Article Contents

  • 1. I am a new bowler bowling in my first sanctioned league. I don’t know how to tell...
    • 1.1. Did I throw it well?
    • 1.2. Was the lane to blame?
    • 1.3. Shot repetition and lane forgiveness
  • 2. One of the things I struggle with is my ball motion. I find that I take too long...

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!

I am a new bowler bowling in my first sanctioned league. I don’t know how to tell if a missed shot was caused by my release being off or if it was due to changing lane conditions that I should be adjusting to. Do you have any tips for someone at my level who doesn’t have perfect consistency to identify one from the other?

Congratulations! As a brand-new bowler, you’ve already identified one of the most common issues that bowlers face throughout their entire careers. Even professionals want to improve their ability to distinguish between these two things, albeit at a different frequency compared to a beginner. One of the things that I’ve often said to intermediate-level players is that their progress stagnates when it is less about “throwing it better” and more about “throwing it smarter.” The earlier a bowler can learn important tactical cues, as well as the skill of differentiating when to blame yourself and when to blame lane, the faster your progress will be.

Even for beginners, I recommend asking yourself these two questions after shots when you are not sure what to do.

Did I throw it well?

“Well” is relative. A beginner will naturally have a lot more errors built into their game than an experienced player. This is all the more reason to find the most forgiveness possible on the lanes. Missing by two boards might constitute throwing it well for someone whose game is still under construction, but it would be a bad shot ...

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Tyrel Rose

About Tyrel Rose

Tyrel Rose has over 20 years of experience coaching bowlers of all levels. He is currently the Head Coach of Team Canada, and he offers remote private coaching services for bowlers who want to improve their games. From 2019 to 2024, Tyrel was Bowling This Month's Director of Content. He has written over 150 articles for BTM on all aspects of the sport, and he is also the author of two best-selling bowling books, One Frame at a Time and One Elite Frame at a Time.