Gadgets and smartphone apps for various sports have exploded in popularity in recent years. For many people, these emerging tech tools have revolutionized their game and help them track, identify issues and opportunity, and improve.
But what about bowling? Since it’s a game with less movement and fewer “stats” than most others, are there any internet-connected tools that can really help you improve your game?
One of our previous articles covered the best fitness trackers for bowlers, so this one will look at smartphone apps.
We’re going to focus on apps that help you bowl in the real world, not bowling games you can play on your phone (although you may find those fun too). So without further ado, let’s dig in to the list.
If there are any other good bowling apps that we’ve missed, please let us know in the comments section below.
Apps to Help with your Bowling Game
Best Bowling Scoring Apps
The most common category of bowling app is one that tracks scores. Of course, at just about any alley these days you’ll find automatic scoring machines, so it’s not just about tallying up your score. Instead, it’s all about tracking your results over time and pinpointing what you may be able to do to improve.
Bowling Scorer – If you’re looking for a basic scoring app, this one allows for easy score input and offers a variety of graphs and additional options for analyzing your progress. Most is available for free although there is a paid version too. View app
Lanetalk – This app tracks your scores automatically and gives a variety of statistics to analyze. It also adds a social component by allowing you to connect with and share scores with other bowlers. View app
Bowlsheet – If you’re more advanced and looking for detailed tracking and analysis, this may be the app for you as it is used by many competitive bowlers at the collegiate levels and beyond. It has detailed scoring, in-depth game logging, and even oil tracking and pinfall location. Learn more
Apps to Connect with Your Bowling Center
OpenLane – This app by Brunswick allows you to connect with a growing number of bowling alleys for things like getting on a waiting list or placing an order. Not so much designed for helping you improve your scores, but it can greatly improve your experience at the alley if your local centers happen to use it.
Phone Apps for Analyzing (and Improving) Your Bowling Shot
Your camera app – This may seem like a surprising inclusion as it’s one of the core apps on any phone and ostensibly not specifically-related to bowling, but your camera can be one of the most valuable tools on your phone for getting better at bowling.
The reason? Recording and analyzing video of your bowling approach and swing.
By doing this, you remove the guesswork relating to the technical mistakes you may be making and instead get to watch exactly what you’re doing so that you can make appropriate adjustments.
You can get a friend to record you, or work on positioning your phone on a tripod or other makeshift method if you’re bowling alone.
A few other tips: keep all of your recordings even if they are bad shots; utilize cloud storage like Google Drive or Dropbox for easy saving; and try recording in slow motion to see your swing in even greater detail.
Then you can show videos of your shot to anyone who may be able to help, from that bowling friend who has been playing much longer than you to the pro at your local alley.
This is one area where bowlers today are incredibly lucky as just 5 or 10 years ago you could not do this well with just the device that you already have in your pocket.
For most beginning or intermediate bowlers, this should be sufficient for you, but there are some more premium options for more advanced bowlers.
Some are video analysis software like MotionPro. A couple other different options are as follows:
Track My Roll – This app is an impressive mobile shot tracking app that was supported by a major kickstarter that can give you your ball’s position and speed as it travels down the lane. Read more
Coach’s Eye – This is a highly-regarded app for video analysis that is used in multiple sports, including bowling. Read more
Depending on your needs, this list should be able to help you find a bowling app that meets your needs.
image source: Flickr
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