If you find that you are dropping your bowling ball too soon then check your grip and stance. Correcting these will let you practice and you will get out of the habit.
Bowling is a very complex sport that involves many different aspects. Not only do you need to consider exactly which equipment is best for you to use, but you must also be aware of the condition of the bowling lane and your technique.
Technique can take a long time to perfect and even experts have their off days. However, the problem that we will cover here is how to stop dropping your bowling ball too soon. So, in order to be able to avoid this problem keep reading.
Check Your Grip
One of the first things that will come to mind if you notice that you keep dropping your bowling ball too soon is your grip. You are not letting go of the bowling ball for no apparent reason and so the first thing to check is how you are holding it.
Here there are many things to consider concerning both your hand and the ball itself. If you do not hold on to the bowling ball long enough then you will inevitably drop it behind the foul line and impede your score.
You will want to be able to hold on to the ball a little bit longer so that you are able to throw it over the foul line and score more points. So, here are a few tips and tricks to adjust your grip.
- Use a light grip pressure between your fingers and thumb. Do not squeeze the ball too hard in your grip.
- If you throw with a slower speed then consider gripping the ball a little bit tighter as this will lessen the strain on your wrist from the weight of the ball.
- Make sure that you do not release the ball until it is in line with your toes on the sliding foot.
- Build up enough speed in your swing and follow through with the motion in its entirety.
- Make sure that your knee is flexed enough to be able to throw your ball across the line in a gradual downward motion.
- Aim to make sure that your bowling ball will land no less than 12 inches from the foul line.
At all times you should make sure that you have enough control over the ball. You should not aim to literally throw or propel the bowling ball as fast as possible down the lane. Instead, you want to throw it far enough down the lane sp as to help with speed and points, but not in such a way that it is out of control.
Check Your Stance
If you have checked your grip but you are still having problems with dropping the bowling ball too soon then the next step is to check your stance.
You should firstly throw as normal and then check the positioning of your feet once you have completed the throw. For a perfect stance, your sliding foot should finish up at approximately 6 inches from the foul line.
If you notice that your sliding foot is finishing further back from the foul line than this then this can be a problem. In order to fix this problem you will either need to start closer to the foul line (as this will compensate for the distance) or you will need to make sure that your approaching strides are larger.
However, you should not get too close to the foul line. This means that you will run the risk of overstepping the limit and ending up with a foul on your turn. This is obviously not ideal. Instead, you should aim to improve your grip and throwing technique. Doing this will allow you to remain comfortably behind the foul line after you have thrown the ball.
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Practice Throwing
Once you have identified the problem the best thing that you can do is practice. As they say, practice makes perfect! Of course, we do not mean that you should keep throwing as you are. Doing this will only increase your problem with dropping the bowling ball early as you will get used to and comfortable with the incorrect grip, motion and/or stance.
Instead, carefully analyze your throw and pinpoint where the problems lie. If you need to, and it is certainly not a bad idea, watch some instructional videos from the professionals in order to carefully examine how they throw. When you are watching the videos ask yourself the following questions:
- Where are their feet after the throw?
- How much did they move?
- How close did they finish to the foul line?
- Can I tell what their grip was? Stronger or weaker?
- When did they release the bowling ball?
- How fast did they propel the ball?
- Where did the ball land on the lane?
Here is a great instructional video on how to hook a bowling ball with better release:
Noting the answers to all of these questions will help you to compare your own technique to that of a professional.
Once you know exactly the areas to work on then you can get started and practice! The more you repeat the corrected action to more automatic it will become. You will need to train your body and mind to perform this new improved technique from memory (both literally and muscle memory).
Doing this over and over until you no longer have to think about it will then help you to stop dropping the bowling ball too soon.
Final Thoughts
Bowling is a game that involves a lot of technique. Practice makes perfect and so it is important that you adjust and correct your grip and stance if you are dropping the bowling ball too soon.
If you practice without analyzing and correcting these issues then you will not solve the problem as quickly or as easily. You will only engrain the wrong technique into your memory.
Learn what works best for you, even if it means simply adjusting your distance from the foul line.