Get Your Game on Target – part 2 of 2    October 2005

  Targeting is as much about consistency as it is about accuracy, and it is all about communications.

  Starting in the same place every shot for one bowler means lining up with a dot or board using the inside edge of your slide shoe. Another bowler may use the center of the shoe toe or even the other foot altogether. The difference may mean one, two or even more boards. Any system will work fine as long as you are consistent. If you are trying to line up with a fellow bowler who is utilizing a different system than you are, you need to know what that person is doing, or you could be way off.

  Drifting is another issue that can impact your target. If you have a tendency to walk slightly to the left or right, you probably can’t stand in exactly the same place as a team mate. Or perhaps it is your team mate that drifts and you walk straight. Either factor can greatly distort the reality of lining up in the same place as someone else.

  Through digital computer technology, such as the Bowlers Map system (offered by Bowling Solutions), it is a proven fact that most bowlers miss the target they thought they hit by one, two or even three boards on every single shot.

  Consistent ball speed and lay-down point are as important as accuracy in targeting. If you want to slow down your ball speed to get it into an earlier roll, selecting a target closer to the foul line can be a helpful trick. On the flip side, if you want more speed and the ball to rev up later, find a target farther down the lane, which will get you to extend through the shot