10/06/2026
My “Bill’s Tip of the Month” is not related to a question in this month’s featured Bowling Digest column (which is from the February, 1987 issue) but because I had more than one new student this past summer that were concerned about how inconsistent they were in hitting their target on the lane, I wanted to write on how to help you identify if you have a release or timing issue causing your errant shot issues.
My tip:
#42 — RELEASE TIMING
Many times we think our release is the cause of an errant shot because the release is the last thing that happens in our delivery. But the important thing is what really caused the release to be off.
Getting in tune with the feeling of your release compared to what your ball does is important. When one of my student misses directionally, I ask “What did you feel caused your miss?” And the response I get many times is “I released my ball wrong.” When I hear that I know I have to train them to learn and understand the timing/feel of their ball off their hand. Did the ball come off the hand too early, on time, or too late? It only takes a fraction of a second for the ball to exit the hand which makes it difficult to feel.
Once you understand the feeling of the timing of the ball off your hand, the better chance you have of thinking backwards from the end of your shot to the start of your approach so you can begin to evaluate what caused your missed release.
The bigger the directional misses are relative to the timing of the ball off your hand, the bigger your physical problems probably are. For example, (as a right-hander—opposite for left-hander) if you release your ball too early and it heads towards the gutter, then if you release your ball too late and it misses way left you have a form problem, not a release problem. If you don’t have a good grasp of the timing of your ball off your hand it becomes very difficult to evaluate the cause of your miss.
For a player that has a refined physical game, directional misses are much smaller. When high skilled player releases their ball a little early, they might leave a 2 pin and if they release it a little late, they might leave a 4 pin. But for a lesser refined player the misses will be much larger.
It’s the beginning of the league season now, you should pay close attention to the feeling of your ball off your hand. Your release is the moment of truth, and if you have wide directional misses, you’ll need to do some physical/form work to get more consistent.
I suggest you work with a coach to help identify if your directional misses are the cause of form or a release issue. A trained set of eyes will recognize your problems quicker and help you learn what you have to do to correct them.
