This is the 6th professional oil pattern being discussed. The PBA Badger Pattern is the longest of the patterns at a whopping 52 feet, leaving only 10 feet for the ball the roll into the desired 1-3 pocket (1-2 for the lefty's).

Here are some pointers on how to play this pattern:

1. You need to keep the breakpoint (the point at which the ball begins to hook) closer to the pocket because of the higher volume of oil, so use a tighter line, meaning to play a more direct line into the pocket. Try laying the ball down around the 15th board to start and it can hook that last 2 1/2 boards to come into the pocket.

2. Speed control is important, so don't throw the ball too fast or your ball will skid into the pocket. Remember, to get a strike the ball needs to be in it's rolling phase on board 17 1/2 for best results!

​3.  If your ball hooks too early, the power will fade out by the time it hits the pocket and you won't get much pin action.

4. Play more in line with the pocket area on these longer oil patterns when it's fresh, then you can start making adjustments as the pattern begins to break down.

5. Accuracy is important to scoring well. If you miss the mark by more than a board, you may end up with a split or not coming up into the pocket area at all.

6. Focus on being consistent with hitting your target, especially early on.

7. A stronger ball is going to hook too early. It's better to use a weaker or lesser hooking ball if you have one in your bag, to conserve the balls' energy and get a better entry angle into the pocket since there's only about 8" of dry lane.

    Good luck and have fun practicing this one if you get a chance. Remember to take notes in your notebook as your'e playing on it, so you can refer to them if you get another chance to play on this pattern.

​Join me back here again in TWO WEEKS (but on Jan 3, because I'll be on the road traveling) when I'll be discussing Why the Strike May Not Be Carrying for you.

​Good Luck and High Scoring!!

​HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!!!

    In a previous Blog post from 11/21/22, I mentioned about SIX BASIC NEEDS people must have in order to feel happy and fulfilled in their life (Did you get a chance to rate them on things you like and dislike on a scale from 1-10? I hope you did so you'll be able to better understand this blog post. 

    There are three things that come into mind of what I've done and seen others do at the lanes. At first it made no sense to me, but after reading up and studying these human needs, I do understand it a lot better and realize it was foolish to have some of those superstitions I mentioned in a prior blog post from 10/31/22.

   Are you one of those people who uses the ten minute practice session before league play begins? Most of us are and if you get a few strikes do you sit down because you are worried you might use them all up? I used to be like that until I became a better bowler and understood why I was doing that. Remembering that bowling is a 10% physical and 90% mental game, in our mind we believe we better leave some strikes for when it really counts, so to get our need of CERTAINTY we talked about, we just stop practicing and sit down just to be sure. This gives us the comfort in knowing that we did leave a few strikes for the real game (even though we're not 100% positive that we will actually get any--the UNCERTAINTY). You can leave yourself the the opportunity for a level of SIGNIFICANCE because you know you can still get some strikes since you sat down early and left a few. If you do in fact get more strikes, you will bowl well and that will make you feel important.You can get a level of CONNECTION and CONTRIBUTION because you want to do your best for your team to help them win the games. This sounds a bit bizarre, but I have experienced this during my bowling years but never really understood why I sat down instead of using the full ten minutes of practice. 

    I had a guy on my team a few years back who would NOT get up to bowl if there was a split left on the lane on either side of where we were bowling. He always thought that he was going to get one too, so he would patiently wait until the person finished bowling and that split was off the pin deck. He was a decent bowler too and I was surprised that he still had this frame of mind. I have seen many other bowlers do this as well and it drives me nuts even though I have seen people bowl next to a split and did get a split. When I learned how to drive, my instructor told me that if I ever got into  skid to look at or focus on where I wanted to go, NOT on what I wanted to avoid. That is when I realized that people were focusing so much on NOT getting a split and that is just what they got. If people just focused on getting a good first ball, having a good release, and getting it over the correct target, they would have gotten a strike or at least a nine count! It's true that you get what you focus on!!

    I also mentioned that people use different VEHICLES or ways to attain the six basic needs. Most of us use positive vehicles, but at times we resort to using NEGATIVE ones instead.

    I used a negative one in my bowling many years ago and learned a valuable lesson from it that I will never forget. I want to share it with my readers because I don't want it happening to any of you!
    Several years ago  I had joined a new mixed league in a different bowling center and I was averaging 216 for the first seven weeks. I was averaging about 202 for a short time before this which was my highest average so far in any of my leagues. I had mostly gotten the high average for the women bowlers by the end of the season in my leagues too. Well, a new team joined the league with all the members averaging 220+, including the two women. So I began worrying that I wouldn't be able to keep up and get the high average and I started doubting myself. Instead of focusing on my routine and basics, I kept checking on their scores and before I knew it, my averaging started going down. Then I began worrying about that and also what my team mates were thinking.
    I was doing what is called "SELF SABOTAGING" which is a NEGATIVE Vehicle and I didn't realize it at the time! I was CERTAIN that I could average 202 because I had already done that and that was my COMFORT ZONE. Well you guessed it, I did not get the high average for the women that year and I finished with my comfortable 202 average.  I learned that I will NEVER SELF SABOTAGE again! I will just stay focused on my own bowling since that is all I can control. Had I realized what I was doing to myself sooner,  I could've nipped in the bud and had a self talk. I am sure I could have done so much better but now I'll never know what I could have averaged that year.

 I realized that by fearing my failure, I was holding myself to a lower standard.The only way to really improve at something is to put yourself in a place where you can fail so you can get out of that comfort level you are stuck in! If you want to get to that next level, don't let the wrong things get into your head like I did. Always try your best for yourself and for your team. If you see yourself doing something negative, try to step back and analyze it before it gets out of hand. I've been bowling a very long time now and sometimes I still  have to try to not let pressure situations get the best of me. I am so much better now though than back then because I trained myself to be positive and to stay focused on my things that I want to accomplish so negative thoughts don't have a chance to get into my head. Stress less and only focus on what you can control!!

    We are only human and do make mistakes, but if you can learn from your mistakes then you will keep GROWING. Try your best to look at things as a challenge and a way to get out of your comfort zone so you will keep improving year after year!!

Check out my ebook on:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZSMB99G/ref=sr_1_2?crid=P3PQWHFB1WYS&keywords=lets+rev+up+those+bowling+scores&qid=1652035291&sprefix=lets+rev+up+those+bowling+scores%2Caps%2C76&sr=8-2
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Join me in next week when I'll be discussing The Badger Oil Pattern.

Good Luck and High Scoring!! 

    Throwing a straight ball can be great, especially if you are going for spares, but let's face it, all the better average bowlers in the leagues or the pros you watch on TV all throw some type of curve or hook shot. Putting more revolutions or "Revs" on the ball will help you achieve this desired hook shot that will get you more action at the pins and ultimately more strikes!!!

   I may have mentioned some of these in other blog posts, but if it's important, I tend to repeat. Here are some ways you can increase the revs on your ball:

1. USE A FINGER TIP GRIP:
    If you are currently releasing your ball with a conventional tip grip (fingers insert into the ball up to the second knuckles) you should bring your ball into the pro shop and have the holes filled with resin and get a Finger Tip Grip drilled into the ball. The Finger Tip Grip (fingers inserted into the ball up to the first knuckles) will more easily allow you to pull those fingers toward your palm to get more turns or revs on the ball as you release it, and allows the wrist is able to put more into the shot.

​2. CUPPING THE WRIST:
​    Cupping the wrist and keeping it that way throughout the swing and release causes your thumb to leave the ball first. The remaining two fingers will allow you give the ball good LIFT, giving it a strong counter clockwise motion and a strong hook coming into the pocket. It will feel awkward if you're not used to this.

​3. CHANGING FINGER POSITIONS:
    Remember the clock face I spoke about? Assuming your stance position on the approach, place the ball in your hand out on front of you and turn it to the right as far as you can. Thinking about the face of a clock, the pinky will be on the 10 and the thumb will be on the 4. If you are a left handed bowler, your pinky will be at the 2 and your thumb at the 7 or 8. Try holding your hand in this position at the stance and on the downswing. Just before the release, turn your hand back to the 10:00 or 11:00 position (1 or 2:00 for lefty's). That will get a nice rotation on the ball and higher revs and pin action.  See photo below:

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4. If you have been wanting a new ball and have been bowling awhile, you may want to BUY A MORE AGGRESSIVE BALL at the pro shop or have them re-fill and re-drill your ball so the pin is in a different position to help with more revs.Talk to the pros about this at your bowling center and let him know what you want to accomplish. They are always very helpful and knowledgeable.

5. Try getting ​the FINGERS BELOW THE EQUATOR OF THE BALL:

6. This one will take practice, but you can try CHANGING YOUR TIMING a bit by getting your footwork to be one step ahead of the arm position. If your foot can reach the foul line slightly ahead of the arm releasing the ball, it will help increase the rev rate on the ball.

7. When you have a relaxed hand, the fingers stay in the ball a little longer which will increase the RPM's (Revolutions Per Minute) on the ball.

8. Try INCREASING THE SPEED IN WHICH YOUR STRAIGHTEN THE BOWLING ARM while releasing the ball. In other words, push the inside of the elbow towards the pins more quickly on the ball release.

9. BENDING THE PINKY:
    Bend your pinky so that the fingernail is touching the ball. This forces the other two fingers to turn the ball a bit more before the release.

    Most people have a ball RPM of about 300-350. Strokers can average between 0-200 RPM's, some power Tweeners 300-400, and Crankers 350+ RPM's.

    A man names Robert Smith has been recorded to have the most RPM's at 550-600!!


    Remember to always go and practice these new things and be confident before applying them in your league games when it counts. Be aware that with a higher rev rate, the ball will come up higher on the head pin and you want to do your best to avoid splits, so observe how the lanes are moving and move your feet and target accordingly.


​Join me back here again next week when I'll be discussing Part-2 of "Understanding the Mental Game of Bowling".

Good Luck and High Scoring!!