How Do I Reduce Hook When Bowling For The Ten Pin?

By: bowlingball.com, Originally Posted: 8/7/16; Updated: 2/18/2022

If you ask how do I reduce hook when bowling for the ten pin, there are a couple of techniques you can experiment with so you can control your ball reaction when bowling across the lane at this corner pin spare?

These techniques can also apply for left handed bowlers since this article is pointed to the right handed players.

For starters, most experienced bowling instructors suggest you use a plastic ball with a low surface friction to control your amount of hook.

Another thing you can try is to keep your hand behind the ball and avoid rotating your bowling fingers when releasing the ball making sure the palm of your bowling hand swings upward toward the ceiling.

Move your index and “pinky” fingers as close to the center gripping fingers when swinging your bowling ball to assist in staying behind the ball when shooting at the ten pin.

One former PBA pro bowler and Hall of Fame Champion, Marshall Holman, would say he keyed on the fingertips on his bowling hand punching a hole through the bottom of the lane bed and following through upwards to avoid overturning his bowling ball.

When shooting at the ten pin (seven pin for left handed bowlers), it is important to avoid walking toward the center of the approach but rather maintain your straight line walking path to the foul line.

This technique serves to maximize your ball path angle to the ten pin and so you can use the build up of lane conditioner in the center portion of the lane to assist in skidding your ball and avoid hooking too early away from the spare.

Place the tips of your bowling fingers only part way down into the holes so you guarantee a swift exit from the ball.

Although these techniques assist in reducing the amount of hook you apply to your bowling ball when shooting cross-lane at the ten pin, it is also important to work on shooting all routine spares during practice sessions. Corner pin spares are the ones most bowlers dislike shooting but the combination spares you routinely leave standing can be more challenging unless you develop a sound system for aligning to the key pins in each spare combination. Successful spare shooting is the backbone for good scoring and winning.

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