Ask Bob (July 2016)
7/16/2016
By Bob Korth To ask a question of Bob write to
[email protected]Q. I read your articles all the time and you always say that spares outweigh strikes as the way to improve your average. Why are spares more important than strikes?
A. There are 1023 diff erent spare combinations. Many of these are unusual spares for sure but with that many spares you can see why having a good spare shooting system is a very big part of the game. Think about it if you want to raise your average 10 pins you only have to pick up one more spare per game. Plus developing more accuracy on spares will get you more strikes in the long run. Because you will also become more accurate on the first ball.
Q. I just got a new ball so I would have time to get used to it during the summer months, Out of the box it is highly polished and I am having a hard time controlling it. It is very skid/flippy what can I do to calm it down?
A. If you don t have a spinner take it to your pro shop and have them sand it with a 2000 abralon pad. This will dull the surface to a matte finish which should get the ball into an earlier roll. That will calm down the skid/flip. You might even need an extra hole to help it start earlier on the lane. With an earlier mid-lane read the ball should be more controllable.
Q. I am a I70 average bowler and I need a new pair of shoes. I see that the price range is anywhere from about
$35.00 to $I70.00 or so. What is the difference? And do I need the highest price shoe?
A. Cheaper bowling shoes are made of synthetic materials and have generic slide soles. They are right or left handed shoes.They have a synthetic slide sole on both shoes. They can be very stylish and even look like sneakers. More expensive bowling shoes have a leather slide sole and a rubber sole on the non-slide foot. This allows for better traction at the beginning of the approach. You can also get them with interchangeable slide soles to give you more slide options on different types of approaches. If you are a beginner or maybe only bowl in one league a week or so then the less expensive shoe is fine. But if you are serious about the game I recommend getting the shoe with the interchangeable slide sole. You will be able to keep your slide more predictable. Plus with the more expensive shoe they will last much longer and so might end up saving you money over the long haul.
