Now when we go bowling we are not looking to try to leave as many pins as possible after our first shot, right? No way, we are all looking to strike as much as possible. Don't get me wrong here, I am a huge believer in spares. But when you can strike on every shot the need for spares is no longer needed. The hardest part about striking every time is even when you hit the pocket not all of the pins fall.
What are you thinking about when you're striking? Probably not much since the pins are all falling down. How are they falling down? Is the shot a light mixer? Is the 6 pin kicking out the 10 pin? The way you are striking matters. It will determine the next move you are going to have to make. Even though you are getting strike after strike, guess what the oil transition is still occurring. Whether you bowl 3 games of league or an 8 game qualifier. The shot transitions all the time.
The tough part about the game is to know what to do when you are not striking. If you're not hitting the pocket here are a couple of adjustments you can make – 1. Make sure you are hitting the mark you want correctly. 2. If you are hitting your mark but not the pocket it is time to move in the correct direction. If the ball is hitting high(face) for right handed bowlers it's called miss left move left. Flip it if you are a left handed bowler, if the ball is missing pocket right, miss right move right. A lot of times you may keep the same target and just move your feet. Now that we are hitting the pocket correctly we can make adjustments from here as well. Lets say you are hitting the pocket but leaving a 7 pin. The 5 pin is sliding in front of the 7 pin. What does this tell you? It should be screaming that the ball is going too long before making the reaction. How can we fix this? Well you could try a couple of things. One move 1 board right and use the same target. This will if repeating the shot correctly allow your ball to react one board closer to the pocket. Next you could try this. Stay in the same spot and finish the release more up the back of the ball to get the ball into a roll quicker. Now what if you are leaving the 10 pin? How are you leaving the 10 pin? Most of the time the 6 pin lays flat in the gutter next to the 10 pin. When this is happening the ball is rolling out with no drive going into the pocket. How can you fix this? You may either move one board left to hit lighter in the pocket or move one board right to try and hit high flush. The other option you have at this time is to change your hand position and stay in the same spot. Since you need more length you are going to want to increase your axis rotation. The higher the axis rotation the longer the ball goes and the lower the axis rotation the quicker the ball hooks/rolls out.
Yes strikes make the game easier but again spares are essential to your score. Watch how the pins are falling in order to make your next move. Just because you are hitting the pocket doesn't mean you don't have to make moves. This game is a never ending battle of adjustments. The one that makes the right adjustments is the one that is usually on top. Remember to enjoy the game of bowling and Practice, Practice, Practice.
