Watching The Top Women Bowlers

The sport of bowling doesn't really have to be as complicated a game as it appears to be. All this talk of varying lane conditions, bowling ball cover stocks, and different hand positions will apply mostly to the tournament and higher average bowlers who travel from bowling center to bowling center. Many bowlers will end up bowling at only one center the majority of the time.

In any bowling center, there will be some variances in lane play depending on such things as type of air conditioning, size of the center, and proximity to entrances/exits; but, for the most part, adjustments don't get into the extreme details necessary to bowl under tournament conditions. The necessity for making so may adjustments may not be needed.

Also, us "Average Joe Bowlers," will not be able to crank the ball and put as much power into our game as Walter Ray Williams, Jr., Wes Mallot, Chris Barnes, or Norm Duke. We will have to depend on having firm basics and fundamentals in our game in order to get our averages and scoring to a higher level.

I suggest watching the top women bowlers and using them as role models rather than trying to emulate the PBA men. With the advent of the "PBA Women's Series," they are now appearing on television again and it is a great opportunity to observe and learn. They don't have the physical ability to "power" the ball down the lane, so they've kept their games simple and picking up bowling tips from them tends to be easier.

I was an avid watcher of the PWBA (Professional Women's Bowling Association) and the LPBT (Ladies Professional Bowler's Tour) and continue to try to catch the women bowlers whenever I can. Here’s a "Choc-List" of items that I watch for:

1) How sound their fundamentals are. Their footwork, armswing, timing, and solid ending position. Also, their accuracy is tremendous which makes them excellent spare shooters. Tish Johnson, for example, has one of the most "picture-perfect" armswings.

2) How they adjust to the lane change as the game progresses. They tend to make smaller changes because their games are much simpler than the men. Not so many radical moves. I try to watch their ball changes in comparison to how the lane is hooking and how their hand positions change for the same reason(s).

3) How they have their balls drilled. The camera invariably will give a good shot of how their balls are drilled. The most obvious thing to watch for is their pin position. Compare the ball drilling to each of their particular styles of throwing the ball.

4) How they keep themselves focused on the game. There have been many women bowlers I watched over the years. My favorites to watch currently are Liz Johnson, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, Kelly Kulick, and Shannon Pluhowsky.

When you get right down to it, not many of us will be able to generate ball speeds of 20+ miles an hour, break the ball 30 to 40 boards, or generate rev rates like Tommy Jones or Robert Smith. Women bowlers have had to develop very solid fundamentals and accuracy in their bowling game in order to compete at the national (and international) levels. They are much closer to the style we need to improve our games at the local bowling center.

And wasn't it Earl Anthony who is purported to have said, "Never throw any more ball than you have to." And wasn't it also Earl Anthony who dominated the PBA during his era with one of the simplest games around?

A Hui Hou! (See You Again!)