Why Do I Get Bad Bowling Pin Carry?

bowlingball.com, Originally Posted: 2/16/2015; Updated: 8/4/2022

If you ask why do I get bad bowling pin carry, please understand there are several reasons why you do not carry consistently well.

One common reason is bad bowling pin racks.

When the pinsetter cells are slightly out of adjustment, the pins will be set slightly off spot, sometimes noticeably so.

Bad racks of pins lead to inconsistent pin carry.

If you have ever noticed that your pocket seems open or closed in relation to normal pin spotting, you might begin to think that a solid pocket hit will more likely leave a corner pin than not.

There are times when the head pin is set off spot to one side and your pocket seems closed while the opposite pocket side appears open.

There are also times when the two or three pins are set off spot to one side or another only slightly but enough to cause the appearance of a wide open pocket or a closed pocket.

Many bowlers try to overcome poor racks by attempting to hit the pocket either a bit high or a bit light in hopes of improving their chances of getting a strike.

This can be a useful technique if you are able to make such a finely tuned adjustment and if you can pull it off.

Most times you cannot adjust successfully for bad racks and you must merely accept the consequences of random carry.

Your primary objective of hitting the pocket must not change, however.

Hitting the pocket consistently is the lifeblood of good scoring and over the long run, your pin carry percentage will stabilize because you will not always be bowling on pairs of lanes with very poor racks of pins.

When lane conditions make it easy to hit the pocket repeatedly, you can make a fine tuned adjustment in an effort to improve your pin carry.

Only you can make the decision whether to attempt an adjustment for a lane with a bad rack or simply try and hit the pocket the best way you can and accept the results.

If you try to re-rack the pins looking for an improved pin spotting and see no difference, then you simply have to live with the results you get when you hit the pocket.

There is comfort knowing every bowler on your pair of lanes must also experience the poor racks.



You are surely going to get your share of “taps” regardless of the good or poor racks of pins.

If you ask why do I get bad bowling pin carry and bad racks are responsible, you will not be alone. Establish a mind set to pick up your spare and move on to the next shot.

Frustrations can only lead to poor shotmaking.

Avoid allowing bad racks and poor pin carry to derail your efforts to keep hitting the pocket.