Common Sense Bowling

If you find yourself trying to be a “copycat” by using the same brand and model of bowling ball as another player in your league who bowls entirely differently than you or if you try and emulate the style of another successful player you see perform well on a routine basis, you may be paying yourself a disservice.

Using common sense bowling strategies can and relying on your own game skills, indeed, can become your best ally.

If you find yourself struggling on the lanes, turn to your skill-set strengths and try to rely on what your strongest assets are rather than copying the style of another bowler, particularly if you have not introduced new techniques into your game during practice or under the supervision of an experienced bowling instructor.

Common sense in bowling may also be reducing a level of stubbornness when we know that an adjustment is needed and we continue to make the same shot time and time again hoping for an improved result.

Trusting what you see happen relating to your bowling ball reaction and then implementing a proven adjustment technique from your “bag of tricks” is generally the same strategy any successful player uses.

If you hit the nose on a strike delivery, as example, and then your next time on the same lane think that you can deliver the ball in the same way at the same mark on the lane at the same ball speed and expect to get a different result, a pocket hit result, is inviting more grief.

The common sense adjustment could be to make a positioning change on the approach and perhaps a small target change on the lane. Another adjustment might be to increase ball speed or to sight further down the lane to increase ball skid and prevent early hook. Maybe a loft distance change when releasing your ball might do the trick.

Whichever adjustment typically works best is the one you can try first in hopes of avoiding hitting the nose again, as in our example.

The point here is to use common sense when you see and know a change is needed and then trust your judgement to implement an adjustment you believe to be the best solution.

If you miss certain spares routinely and do not try using a different bowling ball or play a different angle at the spare than you usually use, you invite a continuation of poor results and may miss the spare repeatedly.

The little things in bowling can become big factors in gaining the type of performance level you seek and it all begins by using your “noodle”, by using common sense, when you are bowling in meaningful competition and where your scores count for something.

Take full advantage of the skill set you have developed over the years and trust your decision making process when you are “bowling under the gun.”

In bowling, using common sense can lead to increased dollars and cents.