Q.  Now that its summer I would like to take some lessons and practice my game. But as with everything else it is getting more and more expensive. Do you have any tips for extending your practice dollar?

A.  As I said when I started this Q. and A. I don't know everything but I know enough people to be able to answer most questions. So here we go first my answer, it is summer and therefore many bowling centers run specials for the slower summer months. They don't always advertise them so ask the desk personnel. Some centers limit this to off times so you may have to be willing to come in early on Sat. or Sunday. My favorite tip and this works anytime comes from Ron Degrote, one of my favorite coaches from Las Vegas. Ron says double your practice money by shooting at your spares first and the strike ball second. Score does not matter when practicing anyway so beat the house. Getting strikes in practice means you only get one shot that frame instead of two. Practice is for working on timing and muscle memory so why not get twice as much for your money.

Q.   I have problem with fast feet. Do you have any of suggestions to
make the feet slower?

A.  The best method of solving this problem is to move up closer to the foul line by 6 inches or so. Now take your normal approach but don't foul. This makes you take slightly shorter steps and slows down the approach. The reason I like this method of slowing down the feet is that it does not take any conscious effort to slow down. It will be automatic and takes much less time to get your timing. Trying to slow down the feet by thinking about staying slow takes too much away from the rest of the game both physically and mentally.

Q. I have never really got the hang of what ball to use for different lane conditions. I understand the theory behind it. Dry lanes use a ball that rolls long, right? Oily use a ball that will grab, right? But what about the lane condition where the oil is spotty? What ball to use to avoid over/under? I have bowled in tournaments where the shot was so hard. I just couldn't figure it out. While other guys had no trouble at all. This is something I don't understand. My current book average is 207. On a regular house shot, I can play straight up the boards 5 - 10 and move all the way over 20 boards to the right, throw to the gutter and have it come back for a strike. But, on some tournament conditions, the lane has an out of bounds and many times if I am not careful will throw a 3 count because the ball didn't break. What is the correct type of ball to use for this type of condition? Or is it all accuracy?

A.      You are basically right on your first two. For tough lanes yes you need accuracy but the ball also can make a difference. For most over under conditions you need a ball that is drilled to be mellow. You want less track flair this is more controllable. But this is not always written in stone. It takes practice and experimenting. I know in a tournament you don't always have time. So take a low flair ball one polished and one with a matte finish. Not sanded hard but about 800 or 1000 matte finish. If you know the shot is going to be tough make sure in your regular balls you also have one with a matte finish. This surface gives you the midlane read that you need to determine line and breakpoint. The matte finish like the low flair helps to mellow out the under/over.

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