Question for the experienced members/bowlers.  Some bowlers commented that I loft the ball a lot.  Well I finally decide to record myself and look to see why.  I have an ok knee bend and I am pretty much vertical in the back.  At home I tried to bend over more with the ball in my hand to see how much I would need to bend over to lay the ball on the lane as is recommended in today's coaching.  I immediately felt some discomfort in my back which told me why I was veritcal (LOL).

Now I average 211-220 on THS and do have a speed problem.  I am rev dominant and usually am between 14 & 15.5 on the end of lane speed readers.  Others who see me bowl, say I have Pete Weber's release and roll with Tommy Jones rev rate.

So my question is as I approach my 50th birthday next year, do I go through the trouble of trying to stretch out my back and lower my loft or since I have mastered dealing with the loft by throwing weak balls or urethane and plastic,; just keep on trucking?

Loft definitely isn't a bad thing if you're consistent

Bill Taylor theorized I believe that loft more easily came to the long legged and short armed.

Not so easily to the short legged and long armed.

He also theorized on idea body types for bowling.  An example would be Pete Weber or Dave Davis.

Clearly other great bowlers have come in different body types. 

As a bowler who started bowling at a time when proprietors were soaking lanes and particularly lefty sides were quite wet and stayed wet to combat and protect against particles I learned to set the ball down right at the foul line....yes I can usually handle the goo with that style.

Now on strong wet dry's in a center with 3 feet of dry after the foul line to reduce injury probability I am in a center were the top bowlers have speed, loft revs and usually mostly up the back releases.

Every part of that is a challenge to me, but I feel that every week I am getting better at learning the new necessary, lofting and  higher speed style that fits the house!

It is fun to learn!

REgards,

Luckylefty

i would work to decrease it as much as you can without causing pain. usually when someone lofts the ball it means the ball is coming off the hand after the flat spot in your downswing. this would sacrifice ball speed causing the ball to slow down early possibly sacrificing entry angle and carry.

For the most part I agree with cheech.
I speak as someone who has "suffered" with too much loft, developed when my house's stock pattern was ferociously dry and I needed to loft the ball to delay the hook. When, about 8 years later, the oil got heavier (medium-light to medium), my ball reaction was bad. It was a hard habit to break. My loft was indeed too much, hitting it in the upswing, the worse case.

That's the problem with loft: until you video yourself you can't really "see' if you're doing it wrong. "Wrong" to me is when you hit it on the upswing, actually lofting the ball above the height at which you release it.  The proper release, as far as I have learned, is when the ball either goes into the lane or just "lays itself onto" the lane, like an airplane landing. You probably won't see Mika, the most famous "lofter", hitting up on the ball. His ball hits further out onto the lane, but he gets it there by keeping it in the plane, the height at which he releases it.

I used to loft the ball a good 10 - 12 feet, just short of the arrows. Over the years I have gotten my loft down to the 3- 6 feet range, but it took a lot of long hard work, during which my average was not very good at all. 6 feet is still too much loft.

I'd suggest working on your knee bend and strengthening the leg muscles to support the deep knee bend. It is one of your best friends in bowling execution. It can help you reduce your loft. Of course, a good thumb release is as much of an essential as the knee bend.