Break Out Of Your Bowling Slump
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Originally Posted: 5/5/2013; Updated: 6/24/2021If you love to bowl, you will experience times when you aren't performing your best. It happens to everyone, even the best players in the world.
Here are some thoughts on how you can break out of your next slump:
Check your gripping of your bowling ball and your setup when taking your stance position on the approach. Many bowlers will tend to slip into bad habits gripping the
bowling ball or setting up with poor posture without even knowing it.
Alignment errors or poor posture can lead to swing mistakes and bad shots. Take a look at your hand gripping your bowling ball before beginning your walk to the foul line. Your bowling hand has the most influence on the ball motion, and the manner by which you grip your ball has the most influence on your delivery technique. So check your grip and make sure it is what you want.
A slumping posture can be the cause of poor swing alignment. An improper tilt with your bowling shoulder or with your torso can lead to a poor backswing and to an out-to-in downswing.
When you are at home, take your
bowling ball and set up in front of a mirror. Take a look at your posture and upper body tilt from a full frontal angle and from a side angle.
Next, do a tension check. When bowling poorly, tension creeps in. When you get back to the practice lane, make some shots being aware of the tension in your hands, forearms and shoulders before beginning an approach.
To eliminate tension, add a slight bounce with your flexed knees before stepping away and beginning your approach. Watch the tour players. You will see little tension in their shoulders, neck, or arms before beginning to bowl. Your objective is a continuous swing motion while smoothly moving off of each step into the next.
In bowling at a competitive level, there is a fine line between trying too hard and not trying hard enough. Instead of trying overly hard, bowl instead with a full focus on making a smooth and well paced approach.
On every shot, do everything you can before making the shot and plan for success. Analyze the shot, select your sighting target, go through your routine and then let it go. Make one good shot at a time, then update your thinking to your next shot.
When practicing, spend a little more time working on the part, or parts, of your game where you are struggling. You can work out what is ailing you so repetition will help you with your confidence. Don’t forget to also practice the strong keys to your game.
Change the inner-voice. When you are not playing well, the voice inside your head tends to beat you up with a constant supply of negative self-talk.
Talk to yourself like you would want your best friend to talk to you. Your best friend would tell you positive things about your game. Your best friend wouldn't say things like “you are terrible.” Be aware of any negative self-talk and change it. You control your bowling destiny.
Try these tips out the next time your game gets off track and you’ll be able to break out of that slump on your own.
