Bowling Is A Game Of Inches

bowlingball.com, Originally Posted: 5/6/2013; Updated: 6/22/2021

We have heard for years that football is a game of inches. The same reference in golf has been echoed many times over the years. The truth is that all sports can be construed as games of inches; bowling is no different.


If your pro performance bowling ball is drilled with the pin an additional one inch away from your Positive Axis point than another drilling layout, your ball motion will surely be different.


If your ball is drilled with gripping holes one inch too short, your hand control when releasing the ball will suffer compared to a proper fitting ball.


If the pitch angles are improperly drilled, perhaps only a quarter of an inch of pitch error, in your bowling ball and do not match your hand opening and closing naturally, your control might suffer and your intended ball reaction will be altered as well as a possibility of finger discomfort.


If the pinsetter resets the pins off of spot by only one half of an inch, your pin carry may likely suffer on pocket hits.
If you adjust your sighting target on the lane two inches, your ball will either skid a longer distance or react sooner on a high friction portion of the lane surface, depending on where you move your target.


If you feel your bowling ball is hooking a little late and too sharply at the pocket leaving the 10 pin spare, moving only a couple of inches back on the approach with your feet positioning gives you a chance of getting your ball to react more quickly and change your entry angle slightly to hopefully carry the corner pin.
The most common adjustment of inches affecting a good result comes on the approach when you need to make a delivery angle change after missing the pocket or when shooting a spare.


If you deliver your ball and hit the nose and leave a 3 pin spare to convert (right handed bowler), you likely need to adjust your feet positioning about 5 boards left on the approach to the left and towards the build up of lane oil on the front end of the lane and also move your sighting target about 3 boards in the same direction.



 With this adjustment of inches in positioning on the approach and where you sight on the lane, you give yourself a chance of getting just the right amount of ball skid length and back end reaction to return to hitting the pocket consistently as the lane condition changes.


As you can easily surmise, bowling is indeed a game of inches. Bowling is a thinking person’s game where paying attention to the smallest details can make enormous differences in results.
Our greatest asset in bowling is our brain and our ability to rationalize adjustments when facing pressure situations.
If bowling is a game of inches, the most important inches are between our ears.