How Do I Tune Up For A Team Bowling Tournament?

If you ask "how do I quickly tune up for a team bowling tournament?", you likely believe your game is in need attention before the competition.

As an advanced bowler, you know that if you have not been bowling your best recently, it is unlikely that you will bowl as well as you wish in the tournament.

Consider getting together, if possible, with a teammate or multiple teammates for a joint practice session.

During practice, you can share ideas of what each of you do when bowling your best.

Sometimes getting input from those who know your game can be a big help.

If, however, you wish to practice and work on your game alone, then there are a few things you can do to prepare for the event:

*Ball speed - work at governing your ball speed as closely to the same speed each shot you make, spares included. You can stabilize your ball reaction when releasing your ball at the same speed repeatedly. Your release technique also stabilizes when you are not changing speeds from shot to shot.

*Loft - regulate the distance you loft the ball over the foul line during your practice drills. Once you become fairly consistent in releasing your ball over the line the same distance each shot, your release occurs very close to the same time relative to the bottom of your forward swing arc.

*Early finger rotation - avoid turning your ball too soon. Rotating your bowling fingers before your hand reaches the bottom of your swing can cause you to pull the ball off line, weaken the effective roll on your ball, or rotate too far over the top of the ball thereby changing your intended axis tilt slightly.

To assist in ball speed control, maintain a steady pace of steps matching your swing tempo. Avoid forcing your release by using excessive tension in your bowling arm, shoulders and neck.

Once you feel your are controlling your ball speed effectively, you can then key your release at the same relative moment at the bottom of your forward swing arc which also helps you control your loft distance.

If you deliver your ball at the same speed and loft distance over the course of your tournament, you can more easily control your bowling ball skid distance and the ball reaction in the mid-lane.

Reading the lanes becomes a simple process once you get a good ball reaction, particularly if you are bowling a tournament at a center where you have never bowled before.

Staying behind the ball without rotating your bowling fingers excessively helps you fight the urge to pick up “revs” and power due to the pressure of facing competitive players on the opposing team. Trying to gain more “revs” than you are accustomed to using might cause errant shots.



These simple tips can help you prepare for a team tournament.

It makes little sense to overhaul your entire game when you can practice these simple techniques and get ready to bowl the tournament.

Control your ball speed, loft distance, and stay behind the ball. These techniques will help tune your game.