Walk straight or walk parallel to the target line?

[LeftyBowlerHK]

From what I've read in bowling books there are two school of thoughts:

1. walk straight (aka Fred Broden) and
2. walk parallel to the intend target line (aka John Jowdy).

I'm left handed and I line up toward my target and walk parallel to the target line. For 7 pin spares, I would think it will be hard if you walk straight and throw it cross lane.

Please comment on the above and see which method is better for higher scores.

Thank you for your response!

[Jeffrevs]

I think you should be parallel to your target and your swing plane....

swing plane to ball path.....

that being said......you'd be walking at your target....
--------------------
JEFF
"Oh...that's puce"
 Sully; Monsters, Inc.

[LuckyLefty]

I'm sure they mean the same thing.  Walk straight! Parallel to your target!

It would make no sense for your body and arm to be going in different directions.

REgards,

Luckylefty

[Constantine]

I think people get caught up looking at the directions of the boards and thinking that the boards mean straight.

Straight means that you are walking from where you start toward your target wherever that may be.
--------------------
Good luck & good bowling

[Phillip Marlowe]

I think you should walk straight up the boards to the line and pre-set your shoulders open or closed to the target line.  Otherwise, you largely cancel out left and right moves.
--------------------
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them on long winter evenings."

[Re-Evolution]

This is how I was taught.
First have some one watch you to see how far from your slide foot you set the ball down.

So lets say the intended path is 4th arrow/20 board and the 10 pin/5 board
I would want to set the ball down on 25 to have the following path.
25 @ line
20 @ 15'
15 @ 30'
10 @ 45'
5  @ 60'
In other word you want to cross 5 boards every 15'
Now lets say you set the ball down 7 boards from your slide foot so you would want to end up sliding on 32 and you start from the very back of the approach 15' you should start left foot on 37 and walk toward you target to be parallel to the intended target line. If you started at the midpoint (7.5') of the approach you would start on 34.5 to still be on the 5 boards/15' path and so on.
I was taught this method recently and it is working very well for me so far.

I put this in terms of a spare shot but it work just as well for angles of attack on a strike ball. For instance my normal starting point when trying to get a read on the lanes is to slide 25 with a 4/15 path which is
18@0  14@15  10@30  6@45
--------------------
STORM TRACK
 

www.Bowling-Info.com

BR.com's unofficial FAQ section

Edited on 4/5/2005 12:28 PM

[LeftyBowlerHK]

So there are two school of thoughts then:

1. Walk straight up the boards and pre-set shoulders to the target
2. Walk parallel to the swing/target line

If walk straight up the boards, wouldn't it be easier to make adjustment?Meaning that you can keep the same target but only the lay down point at the foul line is different.

I walk parallel to target line but I don't really have formula for making adjustments. Is there a system that is easy to understand and follow?

[Re-Evolution]

Check these pages out these are the most widely used systems

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/kennmelvin/tSystems.htm

--------------------
STORM TRACK
 

www.Bowling-Info.com

BR.com's unofficial FAQ section

[mumzie]

I have serious issues lately with a non-straight swing. I always walk towards my target - I can make enough mistakes that way. I can't imagine what it would be like if I tried to walk straight and consistently vary my shoulder position. I might average 140.
--------------------
-- The way we see the problem is the problem.

[Phillip Marlowe]

quote:I have serious issues lately with a non-straight swing. I always walk towards my target - I can make enough mistakes that way. I can't imagine what it would be like if I tried to walk straight and consistently vary my shoulder position. I might average 140.
--------------------
-- The way we see the problem is the problem.

Mumzie, hate to say it, but I can't think of any current top pro who consistently walks to the target.  The last step is to the target, but before that, it is pretty much straight to the line and open or close the shoulders.  Some even walk away from the target.

I think if you would preset your shoulders and concentrate on keeping them at the pre-set angle, you would end up doing better.  For the beginner, walking toward the target makes learning the basics easier (and is what I teach when I teach kids).  But for the more advanced player, walking straight and pre-setting almost always has lead to better results long-term.
--------------------
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them on long winter evenings."

[LeftyBowlerHK]

WOW!!! This topic is getting more & more interesting.

Now I'm even more confuse because of various opinions posted.

Hope more people can share their views here.

[Constantine]

The concept of presettting your shoulders is a fairly new idea.  (or at least the popularity of the concept is fairly new.)  It came about with changes in equipment.  In the old days nobody needed to play ultra-deep on the lane.  Now bowlers, especially the pros, play so deep they loft the left gutter.  If you draw that kind of ultra-deep shot back on the lane, you run out of room.  On the right lane in most centers you'd need to stand left of the ball return in order to create the angle.  To compensate, styles changed and bowlers, from the walk to the target point-of-view, commonly fade left to throw right.

The downside to presetting the shoulders is that your swing plane is changing as you move on the lane.  This can cause timing and balance issues.  Its a big part of the reason crankers are stereotypically considered less accurate. But if you are going to play inside, then its a required technique to master.
--------------------
Good luck & good bowling

[Phillip Marlowe]

quote:The concept of presettting your shoulders is a fairly new idea.  (or at least the popularity of the concept is fairly new.)  It came about with changes in equipment.  In the old days nobody needed to play ultra-deep on the lane.  Now bowlers, especially the pros, play so deep they loft the left gutter.  If you draw that kind of ultra-deep shot back on the lane, you run out of room.  On the right lane in most centers you'd need to stand left of the ball return in order to create the angle.  To compensate, styles changed and bowlers, from the walk to the target point-of-view, commonly fade left to throw right.

The downside to presetting the shoulders is that your swing plane is changing as you move on the lane.  This can cause timing and balance issues.  Its a big part of the reason crankers are stereotypically considered less accurate. But if you are going to play inside, then its a required technique to master.
--------------------
Good luck & good bowling

The reason that the swing plane changes is that most bowlers do not properly pre-set, they preset from the starting position rather than from the position they will need to be at at the foul line.  Larry Matthews in his book the Pro approach has suggested this approach (pun intended) for years.
--------------------
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them on long winter evenings."

[supersid802]

i feel like an old wiseman about to say this....do whats best for your game, because like a snowflake, every bowler is different..tehehehe