Coach, I’ve Got a Question! – August 2023

In this recurring feature, I answer questions from Bowling This Month readers. If you have questions, please leave them in the comment section below so I can address them in a future installment of Coach, I’ve Got a Question!

As a bowler who bowled about 10,000 games as a teenager with a high 190s average on wood with polyester balls in the early 1980s, I may have a different perspective, but I just don’t get how drilling layout can matter very much. It might matter to pros, but even some of them always use the same layout. What am I missing here?

It’s true that ball surface usually matters more, but this doesn’t mean that the layout doesn’t matter at all. Bowling is all about the details, and layouts absolutely matter to average bowlers and professionals alike, because the right layout can sometimes create some margin for error that the bowler alone cannot create.

Bowler differences

First, let’s talk about the layout based on the bowler’s positive axis point (PAP). I don’t think this was the intent of the original question, but it’s an important detail that can’t be ignored. Layout absolutely matters when it comes to getting the desired reaction based on a bowler’s release and style. No two bowlers are alike, with one key difference being their PAPs, so different bowlers need different layouts in order for the core to be oriented correctly for how they throw it.

Even bowlers who have the same or similar PAPs might need different layouts. For example, a speed-dominant bowler might have the same PAP as a rev-dominant player, but they absolutely shouldn’t have the same layout (or even the same ball in many cases). In this example, the speed-dominant ...