After years of not understanding early vs. late timing, I'm working with a coach that's helping me finish sliding before releasing the ball. My problem is that I tend to 'carry' the ball a bit and start my armswing a tad bit late, causing me to muscle the swing both up and down. This causes some (severe) misfires.

That said, what triggers do you guys use to help start the armswing at the right time? Any drills? Anything I can do at home? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated!

N00dlejester:  Thanks for posting a video of your approach.  I too, have late timing (I had it all my life).  In my view, correcting timing errors is one of the most difficult tasks to accomplish, especially if you have been bowling for a long, long time with late timing. Many of the posters have already given you (and others) some excellent suggestions. 

"Late timing" can actually increase release leverage at the foul line provided the timing is not excessively late. Late timing can occur during any portion of the approach phase, and for different reasons. For me, I have long arms, which results in a slower swing speed. Although my armswing speed is a tad slower , the leverage created by my long arms (and long legs) generates a lot of ball speed all on their own. I also have no trouble getting the ball into that "pro zone" on the backswing. My late timing occurs much later in my approach.  So for me, getting the ball into the swing even earlier, exacerbates my late timing because the earlier you get the ball into the swing, the faster the feet go. For me, my "triggers" for achieving better timing are twofold:

1. I always try to match my footwork speed with the speed of my armswing.

2. As I launch into my last step, I discipline myself to "wait" for the ball to catch up to my slide foot by relying solely on gravity to bring the ball down from the top of the backswing.  (In fact, my entire swing cycle is gravity-fed).

Judging from your video, indeed, you have some late timing at release but it does not look too bad. You do start your downswing a bit late, which prevents you from getting into that pro zone on "time". I like Norm Duke's suggestion on this. He said the key is to start the swing phase AS SOON AS your second step compresses on the approach (for a 5-stepper). In other words, as soon as you feel your second step
compressing on the approach, remove your left (support) hand from the ball AT THE SAME TIME, without any delay, and allow the ball to descend into the backswing. This should get you into the pro zone on time .  Allow the ball to swing with no muscle (or minimal muscle) throughout the entire approach and remember to wait for the ball to descend on its own power at release.

Good luck to you. You otherwise have a very nice approach!

Norm Duke - Learn to bowl competitively: 07 Timing

Thank you all for the responses! There's some great stuff here.

I watched the Duke video a few times, and even tried to apply it during my Sunday bowling. Changing something during competition is difficult, but I did my best and felt a few shots that were real smooth.

@jkirkerx: thank you so much for that response - I appreciate you spending the time to help me out! I really like your idea of visualizing the shot, the swing, and the result. If you can see it in the mind, you can do it with the body.

After observing myself bowl on Sunday, I learned that I focus on my feet and force my armswing to catch up.  Based on the above responses, it seems like I want to focus on my armswing and have my feet follow the swing. Or at least do more of the latter than I am now.

I have league tonight on Beijing Pattern (same as was in the video I previously posted). After league I plan on rolling some games to practice my armswing / timing. My goal is to let gravity control the speed of my swing, and to try to have my feet 'follow' the armswing.  I'll take some videos and post them up tonight or tomorrow morning.

Thanks again, everybody! I really appreciate it.

Hey Michiganbowlingcoach, that's exactly what one of the local pros said! I tried doing it after I took a video last night, and it felt different. It was real nice and help the ball project down lane much better than what I normally do. I plan on practicing that tomorrow night for a good hour.

Here's a shot I tried last night using a bit more the 'frozen rope' idea. My goal was to shrink my first step a tad, and get the ball going sooner. It was an alright shot - I'd give this one a B-: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1aOO_JOh33zKQLVvRmfFv-tG-ZtSGHayX

I practiced last night, and focused hard on letting my armswing dictate my steps. I also tried shortening my first step to more of a shuffle step to allow longer 4th and 5th steps.

Shot 1: pretty solid shot, I'd give myself a B on this one https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fW-A26wP4kdeJmE3mQPWkOiPbEQstDxd/view?usp=sharing

Shot 2: my best shot of the night, and I give myself an A on this one! https://drive.google.com/file/d/12JnQi5sa8L_axX3UPyA35XDNcNhl-cxS/view?usp=sharing

I'm going to order Mark Baker's book once I get some extra cash, and really dig into this whole timing thing. Thank you again everyone for all the help! I'm glad I came back to BR - I didn't realize how much I missed the nuance of bowling until I wound up back here