I've gone back and forth between spare balls and such, but I'm most comfortable when I just flatten my wrist and go hard and straight at spares. I don't use any of the specific systems. I do, however, have a specific starting point on the approach for everything I'm trying to shoot. As for washouts, I'm RH, and I shoot them from the left to right. I've always found that easier and more effective than trying to hook across the head pin at them.

Plastic!

I throw plastic at everything except double wood(2/8, 3/9) 1,2,4,7 (or 2,4,7) and the 3,6,9,10. I use plastic for the bucket, washouts, greek church and 2,8,10s.

I flatten out what I'm already using.  I don't have a "system" for shooting spares either, just go by feel and how the lanes are playing.  I've tried several different angles for shooting washouts, but found that crossing the headpin from R - L works best for me.

Plastic. No need to adjust for any oil pattern. Throw it the same way everytime.

+1


I have my own system for plastic that I've developed over the years. Double wood is the only exception for using my strike ball.

Plastic for all single-pin, 3-6-10, and baby splits. Strike ball for double-wood, buckets, washouts, and 3-6-(7)-9-10. The system I use depends on what feels good that day. I shoot brooklyn for washouts. Easier to slow down and put some more hand in the ball.

I've done a bit of both, plus a few more things.

First off, every spare I shoot uses the 3-6-9 system I learned in junior/youth bowling. Each pin position on the lane is off 3, 6, or 9 boards from my strike shot. E.g: move 3 boards right and hit my strike target on the lane to pick up the 2 pin, 6 right for the 4 pin, 9 right for the 7 pin. Reverse that for the 3, 6, and 10 pins.

I'm currently on plastic, and trying to get used to that, as I'm trying to save my hand (more importantly, my index finger).

Before plastic, I flattened my hand, which works well for just about any spare/single pin right of the headpin that is not double wood.

But what I used to do, which made everybody scratch their heads and wonder why I did it, was that for the 6 pin or the 10 pin, I would take any ball in my bag, whether it was the hardest hooking or least hooking ball I had, cuffed my wrist to where the thumb was at the 12 o'clock position, and index finger was at 10 o'clock, move 9 boards left of my strike shot, go through my approach, but instead of coming around the ball like I'm going to rip the cover off of it, I keep my index finger locked and let the ball roll off that finger. That would guarantee the hook is completely killed off the shot. The ball rolled straighter, and would pick up its 'killed' hook if it hit the 10 pin dead on.

Using that last method, I've picked up many a 6-7 and 6-7-10, but have also had the luxury of taking out the 10 only, or even taking only the 10 off of the rack (that's when you know you've got your corner pins nailed down). However, I have felt it take its toll on my index finger, so I went back to flattening the wrist, then onto plastic.

Right now, I'm trying to figure out how to use plastic to pick up any single pins on the left side of the headpin without hooking into them. If anyone has any advice for doing that, I'd surely appreciate it!

BL.

Hard and straight with either a plastic ball or a shiny 3 piece urethane i.e Polar Ice...double as a nice dry lane ball too!