Murder Those Bowling Pins

If you are a power player using a high rev-rate with a great deal of ball speed, you probably enjoy when you murder those bowling pins?

Everyone enjoys blasting the pins around, and watching them fly across the pin deck.

Be careful, not to get caught up in trying to use maximum power in your delivery where you lose accuracy, balance and a reliable ball reaction.

There are times when it is wise to back off the power just to stabilize your bowling ball speed, your ball reaction, and improve pin carry.

Power players encounter the high risk, high reward scenario on some lane conditions.

When the use of a high number of revs and a high degree of axis tilt causes your ball to hook unpredictably on given lane conditions, there is nothing wrong with backing off a little to control your speed and get more consistent pin carry.

In the days of the power game and the modern bowling ball equipment, it is easy to be infatuated with the big hook. The big, sweeping hook is fine when you can get a consistent ball motion at the breakpoint to the pocket.

When you lose your ability to hit the pocket, you also lose pin carry when you hit the pocket.

There are a few things you can do as a power player to stabilize your ball reaction and re-align to the pocket. Here are a few ideas:

1. Use bowling balls with low to mid-range track flare.

2. Use symmetric bowling balls before automatically turning to the asymmetric variety. Symmetric bowling balls typically produce a controllable arc motion as opposed to the sharp hook motion which can be challenging to control.

3. Use weak or controlled drilling layouts. When a power player gets an over reaction on the lane, taming down the ball motion can be done by using a drilling layout which provides a controllable and smooth back end ball reaction.

4. Use slightly less finger rotation and thereby reduce the degree of axis tilt. A lower amount of axis tilt slows the rev-rate slightly and will help to stabilize your ball reaction.

The USBC has studied and concluded that the optimum angle of entry to get the best pin carry is 6 degrees. Power players easily get that amount of entry angle into the pocket compared to “stroker” and “tweener” type players who get slightly less entry angle.

When a power player gets more than 6 degrees entry angle, the player runs the risk of poor pin carry and an inconsistent ball reaction.

It is not necessary to use your maximum power every time you bowl. The strategy must be to use the right amount of power to match the lane conditions and get optimum pin carry.

Next time you hit the practice lanes, spend a little time getting skilled at using perhaps 85% of your full power. You must develop a “go-to” game when the lanes are not receptive to your strongest game.

It is fun to murder those pins but it is better to be smart and hit the pocket as often as possible if you want consistently good scores.