How far forward do you stand on the approach?

[mc_runner]

Follow up question, has anyone seen their starting stance change over the years as your shot changes? I used to start a lot further up on the approach but have slowly moved back over the last few years.

[Amyers]

I've moved farther back on the advice of my coach

[jab5325]

As mentioned, I've moved much farther up.

So far, it's worked very well for me. I only shot 591 last night, but I was deliberately trying out a new drilling layout/thumb slug for the entire first game--the ball was way too strong for the conditions, but, I had to do what I had to do. Shot 245 last game, clean, and had consistently good roll/timing all night. My first ball average was just a shade under 9.

[PauL757]

My normal approach I stand at the end of the approach. Depending on the ball reaction I move up.

[J Anderson]

Follow up question, has anyone seen their starting stance change over the years as your shot changes? I used to start a lot further up on the approach but have slowly moved back over the last few years.

When i started bowling I would stand with my toes on the set of dots farthest from the line. At some point I moved up so my heel was at that set. By 2008 I had crept another foot closer to the line. A coach then reccommended that I move closer, so now I'm either just behind or just in front of the second row of dots dependind on which shoes I'm wearing.

[Turkey Track Hammer]

I stand with my toes on my left foot at the set of dots farthest from the line.

[jab5325]

I stand with my toes on my left foot at the set of dots farthest from the line.

Hah, your board handle made me chuckle. Welcome to the board!

[billf]

My feet are two inches from the 12' dots. For a faster ball speed I back up 6" and LOWER the ball in my stance. To slow it down I move up 6" amd RAISE the ball in my stance. This keeps my armswing the same speed each and every shot, or at least that's the objective. My finish is within an inch of the foul line. I use a 5 step approach (most of the time) and stand 6' tall.

I've been all over the approach and it's taken me years to get to where I can control my arm speed and leg speed accurately and independently of each other. I would like to increase the length and speed of my steps but that usually results in my timing getting out of whack when using the neutral ball height. Also my head tends to move too much with the higher leg tempo

[jab5325]

My feet are two inches from the 12' dots. For a faster ball speed I back up 6" and LOWER the ball in my stance. To slow it down I move up 6" amd RAISE the ball in my stance. This keeps my armswing the same speed each and every shot, or at least that's the objective. My finish is within an inch of the foul line. I use a 5 step approach (most of the time) and stand 6' tall.

I've been all over the approach and it's taken me years to get to where I can control my arm speed and leg speed accurately and independently of each other. I would like to increase the length and speed of my steps but that usually results in my timing getting out of whack when using the neutral ball height. Also my head tends to move too much with the higher leg tempo

Interesting comments, bill.

You hit the nail on the head when you say "...it's taken me years to get to where I can control my arm speed and leg speed accurately..."

I struggle with that so much. I shot a 245 game and was on the pocket the whole time. I left 4 7pins off of slightly heavy hits because my approach was too quick, causing me to tug the ball just a tad. Though I've never gotten a 300 and have a 277 game, this 245 was truly the closest I came to having a perfect game in terms of pocket hits.

[billf]

To this day I still have a tendency to muscle the swing. Now when I muscle the swing AND grip the ball, I can hit the 7 pin from anywhere on the lane because that damn ball sure isn't going anywhere close to where I want it.