Easy Does It on Dry Bowling Lanes

Updated 6/25/2020

Easy does it on dry bowling lanes. If you are a new bowler or someone just now paying attention to your game and are having difficulties on dry lanes, then be aware that many bowlers these days are so infatuated with the big hook ball, with power and more power, that they sometimes forget how to play the dry lanes conditions.

It is a different story on dry lanes than on heavy oil. The key is easy does it on dry bowling lanes.

When the lanes breakdown, the heads hook and the carry down is inconsistent late in the bowling day, the power game may not be the best answer to overcome the hooking conditions. Instead, look to reduce the hook by not only using entry performance bowling balls such as plastic or regular urethane coverstocks, coupled with a weak drilling layout but work on your delivery so you do not over-energize your release.

Players invariably will try and deliver their bowling balls at faster speeds than normal to compensate for hooking lanes and inadvertently apply more revs causing the ball to hook unpredictably.

Not everyone is gifted to deliver the bowling ball at 22 mph and remove any chance of the dry lanes causing the ball to hook early. Because of this, caution must be taken to not apply a "snappy" release action with your bowling fingers but rather quiet things down on dry lane conditions. Since bowling balls are sensitive to friction on the lane surface, controlling the skid length is vital on dry lanes or getting to the pocket will become a challenge.

When delivering your ball on dry lanes, reduce the finger rotation to perhaps only one inch of rotation. You will need less power on dry lanes because the objective is to govern your skid length and get the ball to react consistently at the break point to the pocket.


The trick here is to allow your ball to flow smoothly off of your bowling hand. Relax your bowling fingers without using any wrist hinging motion so your fingers and thumb exit the ball cleanly and without excessive gripping pressure.

Of course, we acknowledge that adjusting your angle of attack will help you delay the hook and restore an ability to hit the pocket. Controlling your ball speed and reducing finger rotation, while letting your hand smoothly and calmly exit the ball is the real key to controlling skid length on dry lanes.

If you are still having difficulties getting a consistent ball reaction on dry lanes, then we recommend consulting a certified bowing instructor or your local bowling professional to watch you in real time and perhaps advise you how to overcome these challenges.