This was a bowling article suggestion by Beginner Bowling Tips reader John. If you have any areas of your game where you’d like some advice, just send us an email and we’ll be glad to help.
Q: My problem has been that I seem to continually swing across myself (left). As a result i have gutter balls and often hit the seven pin leaving all others unharmed. I try to aim at a spot as recommended by your articles but I can’t seem to break the habit of swinging left. I’m right handed and am now throwing a “hook”. Until recently had thrown a straight ball. My arm comes across and I don’t even realize it until it’s pointed out to me but I just can’t seem to correct the problem. Suggestions?
In bowling, it’s important to have a straight and free arm swing. But it’s a common problem to swing across yourself and find your ball drifting far to the left of the pocket (for right handed bowlers), perhaps even in the gutter. This is often referred to as pulling your bowling shot.
There’s not one easy answer to this issue, since there are multiple things that might be causing it, but there are a few strategies to help correct the problem.
How to Stop Pulling the Ball: Fixing Your Bowling Armswing
First, although it seems like it’s on the downswing and release where you are going wrong, since that’s when your arm comes across your body, the problem might actually be starting much earlier on in your stroke. Specifically, the pushaway and backswing.
As you line up your shot you should make sure your arm starts on the side your body (so the ball is about even with your shoulder), not too far in front of yourself. Then visualize the arm going forward, back and then back down in an even pendulum motion.
Make sure your pushaway is straight forward and not to the left (for right handers). It’s very common to take your pushaway a bit to the left and your backswing up and away from your body (to the right of your body for right-handed bowlers) and then it is almost impossible not to come back across too far with your arm on the downswing and release which will result in a pulled shot.
By starting with the ball next to your hip and taking your arm straight forward and back, you put yourself in a much better position to have a straight release.
You can even practice this by swinging your arm back and forth several times in a row in a pendulum motion. You might feel foolish doing this, but it really can help, because it helps you build up muscle memory and forget the bad habits that lead to your pulling the ball.
Next, when coming down with your downswing you should focus on your elbow of your bowling hand. Your elbow should be in line with your hand and close to your body. Many times the elbow is too far from your body or out of line with your target, especially if you bowl a hook. The elbow should be pointed towards your target.
Another major contributor to your arm coming across is the follow through. After release, your arm should stay oriented directly towards your target. Your follow-through should be high enough so that your elbow reaches shoulder height. It’s also common to pull the ball if you are releasing it too late, so be sure you are paying attention to your timing.
One final thing that might be negatively affecting your shot is the way you generate your hook. It’s easy to try to force the hook a bit by turning your wrist, but this can make your arm come across too far. Instead, a good hook should be more of a flicking motion up and to the side. Another good comparison is if you are throwing a football spiral underhanded. To get a good spiral you wouldn’t want your arm to come across your body, you would keep it straight and aligned towards your target.
All in all, a very small movement in your armswing or release can have a major effect on your shot, and could even be the difference between a shot that hits the pocket and one that clips the 7 pin or settles in the gutter. Hopefully this article will help you keep your armswing even and your ball hitting it’s target.
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