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OK, I’ve got my ball, now where do I stand?

Well the first thing to remember is that the black line at the end of the “approach” is called a foul line.  You never want to go past that line.  If you are bowling in a league and go past it, the pins you knock down will not count.  Bummer!  But there is even a better reason.  In order to maintain the bowling lanes, oil is place on the lane by the bowling center staff.  It is this oil that protects the finish on the wood, or the polyurethane, that is the bowling lane.  If you get that oil on your shoes and track it back on the approach, it will cease to be a surface there you can slide at the point of release.  Why do you need to slide?  Well bowling is a game that requires balance.  It is very difficult to maintain your balance if when you are releasing the ball you are coming to a dead stop.  The force of you walking and swinging that bowling ball will pull you forward and you will again be beyond the foul line.  That will, of course, bring more oil on the approach that the next time will be even worse.

Bowling is a simple game.  You swing the ball while walking to the foul line where you release the ball and it goes down the lane and (of course) knocks down all the pins.  So how do you really do that?  Well the first thing to remember is that you should slide on the foot that is the opposite of the hand that through the ball.  That is if you are right-handed, you slide on your left foot.  This will help you maintain your balance at the point of delivery.  So how many steps do I take?  Normally, most bowlers use a four or five step approach.  I use five.  I fine that the extra step helps me with the timing of the swing of the ball and the release.  So I am right-handed and I take five steps.  That means my first step is with my left foot.  If you use four steps, which most bowlers do, and you are right-handed, your first step will be with your right.  Now I have seen bowlers use a three step approach and I once bowled with a dear friend who took so many little shuffle steps they were hard to count.  (And I think he took a different number from ball to ball.  So how far back from the foul line should you start?  Well the easiest way to determine this is to stand with you heels a few inches from the foul line and take four (or five) and a half steps.  Now look down.  You should see two sets of dots on the lane approach.  You may, or may not, be on those dots.  Just note how far from the foul line are.  This will be your starting point as you walk to the foul line.  By the way, did you feel dumb walking from the foul line back up the approach?  Well don’t worry.  You really only need to do it once and then remember where you should start.  And when your friends see you scores improve and the fact that you look so comfortable on the lane, they will want to determine the correct starting place for themselves.  And you can just smile.

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