Women With Slow Ball Speed And Low Rev-Rate
bowlingball.com,
Originally Posted: 9/1/2013; Updated: 3/21/2023If you are a woman bowler with slow ball speed, you likely have a low rev-rate as well. The term “rev-rate” refers to the rate of revolutions your bowling ball makes during its travel down the lane.
Typically, slow ball speed bowlers do not generate as much rev-rate as bowlers with high ball speed and lively hand action when delivering the
bowling ball.
The combination of slow ball speed and low rev-rate is common with senior bowlers, with adult bowlers who are not particularly strong physically, and with bowlers who do not bowl with an aggressive mind set.
Because women bowlers are generally less strong than men bowlers, it is fairly common to see women bowlers with slow ball speed and low rev-rates.
If you are a woman bowler with slow ball speed, it is important to realize that slow ball speed with a low rev-rate is not a deterrent to good bowling scores.
One factor in bowling successfully with slow ball speed is to use bowling balls which do not promote a sharp hook on the back end of the lane, nor hook too soon as to produce an uncontrollable overall ball motion.
It is easy to recommend using entry-level plastic or regular urethane coverstock bowling balls to reduce the hook potential for bowlers with slow ball speed. However, there are more aggressive coverstocks, which can work well for you and help you gain good hitting power at impact with the pins also. The trick here is that you must be careful in your bowling ball selection process.
Aggressive coverstocks on modern bowling balls can work against you if your ball speed does not permit you to skid your bowling ball down the lane consistently and may become unpredictable.
Try to use a
polished solid reactive resin coverstock as opposed to a
matte finish coverstock, which tends to promote early hook when fighting heavy oil lane conditions.
The polished solid reactive coverstock will give you good ball skid plus it will provide a good reaction in the mid-lane with a controllable motion on the back end.
A
pearl reactive coverstock will provide increased skid length, but you must be careful to avoid a sharp hook motion on the back end. Slow ball speed and an aggressively hooking bowling ball do not always become the best match for most lane conditions.
Your pro shop operator can help you select a
drilling layout to produce a controllable back end ball reaction, so the bowling ball does not run away from the pocket due to slow ball speed. Usually pro shop professionals will choose a “weak” drilling layout which stabilizes the back end ball reaction for you and tends not to hook sharply or uncontrollably.
One tip you can use to help yourself is to avoid the tendency of turning the bowling ball excessively when making your delivery. Use only a small finger rotation, perhaps one half of an inch of rotation, to reduce the axis tilt of your bowling ball.
A low axis tilt will produce a forward rolling type motion and the ball will hold its line traveling down the lane. A high axis tilt tends to spin more than a low axis tilt and is prone to hooking sooner, particularly when you have a slow ball speed.
Finally, make certain you accelerate your forward swing to a full and complete follow-through position. Avoid dropping the ball behind the foul line, especially if you have slow ball speed.
Getting the ball over the foul line and making a decisive follow-through will help you control ball skid and prevent your ball from wandering off of your intended delivery path.
If you are a woman bowler with slow ball speed, you can bowl effectively if you use the modern bowling ball equipment to your advantage and if you follow a few physical game keys to gaining a controllable ball reaction.
