Know Your Own Bowling Game Limitations

bowlingball.com, Originally Posted: 7/3/2013; Updated: 6/5/2021


No bowler in history has ever mastered every facet of the game. The most successful players are aware of their physical game limitations and perform within their range of effectiveness.

 It is very important that you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your game. Prepare for competition by relying on the strongest elements of your game and avoid trying to do more than your capabilities allow.

 Specifically, if you are not a power player with a high rev-rate and with a great deal of ball speed, trying to muster up maximum power on a given competitive lane condition might get you into trouble.

 It is important to know your own range of release capabilities and not try to be something you are not when delivering your bowling ball. Stick with your best delivery style when under pressure.


You might be a bowler who relies on slow and steady footwork. If you are under the gun competitively, avoid overly increasing the pace of your steps in anticipation of delivering an important shot or to add power trying so hard to strike.


Focus instead on maintaining your natural tempo even if you are nervous, or if you are determined to make a great shot, when the chips are on the line.
It is possible to overwork and become ineffective with your game, just as it is to underwork and not try hard enough to succeed.
Maintaining a consistent tempo and staying in your own “wheelhouse”, as the saying goes, can be your best ally.


Trying to do more than your game allows can lead to trouble and undesirable results. It is possible, to improve your technique through dedicated practice or under the guise of an experienced bowling instructor, but until you increase the scope of your optimum performance range, it is likely best to stick to what you know you can do well when facing stiff competition.

Most successful amateur and professional players have one or two outstanding features to their games. During competition, these players understand how to use these skills to their advantage and typically stay away from overreaching beyond their performance ranges.


You can adapt the same strategies in competition once you determine the strongest assets of your game and rely on those skills.
Pressure has a way of making us want to take chances and want to reach for the limits of our skill sets. Avoid the temptations of doing more than your proven physical game skills provide and focus instead on making one good shot at a time. Give yourself a chance to succeed.


Your mental game powers can help you overcome shortfalls in your game.