I am reminded of an old saying: "Rule #1 - The boss is always right; Rule #2 - When in doubt, refer to Rule #1."

To suit the purposes of this article, I will paraphrase it this way: "Rule #1 - Get a bowling coach, Rule #2 - After analyzing the common problem areas that bowlers have, refer to Rule #1."

Here's some of the many tendencies I've seen over the years that prevent bowlers from getting better. Let's cover some common problem areas that are working against them:

1) They don't get a bowling coach. They try to figure things out by themselves. They ask advice from several people and get confused because of the differing opinions. Shy? Pride? Don't want to pay for coaching? Regardless of the reason, if you want to improve your average, nothing works faster than investing in regular lessons from a coach you feel comfortable with. Ask around, there will be many highly recommended coaches in your local area.

2) The don't have a regularly scheduled practice session. Like anything else, getting into a routine of doing things makes it much easier to get better at it. "Practice" is the operative word here because if you don't practice, you can't expect to improve your scores. A lot of bowlers thing they can correct their problems while bowling in league but, to state the obvious, "league is not practice."

3) They don't have the proper equipment. You must have your own, personal bowling ball that is fitted specifically to your hand, shoes that conform to the shape of your feet, and a bowling bag that reflects your personality. These are important factors in your attitude toward your interest in the sport of bowling. Also, you cannot expect to come back to bowling after 10, 20, or 30 years and use the same bowling ball.

4) They want to "muscle" the ball and throw it down the lane. Perhaps this is because in every other sport that uses a ball, we must either get it to the target as fast as we can or throw it as far as we can. Bowling requires finesse and allowing the ball to "do the work for you." A free armswing works much better in our sport.

5) They want to complain about how it used to be, how inconsistent the lane conditions are, or "why the bowling center doesn't do something to make my scores higher and more consistent." I think you know what I'm getting at here. Whether you are a beginner or are more experienced, we have all seen or heard the bowlers with these gripes.

In bowling, you are the master of your own destiny. The sport has changed in every aspect of the game - synthetic lanes, high tech bowling balls, and oil patterns - you have to upgrade your knowledge through study and practice. For example, most of the talk about hitting your mark (the arrows, dots, or a certain board) is quickly being replaced by being able to find your "breakpoint."

You may want to score high all the time, but, you should have to do it with your own skills and not expect the bowling center to give you an easy shot every time you bowl.
What is the challenge in that?

As a friend of mine told me many years ago, "if you could knock all the pins down with your first ball every time, the name of this game would be 'striking,' not 'bowling.'"

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, "when in doubt, refer to Rule #1."

A Hui Hou! (See you again!)