How do you practice to improve your game?

[MH1313]

I have friends who just focus on bowling practice without specializing in certain areas. I typically bowl a regular game in practice to warm up, then I switch it up and try something different to focus on different areas of my game.

Here are some of the things I like to do to make myself a more "rounded" bowler (and I dont' mean eating more!)

1) low game - I focus on shooting the corner pins, where a gutterball on the first shot counts as a strike and a zero pin count on the second ball counts as a spare. (I've found any score under 100 is pretty darn good!)

2) Move your mark - Start out on the 1st arrow throw three balls, then move to the 2nd arrow throw three balls....all the way out to the 4th arrow, then move your way back outside.

3) Call the shot - Your buddy (or yourself) picks a random board on the lane, and you must hit that board at the arrows, Highest pin count wins. You can agree on a 1 or 2 board slide either way...

4)change your approach - I'll go from my normal 5 step approach down to a 4 step approach, slows my ball speed down and forces me to focus on my accuracy and consitency.

These are just some of the things I do to keep practice interesting. I've also found that these games really help with tournament play in an unfamiliar house or conditions.

let me know what you do if anything, or if you try any of these out what you thought?

Cheers!
MH

[Jord_84]

I've done the low game during practice....it's always a good exercise for picking up corner pins. I never really mess with the accuracy of hitting other arrows though. I'm pretty consistent in hitting my mark, so I don't really tinker with moving it. As far as I'm concerned....if I'm not hitting my mark, then I need to go through the mechanics of my approach and release step by step to figure out what part needs to be tinkered. Other than that, I just bowl as I normally would, picking up spares is where I really benefit from practice.

[kev3inp]

That's an excellent practice routine, well rounded and forces you out of your comfort zone. As a lefty I have a hard time throwing right of second arrow, but I'm geting better at it. I do find I have to go a lot straighter as I move inside due to all the oil. Mostly I don't do it 3 frames per arrow, I'll play a whole game that way. Other times at practice I try to concentrate on what my fingers are doing, or what my opposite arm is doing, or the rhythm of my steps. I'll experiment with rolling faster or slower adjusting how high I hold the ball in the stance and how high I allow my backswing to go.

[dougb]

I have friends who just focus on bowling practice without specializing in certain areas. I typically bowl a regular game in practice to warm up, then I switch it up and try something different to focus on different areas of my game.

Here are some of the things I like to do to make myself a more "rounded" bowler (and I dont' mean eating more!)

1) low game - I focus on shooting the corner pins, where a gutterball on the first shot counts as a strike and a zero pin count on the second ball counts as a spare. (I've found any score under 100 is pretty darn good!)

2) Move your mark - Start out on the 1st arrow throw three balls, then move to the 2nd arrow throw three balls....all the way out to the 4th arrow, then move your way back outside.

3) Call the shot - Your buddy (or yourself) picks a random board on the lane, and you must hit that board at the arrows, Highest pin count wins. You can agree on a 1 or 2 board slide either way...

4)change your approach - I'll go from my normal 5 step approach down to a 4 step approach, slows my ball speed down and forces me to focus on my accuracy and consitency.

These are just some of the things I do to keep practice interesting. I've also found that these games really help with tournament play in an unfamiliar house or conditions.

let me know what you do if anything, or if you try any of these out what you thought?

Cheers!
MH

I like to do 1 and 2. My 10-pin spares improved dramatically from doing number 1, and I still got to throw my strike shot on the second ball after knocking out the corner pin.

I also practice slower and faster ball speed and different releases.

[MH1313]

We gamble while playing most of these games to spice things up...

I prefer the "call your shot" because it forces me to hit a certain place time and time again...when figuring out lanes, sometimes all it takes to find the sweet spot is move your mark two boards, but not everyone has that level of accuracy. ITs something I pride myself on!

[ebowler]

My local center lets me shadow bowl, which helps me stay focused on the target and what the ball is doing. You can see if it hit the pocket or not, and you can still practice your corner shots.

I'll do that for a while, then have the pins but back in play, but keep the monitor off so I'm not distracted by a score.