I'm more comfortable using my old school urethane pieces -- Fab Burgundy Hammer and Columbia 300 Gold Dot -- for all of my spares except for maybe the 2-8 on short oil patterns whereby I could hook it into those pins `a la pre reactive days.

One thing I try to do is give myself more angle when the lanes are drier/hooking and less angle when there's less backend/oilier lanes. I also remind myself to relax my hand at the apex of my swing, which helps me to go hard and straight at my spares.