Bowling Tip : The Arm-Swing

Let me say a few words about the arm swing. I always compare it to a pendulum on an old grandfather's clock. It begins with the pushaway and it carries through the entire de­livery, including the follow-through motion. In the pendulum arm swing, the shoulder is the fulcrum, the ball acts as a weight, and the arm as a lever. The ball should swing from the shoulder naturally, governing its own speed, and thereby its own amount of swing. Don't force the ball—ever.

The left arm helps you to keep your balance during the approach.

Your backswing should be a natural motion; don't force it. It should come naturally to about shoulder height.

It is important to let the speed of the pendulum swing be natural—and it should be the same both backward and for­ward. Never accelerate the forward motion of your pendu­lum; never force the speed in another direction.

This is the correct body position as the sliding step is executed. Bend over—and keep your eyes on the target.

Now the final step—really a combination step and slide: As you go into your slide, bend slightly forward from the hips. Move your right leg back to help you hold your balance and give you some braking action, and try to keep as much weight on that right foot as possible. That's the secret of a successful slide. The slide of your left foot should be from six to twenty-four inches. As long as you can keep your weight on the right foot, your slide will be unimpeded.

The steps in your delivery should be smooth and easy— a kind of "shuffle" toward the foul line. Keep the length of the steps the same as your natural walking steps. If you're small and naturally take short steps, then your bowling steps ought to be short ones.
Throughout the four-step delivery, the key word to remem­ber is rhythm. Your delivery should always be simple, fluid action—action that is your own, and that is natural.
The completion of your slide should be two or three inches behind the foul line—not two or three feet!

You can have a smooth delivery and a wonderfully co­ordinated approach, but if the manner in which you release the ball isn't right, then you are going to be just another duffer. Practice the proper release. You can even do it at home.

Keep your wrist straight and firm. Here's the "perfect" wrist follow­ing release.

You don't have to make any delivery; just practice releasing your bowling ball into a pile of pillows or an old chair or sofa. It's crucial for you to learn to release properly.

First of all, remember to keep your wrist straight and firm; don't let it break, or you'll lose control of the ball and will spoil your accuracy.

Secondly, keep the thumb at about a twelve o'clock position—certainly never below nine o'clock.

Be sure to release the ball over the foul line; the thumb comes out first.

It's a position 1 like to call the shake-hands position. Put your right hand up as if you were going to shake hands with a friend of yours. Look at your hand now—that is the position it should be in when you release the ball.

As you release the ball keep your head down and your eyes on your target. The thumb comes out first, and then the fingers. The fingers stay with the ball for an instant to give lifting action.

The ball should always be released over the foul line— that is, at a point three to four inches beyond the line. Reach out with the ball—this encourages a good follow-through motion.

No matter what the sport, the follow-through is an all-important motion. It is just as important to the batter in base­ball or the fielder as he throws the ball, as it is to the football player who kicks or passes. It is equally important in bowling. Following through in bowling simply means; allowing your arm to continue its natural upward motion after the ball has left your hand; — that is, immediately after the release or ex­plosion. The follow-through motion should then be continued until it reaches shoulder level. Some professional stars you see continue the motion until their arm reaches the height of

This is a good follow-through motion. Note that my eyes stay on the target.

If it's natural for you to continue the follow-through motion until it reaches head height, and then do it.

their head, or even beyond. There's nothing wrong with that. But never hold back with the motion. Reach out toward the pins as the ball leaves your hand.

One suggestion: keep your pendulum arm to the right of your face; this will prevent you from "pulling the ball"— causing the ball to move to the left side of the lane.

One way to insure a good follow-through motion is to keep your eye on your target, that is, your spot on the lane, until your ball has passed over it. This action tends to keep your head down and thereby encourages that all-important reach­ing-out motion.
A smooth, well-coordinated follow-through assures you accuracy and puts you in a comfortable well-balanced position after the ball has been released.

You'll notice that many bowlers tend to wind up their delivery in a rather unorthodox or even awkward position. Even some of the professionals do. Steve Nagy's right arm shoots off to the right after he has delivered the ball; Bill Lillard gives a noticeable kick with his right foot after his release. But none of these unorthodox motions are actuated until after the follow-through has passed shoulder height. After that, you can go into any style or generate any type of body "English" you like. I've had bowlers ask me if it's all right to break their elbow in the follow-through motion. It isn't a necessary action, but if it's a natural one, don't try to prevent it.