Your 90% Bowling Ball Delivery Technique

bowlingball.com, Originally Posted: 11/6/2013; Updated: 2/9/2023

How hard can you deliver your bowling ball? Regardless of what that ball speed is when you deliver your ball as hard as you can without losing balance or accuracy, you are on your way to improving your strike percentage.
The trick is to establish your top effective ball speed without losing balance during your approach or at the critical moment you release your bowling ball at the foul line.
Then, back down about 10% from full speed to your estimated 90% of full power.
Once you establish this 90% of full power delivery style, your job is to repeat this delivery motion every time.
Consistent band effective ball speed are two key factors in gaining a consistent ball reaction to the pocket with good carry power.
Have someone help you measure your ball speed after you have developed this 90% delivery technique. Do this in practice and away from the competitive league or tournament sessions.
Once you know your average ball speed, you can refer to this simple chart below to match your speed with your rev-rate.
If you are wondering about your bowling ball rev-rate based upon your ball speed, there are a couple of bits of information you should familiarize yourself with first.
Ball speed is an arbitrary factor when determining how fast you really deliver the bowling ball.
Manufacturers recommend the optimum ball speed be about an average of 17-18 mph as the ball travels down the lane.
Average speed is a number factors in the launch speed and the speed your ball impacts the pins.
In an example of the delivery speed being 20 mph on a typical house lane condition, the speed at impact with the pins is about 16 mph with an average speed being somewhere between the two measurements at about 18 mph.

Here is roughly how your ball speed matches with your rev-rate:?
1. Bowlers delivering the ball 15-16 mph will have a rev rate of 200-250 rpm’s
(mph is miles per hour; rpm is revolutions per minute).
2. Bowlers delivering the ball at 16-17 mph will have a rev rate of 250-300 rpm’s.
3. Bowlers delivering the ball at 17-18 mph will have a rev rate of 300-350 rpm’s.
4. Bowlers delivering the ball at 18-19 mph will have a rev rate of 350-400 rpm’s.
5. Bowlers delivering the ball at 19+ mph will have a rev rate of 400+ rpm’s.
Ball speed in these approximations is measured at the moment of delivery.
The amount you rotate your ball will add or subtract from your overall ball speed slightly.
The key for you is to gain access to how fast you deliver your bowling ball. Most competitive bowlers fall into the 300-350 rpm rev-rate range, or just slightly higher or lower.
If you feel your ball speed is too slow, then implementing our technique to pick up your ball speed without losing balance or accuracy, can help you gain revs also.
The end goal is to attain consistent ball motion so you can make good alignment and adjustment decisions.