OK Now I was wanting to know if there is any others that practice
I practice and get some flack from others for it.
I just think that if your enjoy something and what to get good at anything .
you need to work at it even on the lighter conditions as I am a rhythm bowling and don't want to loose the timing.
Scoring is relevant to lane conditions.
Practice is always a good idea.
yes i ask my dad all the time bout practice he says it is good as long as u are workin on something but there again it is always good to have fun
I do practice, not so much lately for various reasons, and I really need it with the way I've been bowling. I go in wanting to work on something whether its my approach, my arm swing, my release or shooting corner pins or other spares. I might end the session shooting for score just to see how everything works together. Sometimes I do just go into bowl for fun and scores. I've actually been thinking of getting a coach to help with some stuff. If its good enough for the pros its good enough for me. I also could care less what others think or say about me either.
Willard, lots of people practice including the very best, like Walter Ray who can often be seen practing on the lanes in Ocala where I do some of my bowling.
You read a lot of baloney about how easy the game is, all you have to do is throw the ball to the right and watch it come back to the pocket with lots of room for error. But, you can bet those talking the talk are probably not walking the walk and winning lots of tournaments with no practice.
Practice is especially needed for those on the way up and having to learn the basics of a good approach, alignment, release , consistency and all sorts of other things needed before it becomes 'easy'.
Many complain that it is too expensive to bowl lots of games at a time and that is certainly true but if all those who complain about such things do is 'want' are unwilling to 'give' then they may have to continue 'whining'. There are many centers who offer discounts for those who want to bowl a lot of games, offer free bowling to those who volunteer to coach juniors. There are ways to make it affordable if you are willing to 'give' and not just 'take'. Maybe you have to bowl early in the morning or late at night but so what if the price is right and you want to bowl lots of games.
So, don't be ashamed of practicing and above all don't hold back from seeking out someone willing to 'give' that knows the game and can maybe help you out with things you can't figure out for yourself.
Don Gates
I don't practice but really should. I see a lot of people that call themselves practiceing everyday but what they are really doing is just bowling. They are not working on anything at all. Practice is just that practice. You work of your game. There is no reason why anyone should catch any flack from practiceing. Like Don said it is especially important when first starting out because you have to build up muscle memory. Most of the pros practice alot. There are exeptions like Wes Malott who says he doesn't.
willard, as a rhythm bowler one of the things you might work on is being able to increase and decreas ball speed and keep that speed ball after ball. If you bowl in a center that registers ball speed note how much variance there is in ball speed for many bowlers who may blame it all on changing lane conditions.
willard,
Practice is always a good thing...as long as you are working on your game. For instance, I have always had problems picking up the 10 pin. When I was able to practice I would use my first ball to practice on my 10 pin. Then on the second ball I would attempt to hit pocket.
Many years ago, I had a senior pro bowler (Jimmy Certain, Huntsville, AL) help me with my game. He would make me choose a target on the lane and line up to get the ball to the pocket. Then he would make me move left (or right) with both my feet and target, finding another line to the pocket. I believe that this helped my game tremendously, and when I did have to make an adjustment I was more likely to make it sooner.
I say continue to practice as much as you can, and if you can get a coach and have a few lessons, that would help you even more. Coaches can help you "fine tune" your game and give you the knowledge you need to continue practice sessions on your own.
Good luck and God Bless....
Karen
At 48 years old I still practice and use a coach.
I am not good at deciding what to work on. But my coach has no problem pointing out things for me to work on.
Texseals: At 48 years old I still practice and use a coach. I am not good at deciding what to work on. But my coach has no problem pointing out things for me to work on.
i don't practice as often as i need to due to work obligations and the fact that i need to sleep sometime. i'm kinda afraid that i'm going to embarrass myself at league tonight, in fact, because i haven't even had the oil from nationals cleaned out of my ball yet (the scary, lower-than-my-average bowling might follow me home--yikes!). i'm still working on being financially able to get a coach and pay that coach fairly. right now, i'm being "coached" by bowlers who see me bowl, see that i have potential and give me pointers on how to make small improvements to my game.
people who give anyone flak for practicing bowling are ridiculous and need to be ignored. in my experience, they are also usually the ones who are averaging in the 150-170 range and not attempting to get any better. it's always smart to take a good look at who's judging you to make sure their arguments are valid.
I bowl on a PBA Pattern league in the summer for scores, but I practice twice a week not worrying about the score. These days are used to practice certaib items, such as hand release, footwork ect, I never worry what the score will be, just how I am rolling the ball.
I'll be honest--I don't practice at all. Let me clearify though...I took lessons from a former PWBA Champion for 2 years. But honestly, I bowl three leagues in the winter and I just don't have the time to practice. I'm a teacher and I go to school 2x a week, so in addition to my bowling, I just do not have time to practice. This past year, I averaged 208 and 202 in two seperate centers with two (what I would consider) old bowling balls. Haven't bought anything new in almost two years. So now thw question is..why do people practice? Do they practice to get better? At this point in my game, I don't think there is much more improvement I can attain. I do set goals for myself before every season and so far, I've attained them all. I do try to work on my timing when I can, but I would have to say, practice certainly doesn't hurt...so good luck with it.
Chrissy :)
I do agree with Karen--if you want to get a coach and take lessons, that's a great idea. Like I said, I took lessons from Marianne DiRupo for two years and she added ten pins to my average with her knowledge and help.
Fortunately I bowl with a bunch of guys that see the need for practice. We are all on the same team during league and many tournaments. Four out of the five of us practice nearly every Sunday, usually five or six games each. Practice does not mean bowling to see how big a score you can shoot but should be aimed at a particular weakness or uncomfortableness in your game. For me it might be seeing the different reactions of the same ball from different parts of the lane. It might be experimenting with a timing issue or different hand positions on a given shot to learn more about the ball reaction on each. Another issue for me is that I have a dominant eye which causes me to look 5 boards farther right than I want to hit which gets extremely uncomfortable when I am trying to hit anything five board or further right. Being almost 6'4" makes getting lower at the line a little tougher each year. That takes work. The benefit of practicing with team mates is that you also get the benefit of learning their game so that when you are in a tournament or league situation and a member is struggling, you can all talk about it and work through it.
