How To Tune Up Your Bowling Game

If you are a highly skilled player with a great deal of experience and are in need of straightening out a few things in your physical game, then here are a few tips on how to tune up your bowling game. It is surprising how many talented players spend too little time practicing to keep their games in top form, particularly before an important tournament or an event such as the USBC national Open Championship, among others. If you wish to identify a few areas to work on so you can sharpen your skills before competing next, then follow these tips on how to tune up your bowling game.

It helps to develop an organized structure by which to practice regardless of your skill level. Professional bowlers fight to maintain a high standard of performance and thereby practice their craft with great frequency, detail and purpose, so why not you? You can easily do the same by managing your time on the practice lane wisely. Divide your practice sessions into 10 minute increments for about one hour of practice. Practice uninterrupted and avoid distractions by other people unless you have your coach on hand to monitor your practice fundamentals. Here are a few tips to determine where to place greatest emphasis when preparing for competition:

Set-Up: Make sure you set your spine angle as you do typically when you are bowling your best. Avoid setting your bowling shoulder too low in comparison to your basic set-up. Dropping the shoulder too low in the set-up, even an inch too low, can cause a variation in your swing path and also can cause a less effective release of the bowling ball than desired. Set-up is critical to making a good approach. Maintain a normal amount of knee flex in your set-up and make certain your weight is distributed over your bowling shoes evenly and properly.

Footwork: Reduce tension in your legs before taking your first step. The big muscles in your legs from your knees up to your hips should not be too taught before stepping away to begin your approach. Walk lightly to the foul line and avoid digging into the floor and lunging into your slide step. Continuous movement with smooth tempo are important to allowing your arm swing sufficient time to do an effective job. Even if you are a player with relatively fast footwork, do not exceed your usual pace of walking to the foul line. Walk softly in practice so when you are in competition and get excited, you will not revert to hurried footwork and make errant deliveries.

Balance: Keep your upper body torso from exhibiting unnecessary movement while walking to the foul line. If you are a power player and allow your bowling shoulder to open excessively in your back swing, try to avoid sudden and abrupt movement and over exaggerating the shoulder movement. During each delivery in a practice session, maintain consistent swing tempo, even when shooting at spares. Varying your speed excessively can cause inconsistent swing motion throughout your session on the lanes. Keep your head as motionless as possible throughout your approach to the line and while you are releasing the bowling ball. Head movement must be restricted to avoid an up or down movement, a tilting movement to the side, or turning your head and eyes away from your target. Maintain a consistent elevation from the floor while you walk to the line so your swing path will be in position to repeat shot after shot.

Swing: Work on a consistent trigger movement to initiate the swing. If you use a long pushaway, make sure you trigger the movement early enough and do not retard the movement by not allowing the ball to drop into the swing freely and smoothly with a continuous movement. If you allow your ball to fall straight toward the floor when beginning the swing, try to avoid using too much arm tension forcing the ball to the top of the back swing. Arm tension is the number one key to making ineffective releases. When your bowling hand reaches the top of your back swing, make an effort to allow it to drop into the forward swing smoothly and consistently without "grabbing" at the ball and increasing tension in your hand just prior to the critical moment of release.

Release: Check your forward swing arm position so you do not rotate the ball before your release requires the rotation. Regulate the moment of release by keying your thumb to exit the ball at the same relative position to the heel of your bowling shoe as you slide into the line. The amount of energy you impart onto the bowling ball by your hand during the release process should be consistent from delivery to delivery. A good key is to focus on speed control and releasing each shot at the same ball speed. Consistent ball speed allows for the release to repeat effectively time after time. Often times, top players try to do much to the ball instead of relying on the physics of the game and the dynamics of the bowling ball matching with proper alignment techniques in playing the lanes to do the job.

Finish & Focus: Work on holding your form at the line after you release the ball until your ball passes the targeting arrows. If only for a split second, hold the form and balance position after you release your ball to ensure you are ending your approach in a good finishing position. In fact, if you can hold your form motionless after five consecutive deliveries until the ball contacts the pins, then your balance is solid and likely you will be ready for your next competition. Maintain constant and dedicated focus of your eyes on your target on the lane until the ball passes the target. Do not minimize the importance of focusing on your target with intensity and concentration throughout each delivery. Place full commitment to hitting your target. Expect a positive result by planning for the result in advance.

We recommend you consult with your personal certified coach/instructor or a local bowling professional at least one time when beginning preparations to compete in a tournament. Your coach can help you monitor the key components of your game and help you achieve the level of feeling needed to compete. Use your practice time wisely and work on the keys which have proven to work for you in the past. Focusing only on what you are doing incorrectly will not sharpen the components of your game. Work on your strengths and weaknesses will reduce.

A disciplined hour of practice working on key components of your physical game will help you sharpen your skills and improve your technique. Practice as often as possible if you expect good results! We hope these tips help you win!

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