How To: Spin a Bowling Ball

As it is with many things, learning how to spin a bowling ball requires practice. Without practice nothing will happen. Before you start learning how to spin a bowling ball you have to ask your self a few questions. First question you have to ask yourself is.. “Do I Have the right equipment?” How do you know if you have the right equipment? I will tell you.

First and foremost, if you want to learn how to spin a bowling ball, that means your taking the game a little bit more seriously. What that means is that you probably don’t want to pay to rent a pair of old shoes that who knows how many people have worn. So buy your self a good pair of bowling shoes. Next you need a bowling ball! This is one question I get a lot from beginners.

Why do some bowling balls cost 70 dollars and another one cost almost 200? The answer is simple. More advanced players want a ball that is reliable and one that is reactive enough for their specific style. In other words; not all bowling balls are the same. Some are made out of just plain hard rubber, some plastic, some are reactive resin.. etc… When you hear the word reactive and bowling, it usually has something to do with how much the given ball will hook. It is reacting, so to speak, with the lanes. The rolling in the ball causes friction, causing the ball to grab on to the lane and the Core gives it its. The core, another reason why some bowling balls cost more.

Their cores. More reactive bowling balls, have more advanced cores inside. These cores are what cause the ball to spin, after you learn how to of course. Bare with me I’m getting there…In order to achieve a nice smooth hook on a ball, you need a relatively reactive ball. The ball I started off with was a Tropical Storm manufactured by storm. Cheap bowling balls are for spares and to throw straight, more expensive bowling balls are for throwing strikes and to hook.

When buying a bowling ball that cost you $120, you want to make sure they drill it right. They will most likely ask if you want finger inserts or if you want conventional drilling. Pick the finger inserts, this is the way you have to go if you really want to hook your ball.

The Technique: Bowling is a game of timing. You need to have precise timing in order to succeed. Most people start off with a 4 step approach as beginners. This is my main approach 4 steps from the second set of dots to the foul line. Hold the ball flat on the palm of your hand. Spread your index finger out as far as you can and still remain comfortable. 1st Step:

Should be the push off. Holding the ball flat on the palm of your hand you push the ball straight forward-locking your elbow. 2nd Step: Let gravity take it, by the time you reach your second step your ball should be at about your leg. 3rd Step: This is one of the most important steps, this is where your ball gains the speed, The ball should at least be parallel to your shoulder. Ball should be on its way down before the4th step:.Slide with your left foot if your right handed, right foot if your left handed. Release. And follow through.

The Release: Your thumb should always be the first thing out of the bowling ball. And then comes your middle and ring finger. These to fingers are the fingers that give the balls “Revs” or revolutions. How does that work? Its in…

The Follow Through: This is where the magic happens… Okay .. maybe not magic.. but still. This is where it happens. As your thumb exits the bowling ball your other two fingers are still inside for about a millisecond this millisecond decides whether your ball goes straighter or hooks. As soon as the thumb gets out, you have to snap your wrist and your arm up at the same time, releasing the ball. This will give the ball more revs and in the end make the ball hook.

Practice.. Like i said before you have to practice this. Its not going to come easy… Unless you practice. Practice enough and you wont even notice when you hook the ball, it will just be a natural reaction for you. Be wary, its not going to work the first time you try it! If it does… I must have written a darn good guide. To speed up the process of learning, you can buy a wrist brace. Wrist braces put your wrists in place to give the ball more hook, after using the brace you should be to hook it successfully with out the brace. Another good tip is to get friendly with the experts at your bowling alley. Ask them for advice. Chances are they’ll help you out quite a bit!