Give me some real league bowling tips. No, not the ones supplied every August in the USBC magazines. I tried all those and worked for maybe a frame or two. Tell me the ones that really work. Tell me the ones that make my game better instantly. I do want to bowl better, but who has time to practice? Kids have all sorts of activities everywhere, traffic to and from work is a pain, so I occasionally miss the 10-minute warmup. How about bowling better for time-challenged?

     OK. (Sorry, I can't put this in a cute black and yellow book and call it Bowling for Dummies. Something called a copyright gets in the way, you know.) But most newer league bowlers are relying on tips that worked years ago. Unfortunately, that was then, this is now. TV's have remotes, there aren't five channels on that TV, your charming and delightful ole' Uncle Lar' and little snot-nosed Tommy aren't on the radio anymore, MTV doesn't play music, LP albums aren't around and add polyester leisure suits, AstroTurf, and Earth shoes to the list. My point is this: the bowling balls aren't the same anymore. It's not the line on the whole lane, it's getting the 21st century automatic hook ball to the hook area on the lane. It's going to take time to implement all these tips. Even if you use just one of these tips, you should notice even a little improvement.

   1.  See where the better bowlers are rolling their first ball. But don't let its location at the arrows be your only reference, that's a small part of the story. Look further down where the ball starts making its move toward the pins. This can be tricky because there usually not any marks that far down the lane. Newer surfaces like the Brunswick ProAnviLane at Lockport Strike-N-Spare and the new Brunswick Zone XL in Romeoville feature those darker spots further down. Otherwise, you have to find something else as a reference. Look for a seam in the gutter as a distance marker then determine how far away from the pocket the ball gets before heading back. Look, these are house oil patterns and are designed to be much more forgiving than what we see on the pro tour. What you are looking for is the "hook spot' down the lane your ball must get near to allow a good entry angle in to the pocket. Don't worry if it takes some time, but once you find that area, you're on your way.

   2.  I'm getting to the pocket, but strikes aren't happening. Two things in this area are improper ball roll and approach imbalance. The bigger hook players have the type of roll which brings the ball back to the pocket from steeper angles, besides having a ball built to do such maneuvers. Once lanes become drier, then a different release is more beneficial. Releasing the ball without whipping the fingers around once the thumb clears the gripping hole producing an end-over-end roll allows the ball to slow down over a much longer distance, saving the hitting power where you want it; at the pins. On an oiler condition, the ball encounters friction much later down the lane and a different release is more effective. Twisting the hand, and not the whole arm, applies a rapid heavy roll which creates an angled entry to the pocket. The most overlooked part of this and any release is the thumb. Watch the release bowlers of those aforementioned bowlers. The strong roll is applied ONCE THE THUMB CLEARS THE HOLE, otherwise the ball goes somewhere else. As in way far away somewhere else. The balls continue to change, but this overlooked tip has not.

   3.  Keeping your balance after releasing the ball is paramount. This is the sign your approach is easily repeatable. The basic athletic pose is keeping the feet below the torso, even in motion. Once that is done and becomes more comfortable (easier to repeat), then speed and power can be used to strengthen ball roll if you choose. Some habit may have crept in to your game over the years due to bad coordination between the armswing and footwork creating an off-balance feel somewhere magnified at the release point. This is where weaker areas in your approach can be exposed and can be the toughest area to change, even more so during league. Just because your shot heads off target, the lone reason may not be because your follow-thru headed that way. It may have had to because of some bad habit that crept in over time. Of course, if your balance is off during your approach, that can't be too good either.

     So that's a start on how to improve. But like I said, some of the fundamentals get tweaked with each new ball surface. You may also be at the point where asking your pro shop operator to watch you throw a ball or two during league. It's something I do at my shop several times a week. Those of us attending the PBC camps in the 70s couldn't wait to find out how to throw the rock like Mark Roth, but instead learned the classic style. Rotating the shoulders and kicking the left leg to the side for balance were out of the question. The classic style allows a ball to pick up a heavy roll as soon as possible after the release, compensating for the lack of friction of rubber and plastic ball surfaces Nowadays, the classic style makes an aggressive reactive resin ball hit like a bag of feathers. Don't worry, it's not too late. But please keep this in mind, this game is not as easy as it looks. Just because you play putt-putt golf well doesn't make you a golfer.