Bowl - Finding the Right Ball

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Richard Wolfe
Sports Plus Pro Shop
703-941-9653

Richard Wolfe started bowling at the age of 12 in the Saturday morning youth league as many other youth bowlers. I began bowling competitively at the age of 16 in adult leagues and competing against some of the most renowned players at that time. As he became more interested in the game he then began working at the local pro-shop Carmen Don’s which was the most popular bowling pro shop in the Metropolitan DC area. Still a member of the Sports Plus Carmen Don’s pro shop, with over 20 years of experience in the bowling business, he has been a main stay in the knowledge and integrity of the game. He has been employed by many of the major manufactures such as Columbia, Ebonite, Hammer and Storm and has been recognized as a vital member to their staff. Being a PBA (Professional Bowling Association) member since 1987 with credentials that include 4 Professional Bowlers Tour Regional Championships one of which was in Hawaii which has become one of his most memorable. It was most special because his Mom and Dad flew there to be a part of his dream. Then went on to be a part of the elite Professional Bowlers National Tour. It was then that he found to be one of the most respected bowlers and finished 2nd in the Indianapolis Open in 1995. He then followed that with 7 nationalized televised finals, qualified for the all exempt tour 2003-2004, 2005-2006 and was voted the recipient for the Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award in 2005-2006 by his peers. Mr. Wolfe will be inducted into the Metropolitan Area Hall of Fame on October 20, 2007 for his accomplishments for both his achievements as well as his dedication to the sport of bowling.

Bowl - Finding the Right Ball

In this video, AMF Bowling Center's Richard Wolfe demonstrates the basics of bowling. Learn how to choose the right bowling ball, tips on understanding the lane and bowling etiquette, stance and follow through.

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Transcripts

Richard Wolf: Hi, my name is Richard Wolf. I am a certified bowling technician. Today, what I d like to discuss with you is the proper ball weight and fit for your personal bowling game.

One of the most frequently asked questions when someone is just getting involved in bowling is, what bowl weight do I use? There is no exact science to this. One typical way we will help our customers and give them a guideline to start is, simply just take the ball and hold it at your side for approximately 10 to 15 seconds. If there is any strenuous motion going on there and you are starting to shake a little bit, obvious it is going to tell us that that is not the proper ball weight.

The other way to go about this is, if you bowl out there and you used a bowling center bowl or somebody else s bowling ball that doesn t fit your hand; you can generally go up a pound or two. For example, if you come in to the bowling center and you are using one of the alley balls or house balls as they are referred to, you can go up a pound or two. So, when you come in to the pro-shop, it will give an idea of what ball weight you can also go with. The other vital important part of this is the actual fit of the ball. When you come in we will fit your hand personally in one of our ball fitters here. Now, this is something that takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Once the ball fit for your hand it will much easier for you to hold on to.

Now, what I would like to discuss with you next is the bowling balls. So, let us go check them out.

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