Common Issues for Advanced Bowlers

In the first two parts of this series, we looked at some of the common problems faced by beginner and intermediate bowlers. For this third installment, we’ll be looking at more advanced players. Keep in mind that we are going to be differentiating between advanced and elite-level players, so this article will be focused on bowlers who are not quite to an elite level just yet.

My definition for advanced bowlers includes those who generally have the following attributes:

• varying degrees of experience, but usually at least five years of competitive bowling;
• weekend warriors with tournament experience; and
• an average of at least 200 in league on house shots.

There can be a lot of variance in what constitutes an advanced-level bowler. Some can be a bit one-dimensional, but they average very high on the conditions they like. Others are versatile grinders that seem to average between 210 and 220 on anything. Other times, it’s a very talented young bowler who lacks experience and mental strength.

While bowlers at the beginner or intermediate levels tend to have one or more issues in several areas of the game, more advanced players have reached that level by minimizing these issues. That said, it’s been my experience that advanced players tend to have more specific weaknesses, often centered on one area of the game that they’ve put less work into that holds them back. It’s all about working on those details.

Physical

When it comes to an advanced bowler’s technique, we usually see pretty well-developed mechanics that might have some flaws which are particular to each bowler. That makes it hard to generalize physical game fixes for the purpose of this article. What tends to be the most problematic issue is when a bowler gets to an advanced level but remains one-dimensional in how they attack the lanes due ...