Whatever your bowling style may be, the key to achieving a high score is consistency. Practice regularly to work on your stance, footwork, swing, building muscle memory, adjusting and perfecting your swing.
Bowling Routine
Bowlers have their own bowling routine. They may have a pre-shot routine – such as wiping the ball, drying the hands and taking slow deep breaths. If you observe professional bowlers before each shot, many of them have a routine. They do this in every game (such as wiping the ball before they take a shot) and this is done to mentally prepare them for the next move.
Once you’ve created your own pre-shot routine, the next thing to work on is your stance. Your starting position may be different from the next person and that’s perfectly normal. The key is to choose a stance you’re comfortable with and stick to it for every single shot.
Approach
Then comes the approach. This requires coordination and timing. Most professional bowlers use a 5-step approach, but for newbies a 4-step approach may be a more comfortable option.
Keep your shoulders square, your pace consistent, your head up and your swing smooth. Develop consistent balance and go with your normal walking stride.
Your hand and wrist should be kept firm and strong. Your bowling hand, in order to have power and momentum, should go into the backswing. With shoulders facing forward, keep your backswing straight.
All 5 components – hand and wrist position, timing, steps, power and speed should be in-sync for a clean approach.
Release
The final and most important part of your throw is the release. The ball should be right in front of you (not behind you). Roll it forward – don’t drop or throw the ball. Keep your release consistent for every shot.
Aim
After you’ve mastered your own bowling routine, the next step is to learn how to aim. On the bowling lane such as the ones you’ll see at Strike Bowling there are dots and arrows marking the lane. There are 39 smaller wooden panels on each lane and these things help you determine the direction and angle of your throw.
There are 2 sets of dots in the area where the ball is collected and this is where you begin your bowling stance. Upon approaching the foul line, you’ll see another set of dots which means it is where you release the ball.
During release, the ball will pass through another set of dots and arrows. At this point, you can calculate the number of panels your ball moves through prior to reaching the pins. As an example, if your ball moves 5 panels right from the dots to the arrow, then in the next shot, you can adjust your starting and release positions based on the outcome of the previous shot.
Adjusting
If you go to various bowling alleys, you’ll notice that lane conditions vary. But once you’ve perfected your routine and aim, you can better analyze how much your ball moves in a particular lane so you can modify your stance and release as needed.
The key is to keep practicing. It may seem frustrating at the start but the more effort you put in to your game, the better you become at bowling.
If you want to up your game, consider practicing the 5-step approach here:
