Gravity swing can increase your scores......

[Hammer]

I find that when I muscle the ball with my arm muscles two things can happen. One is that my ball will hit the pocket light and I will leave a lot of 7 or 10 pins or not so favorable other pin or pins leave. The other is usually a pulled shot that sometimes gets lucky for a Brooklyn strike. It seems muscling the ball does not let the ball work like it is supposed to to get good pocket hits and pin carry. Usually with muscling the ball comes gripping harder on the way down which will help only in giving you the two problems I talked about at the beginning of this post. This type of technique is also good for rev killing. This will also cause you to turn your hand early before the release which is not good. Chances are when you do this your thumb will be hanging up in the ball. I turned my hand early one time and my thumb hung up and I had a bowling ball coming back to my face. YIKES!

I decided to let gravity do the work and give my arm a break. I started throwing my first ball like I do when I am shooting at a 7 pin-I am left handed. I found that when I use the gravity I can hit my 7 pins all day. When I would miss them it was because I would muscle the ball and end up in the gutter before the pin or pulling the shot and missing the 7 pin by 1/8 of an inch on it's right side. With the gravity swing my ball is able to do what it is designed to do because it has the time to work right. Because of this it is easier to make adjustments when the lanes change because I have a consistent release. The ball isn't faster one frame and slower the next. With the gravity swing the pocket hits seem harder with a lot better pin carry.

It takes practice to get use to this kind of swing especially if you have the habit of muscling every shot you make. So let gravity take your ball into your backswing and then into your forward swing. Plus keep your wrist straight or a little cupped with your hand behind the ball until you reach the release area and when your thumb comes out rotate your hand an inch or two and watch those revs take your ball into a great pocket hit and watch the pins fly. Let gravity do all of the work for you and you will have more energy for all three league night games.

If you want extra help on your game go to bowlingball.com site and at the top cover BowlVersity with your mouse and in the second column click on Improve Your Game and it will cover everything you need for your game including how to do the gravity swing. When you get to the point where you can do it you will find yourself getting more strikes and see your ball working better for you. Good luck.

[noeymc]

think swing set buddy muscling the ball makes u pull it thus decreasing accuracy

[Hammer]

think swing set buddy muscling the ball makes u pull it thus decreasing accuracy

I agree. Muscling the ball takes the ball out of it's swing slot. When you let gravity move the ball the ball will stay in it's natural slot for more accuracy on your shot.

[Aslan]

The interesting thing about bowling swings...there is no "right or wrong".

I tried to remove "muscling" out of my swing/approach...ended up dropping 75% of my shots into the right gutter. It wasn't natural...it didn't work...it didn't feel right. It turns out...that in my attempts to "muscle" the ball...I was straightening my shoulders. Without that "muscling"...my shoulders didn't get parallel.

I watch a lot of different pro bowler swings...nearly all of them apply strength to their forward swing. Some are smooth, some, like Walter Ray, are more "jerky"...but it's rare to see a bowler just let the ball swing down due soley to gravity. And if you DID do that...your timing would always vary. "Muscling" allows you to bring the ball to the release point right when you want it there (sometimes too soon). Waiting for gravity...requires the ball to reach the exact same point in your backswing...at exactly the same time...with exactly the same delay. Very hard to time that. And the pin carry will be less because gravity alone will limit you to 14-16mph.

[Hammer]

To Aslan, to get the straight scoop on swings and other things go to bowlingball.com and at the top cover BowlVersity with your mouse and when the box pops up go to the second column and click on improve your game and there you can find just about anything to improve your game and look at the ones about swinging correctly with gravity swings. Your ball goes into the gutter trying gravity swings
because on the way down your timing is off with the swing and your footwork. Plus as the ball is coming down you have to rotate your upper torso which will square up your shoulders at the release. BowlVersity will tell you everyhting about this.

[Terrier]

^^ Adding to that, the variance of a true gravity swing is negligible. The period of a pendulum is determined primarily by the length of the arm and has a incredibly little relation to the starting height of the swing. The starting height changes the speed of the swing but not the timing. I get that the arm and bowling ball is not a pendulum in the strictest sense of the word. However, the change in time between low and high swings is milliseconds for a true pendulum. That's one reason why it's often used as a model for the bowling swing.

After throwing a few in the gutter, I wouldn't necessarily assume the cause was a free swing as much as it was trying something different. It takes a lot of work to change a swing. Many hours of repetition go into building muscle memory, so the first 300 throws aren't going to be deadly consistent -- sure. It takes time and some research as hammer suggests. I wouldn't give up on it just yet.

And if you're looking for a pro with a pure gravity forward swing, try Scott Norton. I agree that most don't use an effortless forward swing, though.

[Hammer]

There is a point in the gravity swing that you can use some arm muscle but use it at the right time. Don't start using it from the very top of the backswing. Let the ball drop forward about a foot or two and then it is a gradual push on the ball with your hand. It is not though tightening every muscle in your arm and pulling down hard from the top of the backswing and grabbing the ball with a death grip with your hand. This will only show you why you can't string strikes or pick up your spares. You will have a league night of frustration and low scores. Your gutter balls with the gravity swing seems to be a problem with your alignment and approach.

[Aslan]

This will only show you why you can't string strikes or pick up your spares. You will have a league night of frustration and low scores.

Actually I learned I needed to add the forward "push" back in because I was throwing in the 100-120 range and would get "mad"...and found that once I got "mad" I started throwing 160 games.

The "downside" of harder throwing is that it can be "too much". Sometimes if I'm muscling "too much"...I find that I throw 130-160 for two games...then I get tired...and the 3rd game I throw a 175,190, or 220. So I just need to find that "sweet spot" so I don't need to be "tired" to throw a good game.

[Mike White]

Actually I learned I needed to add the forward "push" back in because I was throwing in the 100-120 range and would get "mad"...and found that once I got "mad" I started throwing 160 games.

The "downside" of harder throwing is that it can be "too much". Sometimes if I'm muscling "too much"...I find that I throw 130-160 for two games...then I get tired...and the 3rd game I throw a 175,190, or 220. So I just need to find that "sweet spot" so I don't need to be "tired" to throw a good game.

Sorry but this line of thinking is complete crap.

Even without seeing you bowl, it's clear if you are shooting games in the 100-120 range, you lack body control.

Muscles are far less consistent than gravity.

Throwing a ball into the gutter while using no muscle indicates you pushed the ball in the wrong direction from the very start, or your walking direction was far from straight.

[bowl1820]

Sorry but this line of thinking is complete crap.

Even without seeing you bowl, it's clear if you are shooting games in the 100-120 range, you lack body control.

Muscles are far less consistent than gravity.

Throwing a ball into the gutter while using no muscle indicates you pushed the ball in the wrong direction from the very start, or your walking direction was far from straight.

I'm with Mike here.

This whole thing is basically talking about a "free" armswing which would allow gravity to assist your swing which would give you a more consistent armswing.

A good free arm swing will follow the path you start it on (the swing plane) without you having to physically help control the direction. The standard example is a tire swing

"When an object is suspended from a fixed point and allowed to swing freely, this object will not change direction and continually occupy this same space or “plane."

That's shows why your ball went into the gutter, like mike said.

"Muscling" allows you to bring the ball to the release point right when you want it there (sometimes too soon).

If you have to "muscle" the ball to get it to the release "On time" that shows your timing is off in the first place and if it is "sometimes too soon" that shows you that muscling is inconsistent right there.

Waiting for gravity...requires the ball to reach the exact same point in your backswing...at exactly the same time...with exactly the same delay. Very hard to time that. And the pin carry will be less because gravity alone will limit you to 14-16mph.

If you start the ball the same way each time it would reach the exact same point in your backswing...at exactly the same time...with exactly the same delay. If it doesn't your not starting it the same way every time. If your muscling the backswing it throw it off also.

Here's a quote from Bryan O’Keefe

"One misconception is that you can adjust your ball speed by using your upper body. It’s a mistake to think that you can keep your lower body the same and simply use more muscle to throw the ball harder, or slow the ball down by grabbing it more and forcing yourself to throw the ball slower. In truth, you may In truth, you may actually accomplish faster or slower ball speed, but your accuracy and consistency is going to be very difficult to repeat.

“The best way to increase or decrease ball speed is by using your legs, not your upper body.“ "