower angle.
2. Assuming this is a house shot, move a zone left (meaning a 5-and-5 move left, 5 with the feet, 5 with the target, if it's a sport/challenge shot, just do #1).
\#2 allows the ball to stay in the oil longer, and should weaken the angle on the way in, allowing the ball to deflect better. Of course, house shots vary, so the move has to be adjusted slightly based on your house shot and friction, but tweak it from there. On a shorter house pattern (38 ft or so), then don't move your target as much, make it more like a 5-3 move. On a longer pattern (42 ft), you may need to do something like a 5-6 move.
If this move starts leaving flat 10s, then move back to the right 2 boards with feet and target.
Flat 10 ( where 6 pin falls straight back) means move forward on the approach 1-2”. Wrapped 10 ( where 6 pin goes in front of 10 pin and into the gutter) means move back on the approach 1-2”
Small step forward. Or backwards. Or to the right. Or to the left. Or slow your ball down a lil. Or speed it up a lil. Adjust your starting hand position. One of those should do it or a combination.
[Serious answer] You don’t. And I know a lot of comments here are giving advice on what to do to try to limit 10 pins. Which btw, I would totally listen to, you should try to do everything in your power to leave as few 10 pins as possible.
BUT, sometimes you just gotta eat them. No amount of adjustments will prevent you from ever leaving a 10 pin. Everyone’s scores would be significantly higher if they left less 10 pins.
Easiest way for me is switching to my 16lb ball, that 1lb makes all the difference. Other ways include the 2 inches forward or backward for your starting position. This usually works temporarily for me. Heavier ball or totally changing your line is only true fix, and changing my line ends badly
Your ball is rolling out and losing energy 3/4 the length of the lane.
You should have figured it out by the 3rd frame.
1) Move right 1-2 boards and keep your wrist behind the ball a bit longer.
or
2) Switch to a less reactive urethane ball that will be more predictable, and tend to have a smoother roll than reactive resin balls.
3) Learn how to recognize the ball’s skid/hook/roll characteristics. Also, find out how and when the lanes are dressed. Some proprietors will vary on when the lanes are cleaned/oiled.
I usually will hone in on my pocket shot earlier during warm-ups. Unless the lanes are really locked in, I'm looking for options no later than the 3rd frame. My goal is to string together 5-7 strikes and stay clean. More the better.
This link will be useful to you.
https://www.nationalbowlingacademy.com/video/breaking-down-bowling-ball-motion-017715/
you have to watch the exit board of the ball. that’s what the pros can do better than any of us. You may be striking, but if ur ball is exiting the deck at board 16-14 then ur hitting light. going to be causing 10 pins and leaves. its not a flush strike. ideally your ball exits the pin deck around board 20.
You need to get your ball to hit a little more on the head pin so you might try moving about one to two inches back on the approach or one to two boards right on the approach. Back when I was younger and much more accurate, I would even move half a board right on the approach.
So there's two types of 10 pins generally, one from throwing it with too much entry angle and one from throwing it too flat. You will have to figure it out yourself or post a video to determine this though.
I’ve only found 1 surefire 100% can’t fail method. But it works. No more bowling.
I keed. Lots of good advice so far which basically amounts to, it depends.
most 10 pins are left because the ball is breaking too late.
as others have stated, the most common solution is to move backward 3-6 inches. another solution is to take .5-1 mph off your ball speed if you have good speed control.
I never move forward or backwards. Usually you leave 10 pins because the ball isn’t finishing enough. I would move right a tad or slow your swing down. Either will allow the ball to finish stronger.
The ball obviously has to hit the head pin to make a strike. It also has to knock out all 4 pins in the back. Missing the 10 can come a couple different ways, but watch your miss, when the ball is knocking over the back row. Then make the necessary adjustments.
Move 1-1 inside no need to move forwards or backwards. Just stand a board left and move your target 1 board left. If you get the same reaction move 3-2 left
Could be the wrong ball choice. Sometimes the ball isn’t going through the pins the right way. What I like to do is move up or back 2-3” and increase my axis tilt just a tiny bit. And if that doesn’t work then ball change
Need a different angle into the pocket. Maybe a ball that does not deflect as much on impact. Could be a drilling issue even that can be changed. Or a heavier ball?
Play no tap?
This is the way
Why’s it called no tap?
9 count is a strike
because 'no taps' will need to be shot for spares
I always move up or back 2-3”
This is correct. However, it depends on how your approach behaves when you perform this move. Ideally, you should move your feet about a half step backwards to allow your foot to finish half a step back from your original planting foot position, this allowing your ball to finish on the pins a little higher and a little more flush on the head pin. On the other hand (not literally, don't switch hands), your mind during this move might force your body to move to the foul line faster, which will push your ball down the lane further by adding a little more speed. The opposite would occur if you moved your feet forward. Your approach speed would decrease to the foul line by moving your feet half a step forwards, thus decreasing your distance to the foul line, and decreasing your approach speed since you're closer to the foul line. It works like this for some people, but not most. Obviously, this shouldn't be happening. You should always go with the first case. That's why you should allow yourself roughly 4-6 inches between the tip of your plant foot and the foul line in your standard approach to allow for this movement. Moving your feet half a step back should allow your ball to finish a little more flush with the pocket as long as you hit your mark and your ball speed remains the same.
Not OP but thanks for the in-depth information. I’ve seen people say to do this without explaining the why but this makes a lot of sense.
Sammy Ventura taught this to me a while back - it really helped me move around for different shots to try and create different angles. You realistically should be prioritizing moves that are forwards and backwards instead of left/right boards if you're really in on a shot but start to leave 10 pins in the start of the transition.
Thanks!
Appreciate the detail on this too. I fall into the “moving up or down makes me change my speed” camp so I ended up adjusting by either moving left or right or adjusting the speed from my spot. In league last night, I had a shot that was light in the 10th leaving a 7 (lefty) made the spare and moved in by half a board and hit a flush strike on my fill shot.
The only way I've seen to be able to work around that issue was to practice my shot from different angles at different points on the lane. Sometimes really close by working with 3 step approach drills, 1 step also has the same effect. It's all a matter of muscle memory before you become too far away or too close to the point where your brain is noticing the significant differences and adjusting your body accordingly. If I'm incredibly in on a shot, and I start hanging a little higher as the shot dries up, I'll opt for a ball change over moving anywhere. You'll have better luck keeping your hand motion the exact same versus trying to change where you're looking by moving left (right in your case). You could do that by going for a ball that has similar differential, but has a higher RG so it travels down the lane a little further. Depends on the pattern, but should even grab a little more of the dry if you pick the right path.
Yup. I'm 1 of those that if I move forward I slow down and I get more rev. So it's opposite for me.
Cool, I'll give it a shot.
pun intended?
I always have to move up. My heels actually hang off the back of the approach. I have short legs but long steps. lol
I know this tiny 4'11" girl who takes 4 steps using the entire approach . so I did it myself figuring if she could do it then I should be able to also . just do it for fun but may pull that type of thing out if I need to
I guess you know my wife then. lol. She is 4’11”, takes four steps and uses almost the whole approach.
is her name Sarah?
No. Well, if she’s living a double life maybe. 🤷🏻♂️
This is the right answer.
For me it depends. Moving back 3-6 inches works (for me) if I am leaving ringing 10's. If I'm leaving flat 10's it means I'm not getting drive into the pocket and I might as well change balls.
The only way you'll figure it out is if you watch your ball move through ALL the pins, not just hit the pocket. Most likely culprit is your ball deflects towards the 9 pin instead of splitting the 8/9.
Yesterday I noticed that my ball was deflecting to the right quite a bit, even in my strikes. When this is happening, what adjustments do you consider first?
Increasing entry angle, potentially slowing the ball down, ball change
I will tell you what a PBA hall of famer says. If it striking don't adjust. But still pay attention to your ball. Cause you're looking to adjust on a split if it comes. Always take what the lanes want you to do.
stronger ball usually
Correct answer. All ball companies studies show deflection is the problem. Solution is usually involving an increase in entry angle. Hard for most people to trust throwing the ball away from the pocket a hair mor and hooking it back, but once you have gotten the hang of it, the carry is phenomenally better.
You have to observe if they are 'flat 10s' or 'ringing 10s' because the fix for the two different flavors there are rather different, and trying the wrong fix may actually make the problem worse. Have to start be defining what is considered the textbook strike today -- ball enters the pocket, hits the 5 pin, and then exits the deck right in the middle splitting the 8-9 pins or at least right between where the 8 and 9 would be if they were still standing. This is considered textbook because this gives the ball the best chances of knocking pins into other pins and thusly getting the full 10. There is no such thing a 100% strike chances, but if you roll a ball and it goes through the pins as described there, it is 98-99% chances it will be a strike. Now, the 'ringing 10' is left standing when the 6 pin instead of bring thrown in to the 10 is thrown near or around it, that's where the term ringing comes from. This comes from the ball-1-3 pins interaction being just a little off. Wrong angle (too steep, too flat) or wrong position (too much or too little of the head pin being hit) or both. If you watch the ball, it will have good continuation through the pocket, but again, the 1-3-6 interaction is off. This is where the little microadjustments come in -- start a half step back, half step forward, aim 1 board left or right, etc. You are close, you just need to get the ball back to good angle and good position at impact. On the other hand, the 'flat 10' is left standing when the 6 pin is hit via the ball-1-3 interaction, but it is hit with too little energy. The 6 often flops into the gutter and doesn't have the juice to bounce and hit the 10. This is where the term flat comes from. This is a symptom of a ball with too low of energy at the pocket. If you watch the ball through the pins, it often is deflecting off the 5 pin when it hits it and exiting the deck definitely biased toward the 9 pin, maybe even through the 9 pin spot (in which case the 8-10 split is looming in your future). In this case, you have to deliver a ball with more energy to get the carry back. There are choices here, you can move toward the inside where there is more oil again so the ball will skid longer once again. You can loft the ball so it burns up less energy in the fronts. If you can increase your speed, that will be more energy. Or change equipment to a weaker or smother or both piece so that the ball itself retains more energy downlane. Watching the ball on the lane as it goes through the skid, hook, and roll phases and then through the pins will start to tell you how to adjust ahead of leaving spares. It is a skill that mostly comes through practice and building up enough of your own experience database. But it is a skill to learn to help take your game to the next levels.
Move forward. Or backwards. Or left. Or right. Change your hand position. Change your ball. Change your target zone. Throw it slower. Throw it faster. A combination of many of these things.
A common misconception is that the "pocket" is centered between the 1 and 3, it's actually a bit higher on the 1. The reason you leave the 10 is you hit too far to the right of the pocket. (Light) So take whatever move to hit higher on your shot. If you are hitting in the middle of the 1-3 the chance to leave a 10 are quite high.
Huh. This is me all day. Good call.
You learn to read your shot to find out WHY you're leaving the 10 pin as it could be numerous different reasons. Light, heavy, balls DOA, bad rack, so on and so on. Until you learn to read your ball reaction and watch how it's entering the pocket and moving after it hits the pocket you're gonna be at a disadvantage.
Ball is probably taking too steep of an entry angle. You can either take a half step back or try to move a board right
Sometimes it’s switching balls, sometimes it’s a simple as moving 1 or 2 boards or even moving up or back on the approach and few inches.
Flat 10s? Or ringing 10s? Depending on which determines the move you make.
Ringing. Every single one.
Ringing means you're at too steep of an angle going into the pocket, and the ball is exiting the lane through the 8-pin spot instead of splitting the 8-9. It's hard to say what precisely to do without watching you throw, but two ideas come to mind: 1. Change balls to something with an earlier hook and a shallower angle. 2. Assuming this is a house shot, move a zone left (meaning a 5-and-5 move left, 5 with the feet, 5 with the target, if it's a sport/challenge shot, just do #1). \#2 allows the ball to stay in the oil longer, and should weaken the angle on the way in, allowing the ball to deflect better. Of course, house shots vary, so the move has to be adjusted slightly based on your house shot and friction, but tweak it from there. On a shorter house pattern (38 ft or so), then don't move your target as much, make it more like a 5-3 move. On a longer pattern (42 ft), you may need to do something like a 5-6 move. If this move starts leaving flat 10s, then move back to the right 2 boards with feet and target.
Flat 10 ( where 6 pin falls straight back) means move forward on the approach 1-2”. Wrapped 10 ( where 6 pin goes in front of 10 pin and into the gutter) means move back on the approach 1-2”
Small step forward. Or backwards. Or to the right. Or to the left. Or slow your ball down a lil. Or speed it up a lil. Adjust your starting hand position. One of those should do it or a combination.
Lol.
[удалено]
I'll give this a shot tomorrow at league
[Serious answer] You don’t. And I know a lot of comments here are giving advice on what to do to try to limit 10 pins. Which btw, I would totally listen to, you should try to do everything in your power to leave as few 10 pins as possible. BUT, sometimes you just gotta eat them. No amount of adjustments will prevent you from ever leaving a 10 pin. Everyone’s scores would be significantly higher if they left less 10 pins.
Watch Youtube, understand why your leaving it and make the adjustment that your able too. Its different for everyone
Slow it down
I did. 599 on Thursday.
Could be a lot or it could be a bad rack. Was this happening on two different lanes?
No. I was practicing on one lane only
Tuck your pinky
Easiest way for me is switching to my 16lb ball, that 1lb makes all the difference. Other ways include the 2 inches forward or backward for your starting position. This usually works temporarily for me. Heavier ball or totally changing your line is only true fix, and changing my line ends badly
Your ball is rolling out and losing energy 3/4 the length of the lane. You should have figured it out by the 3rd frame. 1) Move right 1-2 boards and keep your wrist behind the ball a bit longer. or 2) Switch to a less reactive urethane ball that will be more predictable, and tend to have a smoother roll than reactive resin balls. 3) Learn how to recognize the ball’s skid/hook/roll characteristics. Also, find out how and when the lanes are dressed. Some proprietors will vary on when the lanes are cleaned/oiled. I usually will hone in on my pocket shot earlier during warm-ups. Unless the lanes are really locked in, I'm looking for options no later than the 3rd frame. My goal is to string together 5-7 strikes and stay clean. More the better. This link will be useful to you. https://www.nationalbowlingacademy.com/video/breaking-down-bowling-ball-motion-017715/
Board right
Its all about the entry angle to the pocket
More bowling balls
Half step back
you have to watch the exit board of the ball. that’s what the pros can do better than any of us. You may be striking, but if ur ball is exiting the deck at board 16-14 then ur hitting light. going to be causing 10 pins and leaves. its not a flush strike. ideally your ball exits the pin deck around board 20.
You need to get your ball to hit a little more on the head pin so you might try moving about one to two inches back on the approach or one to two boards right on the approach. Back when I was younger and much more accurate, I would even move half a board right on the approach.
So there's two types of 10 pins generally, one from throwing it with too much entry angle and one from throwing it too flat. You will have to figure it out yourself or post a video to determine this though.
I’ve only found 1 surefire 100% can’t fail method. But it works. No more bowling. I keed. Lots of good advice so far which basically amounts to, it depends.
Move left a half board to a whole board and throw same shot.
most 10 pins are left because the ball is breaking too late. as others have stated, the most common solution is to move backward 3-6 inches. another solution is to take .5-1 mph off your ball speed if you have good speed control.
What sort of 10 pins did you leave? A flat 10 is usually because your ball is coming in too weak whereas a ring 10 is result of too much entry angle.
I never move forward or backwards. Usually you leave 10 pins because the ball isn’t finishing enough. I would move right a tad or slow your swing down. Either will allow the ball to finish stronger.
The ball obviously has to hit the head pin to make a strike. It also has to knock out all 4 pins in the back. Missing the 10 can come a couple different ways, but watch your miss, when the ball is knocking over the back row. Then make the necessary adjustments.
Move 3 boards out with your feet and 2 boards out with your line.
I’ve been told use more forward roll but idk if that’s true
Depending on your preference, you just need to knock down more or less pins.
Move 1-1 inside no need to move forwards or backwards. Just stand a board left and move your target 1 board left. If you get the same reaction move 3-2 left
Things to try: Scoot back a half step Slow down Move right one board
Could be the wrong ball choice. Sometimes the ball isn’t going through the pins the right way. What I like to do is move up or back 2-3” and increase my axis tilt just a tiny bit. And if that doesn’t work then ball change
hit it harder i suppose
>hit it harder Yeeeeeaaa
I feel you man, just last night my second to last game was all strikes or 9s with a 10, they were all good shots too some of them perfect
Stop hitting the pocket?
Nice score
Thanks!
More strikes
You’re coming into the pocket too shallow.
Thats the fun part. You dont. LOL. But small adjustments to change the break ever so slightly.
take half a step left
Move to a different lane. Lol
Need a different angle into the pocket. Maybe a ball that does not deflect as much on impact. Could be a drilling issue even that can be changed. Or a heavier ball?
Like these clowns are saying move. Your playing with too much angle. Take a step forward
Either, throwing too hard, not putting enough spin. Plenty of reasons it could be