Bowling Fresh

Spares

How to pick up spares

Converting spares is the quickest way to raise your scores. A simple system works for most leaves: throw a straight ball, move your feet, and roll across the lane toward the pins.

A few white bowling pins left standing on the pin deck at the end of a lane

Why spares matter

Each spare is worth 10 pins plus your next ball. An open frame is worth only the pins you knocked down. A bowler who misses three or four spares a game and then starts making them can add many pins to their average without throwing a single extra strike. That is why league bowlers spend so much practice time on spares.

Shoot across the lane

The main rule for spares is to roll the ball across the lane toward the pins you want. For pins on the right side of the deck, stand toward the left side of the approach and throw toward the right. For pins on the left side, stand toward the right and throw toward the left. This angle gives the ball the most lane to work with before the gutter, so a small miss still has a chance to hit.

Throw spares straight and a little firmer than your strike ball. Many bowlers use a plastic ball for spares because it reacts less to the oil on the lane and goes where it is aimed. House balls are plastic, so you already have the right tool.

Common leaves

Diagrams show the pin deck seen from the approach: the 7 pin is back left and the 10 pin back right. Dark pins are still standing.

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10The 10 pinRight-handers: start on the left side of the approach and aim for the 10 across the lane, keeping the ball straight.
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7The 7 pinRight-handers: start on the right side and aim across to the left. Left-handers leave this one most often.
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3-6-10Right-side diagonalShoot it from the left side like the 10 pin. Catch the 3 slightly on its left side so the ball carries on through the 6 and 10.
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2-4-5-8The bucketHit the 2 pin full in the face, slightly toward the 4. The pins knock each other into the rest.
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1-2-4Head pin with the 2 and 4Aim to hit the 1 and 2 together. Missing the 4 behind them is the usual error.
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6-10Right corner pairHit the 6 on its left side so it falls into the 10. Treat it like the 10 pin, a board or two left.

A simple starting system

You don't need a chart to start. Use three spots on the approach:

  1. Strike spot: your usual starting board. Use it for spares around the head pin, such as the 1-2-4 or the 1-3-6.
  2. Right-side spares (the 6, 10 and nearby): move your feet well to the left and throw across the lane.
  3. Left-side spares (the 4, 7 and nearby): move your feet well to the right and throw across the lane.

Keep your target arrow the same and change where you stand, or keep your feet the same and change the arrow. Pick one method and use it every time, so your misses tell you something.

Aim for the key pin. In a multi-pin leave, it is usually the pin nearest to you. If you hit it on the correct side, the others tend to fall with it.

Practicing spares

  • On practice games, aim your first ball at the 10 pin or 7 pin deliberately. Most centers let you bowl these as normal frames.
  • Count how many single-pin spares you make out of ten tries. That number tells you where you stand better than your game score.
  • Watch where the ball crosses the arrows on misses. If it crossed your target and still missed, change your feet. If it missed the target, work on your release.

When the leave is a split

Some leaves have a gap between pins with the head pin already down. Those are splits, and they need a different plan. The splits guide explains which ones are makeable and when to take just one pin.

Should I throw my spare ball harder?

A bit firmer than your strike ball helps the ball stay straight, but control comes first. If extra speed makes you miss your target, slow down.