Expert: Susie Minshew - 10/26/2009

Question
Lately I am noticing i am bouncing my bowling ball. I have a fairly fast throw, and i put it out there, and it hits once then again then down the lane, why am i bouncing the ball?? i don't belive i used to do this, I did just get a new ball, Brunswick seigh, it is only 12.6 pd, i average 160's, is it the ball or me?? i still get a good score, but why would it bounce?? any thing you can suggest i would appreciate, thank you.Judy Elford

Answer
Anytime the ball is bouncing, it's not in contact with the lane. That's not a good thing! There can be several reasons for the ball to bounce.

One is that your wrist breaks back on the downswing. If you don't have a firm wrist with your fingers UNDER the ball rather than on top of it, you'll bang the ball into the lane.

If your thumbhole is too big or you have too much reverse pitch in your thumbhole, your thumb will exit too soon and you'll put the ball into the lane instead of onto the lane.

If you have too much waist bend and no or too little knee bend, you'll bang the ball into the lane.

If the heads of the lane are old or separated, the ball will bounce. This allows the energy of the ball to be absorbed by the heads instead of stored in the ball. Lots of people will be unintentionally bouncing the ball if this is true.

Have your fit checked. If it's okay, make sure your wrist is straight and firm at delivery. If it's fried heads, enjoy the bounce since there's nothing you can do about that!