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Pincarry--Thank you, Hilo Junior Bowling Club Coaching Staff This tip installment is about a sensitive topic…. PIN-CARRY… Everyone will eventually blame pin carry for his or her low scores. Could these people have a valid point? Are they actually hitting the highest percentage shot when they are getting “robbed?” I will try and present information that will hopefully help you overcome poor pin carry. (Or at least, look at the pocket and pin-carry from a different view.) Bowling a strike is more than just throwing a bowling ball. The strike is comprised of many different characteristics, which come together in a split second. Some people may not agree with me, but you need some luck when throwing a strike. There are tons of variables, which play a part in a strike. Some examples of these variables are the lanes, the bowling ball, and the pins. These are obvious variables. Some less obvious variables are air humidity, air pressure/vacuum created by holes on the bowling ball, and mental attitude. (These extra variables are beyond the scope of this topic, but would be interesting to learn about if anyone is willing to research them.) In this tip, we will discuss the three obvious variables in bowling a strike. The lane, the ball, and the pins. In it’s simplest form; the “perfect strikeshot” is a shot where the bowling ball hits the headpin, the three pin, the five pin, and the nine pin. That does not guarantee a strike though. The bowling ball should hit each pin with the same amount of ball. To clarify, hitting more of the three pin than the headpin (light in the pocket) will cause a less than perfect shot. This will increase the chance of leaving certain pins. Usually, the 2, 5, or 10 will be left. In contrast, by hitting too much of the headpin (high in the pocket) you increase the chances of a split, a 4-pin, or a 9-pin. This must be understood before trying to understand any other aspect of getting better strike percentages. Many bowlers think hitting the 1-3 pocket should automatically create a strike. Today’s bowling balls help pin carry percentage, but learning how to identify a quality strike will ensure better shots in the future. (There once was an article in a bowling magazine, which featured the best angle into the pocket. It stated that to little of an angle into the pocket is not good, but to wide into the pocket is not good either. An angle between the two is the best percentage. If I find the article, I will try and pass it on to whoever wants it.) (Remember that throwing the ball well, and hitting the pocket well are two very different things. I always said that if you throw a 5-7-10, it usually means you threw the ball well. The reason the 5-7-10 didn’t fall is probably because you didn’t hit the pocket well. Notice how bowlers react when they throw 5-7-10’s. It usually is a huge surprise to them. That is because they probably thought they threw the ball well.) LANES Bowling lanes are comprised of different parts. The main parts are the approach, the heads, the backends, the pindeck, the channels (gutters), and the kickbacks. Each part of the lane can play a part in a successful shot. Every bowler should realize that they are at the mercy of the laneman. The laneman controls where you play the lane, and who has the advantage. Lane maintenance personnel can control how you carry too. (If you don’t believe me, just ask an honest professional bowler or a knowledgeable laneman. If they are honest, they will tell you the lanemen have the ability to make a very good bowler look bad.) More oil on a lane will cause the bowling ball to go longer. This usually means the ball will not hit as much of the headpin as needed. For the straighter player, this condition will usually make the ball hit weaker while the power player’s ball will store its energy longer for a more explosive hit. Less oil on the lane will cause the ball to hook earlier. This usually makes the ball hit more of the headpin. The power player usually would need to throw harder or deeper than usual, making it more difficult to strike, while the straighter player would have more room to the right and creating more area. Besides lane conditions, the make-up of the lane will change carry too. Loose boards can make the ball reaction erratic causing poor carry. This same phenomenon can be found on synthetic lanes with loose panels. Loose heads will cause the ball to lose momentum from the start of its delivery. The pindeck (the area where the pins stand) plays a part on pin carry also. The front part of the pindeck must be flush with the bowling surface. A pindeck that is not flush with the lanes could cause the ball to “jump” off the lane. The bowling ball needs to be touching the lane to create the trajectory for a perfect strike shot. Pindecks can be angled for different strike characteristics. At a bowling center I used to bowl at, the proprietor used to angle the pindeck to help certain type of bowlers carry better. In this way, the proprietor can even out the scoring for different type of players. The pindeck surface varies too. Certain lanes have pindecks that are higher friction than others. If you notice pins sliding a lot at a bowling lane, it could mean the proprietor uses a lower friction pindeck. The gutters also play a part in bowling carry. The ABC has regulations on the depth of the gutters on the lane. Gutters that are too shallow allow the pins to bounce out easier and allow more “messengers.” Deeper gutters usually stop “messengers” from happening. The final makeup of a lane is the kickbacks. These are the walls on the side of the pins. Tight kickbacks create better carry by allowing the pins to bounce more from side to side. The opposite happens when the kickbacks are not tight. Some bowling establishments will try and create livelier pin action by playing with their kickbacks, and their gutters. In some cases (especially with crankers.) this causes poor pincarry. The pins will actually bounce too hard off the kickbacks, and go in front of the pins they would normally hit. PINS Bowling pins are of major controversy right now. The ABC and the PBA have been trying to change the weight and the make-up of pins to lower scores to a more “respectable” level. Bowling pins are 15 inches tall and 4.75 inches wide. They weigh in at about 3 pound 6 ounces to the gold PBA pins, which are 3 pound 10 ounces. In a set of pins, they must be uniform in appearance, and cannot vary in weight by more than 4 ounces. Each pin is spot 12 inches apart from the center of its base. The average bowling pin is made from a wood center which is laminated with a protective plastic coating. (I found a story on the Internet about the creation of a hollow bowling pin that was 3 times more durable than a regular solid maple pin. The URL is http://www.cardhouse.com/x06/flex.htm if you wanna check it out.) There are other types of pins too. Germany has developed the ‘Twister’ pin, which has started to grow in popularity recently. It has been used in the 2001 ABC Masters, which was held at the stadium at Reno. The Twister is a fully synthetic pin that is manufactured in Colorado. BOWLING BALLS The final part of the strike that I will mention is the bowling ball. This is the one ingredient in bowling a strike that we have any control over. Bowling balls have evolved from stone or wood balls with only two holes, to particle bowling balls with high tech cores, which cost upward of $300. There are a few major surfaces that are available with bowling balls today. They are reactive, particle, urethane, and plastic. Each different coverstock has a different characteristic. As a bowler, you must be able to distinguish those characteristics, and use them to your advantage. Each coverstock will have a different effect on the pins and strike percentage. Looking inside the bowling ball, we learn that there are different weight block configurations. The technology involved in making a bowling ball core is highly advanced. Today, we range from 1-piece cores, to 3 or 4 piece cores with weights set in a weight block. All of this technology is beyond the scope of this article. I suggest talking to your local pro to tailor your bowling ball to your game. The modern bowling ball is a double-edged sword. It can open up a lane and create area that was unheard of just a few years ago. The new balls also create pin action, which is awesome. Those factors have made shotmaking a lost art. Bowlers now expect to carry off hits. Instead of adjusting to a trip 4 pin, many bowlers will stay in the same spot until it is to late. These new balls dry up the lane much quicker than before. I’ve heard stories where bowlers used to move a total of 1 board within three games. Today, it is not uncommon to move 10 or 20 boards in three games. All of these factors can affect carry. ADDING IT ALL UP These are the basic parts of the game that can influence your strike percentage. It takes knowledge of all these factors as well as a good physical game to bowl consistent strikes. As a bowler, you are expected to observe your ball hit the pins objectively. I’ve recently bowled in a tournament where the lanes were excessively slow. One bowler was having a fit because he couldn’t carry the soft ten. If he had looked at his ball reaction objectively, he would have realized that his ball was rolling out at 50 feet and he was hitting the pocket way to light. I was surprised he didn’t leave any five pins with the ten! Now you are armed with the knowledge of how a strike is achieved. I leave you the concepts and you can now take what you want from them. GOOD LUCK!! |
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