What are the most common problems that can hurt your bowling?-Part 3

    This Post is a continuation from my Blog Posts on 12/20/21 and 1/3/22. Please go back to review if you need to.

    As previously mentioned and I'm sure you know by now, that there are many problems we may face during our bowling sessions. Here are a few more to be aware of:

9. Over Turning the bowling hand--
​    This can also be called "Topping the Ball". If you don't finish with a 10:00 or 11:00 thumb position on the release and you end up turning the ball with the thumb finishing at the 8:00 or 7:00 position (turning the hand too much to the left for a right handed bowler or too much to the right for a left handed bowler-4:00 or 5:00 position). This can also happen if you turn the entire arm instead of just the wrist. Over turning will cause a LOW AXIS TILT which leads to a loss of ball power at the pins, and a poor ball delivery onto the lane.

10. Trailing Foot too much to the Side--
    This can also be called "Side Wheeling". Many right handed bowlers have their right leg extended out to the left side as a way to help with balancing the body after the ball is released (opposite for Lefty's). But if you do it excessively, it can cause a loss of balance because the body is turned too much and not able to face the target more squarely. It also causes the ball come to come around behind the body and the elbow ends up being too far away from the bowlers' side resulting in an over turn of the fingers (#9 above). If you feel that your body is not facing the target squarely, then have the trailing foot more in back of you instead of out to the side and place the non bowling arm out to the side to help with your balance.

11. Opposite of Side Wheeling--
    Instead of the arm and elbow being close to the body on the back swing (which is the proper positioning), some bowlers tend to bend their elbow and swing the ball in an arc away from the body. In doing this, the ball will cross inwardly and after the release will cause the ball to finish to the left of the headpin instead of coming into the desired pocket area. When arcing, sometimes the arc may be done closer to the body and and other times may be further away from the body, causing inconsistency! This can also cause a bowler to "Top" the ball and causing a loss of pin action (#9 above).

12. Elbow Out to the Side--
    If you find you are getting more splits than usual, having the elbow out to the side could be the culprit. This was happening to me when I was a beginner and I just couldn't' figure out what I was doing wrong. I decided to take a lesson with the pro shop guy and he could see right away what was happening. What helped me was to think of that area of my arm that is in front of my elbow to always be facing the pins as my arm was coming up after releasing the ball. When I did this, I never turned my arm out to the side again. I realized that the reason I was doing this was because I was trying to hook the ball with my entire arm, instead of just using my wrist, hand, and fingers to achieve the proper hook.This can also happen if you are trying to get the bowling arm around the body which is why I recommend holding the ball out slightly to the side instead of directly in front of the body at the stance. 

    It's important to practice good timing, footwork, and keeping the arm, hand, and ball close to the body with a good pendulum swing during your practice sessions. Remember, Consistency is the key!!


    Join me back here again next week when I'll be discussing "What are the different types of bowling styles", a continuation from Blog Posts dated 1/10/22, 1/24/22, and 1/31/22.

    Good Luck and High Scoring!!