Are pro swing really high or just look high?
If you take a pro with what looks like a high backswing and put in stop action you can see what is really going on by making this change in body position. Take that same pro at the peak of his backswingand stand him upright. What you will see is that the swing that looked high is actually shoulder high with him standing straight up. Maybe a little higher then parallel to the floor. What makes it look high is the forward spine angle that is made in the approach. You can try this out yourself. Face a mirror with your arms straight out parallel to the floor and lean as far as you can to one side so one arm goes up and the other goes down. This is the position you will be in as you make your approach if you turn your upper torso. Your balance arm will be lower in front of you and your ball arm will be up behind you. Pros on their backswing will sometimes turn their hand with the ball so the palm is facing outward so they can have a higher backswing. If you keep your palm facing the floor on the backswing sometimes it will not go up as high as an open palm.
You can try that in a mirror also. So if you want a higher backswing have some forward spine tilt on your approach and open you shoulders as far as you can on the backswing. If you are a stroker you can probably get away with leaving your shoulders parallel to the foul line on your approach or open the shoulders just a little. Strokers can get away with a lower backswing.
Interesting Hammer..
interesting... thanks for that commit..... something to think about!! My only problem is when I look at myself in the mirror I get so distracted, making muscle fitness poses, that I usually wind up in my speedo swim suit doing body builder poses! LOL
My wife enjoys it when I get in one of those moods!! Iceman has a COOL wife!!
Last edited by MICHAEL; 12-08-2013 at 04:45 PM.
Don't walk on Thin Ice!
Congrats and a high five on your fitness and spunk.Sometimes guys our age can hardly move. The way I look at it is if on my approach I can have a good knee bend into my slide and open up my shoulders on the backswing I ain't doin' too bad for a guy that will be 67 in under two months. I also still drive my motorcycle, and not in a cautious way all of the time, that I bought brand new in 1996. Still need the adrenalin rush every now and then.Originally Posted by MICHAEL
interesting... thanks for that commit..... something to think about!! My only problem is when I look at myself in the mirror I get so distracted, making muscle fitness poses, that I usually wind up in my speedo swim suit doing body builder poses! LOL
My wife enjoys it when I get in one of those moods!! Iceman has a COOL wife!!
Hint to opposing teams of Icemans...just bring a mirror, he'll be paralyzed and unable to bowl.
Don't tell opposing teams to do that with a mirror. Chances are Iceman is wearing tear away pants and will be quickly transposed to a speedo wearing muscle posing bowler which will put the team he is bowling against in shock. Won't be too good on his teammates
either. LOL LOL LOL.
Ron Clifton wrote an article talking about this very thing. I dunno, I never can get the timing down I guess....my backswing isn't really that high.
http://www.bowl4fun.com/ron/tip41_files/tip41.htm
Company League Average: 198.1
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Current Arsenal: Roto Grip Nomad Pearl, Wrecker, and Hyper Cell; Track 920A and 505A; Storm Tropical Breeze; Plastic Spare Ball
Not to mention that's a **** ton of broken mirrors...which of course leads to a **** ton of bad luck.
kidding
I don't get how a person can have that high of a backswing and not fire the ball 22mph down the lane. My theory is that the pros have such great releases to generate massive revs that they can fire the ball faster. I mean, simple physics...unless you're using your muscles to slow it down on the front end of the pendulum swing....the higher that backswing, the higher the ball speed. And more ball speed is the LAST thing I want right now. I'm still trying to slow things down and let the ball and lane react to each other (rather than chucking or high loft or "firing" it).
Seems like you'd only worry about getting a Rhino Page/Wes Malott type backswing if you need more speed to compensate for high revs/strong ball...hitting consistently left...even if you're playing far inside. If thats NOT the case...wouldn't a higher back swing and more speed just decrease your hook potential?
I don't know. I think the pros must be using their backswing to generate revs or something....I'm still struggling to figure out how to get that whole "process" to work. As a relative beginner...if I try to get more revs...I throw the ball harder...which counteracts the additional revs. Frustrating.
Very interesting article. The guy that stands upright before starting his approach is pro bowler Barnes. As he starts to make his approach he leans a little forward and when he reaches the time to tilt more in the swing he leans a little further as his swing goes back and keeps it there until he does his release. You can see this in the YOUTUBE video Analysis of modern 10-pin bowling swing and release. What helps the swing go higher also is opening the shoulders on the backswing unless you are a stroker type bowler then you can get away with leaving your shoulder parallel to the foul line or just a little open into your release especially if you belly the ball out some.
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