As I was telling y’all a few days ago I’ve taken up bowling. A friend of mine has given me some advice so I thought I’d put it here where I can find it.

if you want to raise your scores, simply get more spares.

For spares remember the rule of 3.

Find your "strike shot" and note which board you start on (big toe of dominant foot) and which board the ball crosses out by the arrows.

Note: "Strike Shot" is the shot that hits the pocket. This shot doesn’t always result in "10 in the pit".

For this explanation we will "say" that the head pin (#1) is your primary target when shooting a full rack. To shoot spares simply move your feet 3 the opposite direction of the new target pin.

meaning… If your target pin becomes the 3 pin, you move 3 boards left. 6 pin, 6 boards left. 10 pin, 9 boards left. — 2 pin, 3 boards right. 4 pin, 6 boards right. 7 pin, 7 boards right.

One of these 7 pins 1,2,3,4,6,7,10 will always be your target… (example.. shooting a 7-8 mini split, the 4 pin is your target pin even though it is off the deck).

Good luck and high scores.

ps…The 10 (or 7 pin for lefties) is a lot easier than it’s made out to be as well. The easiest method of shooting this pin is to stand on the dot closest to the opposite gutter and shoot over the middle arrow. Then adjust a board at a time until you are "spot on".

oh, and one more thing. If you haven’t yet, try to develop a bit of a hook. In bowling, angle of entry is everything. To shoot a hook simply imagine that you are sliding a suit case down the alley and make a fist as you let go of the ball. This will cause the side rotation necessary for at least a small arc.

Thanks, Greg.