Turn On Your Bowling Headlights
bowlingball.com, Originally Posted: 3/4/2014; Updated: 12/6/2022
Don’t bowl in the dark and rely on blind faith, hope, or desperation. Instead, turn on your bowling headlights and zoom in to watch your bowling ball carefully.
By resisting the urge to look up at the pins well before your
bowling ball reaches the distance where your spot is located on the lane does you no benefit whatsoever.
It is surprising how often bowlers take their eyes off of their bowling ball and their target because they think too hard about the mechanics of their game or worry about pinfall.
Watch your ball as it travels down the lane and watch it closely. You can learn a good deal about how well you delivered the ball and how the ball reacts as it travels down the lane by keeping your eyes focused on the ball.
Here are key times to watch your ball carefully:
1. As soon as you release your ball, take notice of your delivery angle and make a quick mental note if you delivered the ball on or close to your intended launch path.
2. Watch your ball in the front end and take note if your ball is delivered with your normal degree of axis tilt or if your ball spins more or rolls in a forward direction more so than your typical shot.
3. Zoom in on your ball passing over the spot on the lane where you sight, usually near the bowling arrows and make note if you hit your mark.
4. Watch precisely where your bowling ball transitions (hooks) from the skid phase to the hook phase of motion in the beginning portion of the mid-lane.
5. Watch your ball make a 2nd transition by hooking again at the breakpoint located at the beginning portion of the back end of the lane.
6. Watch your ball roll toward the pins from the breakpoint until impact with the pins.
7. Watch the ball roll completely off of the pin deck and make note of the pin action you get based on where your ball impacted the pins, pocket or otherwise.
The feedback you get watching your ball closely at each of these checkpoints is invaluable.
You cannot make a determination if an adjustment is necessary unless you watch the ball react on the lane.
“Reading the lanes” effectively if an important part of the alignment and adjustment process.
If you peek by looking up when delivering your ball and taking your eyes off of your spot, you may also be missing the opportunity to carefully watch the overall ball reaction in the mid-lane and again on the back end.
Avoid bowling in the blind and turn on those bowling headlights. Use your concentration abilities to keep your eyes on your ball the entire distance it travels down the lane.
Success in bowling comes from inputting good information into your brain so your brain can signal your body which strategies and techniques will best serve your game.
By watching your ball carefully, you are a major step closer to bowling at a high level of performance.
