Making the Most of a Low Rev Rate – Part 2

In the first article of this series, we discussed the different kinds of lower rev rate bowlers, and we started by analyzing the speed-dominant “gunner” style. For this installment, we’ll talk about the “roller” and the “turner” styles. Remember from last time that the main commonality among lower rev rate bowlers is the area of the lane they tend to play. The different kinds of ball roll for each type of player means that bowlers of each type have different strengths and weaknesses, along with different strategies for lane play.

In the introduction to this series, I said that many straighter bowlers will reference Norm Duke when describing their style of play. Rollers are the low rev bowler type that actually comes closest to Norm Duke’s ball roll. He’s known for his ability to play straighter up the outside, and he’s won plenty of titles doing mostly that. He also has the versatility to move inside and play different parts of the lane, but he certainly could be described as:

• balanced between his speed and rev rate;
• having low to average axis tilt; and
• generally using lower to medium degrees of axis rotation.

On the other hand, the turner style differs from rollers in one key way: they have a significantly higher degree of axis rotation.

Although he has a higher rev rate, Pete Weber’s release style is the definition of a turner. His most natural game is getting around the ball completely, almost generating 90 degrees of axis rotation. It’s one of the reasons he was always so good from the inside part of the lane. His rev rate was high enough to create plenty of hook, but bowlers with lower rev rates can also have this kind of release and play quite a bit straighter. It’s more about the shape of the hook than how much ...