Know Your Best Bowling Ball Speed Range
By: bowlingball.com,
Originally Posted: 5/26/16; Updated: 3/21/2022Regardless of your average or experience level in the game, it helps to know your best bowling ball speed range.
Controlling your ball speed helps immensely to also control your
bowling ball skid distance.
By controlling your ball skid distance, you can then stabilize your back end reaction at the breakpoint down the lane to the pocket.
Controlling your ball speed is a simple matter of first identifying the best speed you can use where you can repeat the same speed each shot.
Make this speed slightly less than your fastest speed you can use without losing balance or sacrificing accuracy.
Next, use a speed slightly more than your “A Game”
speed for dry lanes but be careful to not throw so hard that you sacrifice accuracy.
Next, practice a speed slightly less than your best speed for oily lanes.
Stay within a small range of ball speed variations so you never feel indecisive about changing speed as the
lane conditions change during competition.
Let’s face it, some of you may throw slowly and need to build up a slight amount more speed. Likely you will never be able to deliver your ball at a fast speed so do not try.
Instead, use other variables such as loft distance, your release technique, your angle of attack to the pocket and spares, and finally bowling ball choices.
Same goes for you “speed merchants” who have the ability to use more speed than necessary to be effective.
Use a slightly slower pace you can repeat and let the other adjustments you have in your “bag of tricks” help you gain a consistent ball reaction.
Getting to the pocket consistently is the challenge for any bowler regardless of physical strength level or overall skill level.
No doubt that regulating your ball speed helps you “read the lanes” much easier than does varying speed without a predetermined decision to do so.
Next time you get to the practice lanes, work on your speed control and get to know your best bowling ball speed range.
