What Do I Need To Know About Bowling"?-Part 2

    Here are a few more basics that you'll need to know in order to keep improving your game. Practice these one at a time during your practice sessions and begin to incorporate them into every game. The more games you bowl, the more these principals will become automatic and you won’t have to even think about them. Invest the time now for learning and over time, you will have a more enjoyable bowling experience because you will be getting much higher scores!
 
 
8. TIMING is #1 in Bowling so try to COUNT YOUR STEPS as you are walking on the approach so you get a nice rhythm and you do the same thing each time. When I don’t count, I find that my sometimes my timing does get a bit off and I end up going too fast, or too slow. Your consistency changes if your speed keeps changing.
 
 
9. LOFT TO THE SAME AREA ON THE LANE- You need to really REACH OUT and LOFT the ball out about 2 feet onto the lane after the release. DO NOT drop it right at the foul line. If you throw a large hook, it will probably end up in the channel before it ever hits the pins. To practice this, you can place a small towel on the lane a few feet from the foul line and keep practicing to land your ball smoothly onto the towel.
 
 
10. LAND YOUR BALL SMOOTHLY onto the lane, not into it hard or you’ll lose striking power by the time the ball does hit the pins.
 
 
11. Keep your EMOTIONS IN CHECK! What I mean by this is if you miss a spare or a needed strike, try not to lose your cool and get angry. I used to do this all the time when I first started bowling and ended up doing poorly because I let my anger get the best of me. I would stay focused on what I did wrong rather than what I needed to correct for the next shot. Remember to take each frame separately. If you have a bad shot, just try to figure out what you did wrong before it’s your next turn so you won’t have a repeat of what you just did, and just move on. Don’t dwell on past frames since you can’t re-do them. Take a few deep breaths to help you stay calm and focused!
 
12. Getting a GOOD LIFT on the ball is really important. Try to keep your middle fingers a little stiff so they stay in a slightly bent position. If you can, try and touch the back of your bowling shoulder each time after you release the ball which will also insure a good LIFT as I previously mentioned in an earlier Blog Post. Good lift also put more revolutions on the ball which equals more action down at the pins.
 
13. TRUST IS A MUST OR YOUR GAME IS A BUST! What this means is to trust your ball to hook back into the pocket area, as long as you get it over the correct target.  You don’t need to force it, try to steer the ball, or do anything fancy with it. DON’T try to AIM it , just do the normal 10:00 or 11:00 release and give the ball a chance to work.
 
14. THINK BEFORE YOU GET UP ON THE APPROACH- Once you know where you are going to stand and where your target should be, then step onto the approach and just “FEEL” the shot and be confident and deliberate.
 
 
    Some of these basics are easier said than done, but you need to stay focused and in control to be successful in bowling. Only you can control your game, so learning these things early on will help you to improve more quickly.
 
   Join me here next week for a discussion about “Why Do They Oil Bowling Lanes"?”

​   Good Luck and High Scoring this week!