My teammates tell me I am always topping the ball. What causes me to do that? One of them recommended that I get some kind of wrist brace. What kind of wrist brace would you recommend?
Jerry – Phoenix
Jerry, if you are topping the ball, it is usually caused by either early rotation of the hand and/or over-gripping the ball at the point of release. A wrist brace will usually not fix this problem. A brace (if tight enough) will only keep your wrist from breaking backwards during the swing. It will NOT keep you from over-turning or over-gripping the ball. I would recommend taking a lesson to eliminate the cause of the problem.
INCREASE
YOUR COMFORT ZONE
I am a right handed bowler, I bowl league at Brunswick Desert Sky and average about 188. I have an Ultimate Inferno and a Roto Grip Cell but after the second game, both balls hook too much. My spot is usually the second arrow. I want to get a ball that hooks less. What would you recommend?
James - Phoenix
The lanes at Desert Sky
change very quickly and I can see why you have problems playing the second
arrow in the 3rd game. I
would probably recommend a Hammer Vibe (the Emerald or the new Onyx). The Vibe series has good length with a nice
move down the lane. It should clear the
heads easier than your other two balls but still finish well. With that being said, I would also suggest
that you learn to play different parts of the lane. Too often I see bowlers that have their “spot” on the lane and
won’t move their feet away from it.
Instead they try to force their ball into the pocket from wherever their
comfort zone (or “spot”) is. As the oil
gets removed from the lane, there will almost always be MORE oil to the left of
where you are targeting. If you are
hitting the pocket (and striking) with a certain ball and the lane starts to
change, make lateral (left or right) moves with your feet and target
FIRST. Generally, you will want to
move 2 boards with your feet for every 1 board with your target. Widen your comfort zone. If you ever happen to bowl at other bowling
lanes, you might not be able to play in your comfort zone.
YOU
ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE BOWLING
When I am
bowling league, there are a couple of bowlers every week that get angry and
make a scene. They catch me in the
middle of my shot and throw me off.
It’s really starting to effect my scoring. I have talked to my league secretary but he doesn’t seem to
care. Is there anything I can do?
Anonymous
Everyone at some point in their bowling life will have a minor outburst. Some bowlers will not even realize they are being disruptive and are just caught in the moment. Others know they are being disruptive and just have no consideration for other people. Your league sergeant at arms should be enforcing whatever league rules you have in place to deal with disruptive behavior. Make sure you are not letting these distractions change how you approach each shot. When you step on the approach, don’t bring any mental baggage with you. Having a solid pre-shot routine can help with this. It’s one thing to be caught in the middle of a shot and not be able to stop, but bringing that past negative experience up with you on following shots is inviting poor execution.