Occasionally, no matter how many adjustments you try, whether lateral, forward or back, speed, or anything else, you can’t seem to find the pocket. At this point, you might want to consider changing balls.
How to Identify A Need to Move
Most pro bowlers try to avoid switching balls if necessary, and most recreational bowlers won’t have an arsenal from which to choose. However, if nothing is going right, you can’t figure out the lanes, and you’re generally miserable, you can try a different ball.
How to Execute the Move
If you have an arsenal of bowling balls, you know what each one does and how it reacts. Sometimes, it’s as simple as needing a ball designed for heavy oil when you can’t get the ball to hook. Or a ball designed for light oil when the ball is hooking too much. If the oil is dictating a ball change, it’s fairly straightforward.
Other times, when no matter what you do, you can’t figure out where the oil is and why your ball is reacting how it is, it might become a game of trial and error.
How Often to Adjust
Like noted above, you shouldn’t do this too often. If you’re having trouble figuring out where to stand or what grip to use or how hard to throw the ball, changing balls is just one more variable. If you change too much at once, you’ll never be sure what’s working and what isn’t.
This is why most pros and experienced bowlers will only go for a ball change after trying everything else first.
