In today's game of bowling, making moves and adjustments must be done in order to score. This can be applied no matter what pattern or type of lane(Wood, Synthetic) you are bowling on. How do we know when to move? What types of adjustments can I make? These will be a couple of questions we will look at, and do our best to answer.

Lets just start with the Typical House Shot pattern that most all League bowlers bowl on. The majority of bowlers prefer to attack a certain arrow. Now lets say your comfort zone is the 2nd Arrow. You may be able to start there, but by the time game 3 comes around, you may be having issues hitting the pocket. Usually the ball is starting to hook to much since the oil is vanishing. The simple thing to do is follow the shot inside. What I mean by this is; after so many shots have been made around the 2nd arrow, the shot begins to dry up. Your counter will be to move inside/towards the middle of the lane where the oil is. On a typical league night, 4-5 person league, you should roughly be moving 6-12 boards throughout the night. Now this will depend on who you are bowling with. You could always change to a weaker ball but even then you should still be moving to avoid the ball reading to soon in the dry spots.

There are two different types of moves a bowler can make. They are Parallel and Lateral moves. What is the difference between the two? Well every bowler should understand how they line up with their feet. For me personally I like to line up with the inside of my left foot. Next the bowler should have a point on the lane where they like to target. Most bowlers look at the arrows. With that being said, now I will explain Parallel and Lateral moves. A Parallel move is moving your feet and eyes the same distance. So by moving my feet 2 boards left and my eyes 2 boards left, I have taken the line I was playing 2 boards parallel left. Now a bowler could also make a Lateral move. This is done by moving either your foot more than your eyes or eyes more than your feet. Most of the time your moving your feet more than your eyes. So if I move 2-1 left, 2 with my feet and 1 with my eyes, this will help catch more oil in the front part of the lane while keeping the same break point.

What type of moves are made should be used, for what shots? On Typical House patterns, you could get away with either move. I prefer to make lateral moves and use the outside as my break point throughout the night. This will vary on your style. Lower rev players may make parallel moves as where higher rev players will make lateral moves on house shots. Now lets say you are bowling on a sport pattern. Usually on short sport patterns, Lateral moves are made the most. The break point is usually going to be on the outside part of the lane, so when you have to move, you need to keep the break point the same and adjust your feet. On Long sport patterns, Parallel moves are made more. You need to keep riding the ridge of the oil pattern.

To understand when you need to make a move, you first need to watch how your ball is reacting down lane. By watching your ball motion, you will understand when the shot is starting to transition. Again the simple moves that should be done are; if the ball is hooking too much, move left and if the ball is not hooking enough move right(Right handed bowlers, for lefties simply flip it around). These are simple moves for the typical house shot.

If you are having issues seeing how your ball is reacting down lane, have someone else watch you. Your teammates or coach should be helping you make adjustments as the lanes transition. Make the move, because you will never know if it works or does not work if you don't try adjusting. Enjoy the game of bowling and as always Practice, Practice, Practice.