Quick Tune-Up Bowling Practice Drills

bowlingball.com, Originally Posted: 5/1/2014; Updated: 4/1/2024

If you wish to improve from the 140 - 160 average range, then follow these easy and quick tune-up practice drills.
When you get into a rut and can’t seem to make any progress, then learn simple practice drills to sharpen your game.
Three drills which can be easily practiced and which will help your accuracy and ball reaction are as follows:
1. Strike Alignment Adjustments
2. Spare Shooting
3. Walking your lines
Double check your strike alignment system and make sure you are lining up for the pocket and choosing an appropriate sighting target.
Hitting the pocket consistently is the first step to increasing your average.
Once you no longer can hit the pocket because of oil breakdown and carrydown, then it is time to practice making a simple adjustment to restore your ability to hit the pocket.
There are a number of adjustments you can use to find the pocket after the lanes change but usually an angle change is your first line of defense.
Once you learn how much to adjust your feet positioning laterally on the approach and how far to adjust your sighting target correspondingly, then your ability to restore your pocket hitting percentage increases.
Pocket hits do not always result in strikes, however.
That makes the next drill important and that is shooting spares. Don’t merely press the reset button on the ball return console if you do not strike during practice but rather pay attention to the details of converting the given spares following your own alignment system.
It is your ability to convert routine spares, common spare leaves, that also improve your scores.

If you do not have an alignment system for strikes and hitting the pocket nor do you have a spare system to follow for converting spares, then we recommended highly to use the services of an experienced bowling instructor and develop these techniques.
The final drill is to double check your walking lines and make certain you slide precisely where you intend at the foul line.
Drifting right or left away from your intended sliding board can cause you to miss your mark on the lane. It is critical to walk consistent lines for both strike and spare deliveries.
Bowlers typically resist making strike and spare adjustments and seldom double check their walking path.
If you develop a reliable strike alignment system, then making simple lane angle adjustments which will help you use the lane oiling pattern to your advantage, you will begin to hit the pocket again.
Picking up spares will fill the frames and make your doubles and three-baggers count.
Walk your lines. Line up correctly, make proper adjustments, convert your spares, and walk your lines. Your average will improve and you will find yourself enjoying the game more than ever.