Practice Bowling With A Friend

bowlingball.com, Originally Posted: 3/2/2013; Updated: 7/15/2021

Whenever you get a chance, it is a good idea to practice bowling with a friend. In fact, if you can practice with a good bowler or perhaps with a league teammate, all the better.

Bowling with a friend can be very useful if you are practicing elements of your game and you need someone to watch you deliver a couple of shots to check specific techniques you discuss beforehand.


 You may be working on your footwork and your friend can watch if your pace of steps is matching and you are not over-accelerating your important final two steps into the foul line or if you are walking your intended target lines.

You may be working on your swing or your release technique and your friend can watch a couple of shots and share what he or she sees happening, so you can compare your feel with the reported technique witnessed by your friend.


 Often, our feel is misleading and we think we are doing one thing but in reality, we are doing another. This is where having a friend watch you roll a shot can help you make sure your game is in the groove.


 Another thing a friend can watch for is if you are rolling your bowling ball over your intended target or missing the mark by a board or two. It is surprising how many bowlers have a dominant eye and see their bowling ball roll over an actual mark other than what they think they see when bowling.

A friend can help you identify your actual target against your original sighting target and help you make decisions where to aim on the lane.
You may be turning your bowling ball early and getting inconsistent deliveries.

Your friend can help spot your delivery action and share with you what you are doing so you can remedy the situation.

It is also a good idea to try to practice on a pair of lanes with a friend, or friends, so you can simulate competitive bowling sessions and pace yourself to avoid “rapid fire shots” which are not the way we bowl in competition.


 It is not always a given that both lanes will cause your bowling ball to react the same so you can practice your adjustments or changing bowling balls if you use a pair of lanes.
Bowling in friendly competition can sometimes help keep you sharp. Some bowlers will wager small amounts or bowl strictly for bragging rights to remain competitive and feel some form of pressure making key shots.


 In most cases, a match will come down to the deciding ninth and tenth frames to determine the outcome. Practicing against a friend creates a competitive atmosphere and helps you bear down in the critical final frames of each game.
Practice time with a friend should not always be just about you or your game. You can help your friend if your friend so desires.

By watching keys to each others games, you develop a good eye for what causes a bowler to struggle or to have successes. If your friend is a teammate, then you can help each other during competition, if needed and mutually decided upon.
No question that bowling with a friend can be useful, make practice less monotonous, and can be beneficial to keeping sharp and productive.