Take two steps to solid spare play: the 3-6-9 and plastic systems both have merit, under different sets of lane conditions - Lane Logic

MOST PEOPLE WHO ARE bowling at least at an intermediate level have a spare system. After all, solid spare play can add 10, 20, or 30 more pins per game to your score. Developing a spare system improves the way you approach the lane condition you are playing on, for both the first and second shot. It is the area you can beat the winter blues during the midseason doldrums of your leagues by addressing your focus.

But if you don't have a spare system already, how do you develop one? In this issue, I'll outline two of my favorite spare systems and guide you through using them.

THE BASICS OF A SPARE SYSTEM

Each lane has the same number of boards, whether they're wood or synthetic. In developing a spare system, you first must identify where you normally stand and look on the lane to take the next step. If you are right-handed, use the front-center of your left foot to mentally mark your starting position.

Why the left foot? As a right-handed bowler, you finish on your left foot. You can then look down after completing your shot to see where you've finished. By comparing both your starting and finishing positions, you can analyze how many boards you travel sideways, what we call "drift" (basically, how straight you walk on the approach). The straighter you walk, the better. Keep your approach as simple as possible, and eliminate movements that aren't necessary. Your starting position and drift affect your spare system by making you aware of your starting position, as well as your target.

Having these basics in hand allows you to move forward and develop a systematic way of adapting to your ever-changing bowling environment and incorporating the things that are easy to overlook. One of the best ways of doing this is through a solid spare system.

Keep it simple. The best spare systems use the basic knowledge you have about your playing environment. If you prepare for your shot without knowing exactly where you're standing, for example, how can you duplicate the shot the next time? The more aware you are of your environment, the more confident you can become in your decisions, including the belief that an adjustment you make will create a specific, improved result. This increases your confidence, which in turn helps your mental game. See how everything connects?

PRO SPARE SYSTEM NO. 1: 3-6-9

My first spare system is the traditional 3-6-9. (Note that I am speaking as a righthander; you will have to follow oppositely if you are left-handed.) This system was developed many years ago, and it involves moving your feet right either three, six, or nine boards depending upon the front pin in the row you're trying to convert. The 2-pin is the front pin of the first row, the 4-pin is the front pin of the second row, and the 7-pin is the front pin of the third row. Therefore, if you leave a combination where the 4 is the front pin, you need to move 6 boards to make the spare.

For right-side spares, adapt the 3-6-9 and create new "rows," making the 10-pin the front pin of the first row, the 6-pin the front pin of the second row, and the 3-pin the front pin of the third row.

There are a few rules for the 3-6-9 system:

* Adjust your first shot accordingly in your mind by visualizing what you should have done to make your first shot, and then move within this system to make the spare. (There is a reason you left the spare, right?)

* Roll the ball off your hand just like you did on your first shot, targeting the same place as your strike ball. Just change your angle by moving your feet.

* Walk as straight as possible.

Let's talk about these "rules." Some people, in their "stale" spare system, always stand in the same place and look either a little more left or right, throw more left or right, or do a combination of both. Wrong!

Remember that consistency comes from simplicity. Stale spare systems force bowlers to incorporate several different motions with their bodies into a part of the lane that their ball may not really be familiar with. If the strike ball is around the 2nd arrow, then they target the 4th arrow for the spare--but that move doesn't address whether there is more or less oil in that area. They're rolling into unfamiliar territory. Also, changes in swing or body position might occur, which all are great reasons for inconsistency and for a lack of confidence.

I have used the 3-6-9 system for years with a great deal of success. You know basically what is happening in this part of the lane, because this corridor is where your ball spends most of its time. I also add or subtract from the system based on the amount of oil on different lanes. Right-hand spares have forced me to use different variations of the 3-6-9, including 2-7-11, 5-8-11, or 1-4-7--but I always use 3-6-9 as a starting point.

I also use 3-6-9 on sport conditions, but the numbers shift to 2-4-7, because the middle of the lane does not hold as much oil and my ball hooks much easier there. The important part to remember in a 3-6-9 system--or any system, for that matter--is establishing a starting point. You can then adjust the system by adding or subtracting from the figures as need be.