How Can I Stop Cutting My Bowling Swing Short?

bowlingball.com, Originally Posted: 5/23/2015; Updated: 2/21/2024

If you ask how can I stop cutting my bowling swing short, the solution may lie with one important strategy.

Never quit on your bowling swing.

One reason you may be cutting your swing short is because you are decelerating your forward swing.

By slowing your forward swing, you run a risk of turning the ball early, pulling your shot offline, or losing needed ball speed.

Losing ball speed can lead to rotating your bowling fingers sooner than needed as your hand reaches the release point.

Turning your ball early coupled with a loss of ball speed can cause pulled shots inside your desired ball path.

Successful players accelerate the forward swing and complete the follow through motion.

All bowlers have a common challenge to not turn the ball early so it becomes extremely important to not decelerate your forward swing and shorten your follow through.

Try and deliver your ball at 90 percent of full power to retain good balance but never slow the forward swing to the point where your bowling hand never reaches shoulder height upon completion of the forward swing.

You must take a mindset to attack the pins and deliver your ball with good velocity and with a good release technique.

A benefit of not decelerating your forward swing is that your speed control will improve and you will increase your percentage of quality shots.



All players, power players, in-between players (tweeners), and stroker-type players, have a common challenge. This challenge is to regulate ball speed by maintaining the speed in a desired range so a consistent ball motion may be achieved.

If you find you are cutting your swing short and not following through, you are likely not focusing on making an aggressive swing toward your target.

If you want to achieve good results and finish your swing, focus on a one-piece, accelerating forward swing to a full follow-through and posted position.