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Through the years I have gotten to know Walter as a bowler and a person. During that time my respect for him as grown in both areas. It is easy to see why everybody respects him as a bowler. He is not fundamentally correct yet he wins, he doesn't seem to have the versatility or power of other players...or does he?

There is not a week that goes by that I don't watch Walter because I can learn so much from him. When I watch other bowlers I see and over focus on the lane conditions. When I watch Walter I see him trying to figure out how to get angles and carry to match up. The 3 in to the 6 in to the 10 seem to be lost arts in bowling. Walter is the one exception to that rule. Walter uses angles and ball roll that don't rely on the side walls for strikes. If you get the opportunity watch the pin reaction on strikes from most bowlers. There are not as many classic strikes as you would think. Reason is it doesn't carry as well or match up to transition as well. The light hit seems to be the sweeter spot and when the ball gets to flush a bowler can wiggle a little left just to be safe.

While many bowlers will see Walter's ball hit "too flat" he has a way of getting the special hit out of the gutter that other bowlers can not. I don't see other bowlers on tour even try to get the same look Walter lives by. The majority of bowlers would change balls before they let their ball reaction hit like Walter's. There certainly are times that Walter has fallen victim to this type of reaction but if he abandoned it all the time he would never have the number of titles he does. The flat 10 and ring 10 are not that far apart and some where just to the left of there is the 3 in to the 6 in to the 10. Walter has the ability to find that spot. As small a target as that may seem because just left of there is the 4 pin spot.

Most ball rolls of today's bowlers see that spot as being very sensitive and suspect to quick transitions. Walter's ball roll and transitional moves are unique enough that other bowlers can not match up to his look. I have not checked Walter's axis point in several years but when he was with us it was 6 1/4 inches over. I know of no other bowler with those coordinates.

Walter may not get the head pin across the deck as strong or as often as other players but nobody gets the 6 pin up out of the gutter and catch the 10 pin as well as Walter does. Next time you bowl line up to leave a flat 10 and try to get the 6 pin to pop out of the gutter and trip the 10 you'll see how much power it takes to get that done. Walter's type of power may be different but its effectiveness as proven itself.

This power can be seen when you watch the strength and acceleration Walter uses in his release. There is little or no resemblance to a text book when you watch Walter bowl. But there are several chapters on how to win. Can you imagine what Walter's game would look like if he let somebody fix it. It takes great strength and belief in yourself to not let others start overhauling your game when things don't seem to be going right. I think this strength and belief comes from a better understanding of shapes and angles than other bowlers. Don't think for a second that Walter can not create hook he can. There is a reason he chooses to not use it as much.

I think Walter's game is built around the track circumference and timing of his thumb exit with the acceleration he uses. His ball reaction would not be as stable without the huge track circumference and his carry suffers when he accelerates without a clean thumb exit.