Archive for the ‘Lessons’ Category

Bowling Shoes: How Do I Choose?

Thursday, October 9th, 2008

Hello!

At some point in our bowling ventures we’ve all worn those smelly, non-sliding shoes you rent from the front desk. They’re uncomfortable, you never know how much you’re going to slide (if at all!), and who knows where they’ve been! If you bowl frequently, it’s time to get your own shoes!

Bowling shoes are probably the best investment you can make if you bowl on anywhere near a regular basis. I’d say the going rate for renting house shoes is about $4. Now, if you go bowling 10 times a year, that’s $40. There are plenty of good bowling shoes under $40, and you won’t have to rent from the counter ever again!

Okay, but how do I choose?

Let me first say that no matter what pair you buy, it will be better than renting. Just for the simple fact that you’re guaranteed to have the same pair of shoes on your feet every time you bowl. This will help you in knowing how much you’ll slide each time, and you can focus on throwing the ball, not busting your tail!

But as for choosing, let’s look at the Dexter Women's Raquel III White/Pink.


Women's Raquel III White/Pink

This is a great entry level shoe that will give you a consistent slide, and is well made.  would be a great place to start!

And now we’ll look at the Dexter Men's SST 8 .


Men's SST 8

This shoe is the top of the line. The sole and heels are interchangable on both feet. The advantage to this is that no matter where you bowl, you can have the perfect amount of slide or brake that you want! This is important because you want to be able to slide the same everywhere, and with these shoes you can!

These are just 2 examples, but there are many more shoes on the market. If you’re a casual bowler, or you like the look of the sneaker type bowling shoes, you could go with the Dexter Women's Raquel III White/Pink.

If you bowl in a lot of different centers and need to be able to adjust your slide, there’s nothing better than the Dexter Men's SST 8 .

There are tons of choices so visit www.bowlingball.com or come into the shop and we’ll get you set up with just what you need!

Dustin

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Why won’t my ball HOOK? – Part Two

Thursday, September 18th, 2008

Hello again!

In the first part of ‘Why won’t my ball HOOK?’ we talked about the importance of having the correct ball in your hand in order to achieve the hook you’re after. Having the correct ball in your hand is important, but having a ball that FITS your hand is even more important! So the next step is:

Having a ball that fits YOUR hand!

If you ask any good bowler they will tell you that finding the perfect fit is an ongoing process. While it is true that it takes time to fine tune your grip, having a good fit for your first ball is imperative, and will make those adjustments that much easier. If you don’t live near us here at Bellair Lanes Pro Shop you can check out bowlingball.com’s Pro Shop Locator to find a driller near you. I’ll give you some basics that will ensure that your ball fits YOUR hand :)

There are several types of grips, but if you’re wanting to hook the ball the only one you want to go with is a fingertip grip. This is where your middle and ring fingers are inserted up to the crease at the first joint. Hence the term, fingertip. The reason this is the best grip is because by just having the tips of your fingers in the ball, it is easier to create lift, which is the way rotations and hook is created (We’ll talk more about that in Part Three :) ). Most people trying out a fingertip grip for the first time will use finger inserts such as Turbo 2-N-1 Grips Quad Finger Inserts. Inserts are a lot softer than the ball which makes it easier on your fingers. Also, if you use the power lift side of the grips, they can also help you get a little more lift on the ball (which is always great for a new bowler).

The 2nd part of a fingertip grip (and any good fit for that matter) is having your thumb ALL THE WAY IN THE BALL. Let me repeat, ALL THE WAY IN THE BALL! I can’t stress how important this is to having the right fit. Bowling is a sport that is built on consistency. You want a consistent approach, backswing, followthrough and balance – among other things. But the most important is having a consistent release, I mean the only way to knock the pins down is by throwing the ball, right? :) Well having your thumb ALL the way in the ball is the only way to have consistency with your thumb. If you only put part of your thumb in the ball, what’s to say you won’t put it in more or less the next shot? Inserting your thumb more or less from one shot to the next will make you throw the ball differently each time. And inconsistency is a very BAD thing. We need to focus on the inconsistencies of the lane conditions, not our grip!

Let me make a few things clear:

If this is your first bowling ball fit well for YOUR hand, it WILL feel weird at first! If it doesn’t, then it probably doesn’t fit right.

You’re probably used to using a house ball, or your grandpa’s AMFlite and think that’s how a ball is supposed to feel. But if you think about it, your grandpa is 7 inches taller and 117 pounds heavier than you. How could you both have the same exact hand? You don’t.

Your buddy Cletus’ Hammer Black Widow does NOT fit your hand, bro (Or sis, we are very equal opportunity here at Bellair Lanes Pro Shop :) ).

This is always the hardest part of having a ball fit for your hand for a new bowler. The thumb most likely will feel tight. You’ll ask to have it opened up about 740 times. But if your pro shop guy is good, he will work with you on how to release the ball right so you won’t have to make the thumbhole so big your grandpa could use it. And in the long run you’ll be glad you didn’t. When you’re averaging 227 in a few years you’ll have that first good fit to thank :)

So if you haven’t yet, come see me and we’ll get you throwing a HOOK in no time!

Stay tuned for Part Three!!

Dustin

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Why won’t my ball HOOK? – Part One

Monday, August 25th, 2008

Hey guys,

Are you new to bowling or just looking to improve your game? Well inevitably you’ve either seen while bowling, or seen a PBA telecast, where someone throws their ball and it takes a left turn on the backend. You take your ball and try your best to make it do the same thing, but to no avail. The guy you saw do it made it look so easy, but it seems like trying to solve the case of the Zodiac killer to you.

Well, over the course of this week I’m gonna try to help you solve the riddle!

For the first part of this series we’re gonna talk about the easiest thing you can do get started hooking the ball:

Having the correct ball!

If you’ve been trying to throw a hook with a house ball or your grandmothers’ Ebonite Galaxie from 1968; there is your first problem.

If you want to get on the fast track to throwing a hook, you’re going to need a reactive resin ball.

Reactive balls have a porous surface that is meant to grip the lane and provide the traction through the lane oil that you need for your ball to hook. Plastic balls are much harder and smoother than reactive balls so they won’t be able to get the same traction (That’s not to say plastic doesn’t have its place. Something like a Roto Grip Golden Globe or Brunswick T Zone Blue/Black/White would be great for spares!).

Any of the balls I’ve mentioned in previous posts, like the Storm Dimension or Track Up-Rising would be a great place to start!

Come down to the shop and we’ll get you started down the path to having the hook you’ve been wanting!

Dustin

Stay tuned for part two!

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