So that you can roll your spare as soon as the pinsetter cleans up the pin area from your first roll. Otherwise, you have to wait a bit for the ball return to roll your ball back to you. Saves maybe 20-30 seconds per frame.
Um, the page you linked specifically notes that balls spin. Indeed, balls ALWAYS spin, unless they simply slide. Because they are on a cushion of oil at the beginning of the alley, they aren’t rolling. Indeed, it is the conversion of the spin to roll that causes the ball to hook away from its initial line of motion; the amount and placement of the oil on the lane determines when and by how much this will occur.
Actually, having two balls is typically for different shot types. Your big hook ball is what you use for your initial shot, where your spare ball is for spares. It typically isn’t surfaced the same as your strike ball, making it possible for you to roll it straighter for specific spares (7 or 10 pin, straight shots basically).
And the ball doesn’t really spin, it rolls. Spin would indicate that it’s sliding on the same spot, turning on that axis. A proper shot won’t do that, although there are some that throw a helicopter shots that spins on one point all the way down.
No.
The second ball could be one of two things:
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A ball for rolling right-sided spares (if he is right-handed) like the 10-pin, or the 6-10, 9-10, 3-10, and 3-9-10 combinations. Such a ball will have a harder coverstock than the strike ball, so that it curves less (being less able to “bite” into the wood of the lane and convert spin to direction changing roll); or
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A ball with different coverstock for lane conditions that vary. People with substantial amounts of spin created at release will often need more than one ball so that differing lane conditions (more or less oil, etc.) can be cancelled by choice of ball used. Indeed, he may change balls during the course of the series, as the lane conditions change, usually caused first by carry-down of the oil as bowlers bowl, then later caused by the lanes drying out as the heat from the lights, the friction of the balls, etc., evaporates the oil (known as the lanes “breaking down”).
It is perfectly possible for the ball to spin and still move forward. It does so by sliding. Picture a hockey puck as an example.
(Nitpickers: Yes, in reality, a ball usually starts with both spin and roll, and eventually converts to roll as it leaves the oil. Happy? 
)
Why yes I am. I agree with you on the moving forward and spinning, that’s what my bad example was trying to illustrate. Max Carnage tried to hook it this way for a while when we were both trying to learn the hook. He finally switched over.
Well, I’ll be.
It always looked to me that pro bowlers were hooking virtually every shot they made in mostly the same way (excepting the right-sided spares mentioned above). It never occured to me that the two balls pros threw had different attributes.
If you ever watch professional bowlers on TV, you probably will only see them use two or three different balls in the championship round. But the pro bowlers who are on the tour every week have told me that they’ll carry anywhere from 20-30 different balls with them when they travel, and they’ll go through a lot of them in the course of a week while they figure out what works best. These guys (and gals) have a complete understanding of the minute differences between each piece of equipment they carry and how that will affect their shot (and the all-important angle of entry) on differing lane conditions (and on the same lane condition as the oil breaks down after multiple games).
I only have four different balls, and people seem to think that’s a lot sometimes.
Yeah, I noticed that… but I was considering spinning as in a top, which the ball should not do. I also had some issues with some of the other comments on the page, but I won’t argue with them since it supposedly is from a certified instructor.
If you look at some of the diagrams showing where the ball is rolling on the lane (the track), you can see why the ball appears to spin, but in actuality it’s trying to roll. The lane conditioner is slick and you want the ball to grab eventually and roll into the pocket. If the ball is still sliding/spinning when it hits the pins it will deflect and not roll through the pins and it can leave you some very hard spares to make. A ball spinning like a top will give you no power through the pins, and that cite does say that also. The “spin” (I always called it turn) on the ball is also not imparted by the wrist, it’s imparted by lift from the fingers.
I used to carry two bowling balls, a softer surfaced one that would grip the lanes better, this was the ball I used first because it would hook with more power. The second ball had a harder surface and wouldn’t grip the lane so hard, thus not hooking as much. This was the ball I used for spares where power wasn’t needed.
And although I quit league bowling 18 years ago, my brother kept on bowling and due to the equipment getting better averaged over 200 for several years. When we used to go for fun though… I could still kick his butt… 
Let me qualify that, it’s not imparted by twisting the wrist, it’s imparted by lifting though the ball with the fingers with a firm wrist. Although some very good bowlers use their wrist to give the ball more lift, they do not twist their wrists.
Yes, I understand that what you meant to say was that the ball doesn’t spin like a top, with an axis of spin perpendicular to the lane. Rather, the axis is usually not quite parallel to the lane, and it is the eventual “grab” of the ball surface when the oil runs out that converts this spin to roll, changing the direction of the ball.
For those who have been reading along, the three most important factors to obtaining more strikes are
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Attack angle (make it as high as possible),
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Precision of delivery (hit your mark), and
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Speed of the ball as it rolls into the pins.
This according to a massive study done by the old American Bowling Congress and reported two years ago in its member magazine.
I have 3 balls, all finger tip grip.
One is a Reactive Resin ball that is extremely aggressive. it’s meant for slicker oil conditions and deeper oil patterns.
Another Reactive resin that is less aggressive for dryer conditions.
and Urethane ball for straight ball, used for 10 pin pick up. I had a plastic for this which is generally the same thing.
If the seven pin stays (rarely for most of my drops) I use the same ball and bowl over the same strike mark.
My release is the stroker style. I generally spot bowl favoring the 20th board as my gauge mark.
Although I’ve never really been able to successfully throw a hook, I’ve heard the motion described to me as similar to throwing an underhand spiral. Does this sound about right?
Interestingly enough, there seem to be some people who have a natural hook to their shot. I was in a bowling alley in Budapest watching these two Hungarian girls bowl. While they were clearly very new to the game, their natural bowling motion (for both of them) imparted a noticeable, useful hook on the ball. Needless to say, I was jealous.
Well, here’s another thing just to further confuse the issue.
I’ve been told by several dedicated (but non-pro) bowlers that the hook is definitely the best way to score strikes, but usually, a straight ball is better for picking up most spares.
I can sorta see the logic in this, but wonder if it is really so?
The consensus view, based on about six posts above, is yes.
Problem is, I hook when I need to go straight and go straight when I need to hook.
To obtain a natural hook, all you have to do is leave your hand on the right side of the ball all the way through the shot, coming up and “shaking hands with the head pin,” as it is usually quaintly put. This inherently puts a spin from near-right to far-left on the ball, causing it to hook to the left after the oil. Done with some speed, you can get just a slight back-end change of direction; done slowly you get a more pronounced hook.
As for “twisting” the wrist, if what is meant by this concept is turning the hand around the top of the ball at release, making it spin like a top, that won’t do you much good, though some bowlers these days do use that motion to obtain curve. But many a good bowler with a pronounced curve obtains the needed spin by turning the hand under and to the left, then flipping the wrist around the ball at release, imparting dramatic spin. If that is what the OP meant by “twisting the wrist,” it is far less objectionable, though difficult in general to control, and it makes picking up spares quite a chore. :eek:
And, of course, I spent all night tonight thinking about this damn thread each frame. Fortunately, it didn’t make for a bad night (640). 
That’s for sure. The first time I played with a custom-drilled ball, it was like I was using a ball 3-4 pounds lighter. It just seemed to stick in my hand perfectly and released without any fear of losing a finger. I could actually concentrate on form without being conscious of the ball. My second time using it I went from a 150 average to throwing a 244 (that was a lucky fluke, I admit, but my average went up significantly with the new ball).
You need to become a machine.
Every move is the same each and every time.
THEN you can develop into a good bowler.
Most of the above info about hooks is right.
The purpose of the hook is to bring the ball into the pins at a different angle.
Yes the ball spins on the oil.
Then it bites on the lane and rolls.
BUT as the game goes on the oil is carried on down the lane.That means your stratagy and your stance changes as the game progresses.
I never considered myself even a good bowler. Maybe just a little above average.
I was a spot bowler.
I did work at a bowling alley for a few years.I used a semi fingertip ball.I got a pretty good hook by keeping my thumb nearly straight up and lifting very hard with my fingers.
I can’t bowl anymore because of first a broken finger and now bad shoulders.
Good luck
just
Since we evidently have some bowling experts in this thread, may a poor amateur ask a question of technique?
I go bowling perhaps six times a year and only ever as a ‘lads night out’ or family entertainment thing; I know what I’m supposed to do with regard to holding the ball etc and I usually score somewhere around 130-140, with which I am not unhappy.
The problem is that sometimes, I just don’t seem to be able to co-ordinate my feet and rather than striding confidently up to the line as I swing the ball smoothly, I end up doing a sort of hesitant tiptoe dance and my arm seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Typically, this will be the case for a whole session - either it will just work all evening, or I’ll feel clumsy all evening
Trouble is, I can’t seem to put my finger on what it is that is making the difference; any tips?