If you want to get the ball into an earlier roll than normal, target the dots, which are 7′ out on the lane rather than the arrows. The first time you try this you might feel like these dots are right in your face by the time you get to the foul line. They’re not, of course, but it is how you feel. Be careful not to allow your head and torso to go down when learning to look at the dots. Your head and shoulders must still say up.
Some people have success learning this by pretending they are looking at their target through the bottom of their glasses (regardless of whether you wear any or not although it doesn’t work very well if you wear bifocals!) or that they have a glass of water on their head they cannot spill.
To get more comfortable looking at the dots, try looking a foot or so in front (closer to you) of the arrows for a few shots. Then go two more feet and two more feet until you are comfortable looking at the dots. Although these dots are not on the same boards as the arrows, they are still great targeting aids and are generally used when you need to get the ball rolling earlier or when you need to decrease the distance you put the ball out onto the lane. The dots are on 3, 5, 8, 11, 14, 26, 29, 32, 35, and 37. So if your target is the second arrow, you might want to look one right of the fourth dot. That is, of course, if you are trying to lay the ball down on 10 and be at 10 at the arrows. If you’re trying to swing 10, you might want to look at the fourth dot. That would put your laydown point on 11½ or 12. The ball would be on 11 at the dots and 10 at the arrows, etc.
