A Three Board Wide Bowling Ball Path

bowlingball.com, Originally Posted: 11/5/2013; Updated: 2/10/2023

Bowling is a game of inches. Don’t try and be so precise with each delivery that you tighten up and make an errant shot instead of a good one.
Although most of you are trained to use a spot on the lane as a sighting target, try using a three board wide track instead of a slim mark for aiming purposes.
In fact, expand your sighting imagination a bit further and visualize a three board wide delivery ball for your bowling ball to follow from the time it leaves your hand until impact with the pocket pins.
If you visualize a three board wide bowling ball delivery path, all you need do is to deliver your ball inside the path on its way to your spot on the lane and to the pocket.
Trying to squeeze a shot over a very small mark on the lane can cause swing tension which, in turn produces inconsistent ball speed and adversely can affect accuracy.
Your three board wide delivery path must have the intended delivery angle where you release your ball established in the front portion of the lane, the path your ball follows in the mid-lane, and the angle your ball will roll from the breakpoint to the pocket.
PBA Hall of Fame Champion, Mark Roth, would say that he picked his spot and then aimed to the right of the spot to a three board blue colored area he imagined as his ball track. Then to the left of his spot, he visualized a red track he wanted to avoid.

There are many ways to sight when trying to hit a target on the lane. If you use this three board wide ball tracking visualization, you eliminate excessive pressure trying to hit a small spot down the lane.
It is also important to realize that although we all believe we are better shot makers than we really might be, the house lane conditions (oiling pattern) at most every bowling center today is a very forgiving pattern which actually can steer your ball to the pocket if you are aligned correctly.
Being deadly accurate is not a must to achieve high scores. Delivering your bowling ball in the right tracking path is vital to hitting the pocket, however.
Next time you are practicing, try this three board delivery path sighting method and see if you find getting your ball into the pocket a simple task.