Bowlers Journal International - November 2008 - (Page 86) Clinic Pro Tips And Ball Reviews THE PRO APPROACH BY BILL SPIGNER { bills@bowlersjournal.com } The Ongoing Evolution of the Game, and How Teaching It Has Changed IS BOWLING A DIFFERENT GAME now than it was ten, twenty, thirty, forty years ago? Has teaching changed over the years, and do the same principles apply today as in the past? Are the bowlers different now than they used to be? Personally, I think it’s the same game I began learning to play in the early 1960s and am still working at learning. Although there have been major technological advancements, just as there have been in every other sport, the objective in bowling always has been and always will be to figure out the right angle to the pocket for the best chance to strike. The first really dynamic change came when the soft polyester ball became the dominant ball. Before that, there was basically hard plastic and rubber. With the softer ball, players were able to throw bigger hooks. And that trend continues with the current crop of urethanes and exotic weight blocks. To complement the evolution of the bowling ball, much harder finishes were developed for the wood lanes. Then came the introduction of the synthetic lane. Since then, the lane conditioning machines have become very sophisticated — to the point where the lane man knows exactly how much oil is applied to each board. During the 1960s, accuracy was the key to success. The style that was taught and developed at that time was fairly simple. Most of the bowlers played the second arrow because the lane finish would wear in that part of lane, and it was beneficial to keep the ball very straight in that track area. If the ball was rolled wide of the track, it wouldn’t hook back. So, players learned to bowl with their shoulders very level and square to the lane. The backswing was low, the upper body was more vertical, and the turn on the ball was minimal — not a lot of side roll. Control was the key. Even those with a lot of power, like Carmen Salvino, couldn’t hook it like today’s players because of the lane surface and balls. In the late ’60s and early ’70s, a different style of player emerged. The swing was higher and the turn on the ball was greater. Barry Asher, Johnny Petraglia and Don Johnson were some of the top players of the time. They still exhibited the square shoulders and more vertical spine angle, but had more hand action. Johnson was the best of that era. He had great timing, a very loose swing, a rock-solid finishing position and could play anywhere on the lane. Don developed a very square upper body position, but was able to initiate a lot of hand action. He did this through his “figure-eight” movement A 45- to 50-degree forward spine tilt has been evident in the games of top stars of several eras. In the 1960s, it was Don Carter (left). In the ’70s, Earl Anthony. They don’t get much better than that. 86 Bowlers Journal International | November 2008 www.bowlersjournal.com http://www.bowlersjournal.com
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