Do you use lateral and forward and back adjustments on the approach?

[Hammer]

I would pick a target on the alley and use left and right lateral moves for adjustments with my feet. My teammate told me to try forward and back moves with my feet also when lateral moves aren't working. There are a lot of adjustments you can make when bowling using your feet and hands and targets on the alley. I have been trying forward and back adjustments with my feet more and more to get use to it. :cool:

[dnhoffman]

Interesting thought, I never do. Will try tomorrow in my practice session

[Stormed1]

All of the above. Lateral,forward, back and hand position. Just depends on what I see my ball doing

[noeymc]

moving back and forward helps with ball speed so its really up to you to watch where your ball hit if hit high sped up if it hit low slow down and if ur in the pocket small adjustments with moving back and forward =D

[vdubtx]

Absolutely use left, right, back, forward moves when needed.

Needed to make move right and about 18" back this past week when I left 5 10 pins in 7 frames.

[dnhoffman]

Actually, thinking about this more: I never move forward/backwards to adjust.

The only time I move people when I'm coaching is when they're timing is off on their approach because they're trying to fit in steps really quick due to being too close or conversely because they're swing is off from lengthening their stride too much.

[Terrier]

Absolutely use left, right, back, forward moves when needed.

Needed to make move right and about 18" back this past week when I left 5 10 pins in 7 frames.
Wow, 18" back is pretty crazy! I would be rolling the ball over the foul line most of the time and falling off the end of the approach always.

I presume you moved backward to get a little less speed, right? Were they all ringing 10s? Just wondering what the thinking is with the forward/backward adjustment on the approach.

[e-tank]

left and right to find oil and forward and back to change speed

[Hammer]

Absolutely use left, right, back, forward moves when needed.

Needed to make move right and about 18" back this past week when I left 5 10 pins in 7 frames.

I started using forward and back adjustments just recently. What I found, for myself anyway, is that forward and back adjustments seem to be larger adjustments then lateral left and right adjustments. With lateral moves it seems like you can get away with a board or half a board to start hitting the pocket correctly. If you use forward or back adjustments it seems like it takes a few to several inches to make a correct adjustment. A few inches I guess would be to hit the pocket correctly if you were hitting a little high or low. Several inches would be used if you needed more or less speed on your ball to get a good pocket hit. As everyone knows you adjust the speed of your ball with your legs and not by muscling the ball with your arm muscles to throw it harder. Muscling the ball with your arm will make you miss your target on the alley or make you pull your shots and won't let the ball work like it is made to with the type of core it has.

[dnhoffman]

Good points hammer. Makes me reconsider my post above.

[mjoyce]

Interesting. I'm confused as to how you determine when to move forward/backward

[vdubtx]

A move forward or back is just to get a different angle into the pocket. Can be just a slight movement that gets the angle needed with conditions on the lanes.

[Aslan]

Actually, thinking about this more: I never move forward/backwards to adjust.

Me neither. But since I throw a relatively straight ball...speed adjustments aren't really impactful. I can make "slight" speed adjustments with a "slightly" higher backswing. Seems like moving too much backward/foreward would throw off timing too much.

If you're using a pendulum swing...and you start with the ball chest level...if you move forward, the ball would have to move to belt level...backwards it would have to move to head level. Otherwise you'd have to muscle the ball at some point...since gravity and the weight of the ball are constants. Am I right/wrong?

[Hammer]

Forward and back movements I use for either speed adjustments or pocket adjustments. If I want more speed I move further back from the foul line and hold the ball lower in my setup. Your feet automatically pick up speed so the ball goes through it's cycle from backswing to release quicker using gravity and not muscling the ball with your arm to speed it up. If I want slower speed I hold the ball somewhere between belt high to chest high and start my swing using gravity. From this height the ball will take longer to go through it's cycle from backswing to release so your feet will move slower to give the ball time to get through it's cycle. I know a lot of folks probably think this is backwards but it isn't. Speed is controlled with your legs and the speed of your approach and not how hard your arm can swing the ball. Using your arm you will have missed targets, pulled shots and your ball will not work how it is made to work. You will grip the ball harder with your hand also which cuts down on revs and shot consistency.

[Aslan]

Forward and back movements I use for either speed adjustments or pocket adjustments. If I want more speed I move further back from the foul line and hold the ball lower in my setup. Your feet automatically pick up speed so the ball goes through it's cycle from backswing to release quicker using gravity and not muscling the ball with your arm to speed it up.

Interesting..so you compensate for not only the increased distance to the foul line, but also the lower momentum of the ball due to a lower starting point...by increasing your foot speed?


If I want slower speed I hold the ball somewhere between belt high to chest high and start my swing using gravity. From this height the ball will take longer to go through it's cycle from backswing to release so your feet will move slower to give the ball time to get through it's cycle.

Again, higher release point, more gravity, more force, higher arc...longer backswing...but you slow down your feet to compensate. Interesting.


I know a lot of folks probably think this is backwards but it isn't. Speed is controlled with your legs and the speed of your approach and not how hard your arm can swing the ball.

Thats interesting. It would explain how someone could generate more ball speed without "muscling". But I wonder if you took 5 pro bowlers, similar heights, similar starting "level" for the bowling ball...and they all start as far from the foul line as possible...would they all have virtually identical ball speeds? From a pure Physics standpoint, they must. All have the same force due to gravity...the same distance to reach the same foot speed. I wonder what pro ball speeds are and how much it varies? Interesting.

[Aslan]

I may not be understanding...it just seems like foot speed would be canceled out by the adjustment in ball arc to maintain the same release point. But I'm probably missing something.

[noeymc]

your ball speed comes from your legs

if your ball hits high move back to speed it up so i pushs a little further

ball hits low move up to slow down

your body will naturally slow down your ball speed or speed it up

[MICHAEL]

All of the above. Lateral,forward, back and hand position. Just depends on what I see my ball doing

I agree,,, 100 percent!! Left/right,,,, forward/backward all moves that can make a huge difference in the ball position going into the pocket! Also the hand position which is what I am working on now! Lots to lean,,,, and the more you lean, the better you scores are going to be!! I was telling my son yesterday, the more you LEARN ABOUT ADJUSTMENTS, the better your GAME!