Bowling Tip # 111 Bowling Styles #3 “TWEENERS”

   The name “TWEENER” sounds  like “In- Betweener which is exactly what it is. It’s a bowling style that’s not quite a CRANKER or a STROKER, but a combination of these two and because of this, the styles will vary quite a bit from tweener to tweener.

Steps :

1-5 The majority of tweeners will play a little more toward the center of the lane and walk fairly STRAIGHT on the approach, but occasionally you will see one walking at an angle toward their target. They have a nice slide on their last step, and the shoulders are usually square to the target, but can be slightly open at times for a little extra power or speed when needed. The backswing is usually shoulder high producing an average ball speed.

Hand and Wrist Position:

1.     Tweeners insert all three fingers into the ball.

2.     Use a straight wrist position with or without a wrist support device.

3.     Thumb position can be anywhere from 4:00 to 11:00 at the stance.

4.     At the release, use a small wrist rotation. Modest axis tilt is applied by allowing the thumb to exit the ball first followed by the fingers which apply the rotating action from the side of the ball creating Moderate Revs, and Moderate Hook with a ball speed of about 20 mph on the release to about 16 mph on pin impact ( 18 mph average).  The thumb should finish up at a 10:00 or 11:00 position.

    Tweeners have a controllable but very effective ball motion which allows them to be able to play well on a variety of lane conditions. They can crank when necessary to get more power, or can tune down the bigger hook when they need more accuracy.

  Crankers give the ball a lot of side rotation which breaks and hooks even sharper at the end. The professional bowler, Mark Roth had a Cranker’s style.

  The Stroker rolls the ball forward smoothly without a lot of spin, creating a gradual small hook that’s easier to control. Walter Ray Williams is a good example of a Stroker.

   The Tweener is a hybrid mixture of these other two styles and gives you several options to choose from. A professional who uses this style is Jason Belmonte.

  

·      Now that you know the differences between these three Bowling Styles, which one will you choose?

                                Good Luck and high scoring!!