I liked the video accept I would prefer to see the bowler during the entire bowling setup and shot. Lots of info can be gotten from watching how the bowler sets up on the lane. Thank you for your good info!
Loving this series and really helps me analyze my own game. Would it be possible to get a video that goes over the specifics of footwork in the 2-handed game?
Love your content man, could you make a video addressing what you said about your ball getting drilled in a way that doesn’t fit your style, giving advice and tips about that please?🙏🏼
Appreciate the videos. Im transitioning to a 2 handed form after 15 years of being one handed. Find myself walking around the ball like walter ray. Struggling to break habits and learn the hop step. Do you have an videos detailing footwork and more importantly the hop step?
I don't have a video dedicated to footwork. It's on the planned videos list when I have time to get back to making full length videos. In the meantime, implementing a skip step is not required to bowl two handed. The most important part is that you accelerate very quickly in your last 3 steps to the foul line in order to generate the power and ball speed you need. If your smaller in stature, a skip step is a must because it's hard to generate that power with regular steps. If your taller, you can do it with normal steps. If your trying to implement a skip step, I recommend drilling without a ball to practice the steps first as it's very different from a traditional 5 step approach. Start with a 3 step drill and practice just the skip part, then slowly move on to adding the first two steps back into your practice approach.
@@BigSkyBowler thank you for the advice. I'm hesitant to try to learn the skip step. However I am looking and evaluating every possibility for my new form. I will be on the lookout for a footwork video in the future. Thanks.
Even though I don't get much chance to bowl on sports patterns this was helpful as general bowling knowledge. I have been practicing a lot lately and have a question: For the most part, your aim is very good, that is, hitting your target arrow. Too much of the time I look at my target (the arrows), and make sure I'm standing on the correct board, and yet I throw the ball too far right or left. To the left, maybe I'll get lucky and hit Brooklyn. To the right, I usually hit the three pin and leave, at the very least, the 1-2-4. I'm guessing there is something I'm missing about lining up. Thanks.
Are you only looking at the arrows? The best tip I ever received about targeting was to learn to target two points instead of one. When I am getting ready to throw, I initially look down near the end of the lane where I want my ball to get to, I then draw an imaginary line from that point to the arrows and finishing with where I am standing. Wherever this line crosses the arrows is where my visual target is. I then throw my shot. Connecting two points is easier to repeat than just looking at one spot. As you have already experienced, you can hit that one spot multiple ways and the ball will end up in different areas down lane.
Thank you for this vid...too often we bowl on the unknown, or too often we have a pattern graph which fools us into expecting what the graph tells us, rather than what our eyes see and brain interprets! I have a few questions, please.... First, how can you tell whether a pattern is shorter distance versus lower volume, from the shot shape? Does it even matter if a pattern is lower volume or shorter distance, in terms of how to play it, or do both conditions lead to a similar lane play adjustment? Second, you tried several urethane shots, which was great for this vid, but during league or a tourney, expecially with multiple bowlers on a pair, you aren't going to have the opportunity to try urethane, for example, that many shots, let alone to try another ball, reactive, for example. So if this was "for real", so to speak, how would you approach your ball choice decisions? Third, in your vid, both the urethane and the benchmark sym reactive, looked really good. You also made the point that if urethane is in play, use urethane, but be aware that the carry down it causes will create pattern tightness/difficulty to play issues later during a block. That said, in this situation, would you forget about subsequent carrydown issues later and just use urethane now? Fourth, since both urethane and reactive sym benchmark looked good, how do you know which one to choose? Fifth, if both reactives would have looked good, how would you decide whether to start with a sym reactive versus an assym? Would you choose the sym for control and save the assym for later in a block when you needed to get left and come around it more? Sixth, could you explain a bit how a bowler should recognize when it's time to put the urethane back in the bag and switch to reactive resin? In other words, should a bowler attempt adjustments when urethane starts leaving corners or splitting, for example, the same way we try to adjust first with a resin ball before making a ball change, or is urethane an all or nothing kind of ball, and when it stops striking, it's time to switch to resin, rather than futzing around to make micro adjustments? Seventh, assuming you did start with urethane, knowing it will cause carrydown later during the block, and now you have decided to switch to resin, what lane play adjustments are potentially needed in order to allow that resin ball to successfully negate or navigate that urethane carrydown? I would imagine that it's not as simple as switching to a resin coverstock, because some strategy has to be employed to deal with the carrydown, no? Thanks for taking the time read these questions and for answering them.
Sorry for the late response, I've been so busy with tournaments that I have not had much time for YT. Yes, it matters greatly. Short oil forces a player to play more outside usually with lower ball surface grits. Lower volume usually forces a player to use higher ball surface grits and play multiple angles with more speed. The hardest pattern in my opinion is short oil with lower volume. Usually you will get at least 15 minutes or more of warm up time prior to the start of competition. This is plenty of time to find the right ball, especially if you use it wisely. I spend usually 3-4 shots identifying the pattern distance and volume by throwing a ball with a very low grit on it (usually 500). I will throw this ball very slowly in the first few shots and it will tell me everything I need to know about distance and volume. I will then spend the rest of the time going through my arsenal to identify a ball with good reaction. I spend almost zero time practicing spares.. its all about finding the right ball and getting it in the right area of the lane. The right ball will give me miss right and left with good results and not splits/washouts etc... It depends on what the rest of the field is doing. If the rest of the field is slinging urethane, I will as well because its hard to battle the carry down and breakpoint tightness as its being created. Easier to battle later in the block when the field starts to make the move to reactive. Depends on which ball is giving me a better look. The proper ball reaction should give a little miss right and a little miss left and either still carry a strike or at least leave a makeable spare. I will stick with whichever ball gives me the better look and the most control over the pocket. Sometimes that is symmetric, sometimes that is assymetric. Generally speaking, assyms will hook stronger in the front than a symmetric and will therefore give you more control at the breakpoint - but that also forces your angles to be more open. Always and I do mean always, make micro-adjustments before switching balls. Sometimes a 6 bagger is only a small adjustment away with the same ball. I will usually make a speed adjustment, an adjustment with my hand, or make micro move left or right before I put a ball back in the bag. Just keep in mind that urethane is not going to bend the lane like a reactive ball can unless you're on very short oil (cheetah). This means that you have less freedom to move around with a urethane ball because it will hook early and roll out. You are correct that some strategy is involved. There are two ways to combat the urethane breakdown. Move right and use the carry-down as hold or move left and keep your breakpoint to the left of the carry-down. Remember that carry-down occurs after the breakpoint, so on a shorter pattern, this would effectively lengthen the pattern a bit (usually within reason, like a foot or so). This means that when you switch to reactive you will have to play around with your breakpoint and figure out where it needs to be.
Best advice you can give is to NOT waste practice shots.. you don’t get many. Don’t waste your time moving where you know it’s not gonna work… also if it’s a tournament.. just find out what you’re shooting on 😂
Hello! Just started playing bowling 3 weeks ago and last week I decided to use two handed. My problem is I tend to use my non-dominant arm to spin the ball while releasing which causes too much spin. Im having a hard time stopping myself from spinning it with my left hand, do you have any tips on how to stop this?
The best thing I would recommend is one step drills and focus on getting your non ball hand off the ball and rotating with your ball hand. You could also do no step release drills.
Hey, I've been looking up how to go about drilling my ball while not having a PAP measurement, nor another ball as a reference. I think I can literally count the pro shops in my country with the fingers of my one hand, and I don't even know if they know what they are doing... As far as I understand, PAP is the axis the ball rotates on soon after we release, before it starts hooking and flaring. Then we measure the coordinates from the PAP to the grip. How do they use it to drill the ball? Can I just throw a random ball to figure that out? But then again, aren't layouts made based on the distance of the Pin to the PAP? Could it at least help if I through a random ball so that they can tell whether I am a low/mid/high track player? Will that give them enough info on how to drill it?
Plan to play 2-handed but shall I also drill a thumb hole just in case it doesn't work out? Or is there a big difference between 1h vs 2h balls should be drilled?
Hey sorry I failed to see this comment. If it's a good pro shop, they will have you throw several shots and measure your PAP several times before making a decision on your actual PAP. Layouts are very specific to your PAP and you have a decent understanding of what the PAP is. Depending on what your PAP turns out to be may limit your layouts. Some players cannot use certain layouts. There is a big difference in layouts between two handed and one handed players. One handed players normally use a system like dual angle or pin buffer for their layouts. Two handers need to be using Mikey Pinels PAL system. Center of grip is measured differently between the two styles as well so its better to go with one or the other. Using the proper layout system will ensure that the pin is placed in the proper spot to give the bowler the best shape on the lane.
Urethane will always have a place. All balls have a urethane component in the coverstock, even reactive balls. The reason urethane is so popular on tour is because of how much control you get out of the ball. If you tug it a little bit, or if you miss a little bit to the right, it has a tendency to not overreact to that mistake. This reduces the amount of penalty you pay for making that mistake. Reactive balls have a tendency to make you pay the maximum for making a mistake
@@BigSkyBowler that’s kinda my point isn’t winning with urethane like riding a bike with training wheels. It seems like the really good bowlers only use it when other people r destroying the lanes with it because they aren’t good enough with the reactive. It’s like breaking the home run record… on steroids lol
@@Jgotcha187 not entirely no. You still pay for major mistakes, it just reduces the penalty. Instead of splits and washouts etc... you usually leave makeable spares. Eventually once the oil in the heads go, you can't use urethane anymore so Eventually transitioning to reactive is necessary. Now if your throwing a urethane ball that's way to soft, then it's like you described. That's why the USBC recently really hammered down on older urethane balls.
@@BigSkyBowler so what about urethane make it so much more controllable? I don’t know much about them I want to get into bowling on more difficult patterns what’s a situation u would find urself throwing that instead of reactive other than just because everyone else is. And how can u get a bowling alley to put out a different pattern other than a house shot to practice on? I’ve just been bowling on a league for 6 months now and I’m up to about 180 avg of course it’s on a house shot.
@@Jgotcha187 there are two things that make a urethane ball very controllable: 1. Soft and early hooking covers. 2. Lack of pores in the cover. The softness of the cover allows the ball to grip the lane very early, earlier than any reactive ball unless the reactive ball is under spec for hardness. The non-porous cover allows the oil to remain on the cover as the ball goes down the lane. These two factors combined reduce the quickness at the breakpoint and gives a smooth controlled shape. Urethane is normally my go to if I'm playing on a pattern that is exceptionally flat - flat meaning almost equal amounts of oil from right to left on the lane. Also it would be my go to if the back ends are playing very dry or jumpy. The best way, in my experience, to get a tougher condition out is to ask the center if they will do it. They usually will tell you what's required. Some places want you to bring a group in, others may want you to pay more per game, sometimes all you have to do is ask.
Thanks for all the tips!
Your welcome!
Threw my first games 2H yesterday. It's exactly like relearning the physical game but im having fun again! Love this series.
Great to hear your having fun again!
Exactly what I needed. Thank you!
Now let’s talk about two handed layouts for different reactions and shapes. 😂
Your welcome!
That's definitely something I can do.
I liked the video accept I would prefer to see the bowler during the entire bowling setup and shot. Lots of info can be gotten from watching how the bowler sets up on the lane. Thank you for your good info!
Thank you for the feedback and thank you for watching.
Loving this series and really helps me analyze my own game. Would it be possible to get a video that goes over the specifics of footwork in the 2-handed game?
I can definitely do a footwork video. Great recommendation!
Love your content man, could you make a video addressing what you said about your ball getting drilled in a way that doesn’t fit your style, giving advice and tips about that please?🙏🏼
Definitely something I can put on the schedule of videos.
Thank you for the compliment!
I need to see you on how you walk to the foul line to throw the bowl!
If your looking to book a lesson, please reach out to me on my facebook athlete page:
facebook.com/JeremiahRooneyBowling
Appreciate the videos. Im transitioning to a 2 handed form after 15 years of being one handed. Find myself walking around the ball like walter ray. Struggling to break habits and learn the hop step. Do you have an videos detailing footwork and more importantly the hop step?
I don't have a video dedicated to footwork. It's on the planned videos list when I have time to get back to making full length videos.
In the meantime, implementing a skip step is not required to bowl two handed. The most important part is that you accelerate very quickly in your last 3 steps to the foul line in order to generate the power and ball speed you need. If your smaller in stature, a skip step is a must because it's hard to generate that power with regular steps. If your taller, you can do it with normal steps.
If your trying to implement a skip step, I recommend drilling without a ball to practice the steps first as it's very different from a traditional 5 step approach. Start with a 3 step drill and practice just the skip part, then slowly move on to adding the first two steps back into your practice approach.
@@BigSkyBowler thank you for the advice. I'm hesitant to try to learn the skip step. However I am looking and evaluating every possibility for my new form. I will be on the lookout for a footwork video in the future. Thanks.
@@jonmatulef3039 your welcome!
Another cool video topic would be 2H layout lessons you alluded to, what works for you and what didnt? Especially if you can show the difference!
Even though I don't get much chance to bowl on sports patterns this was helpful as general bowling knowledge. I have been practicing a lot lately and have a question: For the most part, your aim is very good, that is, hitting your target arrow. Too much of the time I look at my target (the arrows), and make sure I'm standing on the correct board, and yet I throw the ball too far right or left. To the left, maybe I'll get lucky and hit Brooklyn. To the right, I usually hit the three pin and leave, at the very least, the 1-2-4. I'm guessing there is something I'm missing about lining up. Thanks.
Are you only looking at the arrows?
The best tip I ever received about targeting was to learn to target two points instead of one.
When I am getting ready to throw, I initially look down near the end of the lane where I want my ball to get to, I then draw an imaginary line from that point to the arrows and finishing with where I am standing. Wherever this line crosses the arrows is where my visual target is. I then throw my shot.
Connecting two points is easier to repeat than just looking at one spot. As you have already experienced, you can hit that one spot multiple ways and the ball will end up in different areas down lane.
@@BigSkyBowler -- Thanks, I will give it a try next practice session.
Thank you for this vid...too often we bowl on the unknown, or too often we have a pattern graph which fools us into expecting what the graph tells us, rather than what our eyes see and brain interprets! I have a few questions, please.... First, how can you tell whether a pattern is shorter distance versus lower volume, from the shot shape?
Does it even matter if a pattern is lower volume or shorter distance, in terms of how to play it, or do both conditions lead to a similar lane play adjustment?
Second, you tried several urethane shots, which was great for this vid, but during league or a tourney, expecially with multiple bowlers on a pair, you aren't going to have the opportunity to try urethane, for example, that many shots, let alone to try another ball, reactive, for example. So if this was "for real", so to speak, how would you approach your ball choice decisions?
Third, in your vid, both the urethane and the benchmark sym reactive, looked really good. You also made the point that if urethane is in play, use urethane, but be aware that the carry down it causes will create pattern tightness/difficulty to play issues later during a block. That said, in this situation, would you forget about subsequent carrydown issues later and just use urethane now?
Fourth, since both urethane and reactive sym benchmark looked good, how do you know which one to choose?
Fifth, if both reactives would have looked good, how would you decide whether to start with a sym reactive versus an assym? Would you choose the sym for control and save the assym for later in a block when you needed to get left and come around it more?
Sixth, could you explain a bit how a bowler should recognize when it's time to put the urethane back in the bag and switch to reactive resin? In other words, should a bowler attempt adjustments when urethane starts leaving corners or splitting, for example, the same way we try to adjust first with a resin ball before making a ball change, or is urethane an all or nothing kind of ball, and when it stops striking, it's time to switch to resin, rather than futzing around to make micro adjustments?
Seventh, assuming you did start with urethane, knowing it will cause carrydown later during the block, and now you have decided to switch to resin, what lane play adjustments are potentially needed in order to allow that resin ball to successfully negate or navigate that urethane carrydown? I would imagine that it's not as simple as switching to a resin coverstock, because some strategy has to be employed to deal with the carrydown, no?
Thanks for taking the time read these questions and for answering them.
Sorry for the late response, I've been so busy with tournaments that I have not had much time for YT.
Yes, it matters greatly. Short oil forces a player to play more outside usually with lower ball surface grits. Lower volume usually forces a player to use higher ball surface grits and play multiple angles with more speed. The hardest pattern in my opinion is short oil with lower volume.
Usually you will get at least 15 minutes or more of warm up time prior to the start of competition. This is plenty of time to find the right ball, especially if you use it wisely. I spend usually 3-4 shots identifying the pattern distance and volume by throwing a ball with a very low grit on it (usually 500). I will throw this ball very slowly in the first few shots and it will tell me everything I need to know about distance and volume. I will then spend the rest of the time going through my arsenal to identify a ball with good reaction. I spend almost zero time practicing spares.. its all about finding the right ball and getting it in the right area of the lane. The right ball will give me miss right and left with good results and not splits/washouts etc...
It depends on what the rest of the field is doing. If the rest of the field is slinging urethane, I will as well because its hard to battle the carry down and breakpoint tightness as its being created. Easier to battle later in the block when the field starts to make the move to reactive.
Depends on which ball is giving me a better look. The proper ball reaction should give a little miss right and a little miss left and either still carry a strike or at least leave a makeable spare.
I will stick with whichever ball gives me the better look and the most control over the pocket. Sometimes that is symmetric, sometimes that is assymetric. Generally speaking, assyms will hook stronger in the front than a symmetric and will therefore give you more control at the breakpoint - but that also forces your angles to be more open.
Always and I do mean always, make micro-adjustments before switching balls. Sometimes a 6 bagger is only a small adjustment away with the same ball. I will usually make a speed adjustment, an adjustment with my hand, or make micro move left or right before I put a ball back in the bag. Just keep in mind that urethane is not going to bend the lane like a reactive ball can unless you're on very short oil (cheetah). This means that you have less freedom to move around with a urethane ball because it will hook early and roll out.
You are correct that some strategy is involved. There are two ways to combat the urethane breakdown. Move right and use the carry-down as hold or move left and keep your breakpoint to the left of the carry-down. Remember that carry-down occurs after the breakpoint, so on a shorter pattern, this would effectively lengthen the pattern a bit (usually within reason, like a foot or so). This means that when you switch to reactive you will have to play around with your breakpoint and figure out where it needs to be.
Best advice you can give is to NOT waste practice shots.. you don’t get many. Don’t waste your time moving where you know it’s not gonna work… also if it’s a tournament.. just find out what you’re shooting on 😂
Agreed. Don't waste shots, use your time wisely.
Sometimes, in some formats, knowing isn't an option
Hello! Just started playing bowling 3 weeks ago and last week I decided to use two handed. My problem is I tend to use my non-dominant arm to spin the ball while releasing which causes too much spin. Im having a hard time stopping myself from spinning it with my left hand, do you have any tips on how to stop this?
The best thing I would recommend is one step drills and focus on getting your non ball hand off the ball and rotating with your ball hand.
You could also do no step release drills.
Hey, I've been looking up how to go about drilling my ball while not having a PAP measurement, nor another ball as a reference. I think I can literally count the pro shops in my country with the fingers of my one hand, and I don't even know if they know what they are doing... As far as I understand, PAP is the axis the ball rotates on soon after we release, before it starts hooking and flaring. Then we measure the coordinates from the PAP to the grip. How do they use it to drill the ball? Can I just throw a random ball to figure that out? But then again, aren't layouts made based on the distance of the Pin to the PAP? Could it at least help if I through a random ball so that they can tell whether I am a low/mid/high track player? Will that give them enough info on how to drill it?
Plan to play 2-handed but shall I also drill a thumb hole just in case it doesn't work out? Or is there a big difference between 1h vs 2h balls should be drilled?
Hey sorry I failed to see this comment.
If it's a good pro shop, they will have you throw several shots and measure your PAP several times before making a decision on your actual PAP.
Layouts are very specific to your PAP and you have a decent understanding of what the PAP is. Depending on what your PAP turns out to be may limit your layouts. Some players cannot use certain layouts.
There is a big difference in layouts between two handed and one handed players. One handed players normally use a system like dual angle or pin buffer for their layouts. Two handers need to be using Mikey Pinels PAL system. Center of grip is measured differently between the two styles as well so its better to go with one or the other.
Using the proper layout system will ensure that the pin is placed in the proper spot to give the bowler the best shape on the lane.
@@BigSkyBowler thanks!
I’m just getting into bowling but seems like these pros just rely on urethane now wonder what they’d do it it ever got banned
Urethane will always have a place. All balls have a urethane component in the coverstock, even reactive balls.
The reason urethane is so popular on tour is because of how much control you get out of the ball. If you tug it a little bit, or if you miss a little bit to the right, it has a tendency to not overreact to that mistake. This reduces the amount of penalty you pay for making that mistake. Reactive balls have a tendency to make you pay the maximum for making a mistake
@@BigSkyBowler that’s kinda my point isn’t winning with urethane like riding a bike with training wheels. It seems like the really good bowlers only use it when other people r destroying the lanes with it because they aren’t good enough with the reactive. It’s like breaking the home run record… on steroids lol
@@Jgotcha187 not entirely no. You still pay for major mistakes, it just reduces the penalty. Instead of splits and washouts etc... you usually leave makeable spares.
Eventually once the oil in the heads go, you can't use urethane anymore so Eventually transitioning to reactive is necessary.
Now if your throwing a urethane ball that's way to soft, then it's like you described. That's why the USBC recently really hammered down on older urethane balls.
@@BigSkyBowler so what about urethane make it so much more controllable? I don’t know much about them I want to get into bowling on more difficult patterns what’s a situation u would find urself throwing that instead of reactive other than just because everyone else is. And how can u get a bowling alley to put out a different pattern other than a house shot to practice on? I’ve just been bowling on a league for 6 months now and I’m up to about 180 avg of course it’s on a house shot.
@@Jgotcha187 there are two things that make a urethane ball very controllable:
1. Soft and early hooking covers.
2. Lack of pores in the cover.
The softness of the cover allows the ball to grip the lane very early, earlier than any reactive ball unless the reactive ball is under spec for hardness. The non-porous cover allows the oil to remain on the cover as the ball goes down the lane. These two factors combined reduce the quickness at the breakpoint and gives a smooth controlled shape.
Urethane is normally my go to if I'm playing on a pattern that is exceptionally flat - flat meaning almost equal amounts of oil from right to left on the lane. Also it would be my go to if the back ends are playing very dry or jumpy.
The best way, in my experience, to get a tougher condition out is to ask the center if they will do it. They usually will tell you what's required. Some places want you to bring a group in, others may want you to pay more per game, sometimes all you have to do is ask.
dude, answer the phone!!
If only it was mine to answer- lol
Lots of talking and not much explanation.
Sorry you feel this way.