In a previous article, you mentioned different releases and their corresponding ball tracks. I have what you call the "spinner" track. What type of drillings would you suggest for this type of release?

The main problem with spinner tracks are their inability to create strong ball roll. The weight block never fully precesses and thus lacks hitting power. The only previous cure for this was to create large amounts of friction between the ball and lane surface through the use of coarse sandpaper.

With the new core designs currently on the market, however, it is possible to utilize the increased energy retention properties of polished reactive balls while allowing the weight block to fully flip over into the pins.

If your track is more than three inches from the fingers and thumb, you can take advantage of negative pin placement drillings. Keeping the pin between the 12 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions, relative to the center of gravity, will place the core mass closer to your ball track. This type of pattern will naturally raise your track as much as an inch and create more dynamic reaction and hook.

In the testing we have done, it was found that pin-in balls drilled in this pattern create slightly more skid than pin-outs, everything else being equal.

It is important to remember that there is a reason for your spinner track, and learning the proper release is more important than the drill pattern. If however, you decide to keep your current release, these negative pin placements should maximize your roll and power.

I am currently using both finger and thumb inserts. My friend uses a solid thumb "slug" and has a hole drilled in it. Is there any advantage to this, and what are the benefits of using finger inserts?

In sticky reactive coverstocks, finger and thumb inserts can help tremendously in achieving a clean release. They can also give you a consistent feel from ball to ball.

To answer your first question, a solid thumb insert or slug has a number of advantages over its pre-drilled counterpart.

The first is size consistency. Upon measuring several different thumb inserts with an internal caliper, it came to our attention that two inserts of the same printed size were different by nearly 20-thousandths of an inch. This equates to the thickness of two pieces of white bowler's tape, and will dramatically change the feel from one ball to another.

By using a solid insert and shaping the hole with our milling machine, we found it possible to match the contour of the bowler's thumb, as well as reproduce the size to a tolerance of four-thousandths of an inch, which is well below the "feel" threshold for most bowlers.

As for finger inserts, there are currently about 40 different styles that I know of. About 80 percent of my customers who have a fingertip grip use finger inserts. The obvious benefits are the enhanced feel and grip that inserts provide. (I personally do not use finger inserts because my fingers have the tendency to hang in the inserts too long, which makes me "hit up" on the ball causing it to hook early. Due to their softness, I also find myself squeezing the ball too much in an effort to feel solid.)

Bowlers suffering from arthritis also will benefit from using finger inserts because they will absorb some of the shock to their hand during the release.

Which pros can you learn the most from when watching television?

You can learn a great deal from watching any professional on television. From a purist's point of view, David Ozio is about perfect: His flowing tempo, relaxed swing, shoulder and hip alignment, and smooth release are of textbook quality.

Pete Weber's concentration and intensity are exciting to watch.

Norm Duke's ability to change his ball roll to meet the current lane conditions stresses the importance of adaptability.

Walter Ray Williams Jr. has an amazing ability to repeat shot after shot, and also prove that a big hook isn't necessary to win.

For all the "crankers" out there, there is no one better to watch than Bob Vespi. Many people have tried to emulate his powerful roll.

Just remember that professionals bowl 40 or more games per week. Trying to copy their styles can be difficult.

Scott Bailey operates The Strike Zone Professional Bowling Store in Vienna. He can be reached via E-mail at xzone@erols.com.