Bowling For the Ladies

Articles In This Section:

· Bowling For the Ladies

· CHOOSING A Bowling BALL

· Bowling FOOTWORK

· Not enough backswing

· Going to the foul line too fast

· Trying to bowl unnaturally

· Releasing the ball behind the foul line

· Playing strike or spare shots from wrong angles

· Lack of a good pushaway

· Not going to the foul line in a direct line

· Allowing the Bowling ball to pull the right shoulder out of line

· Not throwing a fast enough Bowling ball

Thanks to the ladies, bowling has become a family game. Years ago, it was a game strictly for men to enjoy, because bowling alleys were places in which women and girls could hardly afford to be seen. Poorly lighted and poorly ventilated, equipped with a goodly supply of cuspidors and shady characters, and located in dingy basements, the alleys were anything but inviting.

The entrance of the first good-sized contingent of feminine bowlers into the game was the signal for a tremendous change. Owners and operators of bowling establishments realized that to attract this desirable element they would have to clean up and police their premises. Out went the cuspidors and the seedy characters—in came modernistic furnishings and illumination. Later came air conditioning. And now proprietors are vying with each other to outdo themselves in erecting splendid palaces for the sport.

It was a wonderful thing for the women, too. Those who had been sitting at bridge tables day after day suddenly discovered that they could get a fine type of exercise which would allow them to keep their trim figures without effort. The thrill of real competition was furnished to many of them for the first time in their lives.

Any fears that they might have had that the game was too strenuous were disproved by the performance of such mites as Allie Brandt, the 122-pound kegler with the 886 series rolled with a ball no faster than that rolled by a woman. Girls weighing just over 100 pounds began shooting 200 games. Obviously, brute strength was not a necessity and, in fact, often proved to be a hindrance.

The ladies are coming up fast in the bowling game now, and why shouldn't they? When you analyze it, the sport is a natural one for them, for it puts a premium on smoothness, gracefulness and rhythm, with which the average woman is born. We have already pointed out that mere brawn has no advantage in the game, for excessive speed and power are actually a detriment rather than a help.

Getting started correctly is far more important to the ladies than to the men. Men, as a rule, have more powerful muscles which enable them to control the ball despite poor footwork and timing, something that the average woman beginner cannot do. If she should get started wrong, it is far more difficult for her to improve.