Stick To What You Know When Bowling In Competition

By: bowlingball.com, Originally Posted: 5/18/16; Updated: 3/24/2022

If you average less than 180 in your leagues and your game seems to be a little out of sorts, stick to what you know when bowling in competition.

Trying to make adjustments as you bowl when the adjustments have not been practiced can cost you dearly in your score.

It is wise to be willing to make adjustments when bowling in leagues or perhaps tournaments, but use adjustments you trust and know well to have worked in the past.

If you choose a couple of adjustments you would like to develop, follow these two key guidelines which will lead you to the results you seek:

*Practice wisely and with a plan in mind.

Avoid hurrying shots trying to get strikes or record good scores when you should work on developing the technique needed for each adjustment you are trying to develop.

*Strive to develop an adjustment for each of six key categories: Set-up, steps, swing, posture and balance, swing and release, and finish position. All of these are worthy of your attention in practice.

Each of areas pertaining to practice require some work. You may not need to develop adjustment techniques for every category so choose what you wish to work on most and spend time in practice doing so.

As example, if you wish to work on one or more release variations, then practice your most reliable release first so you can rely on what you do best and then add more or less finger rotation or wrist tilt depending on how you want to alter in your ball reaction.

The point is to work on developing one or two minor adjustments but stick to what you know best and do best proven over time.



Practice is key in tuning your game and being prepared for competition.

The work you put in on the practice lanes will provide you the opportunity to make adjustments during competition and perhaps restore your bowling ball reaction or ability to hit the pocket efficiently.

Finally, it is recommended use a bowling instructor to help you monitor the adjustment systems you wish to build into your game so as these techniques become comfortable and you begin to trust them.

Once you develop trust, you can use adjustments confidently.

It is not playing it safe if you stick to what you know when bowling in competition and if you have developed a well rounded “bag of tricks” to use when appropriate.

The way to get this done is through dedicated practice. No short cuts.