Bowling Techniques and Tips

Bowling is a sport that doesn’t have that much national popularity. However, it can be quite fun to spend a day with friends at a bowling alley and bowl a few games in competition. At first I was a terrible bowler an could not crack a score of 70. I would get frustrated watching guterball after guterball being thrown. That is when I decided to take a bowling class and learn to be a better bowler. Now I consistently score in the 150-200 range every game. I have seen a steady rise in my spares and strikes and now regularly go to bowling alleys because it is so much fun. If you enjoy the game of bowling, use these helpful tips and you will immediately see an improvement in your game.

Picking the right Bowling Ball:

The first step is sto pick the right bowling ball. The weight ranges from 3 pounds to 15 pounds. Pick up the ball and see if it feels heavy. You want to choose a weight that you feel comfortable with that isn’t too light and not too heavy. Then there is the step in selecting the ball. You want to make sure that you can fit your three fingers into the ball: thumb, middle finger, and the finger next to your pinky. your fingers should be able to fit easily into the ball. You also want to make sure that your grip on the ball isn’t that loose to prevent you from dropping the ball and it isn’t too tight so that your fingers are stuck in it. Once you have chosen a ball that feels right you are ready to begin.

Stance:

The proper stance is one of the most important aspects. The first step is the positioning. To throw a straight ball you want to position yourself using the red dots on the floor of the lane. You will notice that there are 6 dots and one big red dot indicating the center dot. Idealy, depending on how much hook your ball has, you want to lineup just left of the center dot. Not comes the stance. Have your knees slightly bent and hold the bowling ball upwards, supported by yuor other hand. Look forward towards the bowling pins.

Finger positioning:
The positioning of your fingers is very important because it will determine how much of a hook and curve that your ball makes after you throw it. To throw the ball straight you want to have your thumb pointed towards 6 o’clock and your other fingers should be straight. To put a curve or hook on it, have your thumb facing the 10 o’clock position.

Movement:

The movement of your body will help you increase the speed of the ball and help you knock down more pins. In your stance, you want to jab your right hand that is holding the ball and point it forward. Then take a step with your left foot, then right foot, left foot again. Now comes the tricky part. As you move your third step with your left foot, you want to slide your right foot forward to gain more momentum. This sliding is caused by your knees being bent. To have a professional movement, when you slide that right foot forward, tuck it behind you left foot and move it all the way to your left. This will be your finishing stance once you release the ball.

Throwing Motion:

Throwing the ball is the last step. Using the fingering positions, bring your right arm that is holding the ball straight back and then bring it all the way forward like a pendulum swing. You want to make sure that when you bring the ball backwards, your body is straight and that you do not bring the ball behind your body. If you do this, you ball will not go straight and instead will go into the gutter. As you bring the ball forward, release it at the last moment with your hand straight forward. You want to finish off with a follow through of your arm going straight upward to the 12 o’clock position.

The best chance you have of throwing a strike is to aim for the first pin and the pin to its immediate left. These two pin ranges are called the 1-3 gap. If you hit this hole straight on, your chances of hiting a strike are very likely. Once you have mastered these techniques, practice makes perfect. You should try and practice hitting spares by aiming at certain pins to improve your game.

Good luck, now get out there and bowl!