Tips for How to Bowl Spares

The ultimate goal of the game of bowling is the coveted 300 game: strikes on every single ball that you throw throughout the entire game. However, this rare feat is saved for professionals and elite bowlers, and most people increase their scores gradually. One of the best ways to up your pin count is to practice picking up spares; they happen to even the best of bowlers, and the difference between a 250 and 200 score is often the number of spares you can pick up.

  1. Emotional Control

    • Whether you are a pro or an excited learner, the fact is that getting stuck with a spare on a good throw is extremely frustrating. Before you throw the spare, step back away from the lane and take a deep breath to relax yourself. If you throw the spare ball while frustrated, or carelessly lob it down the lane because you think it's an easy shot that you can't miss, you are more likely to mess up again and make the rest of the game harder on yourself. Calm focus will help you make the shot.

    Straight Ball

    • Many bowlers, especially on the professional level, make their shots using the curve of the lane and a twist of the wrist to create an arcing, rotating shot that never takes the pins straight on, but rather curves in from one side or the other. On strikes, however, you will benefit from being able to throw a straight ball instead of a curved one. This is especially true if you are dealing with only a single pin to pick up, when there are no other pins to ricochet around. The fewer boards you cross for this single pin, the less likely it is that the ball will hit an unexpected turn in the oil or lane and miss the target.

    Aim

    • Look for a key position among the remaining pins where you can aim the ball to strike more than one at a time. According to the bowling instructors at Glacier Lanes in Everett, Washington, the most common key positions for spares are the one pin position (the point of the triangle and the pin nearest you, also called the head pin), the four pin position (two pins back to the left of the head pin) and the six pin position (two pins back to the right of the head pin). Aiming at one of these spots will likely allow you to clip nearly any pin you could leave up there, and if there are multiple pins remaining these spots allow for better ricochets, since you will be hitting the sides of most of the pins.

    Body Positioning

    • Most bowlers completely square themselves up for a first ball, but for a space, don't be afraid to position yourself to aim solely for your chosen shooting position. Set your hips or your shoulders so that they are aiming directly for the pin you want to hit. If you go for a straight spare, as mentioned above, you will likely still be square to the pins. But if you try to throw a curving spare ball, turn your body in the appropriate direction for the best chance of hitting the spare.