Low backswing??

[GoodGorilla]

OK, here it comes... my GF will read this and say "See? I told you so!"

She mentioned this exact same thing about my balance arm but I was getting strikes so I told her I didn't want to fix something that wasn't broken. Yes, yes, I know, I'm stubborn. She tells me that all the time too.

Thanks for the advice, I'll try that next time also.

Yeah, when you put your balance arm forward you want to reach for the pins kinda so your shoulders open up, but make sure they are square when it counts.

[Tampabaybob]

Lots of good ideas expressed here but the one that will get you to where you want to be is Bills comment on lowering your ball in your stance. I would say it should be just below your belt line and you want to just let the ball drop into your swing. If necessary speed up your first step and see if that helps.

Bob

[jbeck]

I've been having this issue as well...I don't see it, but I feel my swing not going any higher than my ribcage. If I force it higher my timing and my release is way off! Do any of you practice your swing away from the alley or play a game with just practicing your swing?

[AZBowla]

I find it hard to practice at home since part of that practice would involve releasing the ball at full speed, and I don't want to accidentally put it through a door or wall. I'm hopefully going to be going out again tonight though, so I'll try the tips and pointers that have been posted here and see if that helps.

[billf]

I practice my swing every where without a ball. I'm the only smoker at work so when I'm outside smoking during lunch I will do the 1-step drill.
I'm sorry guys but I have to laugh every time I see a post saying, "slow your feet down". I was told that for years then went to a mybowlingcoach.com session. Two Gold and one Silver coach all told me to speed my feet up. The purpose is to match your ball speed and rev rate. Once you know what you need to do, you can adapt. The guys in my leagues had me rolling around 14 mph. Now I'm back to 18.6 mph at the pins will the same amount of hook and a lot better carry. I know everyone is trying to help but...it's not always the case.

[Tampabaybob]

Bill, you're correct, speeding up your feet is the best answer to speeding up the ball.

Bob

[AZBowla]

I practice my swing every where without a ball. I'm the only smoker at work so when I'm outside smoking during lunch I will do the 1-step drill.

I though about doing that, but everyone would wonder what the hell I was doing and I'm too shy lol! For me, it's different anyhow, I can do a real high Pete Weber style backswing without a ball, but with one as I'm moving towards the foul line at full speed, well that's another story. I know what I'm doing wrong though, thanks to all the input in this thread so I'm sure I'll be able to fix this going forward. Just gonna take lots of practice which is great - another excuse to go to the lanes more often...

[AngeloPD]

also lower your ball in your stance

[AZBowla]

Alright guys, an update....

I'm getting better and more consistent now. I've incorporated the following changes:
1. Lower the ball in my stance to about belt level.
2. Drop my left shoulder and lined my head up with the ball and my arm.
3. Instead of starting feet together I start with my right foot out ahead of my left by about a full step.
4. Both knees are bent before I take the first step.
5. Pushaway goes down instead of up.

Doing this has made my strike shot much more consistent. Unfortunately my scores don't reflect this much yet because I leave a lot of opens when I don't strike - I'm having to relearn how to shoot spares with this new stance. I could just shoot the spares my old way and strikes the new way but I think it would be better to use the same stance and swing for both spares and strikes so it's one less thing to have to think about and remember.

First game was 175 or so (I don't recall the score, just the little trophy that appeared on the overhead monitor that said 175 on it), second game was 203 but then it all fell apart and I shot a miserable 137. AZBowla's girl beat me by two pins in that game., which is great because yesterday was her first time bowling a full series with a fingertip ball. The lanes we were the old (and I mean OLD) wooden lanes at Santa Cruz lanes in Tucson - those from the area will know what I mean, these lanes look like they haven't been redone since the place opened way back in the 60's. So getting a 203 on those old wooden lanes was a big accomplishment and a good sign that I'm on the right track with these changes.

My backswing still isn't parallel with the floor, but I think if I can build on these changes I'll be happy with the result. It definitely "feels" better and the results seem to reflect that as well. Hopefully soon I'll be able to score 200+ consistently. That's my next goal.

[AZBowla's Girl]

OK, here it comes... my GF will read this and say "See? I told you so!"

She mentioned this exact same thing about my balance arm but I was getting strikes so I told her I didn't want to fix something that wasn't broken. Yes, yes, I know, I'm stubborn. She tells me that all the time too.

Thanks for the advice, I'll try that next time also.

See....I am not the only one who saw that. LOL