This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2018) |
A hook in ten-pin bowling is a ball that rolls in a curving pattern (as opposed to straight). The purpose of the hook is to give the ball a better angle at the 1-3 pocket (right-handers) or 1-2 pocket (left-handers.) to achieve a strike. When a ball is rolled straight, hitting the pocket must be precise. By hooking the ball, the ball will hit the pins with more force, producing better carry - especially on the 5-pin during a strike ball. Straight roll - even when it hits the pocket, will tend to leave a tap such as the 5-pin on a light hit, or the 10-pin if the ball was just slightly right of center pocket or with inadequate entry angle. A hook ball can achieve strikes with less precise hits.
A hook ball can also help the bowler shape the shot on challenging oil patterns.
In duckpin bowling, candlepin bowling, and nine-pin bowling, hook potential is greatly reduced since the balls are generally rolled much faster and thus have less time for a hook to develop.
There are two ways to produce a hook. The first method involves bowling technique. At the moment of throwing the bowling ball, the hand should be behind the ball and where the thumb (for a right-hander) is anywhere between 10-o'clock and 12-o'clock, and the two fingers are between 4-o'clock and 6-o'clock. Just before releasing the ball, the entire hand starts rotating in a counter-clockwise motion. The thumb must fall out of the ball first, then the middle and ring finger release almost simultaneously, again in a counter-clockwise direction (called "lift"). A lift release gives the roll more torque (and therefore more power), along with the spin needed for the hook. When the two fingers lift the ball correctly, it will cause the thumb to naturally fall out of the ball first, so one does not have to make a conscious effort to remove the thumb before the fingers.
There are innumerable variations in style and technique and the position of the thumb can vary from person to person. Some bowlers, including professionals, will actually roll the bowling ball with just the two fingers, allowing the hand to give the ball even more torque without having to worry about the thumb restricting the spin.
The second way to produce a hook is by modifying the bowling ball. Illegally, one can play with the weighting of the bowling ball, such as drilling the ball so that there is more side weight on the right side of the ball (for a right-hander,) which would cause the ball to pull from right to left, causing a hook. Bowling balls ship with the weighting specifications on the container. A bowling shop professional can drill a bowling ball by first knowing the type of roll the bowler wants, and then can pick out the bowling ball with the weighting specifications in mind that match the bowler's needs. For a beginning bowler, the professional will usually drill the ball with the label directly in the middle, and between the fingers and thumb holes, causing the weighting to be balanced on both sides, causing the ball to roll straight.
Under USBC regulations, one can drill up to five holes on the bowling ball. Most bowlers use three holes (thumb and two fingers,). On past, one could drill additional holes on other parts of the bowling ball, to take additional weight off of a portion of the bowling ball, such as an axis hole that allows the bowling ball's hook to stabilize during its roll to the pins. Doctoring the bowling ball by adding additional holes was recommended for experienced bowlers enough to know where to place these holes, such as studying the track area of the ball and knowing where to place the axis hole. Starting August 1, 2020, there is elimination of balance holes. With the elimination of balance holes, bowlers may have up to five holes for gripping purposes and all gripping holes must be used on every delivery.
A backup ball or back-up ball produces the opposite result of a hook. When a ball is rolled by a right-hander, the ball will hook from left to right. The bowling ball can be drilled for a left-handed bowler. The exact same principles of hooking a ball are applied on a backup ball, except the hand rotates clockwise for a right-handed bowler and counterclockwise for a left-handed bowler. [6]
Backup balls are rarely thrown intentionally by serious bowlers, as the hand motion is much more difficult to accomplish than a standard hook. However, certain spares, such as the 2-8-10 for a right-hander, are easier to accomplish with one (as the rules of bowling prevent a bowler from switching hands). Bowlers may also use a backup ball due to lane conditions [7] and a very small number of bowlers throw a backup ball regularly. [8]
Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A leg spinner bowls right-arm with a wrist spin action. The leg spinner's normal delivery causes the ball to spin from right to left when the ball bounces on the pitch. For a right-handed batter, that is away from the leg side, and this is where it gets the name leg break.
Off spin is a type of finger spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called an off spinner. Off spinners are right-handed spin bowlers who use their fingers to spin the ball. Their normal delivery is an off break, which spins from left to right when the ball bounces on the pitch. For a right-handed batsman, this is from his off side to the leg side. The ball breaks away from the off side, hence the name 'off break'.
In the game of cricket, a googly refers to a type of delivery bowled by a right-arm leg spin bowler. It is different from the normal delivery for a leg-spin bowler in that it is turning the other way. The googly is not a variation of the typical off spin type of delivery, in that the cricket ball is presented from the bowler's hand in such a way that once the ball pitches; instead, it deviates in the opposite direction of a leg spinning type of delivery. It has also been colloquially referred to as the wrong'un, Bosie or Bosey, with the latter two eponyms referring to Bernard Bosanquet, the bowler who originally devised and began using the googly.
Five-pin bowling is a bowling variant which is played in Canada, where many bowling alleys offer it, either alone or in combination with ten-pin bowling. It was devised around 1909 by Thomas F. Ryan in Toronto, Ontario, at his Toronto Bowling Club, in response to customers who complained that the ten-pin game was too strenuous. He cut five tenpins down to about 75% of their size, and used hand-sized hard rubber balls, thus inventing the original version of five-pin bowling.
Ten-pin bowling is a type of bowling in which a bowler rolls a bowling ball down a wood or synthetic lane toward ten pins positioned evenly in four rows in an equilateral triangle. The objective is to knock down all ten pins on the first roll of the ball, or failing that, on the second roll.
Candlepin bowling is a variation of bowling that is played primarily in the Canadian Maritime provinces and the New England region of the United States. It is played with a handheld-sized ball and tall, narrow pins that resemble candles, hence the name.
Seam bowling is a bowling technique in cricket whereby the ball is deliberately bowled on to its seam, to cause a random deviation when the ball bounces. Practitioners are known as seam bowlers or seamers.
In the sport of cricket, a slower ball is a slower-than-usual delivery from a fast bowler. The bowler's intention is to deceive the batsman into playing too early so that he either misses the ball completely or hits it high up in the air to offer an easy catch. It is analogous to a changeup in baseball.
A bowling ball is a hard spherical ball used to knock down bowling pins in the sport of bowling.
Wrist spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket. It refers to the cricket technique and specific hand movements associated with imparting a particular direction of spin to the cricket ball. The other spinning technique, usually used to spin the ball in the opposite direction, is finger spin. Wrist spin is bowled by releasing the ball from the back of the hand, so that it passes over the little finger. Done by a right-handed bowler, this imparts an anticlockwise rotation to the ball, as seen from the bowler's perspective; a left-handed wrist spinner rotates the ball clockwise.
Finger spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket. It refers to the cricket technique and specific hand movements associated with imparting a particular direction of spin to the cricket ball. The other spinning technique, generally used to spin the ball in the opposite direction, is wrist spin. Although there are exceptions, finger spinners generally turn the ball less than wrist spinners. However, because the technique is simpler and easier to master, finger spinners tend to be more accurate.
In the sport of ten-pin bowling, there are many different ways in which to deliver the bowling ball in order to advance it toward the pins in an accurate and powerful manner. Generally, there are three basic forms of 10-pin bowling. The most basic form is known as stroking, which is the most classic form. The most powerful form is known as cranking, which imparts great leverage and maximum rotation on the ball, but sacrifices accuracy. In between the two is the domain of the tweener, who has characteristics of both, but does not truly fit into either category. A well-known variant of "tweening" is the power stroker.
In bowling, a strike means that all of the pins have been knocked down on the first ball roll of a frame. On a bowling scoresheet, a strike is marked by an "X".
William Bruce Hardwick was a right-handed ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association.
Trick bowling is a form of competitive bowling in which unusual and difficult custom setups are used. Trick bowling often involves special pin setup, multiple bowling balls, or obstacles placed on the lane.
Nine-pin bowling is a bowling game played primarily in Europe. European championships are held each year. In Europe overall, there are some 130,000 players. Nine-pin bowling lanes are mostly found in Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Estonia, Switzerland, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Poland, North Macedonia, Hungary, Brazil and Liechtenstein.
The carrom ball is a style of spin bowling delivery used in cricket. The ball is released by flicking it between the thumb and a bent middle finger in order to impart spin.
Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins or another target. The term bowling usually refers to pin bowling, though in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries, bowling could also refer to target bowling, such as lawn bowls.
Sport Bowling is any form of ten pin bowling that uses patterns of lane oil to reduce the effectiveness of modern bowling balls. It was created by the United States Bowling Congress, the governing body of the sport of ten-pin bowling, to offer players the opportunity to bowl on exactly the same lane conditions and oil patterns that professional bowlers face while on the PBA Tour. Sport Bowling originally referred to leagues, known as PBA Experience Leagues, which are offered in conjunction with the Professional Bowlers Association. However, the term is now used to refer to any bowling event which incorporates a "sport shot" or oil pattern.