Efficiency

The best women players in the world converged on Dallas, Texas at the end of June for the women’s U.S. Open. As I watched the match play rounds of this tournament, I was struck by the efficiency of the swings of the players who had made the top 16 in a tournament where over 270 players started the week. This month I’d like to discuss what I saw and how this will help you become a better player.

An efficient swing is one that does not waste any energy from the start to the release. Every motion of the body serves a purpose, and none of that motion disrupts the speed and direction of the ball in the swing. It does not matter if you take 4, 5 or more steps in your swing, or even if you use a variable number of steps  depending upon the lane condition. What matters is that you only use motions that have a purpose in delivering the ball.

When you begin the first of your last 4 steps of the swing, you always want to start from a balanced position. This allows your lower body to support the weight of the ball efficiently, as the weight of the ball is being supported by as much of your body as possible, rather than just by your upper body or just your arm. The takeaway motion should always be smooth and circular – using the balance arm well to help you start the ball cleanly will make this easier. Similarly, getting the ball out past the foot but in a position where it is beginning to circle down into the swing at the end of this step is important. You want to use the weight of the ball to help you start your body move forward. 

The one extra motion that is necessary is to cross your ball-side foot in front of your non ball-side foot on the first step of the last four steps. This makes the swing more efficient by allowing the ball to fall straight down into the swing without moving around your hip. Any time the ball does not swing in a straight line, you are
introducing an extra movement of the ball that is inefficient. When the ball is moved around the body, the weight of the ball will pull your body to the right slightly, and you will find yourself fighting this momentum. In any battle between your body and the ball you will lose. You MUST keep the ball moving in a straight line
aligned to the intended path of the ball.

When the ball falls into the swing, you must allow gravity to take your arm into the backswing while at the same time allowing that momentum to “push” your body forward. To illustrate this point, try this exercise at home. Take your first two steps of takeaway and next step. On the “drop” step, close your eyes and feel how the weight of the ball allows your body to move forward as a counter motion. Do this both in a relaxed manner and a stiff manner. If you feel the difference between these motions, you will better understand how to let the ball send your body forward. Also, you can feel what happens if you direct the ball to the left of right on your takeaway. Generally speaking, the body goes where the ball goes.

This move into the swing does not mean that you can simply allow the ball to drop your shoulders forward into the swing. The spine stays straight through the drop and the upper body gradually moves forward as the ball falls into the backswing. If this becomes a sudden motion with a big change in your upper body you will lose the efficient buildup to the slide step that is necessary to combine accuracy and power at the point of release. Allow the ball to stop at the top of the backswing as the upward motion comes to a stop on its own. It is a common mistake (one that I sometimes make) to “pull” the ball a little higher than it really wants to go. This extra pulling creates an inconsistency in shot making that is also an inefficient use of energy in the swing. This pull at the top of the swing also tends to tip your shoulders forward a little more than they should get to at the top of the swing, and you will probably end up compensating for that at the release.

The moment of truth is when the ball falls down through the swing to the release point. If your body and naturally and efficiently loaded up at the top of the swing, there really isn’t much more to do than to un-coil and allow the ball to drop down to the release point by using gravity. The first time you do this the ball will feel slow as it drops down to the release point, but this will gradually begin to feel normal.

Using 1-step drills at the foul line is a great way to isolate any extra motion you are using in this part of the swing. Focus on move your upper and lower body forward as one unit as the ball drops into the swing. Simply and quietly move the ball-side hip out of the way and let the ball fall through the space just vacated by your hip. The ball will fall into a position right under your head and shoulder. Since the swing is straight, the momentum the ball creates goes directly down your target line without wasting any energy making an adjustment to re-align the ball to the target line.

Finally, have a practice buddy watch you bowl from the side and determine if your head stays still and if your hips stay relatively level or only drop slightly through the course of the swing. If your head moves somewhat, you need to determine if your eyes are moving only forward and back along your target line or if you are moving to the left and right with your eyes. If your hips are moving up anywhere through the swing this is a sign that you may be helping the ball at this point, and you will want to feel your hips continue to move straight forward through this point in the swing.

If your swing is efficient, the final step to being efficient and maintaining your ability to bowl in a longer tournament is to conserve your mental energy. Attempting to stay focused during every moment of a 3 to 4 hour block of completion will leave your mentally drained. You must allow your mind to relax a little between shots. If you get too excited or too down over one of two shots in the middle of the block you will also spend too much precious mental energy on them and it will cost you more pins later in the block, caused by mental mistakes from expending too much energy on the wrong things. 

Last, but not least, the body needs fuel during completion. Eating foods that maintain your blood sugar levels during completion and keeping your body hydrated during completion are critical to success. Your body will begin to sputter if you run it too low on fuel.