While we were living in the Middle Ages, one thing that was constantly being said was how unlucky left-handed people are and at times even associated them with witchcraft! Fortunately, we have moved ahead with such false notions. And when it comes to bowling, it’s said that Left-handers have an advantage over right-handed bowlers.
This can be because the oil patterns over the lanes on the left remain less used. Therefore, the ball consistently reacts in the entire game. This can again be a topic of debate for a lot of people! But today we shall be looking at detailed information on bowling tips for left-hander!
Top Bowling Tips for Left Handed Bowlers
Generally speaking there can be some difficulties that left-handed people face, but there are many ways to overcome them. Some of the ways are mental and others physical that are simpler to change. In the section below, you will get to learn some interesting tips that can help you with the game while being a leftie. Remember that these tips also apply to righties, especially if you have been trying to bowl under normal standard conditions.
Get More Hook In The Shot
As per some of the famous bowlers, one should be keeping the palm of the bowling hand towards the right wall of the lane. During the completion of the follow-through keep the thumb, and the remaining fingers pointing straight for gaining more hook over the bowling ball. The hook is required for powering the way through the strike and having as much of the hook as it gets possible will be helping the mail after you have made the shot.
Pay Proper Attention To The Right Handed Players In The Tournament:
If you are a leftie, make sure that you are focusing well on the right-handed players while in the game. This is especially important if the lanes are being changed with every game.
In case the right-handed player has thrown their first shot, it doesn’t need to be meeting the pocket; the increased oil amount at the center of the lane will possibly be changing skid distance while trying to shoot on the right spare sides. Now the opposite can also be true in case the bowlers are throwing a sharp hook in the first shot after the lanes are changed.
Focus
One major aspect is your focus. This can be while you are participating in any tournament or league. Make sure that you are not stressing a lot over what is going to happen in the game afterward. Just focus on the present moment and you will easily be able to achieve the best when you hit that target. So make sure that you are keeping the moves deliberate and slow.
Get The Ball Customized Specifically For Lefties
There are two ways by which the balls made for lefties and righties are different. The thumb spacing and the finger holes with the ball location; and then the second is the center weight of the ball. When you buy a bowling ball that is specifically made for left hander’s it increases the probability of completing the maneuvers successfully.
Practice More With Bowling Balls Manufactured For Lefties
You can put enough stress on having a left-handed ball and good practice with it. If you have just begun bowling, it will be best if you are practicing whenever you can. Most of the alley balls are made for righties.
Some alleys have specific balls for lefties too, and you can always ask if there is one so that you can practice more. Bowling balls that are well suited for righties can be difficult for left-handed people and this discomfort won’t help bring out the best game possible.
Check Your Form
Having a correct form in bowling is vital for delivering constant precise and powerful throws. Maintaining a comfortable, flexible, and well-balanced stance with feet a bit apart will be a good stance. Keep the head up and look ahead towards your target. Now hold the ball at waist height and keep in mind to hold the ball towards the left side of the body when you are a leftie. The movement should be as smooth as a pendulum.
Surface Oiling
Surface oiling is going to influence the overall performance and shall help the ball with easy rolling. Oiling the surface lane well in the preferred direction is going to improve your probability of a strike even if they’re lefties.
Perfect the present Stance
Make sure that you are taking some time out and observe the current bowling stance. Is the present posture hurting or helping you? Being a leftie it can get difficult to understand the right way for approaching the lane. Also see the way you get your arm movement, if the ball is released at an angle, or how you are holding it. Make the much-needed adjustments till you see a pattern that works well for you.
Ask For Expert Help
You might not have much guidance on how can you bowl being a left-handed bowler, and that’s fine. Several other people are dealing with the same. It will be highly beneficial for you to speak to an expert in the bowling league near you. You are surely going to find other payers that are left-handed too. And with their assistance, you will get better at your game and start getting more strikes and spares.
Tips For Left-Handed Bowlers While Choosing The Bowling Ball
Now apart from the mindset, practice, and focus you should have, having the right customized ball for lefties is so crucial. Your game can go to another level, by choosing the right ball for you. Here are some important tips that you can keep in mind before you purchase a left-handed bowler:
The Cover Stock Material
There are mainly three kinds of bowling balls cover stocks available for lefties: Urethane, plastic, and reactive resin. All of these materials will have specific benefits and disadvantages. Make sure that you are going for plastic cover stock in case you have just begun playing. This is because plastic balls move in a straight line and don’t have hook-potential. This allows a beginner for understanding the basics well.
Then come the reactive resin and urethane that have higher hook potential. However, this can be different from one another in the aspect of lane suitability and hook potential. While some of them have been manufactured for medium lanes other will be performing well in heavily oiled lanes.
In short, select the bowling ball that will be well suited for the bowling style that you have, skill level, style, and lane condition. Also, give a thought to the cover stock thickness. If you have a bowling ball that has uneven thickness it is sure to be susceptible to get cracked while it’s in the drilling session.
Drilling Holes
For lefties, it’s always best that you purchase an undrilled ball. This will be helping you to get the holes drilled as per your hand measurements. The comfortable, perfectly drilled holes will give a great grip, and therefore the shot efficiency increases.
You will see that the pre-drilled balls are cheaper but then the pattern and position will not be beneficial for a left-handed bowler. It’s also vital that you have complete focus over the ball grip for maximizing the performance.
In case you are a beginner, choose convention grips where the middle finger knuckles and the ring finger are well placed in the drilled holes. Thumb you must know already gets inside the specific thumb hole.
This kind of grip will give you more control although, won’t help with a hook. Top players choose fingertip grip with ring and middle fingers for just inserting the first knuckle. The grip also offers the bowlers for hooking the ball in a much better way.
Weight of the Ball
Make sure that you choose the ball that you are comfortable using for extended periods. The weight of the ball shouldn’t be the cause of getting fatigued. You should be comfortable while you play with it.
Is There An Advantage in Being Left-Handed In Bowling?
This certainly remains a big question and as per some reports about 13% of bowlers are left-handed and some of the top bowlers that we see are also left-handed! The thought of left-handed bowlers being at an advantage is normal to pop-up in our heads. But till now, there hasn’t been any scientific data that can prove this theory.
Probably, a bit of the benefit that we see can be because of the surprise element this has. After all, if you are going to be competing against someone that right-handed, they might be less prepared for that kind of attack. However, understand that bowling is a bit more complicated.
Another point to think about is that as the number of left-handed bowling players is less, this means that the difficulty of breaking patterns will be seen. This will certainly take a lot more time and work in favor of left-handed players.
But when the pattern breaks favorably, there will be a wider margin for making error shots as well. This means that there can be some poor shots seen as well. And this is where those left-handed players might miss over having an advantage.
Difficulties Faced By Left-Handed Bowlers
A general notion can be that left-handed bowlers might be facing the same difficulties that right-handed players face. But there is some additional difficulty that people that are left-handers will have to deal with.
For example, house balls are specifically made for left-handed bowlers. Therefore lefties will have immense difficulty when they try to hold it through the pre-drilled holes on the ball.
This is also one of the things that you should keep in mind while you are purchasing a bowling ball. Make sure that you get the ball drilled as per your specification rather than depending on the house balls.
Then again, the bowling balls in sport might not always be nicely equipped for the left-handed bowlers. Did you know that simple things like shoes can also change the performance of left-handed and right-handed participants?
The shoes in house bowling come with soles mainly for sliding and there are none that you can find for traction. Again this is something that can be very important for professional or expert bowlers. There will be an advantage if you get customized shoes.
Shoes that have been made specifically for right-handed and left-handed bowlers have a sole in each for traction and sliding, mostly on the opposite sides. For example, shoes that have been customized for the left-handed bowlers make use of the rights shoe for its traction and the left one is used for sliding. This is certainly going to assist you in the longer run.
You might not even believe it, but they said axiom advantage for lefties can also be sometimes a difficulty. Historically, we all are aware that left-handed people were equated negatively to evil and also had other weaknesses.
There is a possibility that left-handed bowlers feel that they are staying at a disadvantage as the sports are geared majorly for right-handed players. Although statistically remember that left-handed athletes can have a benefit and some of the top bowlers are the left-handed ones.
Final Thoughts
The casual lefties can find it stressful for following the sport that gets dominated mainly by right-handed bowlers. But with enough research and persistence, you are sure to find perfect gears today. It is very much possible for left-handed bowlers to reach the top of the bowling society as well.
So make sure that you are using the right equipment, practicing more, and have a good form throughout. There is some minor difference between left and right-handed bowlers, but there isn’t anything that can stop talent. The above tips must have been able to give you all the information and tips that you need for getting better at your game in no time.