your form now?

[sukeetoshyoo88]

just out of curiosity how long was it before you guys settled into your permanent form/style that you mainly use?
or is it something that you keep evolving?

[ecub]

Mine keeps evolving. I used to have a big back swing, trying to muscle the ball, also causing me to rush approach. Fast ball with little revs, plus inaccurate. I've slowed down my approach, lower back swing, increased the follow through speed, increased speed AND revs, more accurate. I use a wrist device, but I will eventually work on not using it. I figure when I start hitting a couple of 800's, 300's, win a few local scratch tournaments, then I can finally settle in my form/style.

[e-tank]

always progressing. Once i get good at one aspect i add another. For example when i started out i was inaccurate and bowled with 2 fingers. Now im pretty accurate and bowl with thumb in and added mo pinels "shift bowling" technique to my approach. I feel comfortable with my form now which is why im working on getting a leg swing(i pretty much just lunge right now) and eventually a higher backswing

[Greenday]

My approach is pretty much settled on. The one thing I need to really perfect is my hand position. I have trouble staying behind the ball and not coming around the ball too much. That's what I'm working on these days.

[J Anderson]

I think my form is still evolving. Can't prove it since the only videos I have of my bowling are fairly recent.

I need Mr. Peabody's wayback machine to go take some clips of what my form was like in '75, '85, '95, and '05, and see how much or how little my game has changed.

[zman1974]

Basic form (4 step, even backswing) established when I was 14 (now 38), and haven't seen any reason to change. I also struggle with keeping behind the ball, and not coming over the top; been the bane of my bowling saga since I started throwing fingertip with a Yellow Dot.

[Tampabaybob]

50 years of bowling, many of them competitively, and my style changes constantly. Let me explain. This game has evolved so much in the past 20+ years, it has required me to evolve as well. Basic 5 step approach probably "close" to what I was doing 25-30 years ago, but changes in finite terms like hand positioning, arm swing, are constantly evolving depending on conditions. Because I don't shoot 20 or so tournaments a year anymore, the changes I have to deal with is lane conditions. Being able to "read" lane conditions, is one of the most important aspects of improving your game, these days. If you can read them, and stay ahead of them changing, you'll be way ahead of probably 80% of the bowlers you'll shoot against.

[SmilingBowler]

50 years of bowling, many of them competitively, and my style changes constantly. Let me explain. This game has evolved so much in the past 20+ years, it has required me to evolve as well. Basic 5 step approach probably "close" to what I was doing 25-30 years ago, but changes in finite terms like hand positioning, arm swing, are constantly evolving depending on conditions. Because I don't shoot 20 or so tournaments a year anymore, the changes I have to deal with is lane conditions. Being able to "read" lane conditions, is one of the most important aspects of improving your game, these days. If you can read them, and stay ahead of them changing, you'll be way ahead of probably 80% of the bowlers you'll shoot against.

This is what I am working on doing nowadays. A few guys on the Monday Night Mens league can read lane conditions, but its a fine science and I really do not understand how its done just yet. I'll keep asking questions and picking their brains, though. I'll be going to States with them this year (in May) and hope to learn a lot more by then and even more at that time.

Generally speaking, I can tell when the lanes are breaking down based on the way my ball is reacting at the end of the second game. Other than that, there's not much I can tell just by looking at the lanes.

[Keithalw]

I do know that my form has changed a lot in the three years I have been bowling... I still land on my right foot but my arm swing is shorter instead of a back high swing my spped is about the same but revs have gotten a tad bit better.

[Tampabaybob]

This is what I am working on doing nowadays. A few guys on the Monday Night Mens league can read lane conditions, but its a fine science and I really do not understand how its done just yet. I'll keep asking questions and picking their brains, though. I'll be going to States with them this year (in May) and hope to learn a lot more by then and even more at that time.

Generally speaking, I can tell when the lanes are breaking down based on the way my ball is reacting at the end of the second game. Other than that, there's not much I can tell just by looking at the lanes.

It's good that you are among the few that realize this is so important in todays game. Part of reading the lanes is watching what the other bowlers on your lanes are doing, where they're shooting, and what they're leaving. If, as you say, your house lanes don't start to break down until the end of the second game that's great. In our house, they start changing as soon as practice is over sometimes ! By the end of the first game I may have made 2 moves. So you've got a good condition where you bowl at. I try to instill this to the guys I bowl with, but it's hard because not everyone has the same focus that I may have. Yes, I still chit chat and laugh at different conversations between frames, but I try to never lose sight on what's happening on the pair I'm on. With that said, being aware that two or three guys before you left a four pin or a split, wouldn't you at least move 1-2 boards when you get up? I would and I do. It kills me sometimes when I have suggest to a team mate that he should move when he just left 2 - 4 pins in a row and then left a split ! You just have to try and stay aware of your surroundings. You'll get there.