Turning Your Bowling Ball Too Early

By: bowlingball.com
Publish Date: 10/6/15

One of the challenges you, as an advanced player, battles is turning your bowling ball too early.

There are certainly a number of reasons why this happens and there are some things you can focus upon to reduce the frequency of turning the ball early and making errant shots.

Early turning means you have rotated your bowling fingers sooner than when your bowling hand reaches the bottom, or near the bottom, of your forward swing arc.

If you rotate your hand or fingers between the top of your backswing and the bottom of your forward swing, you risk delivering your ball off line and changing your intended axis of rotation and tilt established by your delivery technique when making a good shot.

Turning your ball early sometimes gets your hand rotated to the side of the ball or onto the top, or near the top, of the ball as your thumb exits the ball.

This unwanted motion can cause a loss of revs and power and can pull your ball inside your intended line to your target.

Here are a few recommendations to avoid turning your bowling ball too early:

1. Make certain you keep the inside bone of your bowling elbow tucked closely along the side your torso during your forward swing and follow through motion. It is OK for your fingers to rotate the ball but avoid rotating your entire bowling arm at the same time.

2. Work at keeping your elbow and the palm of your bowling hand behind the ball on the forward swing and into the release zone at the bottom of your swing.

3. Over-rotation of your bowling hand more than in your normal delivery motion can cause your elbow to fly around and outside the bowling ball (commonly known as “chicken-winging” your swing) and typically causes errant deliveries.



4. Work to keep your hand in position behind the ball until reaching the release zone, until your thumb exits the ball, and until your fingers rotate the ball slightly, perhaps the feeling of only one inch of rotation.

5. Complete your forward swing motion to a full follow-through position. Make sure you accelerate your forward swing, not decelerate it which does encourage an early turning of your bowling ball.

6. Maintain a consistent gripping pressure on your bowling ball throughout your swing until the moment you release the ball. Grabbing the ball trying to force your release in an attempt to gain more power or speed frequently causes poor shots.

These tips can help you reduce poor shots, get a consistent ball reaction on challenging lane conditions, help you regulate your desired ball speed, and hit the pocket repeatedly.