reducing flare?

[star wars geek]

Question:  I don't like it when my ball flares out to the right side of the lane.  I play up the second arrow, but sometimes it will flare out to the first or second board.  usually it will come back quite hard, which is nice, but sometimes it flares too much and goes in the gutter.

I dont' like the gutter.

The gutter likes to eat my balls.

My scores suffer when I lose my balls in the gutter.

How can you reduce this flaring?

I throw a Brunswick yellow/chrome Power Groove.  16 pounds...help...
--------------------

The only balls in my hands are Brunswicks.

[dizzyfugu]

It is not the ball... it is you. You seem to have an erratic release, whcih can have many reasons - muscled swing, bad timing, not an upright upper body, to name a few.
The buffer on the lane's right side, probably some dry THS boards, keeps your ball on the lane most of the time -  but only on this easy condition. Nn a sport shot or a gutter-to-gutter croen pattren you will probably be lost, every second ball running into the gutter because it will not come back.

What to do? Practice and concentration. You should focus on your mark on the lane and not hustle your delivery. Haste and hurry are great flaw sources. Your shoulder does not seem to hang too much, otherweise the ball would rather go leftwards. Do you raer up at the foul line, maybe in an attempt to "push" the release and create some extra revs? That could be a source of trouble, too.

But mainly I think it is just inconsistent release, not hitting the mark. Observe yourself or have an experienced bowler watch you play. Taping is good, too. A coach is also handy for some diagnostics. It is definitively not the ball...
--------------------

DizzyFugu --- Reporting from Germany
Team "X": http://homepage.mac.com/timlinked/
"All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream..." - Edgar Allen Poe

[JohnP]

Another contributing factor may be an approach that is not consistent.  If you don't end up at the same spot at the foul line every time, you can get very different results even when you hit your target.  If you end up to the left at the line, the ball will, as you say, flare to the right.  If you end up to the right, it will flare to the left.  Check your foot position at the foul line and see how consistent you are.  Even a couple of boards variation will cause a problem.  --  JohnP

Edited on 2/10/2006 3:33 PM

[star wars geek]

Cool.  That's what I feared and expected.

Practice seems to be the key.
--------------------

The only balls in my hands are Brunswicks.

[BrunsMike]

Speaking of arrows. I had a buddy of mine think the 1st arrow was the middle arrow on the lane. So when I told him to hit 2nd arrow he thought it was the 3rd arrow, that could really screw up a beginners mind set. So just to inform you incase you dont know seeing this is the begginers forum, the 1st arrow is the 1st dark spot on the right. then it goes 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and finally 7th for us Right Handers. You also need to know that when the term "flair" is used, that usually talks about a balls track motion. Not really a balls hook on the lane. Im just letting you know and clearing up some terms for you. When you say flair you should really be saying "hook". The ball doesnt seem to hook back....ect.
--------------------
Mike Zadler
NE Lake County IL
Sanctioned Highs:
775 Series/288 Game
Sanct. Ave. (2004/2005)194

Tweener by day, Stroker by night

[star wars geek]

I actually meant flare as in variation to the right of my aiming point...not hooking back to the pocket.

I actually found out the main problem was in the way I was holding the ball.  I had too much of finger tips in the holes and not enough thumb!

Once I figured that out, my scores went back to where they should have been all along.
--------------------

The only balls in my hands are Brunswicks.

[charlest]

That is not what is meant by "flare", which has a very specific meaning in bowling language.


See http://home.mchsi.com/~s-cross-7-28-71/FAQ.htm#FLARE%20(TRACK%20FLARE)

--------------------
"None are so blind as those who will not see."
(That includes me too, at times! )

[star wars geek]

My average at the end of last season was 175.

This year I was bowling in the 140's until I found out my mistake.  Once I figured that out, I was back in the 180's and low 200's.
--------------------

The only balls in my hands are Brunswicks.