Trust Your Bowling Intuition

By: bowlingball.com, Originally Posted: 3/26/16; Updated: 11/4/2023

Good ideas to help your game may pop into your mind when you least expect so it can be useful to trust your bowling intuition, particularly because you are a skilled and experienced bowler.

Caution must be taken, however, to avoid the temptation of trying any major changes to your game during competition until you have a chance to work on them in practice.

Typical changes which require plenty of practice before implementing, as examples, are trying to add too many revs and power to your delivery and trying to increase your ball speed beyond your ranges of effectiveness.

Wholesale changes to your game can get you into competitive trouble if you are not well practiced.

If you get off to a lousy start in your league, for instance, and an idea jumps to the forefront of your mind of how you might make an adjustment or tweak your game, trying to do so can be beneficial if what you try is a simple fix and something you can easily do when bowling under pressure.

Once you get a couple of early open frames, avoid allowing panic to interfere with good judgement and become afraid of making adjustments which have worked well in the past.

In this case, attempting a big change in your bowling style can work against you and may prolong the poor performance.

Instead make subtle but proven adjustments to your game such as small ball speed changes, reducing or increasing the power in your release just enough to alter your bowling ball reaction.

Play it smart. Work on any big change to your game in practice and under the supervision of an experienced bowling instructor so these potential changes to your game are the best ones for your ability and your style.

However, based on past experiences, if you feel strongly an idea will produce a desired result if done properly, then trust your intuition and make the adjustment.

Learn to trust your judgement, instincts, and intuition when deciding on changes to your game. Be aware that exaggerated changes may have a reverse effect and hurt your chances at regaining good form.



As a general rule, know your game, and stay within yourself in competition, and integrate small but trusted adjustments to your game if you feel it is the only chance you have to win.

One final thing; write down and save ideas which pop into your head and seem to be something that might help. Try out your ideas first in practice if you get the chance.

If you really feel a new idea will help instantly, then by all means trust that feeling and give it a try.