Almost every bowler learnt to bowl straight to start with. Although there is nothing wrong with straight bowling, it can limit most people to a 180 average. There are two reasons for this:

Firstly, a straight bowler has a narrow area to hit which means he has to be very consistent to score well. Secondly, a rolling ball imparts more force into the pins than a skidding ball but is harder to keep consistent. A straight bowler has to choose between skidding consistently but with less impact, or rolling with less consistency but creating more impact. Either choice is not perfect and only the very best straight bowlers can maintain high averages.

Changing your straight ball to a hook ball, although not easy, is one way of scoring more.

A hook ball instead of going dead straight, produces a curve or an arc after delivery. At the point of release, the bowlers hand comes from behind the ball to round the side which causes the ball to rotate sideways rather than end over end like a straight bowler. This sideways rotation is what makes the ball hook left for a right-hander and right for a left-hander.

Coming in from the side increases the area a bowler can hit to get a strike (the pocket) meaning absolute consistency is less important. In addition, the ball will have started to roll in order to turn which allows it to create plenty of impact.

There are generally two different styles of hook bowler. There are crankers and strokers. In Asia they have a variation to a hook bowler, which is called a spinner or a helicopter bowler. These three types of bowler are detailed below.

The Stroker

This is the classic style of hook bowler. The Stroker's sliding foot stops just before the ball gets to the bottom of the swing, creating moderate leverage for a good, controllable ball reaction. The shoulders are very square at the point of release. The Stroker generally plays straighter up the outside of the lane allowing the ball to gently hook up into the pocket.

The Cranker

The Cranker gets maximum revolutions on the ball, producing more power than any other type of bowler. Generally the Cranker will stand with their feet to the left hand side of the approach, and swing their ball out to the edge of the lane. In order to create this, the Cranker uses "late" timing (getting to the foul line before the ball). They plant their foot and pull their arm through, bending the elbow to keep the hand behind and under the ball and leaving the shoulders open for maximum leverage. A Cranker is prone to injury due to the amount of "muscle" they put into each shot.

The Spinner/Helicopter

This style of bowling is not seen very often, but is very popular in Asia. It was developed in Taiwan to combat brutally hard lane conditions. Spinners use lightweight balls (usually 10-12lb). The technique is one that leaves people asking the question "How?". The bowler deliberately brings the fingers all the way round the top of the ball, as opposed to the hook bowler who brings the fingers round the side. The ball travels straight down the lane (regardless of the oiling pattern) but is rotating in a similar way to helicopter blades, hence the name "helicopter bowling". On impact with the pins, this technique mixes the pins like no other style of bowling. Very effective if you can master it.

The Pindeck

This diagram of the pindeck is pretty much self explanatory. There are 12 inches from spot to spot, and 20.75 inches between a sleeper (1 & 5 pins, 2 & 8 pins or 3 & 9 pins). There are 36 inches between the headpin and the tenpin spots. From the centre of the headpin spot to the back of the pindeck measures 34.1875 inches. These are the basic measurements of a pindeck.

Angle of Entry

If a right handed hook bowler makes the perfect shot into the 1-3 pocket, their ball should only contact four pins being the 1,3,5 and 9 pins (shown opposite), we call this the angle of entry. If this happens, it should create the perfect strike where all the pins are swept off the pindeck leaving no pins visible. For a left handed bowler, their ball should contact the 1,2,5 and 8 pins.

The Lane

A bowling lane consists of 39 boards and measures 42 inches wide. It is 60 feet from the foul line to the head pin, with another 15 feet making up the approach area.

On the lane there are 7 arrows, these are locate 15 feet down the lane from the foul line. The arrows are situated on boards 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 and are referred to as 1st, 2nd, 3rd arrow etc, 4th arrow being in the centre. You can count these arrows from left to right if you're left handed and right to left if you're right handed.

On the approach, you will notice that there are 7 dots at the foul line, and two other sets of 5 or 7 dots. The two other sets of dots (usually 5 each set), are located 12 and 15 feet from the foul line. These dots correspond with the arrows on the lane, being located on boards 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30. These dots are there to help bowlers line up for their shot.

Generally, when a bowler releases the ball the point at which the ball contacts the lane is 7 boards from the inside of the shoe (this is a general rule and does not apply to everyone). If a bowler walks in a straight line up the lane without drifting, and wants to play the ball straight up 2nd arrow or board 10, standing on board 17 should help them accomplish this.

Did you know that a 16lb bowling ball can hit the lane with a force of over 2000lb per square inch? Just think of the amount of friction there would be between the ball and the lane. That is the main reason oil is placed on the lanes, to protect them from all the wear and tear that would be caused. This oil can be placed on the lanes in different ways, which are known as "oiling patterns".

Oil is usually only placed on the first two thirds of the lane nearest the bowler. This prevents the ball carrying significant quantities of oil into the pinsetting machinery and causing breakdowns. For example, if the machinery gets too wet it may be impossible for it to return balls to the bowlers.

Generally, you will find that bowling centres place more oil in the middle of the lane as the majority of bowlers play straight down the middle. This compensates both for the fact that oil moves when balls are rolled through it and because oil is picked up by the balls themselves. Over a period of a few hours therefore, the quantity of oil reduces.

As there is no oil at the back end of the lane (and usually less oil at the sides of the lane too) there is increased friction between the ball and the lane. This friction allows a hooked ball to grab hold of the lane and turn into the pins as opposed to skidding past. In effect hook bowling has adapted to take advantage of lane preservation techniques.

There are many different possible oiling patterns. Each centre and mechanic have their own ways of dressing the lanes and in many ways this is what makes bowling in different centres interesting. One of the greatest challenges for a good bowler is to learn to adapt to the different conditions.

For example you can have flat oil, blocks, reverse blocks, top hats and Christmas trees.

Flat Oil

Flat oil is simple, it is an equal amount of oil across the entire width of the lane.

Blocks and reverse blocks (top hats)

A block pattern is very simple. It is where there is more oil in the middle of the lane, with less on the outside boards. This can also be known as a "wall", where a wall of friction is created on the outside boards. For a hook bowler this is usually a very high scoring pattern. The hook bowler will place their ball on the lane where there is oil, angling it out to the edge boards where the friction increases and allows the ball to "turn over" and hook into the pins (hopefully into the pocket).

A block can also be known as a top hat. The reason being that if you were to take a cross section of the lane, the oil would look like a top hat.

A reverse block is exactly how it sounds, it is where there is more oil on the outside boards and less in the middle part of the lane. A reverse block is usually created by straight bowlers playing down the middle of the lane and "stripping" or "drying" out the oil. It is a very hard condition to play on and every hook bowler's nightmare.

Christmas Trees

The Christmas tree condition is thought to be the fairest possible condition. The oil starts at each side of the lane and goes into a point further down the lane, creating a triangle resembling a Christmas tree. This condition caters for all styles. It allows the big hook bowler or cranker to move deep into the middle of the lane and swing the ball out to the edge of the lane where there will be more friction. At the same time, this condition allows a lesser hook bowler or stroker to play up the edge of the lane.

There are various different types of material used to make bowling balls, otherwise known as the coverstock. As a general rule, the harder the coverstock the more likely the ball will go straight. Inside a bowling ball is what is known as a weightblock. This also determines how much your ball will hook. A list of all available coverstocks are detailed below.

Polyester

Also known as "plastic", the polyester bowling balls have been available since the 1960's. They have a low cost compared to other types of bowling balls and they are very durable. The durability comes from the hard, low friction nature of the polyester surface. This low friction nature causes the "plastic" ball to skid more, therefore going much straighter. Polyester balls are more commonly used by beginners, but more advanced bowlers tend to use them as spare balls.

Urethane

In the late 1970's, bowling manufacturers experimented with coverstocks softer than polyester in order to create more hook. They came up with a material called polyurethane, or urethane for short. As urethane is softer than polyester, it produces more friction and hooks more. The surface can be sanded or polished to increase or decrease its hook potential. Urethane is the preferred coverstock for bowlers learning to hook the ball. It is also the dry lane choice for many advanced bowlers.

Reactive Resin

In the early 1990's, ball manufacturers started adding resin particles to their urethane coverstocks. The resin made the ball tackier than plain urethane which once again increased the friction, in turn creating more hook. However, this resin makes the ball skid more on oil than plain urethane. The combination of this increased skid and more friction on dry boards gives the resin ball a bigger backend reaction for more striking power than prior ball types. Reactive resin is the primary coverstock for most advanced bowlers on most lane conditions.

Particle

Since the reactive resin ball was so popular, ball manufacturers decided to add textured particles such as ceramics and glass to them for an extra kick. The added texture created even more friction giving the ball more grip in the oil for a smooth, controllable hook, while maintaining the powerful backend of reactive resin. The hook potential for most particle bowling balls is higher than all of the other types of coverstocks. As these balls are so aggressive, most particle balls are for use on oily lane conditions only.

After each delivery, you will notice that your ball will come back with a line of oil round it. This is known as your ball track and can give you useful information as to what kind of bowler you are.

Listed below are the different types of tracks.

Semi-Roller

This is the most common track for hook bowlers. Notice how the track is just to the side of the fingers and thumb. This shows that the ball is tilted a little as it rolls down the lane and then impacts with the pins. This tilt creates mix as it sends the pins in a more horizontal direction. This style is used by strokers.

Flare

Modern balls (since the mid-1990's) have introduced the concept of "dynamic imbalance" which means the ball moves off it's initial track and creates a new track with each rotation. This is called flare, and it means that more of the clean surface of the ball is in contact with the lane, potentially meaning more hook.

Full-Roller

This style was successful in the past, but is not that common in today's game, due to modern lanes and equipment. The track of the ball runs between the fingers and the thumb. If you measure the length of a full-rollers track, you will find it is equal or very close to the circumference of the ball (27").

Spinner

This is the sort of track you would find on a helicopter bowler's ball. The spinners release creates more axis-tilt, which reduces the size of the track. The end result is a ball that travels further down the lane with little lateral movement and deflects as it hits the pins. This style makes it easier to score on almost any condition.

General Terms

Names for the various leaves achievable