How to Improve Your Bowling Score

 As the tenth frame ends, you fret about bowling a bad game again. While you change shoes and put your ball away, you can’t help but wonder, “Will I ever achieve even a sandwich game?”  

Before you consider turning in your team’s bowling shirt, know that a 200 or even 300 score is not far away!  Achieving a clean game may not be as difficult as you may think.  With a few tweaks of your strategy and style, strikes and spares may be the only thing your lane experiences.

Change Your Mental Bowling Game

When you step up to the lane, what do you think about?  Are you completely focused on reading the lane, preparing your muscles, and executing the perfect form?  If you find your mind wandering, then a higher score will also be wandering away from your name on the scoreboard.  

Practice mental discipline every time you step up to the lane. Concentrate on nothing but your next shot.  Block out your teammates’ conversations, or the fact that you may fall victim to a beer frame.  Instead, visualize the path you want your ball to take down the lane, and the result you want to see from the pins.  Breathe deeply, think of yourself only in the “now,” and let your ball go. Increasing your concentration and taking a few short moments before you throw to visualize and concentrate will help you perform at your peak capability.  

Professional bowlers all know that concentration is the name of the game – and in fact, that is why a bowling ball manufacturer recently created “scented” balls that are meant to hone a player’s concentration.   

Evaluate Your Bowling Equipment 

The culprit of your lackluster game may stem from your equipment.  Do you own your own bowling ball?  Is this bowling ball the heaviest you can comfortably utilize?  Purchasing your own ball, complete with custom drilled finger holes, in the right weight can help enhance your game dramatically.  

Your bowling shoes are also highly important, as they need the perfect amount of friction – not too slippery, nor impending of your natural slide.  With the right bowling shoe soles, you can enjoy a consistent, natural stance and swing.  

Take Advantage of Patterns 

Use the oiling pattern of the lane to your advantage.  Take time to read the lane and adjust your style depending upon the intricacies of that specific lane.  With practice, you can adjust your speed, angle, and release – ensuring that you are not forced to play one game when the oil pattern favors somebody else. 

The intricacies of bowling allow anyone to become an excellent player.  As an overview, this guide is meant to help you evaluate your current game, and with our extensive resource of tips and tricks, you can further hone in on strategies that can take your score to the next level.