Your Basic Bowling Approach

This article talks about an "approach" from the beginner's point of view. Its main purposes are to help determine how many steps are taken as well as how far back from the foul line to start.

The slang term, "approach," has two different meanings in the sport of bowling. There is the surface on which we walk to deliver the bowling ball and there is the delivery (form or walk) we use to carry the ball before releasing it down the lane towards the pins. To wit: "Since I use a four step approach and am almost 6-feet tall, my starting point is between the 12-foot and 15-foot marker lines on the approach." A person can easily determine which one is being talked about based on the context in which either is being used.

First we need to cover some basics about physical lane specifications as it pertains to the lane approach area. Standing where the regular floor meets the back of the bowling lane and looking down at the bowling pins, the dimensions of an approach are the area where the boards begin and goes away from you for 15-1/2 feet ending at the foul line, which is usually black in color. Again, from where you are standing, the first line is 15-feet back from the foul line and the second line is 12-feet back from the foul line.

The standard number of steps taken in bowling is four (naturally called the "4-step approach"), but there can be as little one to as many as a person wants to take (the most I have seen in my thirty years of bowling is a 9-step approach). I highly recommend that the beginner start with the 4-step, and then experiment in the early learning stages to determine the number of steps most comfortable for them. Once the number of steps is decided on, however, stick with that number because consistency is a key factor in becoming a better than average bowler.

There are two phases in your delivery, the walk and the slide and to determine a starting point on the approach, the slide must be taken into consideration. Here are the procedures:

1) place the backs of yours heels (both feet) on the foul line dots,
2) focus your eyes on something that is straight back and a good distance away from the sitting area of your lane (in many bowling centers, this may be the back wall of the concourse area),
3) starting off with your right foot, take four natural (unforced) steps and stop (you should be on your left foot),
4) bring up your right foot and touch your right heel to your left toe and step down on your right foot,
5) now bring your left foot and line it up with your right foot and stand there as if you were at attention,
6) pivot on the toes of both feet until you are facing the bowling pins and this will be the starting point for the 4-step approach.
7) be sure to note any reference markers by using the 12-foot or 15-foot lines, ball return machine cover, or other mental points for you to get back to this same starting point each time.

For other variations in the other number of steps (3-step, 5-step, etc.) merely adjust step 3), above.

A Hui Hou! (See you again!)