Ball speed question

[greyhound rick]

Hello,

Newbie here and glad to be on board with you folks!

Ive been bowling off and on for nearly 40 years and have just started bowling again! Im 55 years old and bowled 10 games last night. I noticed that my ball speed was only 11.5 mph which i know is really slow

However, i was really happy with my shot and scored ok (i average about 180 and last night i was about there). My ball doesnt rev high or low, about average. My shot was fine i think as it was sliding down the lane and snapping ok on the backend. BUT......i did notice that my ball speed was much slower than the other folks bowling. They were in the 14-16 range and i was consistantly in the 11-12 range.

Should i be concerned about this and try to speed it up or do you think im ok with this slow of a speed? My pin action was ok i think and the ball was carrying fine, but my shot is defintely SLOOOOW.

Looking forward to your input and thank you for your help!

my best to all!!

rick

[bowl1820]

Most of the ball speed indicators are measuring the ball speed at the pins. Now your ball will lose about 3 mph going down the lane. So a 11.5 mph at the pins is approx. 14-15 mph at release. the average speed at release for around 180 bowler is 17.8 mph.

So at that rate your only just a little under the average. But if your happy with ball reaction and carry, don't worry about speed. I would say try speeding it up some in practice, see how it looks, improved carry etc. If it looks good give it a try.

Now you can easily increase your speed 1-2 mph just by holding the ball a little higher in your stance. Also lane conditions and the ball path down the lane can affect your ball speed.

[greyhound rick]

Thanks very much bowl1820. I really appreciate the input.

Will hold the ball a bit higher and get a bit more armswing and see what happens in practice.

thanks again!!

my best,

rick

[JaxBowlingGuy]

If it isn't broke don't fix it... :-)

[Stormed1]

Do to my foot problem when i really ramp up the speed i'm all of 12mph. As long as your speed and rev rate mach up your golden. Raising the ball in your stance will increase it some as will a little faster foot speed. You must be carefull that it does'nt mess up your timing

[topper]

Speed will vary depending on the aggressiveness of the ball being thrown and the oil pattern being thrown on. I like to stay in the 15.5 mph range if possible. Although tonight, by the end of the night, I was throwing 17.5 to get the same ball through the backend. If I had been throwing my "Furious" I would have had to throw at over 20 mph, which at my age is impossible. So, if you can get the ball to the hole at 11.5 mph, more power to you.