It’s happened to all of us. We roll a great first ball that spins right into the pocket, only to watch the ten pin stubbornly remain standing.
When this happens once in a while, you can just chalk it up to bad luck. But sometimes it seems like you’re leaving the 10-pin a little too often, and you wonder if it’s something you’re doing wrong. So what can cause that 10-pin to refuse to fall down?
First off, we are assuming you are a right-handed bowler, as lefties typically struggle with leaving the seven pin instead. If you are left-handed, you can reverse the advice explained here and apply it to the seven.
Leaving the ten pin means that your bowling ball is entering the pocket at an incorrect angle, which leads to pin action that knocks down everything but your nemesis the 10.
There are actually two different ways you can leave the ten pin, and by looking at how the pins behave, you can troubleshoot the issue.
Fixing The Flat or Weak Ten Pin
The first way bowlers leave the 10 pin is when the 3 pin hits the back of 6 which then falls in front of the 10. This is also sometimes called a flat ten pin. This results from the ball having lost energy before reaching the pocket and coming in light.
If this is what is happening to you, you want the ball to hook into the pocket a little later, and there are a few tweaks you can try that may correct the issue.
First, you can move a board or two to the left as this should allow your ball to arrive stronger in the pocket at a better angle. Or you can move a few inches back on your approach. With both of these, keep your same target. The idea is that moving back will help increase your ball speed slightly, and that in turn should result in a little less end to end roll and should improve your angle to the pocket.
Fixing the Heavy or Wrap Ten Pin
The other type of 10 pin you can leave is the opposite: the 3 Pin hits the front of the 6, which sends that behind the 10 pin, wrapping around it. (This one is sometimes also referred to as a “ringing” ten pin.)
There are a couple of adjustments you can try if you are leaving a heavy ten pin. Here you can try the opposite of the flat ten pin suggestions. So, for a wrap ten pin, shift your approach a couple of boards to the right or move a few inches forward, both keeping your target consistent. This should have the opposite effects and help your ball come in less strongly with the correct angle into the pocket.
These aren’t the only things to try, as some bowlers like to tweak their release mechanism or hand positions accordingly depending on which type of ten pin they are leaving. Also keep in mind that the issue could be related to lane conditions, or even your bowling ball.
Have you struggled with leaving the ten pin? If so, let us know what you’ve tried to correct it in the comments below.
Thanks for the great tip, I’m trying to work on being able to take care of that flat ten pin. I don’t always have a problem getting it, but I’d like to eliminate the difficulty altogether. It’s a nail in my boot that I need to take out.
Glad you found it helpful Lewis! Hope you’re able to pick up that flat ten consistently now.
how can you determine which kind of ten pin tap you are getting. you can’t see what is happening when you are bowling
I had no idea that leaving the ten pin can be resolved by increasing the length of your approach. It could be hard to increase your approach because the longer you are walking to the line to throw the ball the longer you have for people to begin throwing at the same time. It is disappointing that many people do not have good bowling etiquette. It seems like a good idea to try and improve your approach by going to the bowling on a night where teams are competing so you don’t have to worry about inexperienced bowlers.