Trouble getting some speed on the ball

[Drano]

Having a free arm swing doesn't mean that you can't use any muscle. The key is to help gravity, not fight it. If you want to speed up your shot, while the ball is falling in the first part of your swing, assist gravity in your backswing. This is hard to do at first without muscling the ball, but the key is to pull the ball back just a little faster than gravity does and then let it fall back down by itself. When you get used to this, you will be able to also increase the downswing a little also without over doing it. 14-15 miles per hour is a little slow if you put a lot of hook on it, but you won't need to get more than another mile per hour faster to see the benefit. As for the pros that you are watching, Michael Fagan is not one I would recommend. He has a very unique style, and it probably would not benefit most people to try and replicate it. I hope this all helps a little. Good luck and good bowling!

Daniel Mareina
Storm Staff Member
Bowling Center Manager/Pro Shop Operator/Bowling Coach

I wasn't watching them(fagan) to replicate them really, but more of to try to find out how they get their speed up without muscling it...

And if what you say is true, then I wasn't really completely muscling the ball... A little 'help' isn't really considered muscling the ball then?

[Strike Domination]

I think it's okay to give it a little push at the bottom of your swing. And sometimes it's also okay to pull down after push away to help gravity. As long as you can keep good timing and balance, I don't se these as a problem.

The only other thing that I think you could try for the heck of it, is to speed up your feet a little. I think you'd have to move back on the approach a few inches though.

[DanielMareina]

Muscling the ball is a term used when people really torque their body and arm to accelerate the ball. This usually results in bad balance, dropping of the shoulder, and inconsistencies in both speed and accuracy. The key to adding speed is to keep your form and balance the same as if you were not adding the power, but still accelerate your ball speed. Usually that will involve shortening your steps or speeding them up to match the increase in swing speed. Keeping a straight arm, good posture, good balance, and consistency can all be had while increasing ball speed. I am not saying that it is easy though. It took me a lot of time to be consistent while switching speeds.