Tip of the Month - March 2026
BACK to the EDGE to get your EDGE BACK
My ‘Going Back to the Edge to Get Your Edge Back’ Theory is a SUPER learning tool as well as preventive maintenance on a Bowler’s Swing-Path.
It works like this:
Nowadays most every Bowler is used to playing deep inside (Middle or Far Left for
Righties, Middle of far Right for Lefties) on the lane and swinging out towards the Gutter.
The THP (Typical House Pattern) allows for this but still sometimes the lanes can become inconsistent as each board is crossed.
It is in the Bowler’s best interest to always develop a ‘Straighter is Greater’ philosophy and NOT cross so many boards.
It stands to reason that the more boards a Bowler crosses, the more room for error and the more the odds will be against him/her to have each board reacting perfect on every shot. The less boards the Bowler crosses, the more consistency that particular line will play.
As the ‘inside’ Bowler bowls more & more they will develop ‘holes’ in their swing by crossing a lot of boards while depending on the THP to help the ball back to the Pocket. By developing ‘holes’ in their Swing-Path, they will also develop timing problems from day-to-day. When there are ‘holes’ in a Bowler’s swing, it means there is resistance and that leads to muscle and lack of feel for everyday timing.
Obviously, by having a Swing-Path with NO resistance, it will be easier to develop timing on an everyday basis because the ball will feel lighter and easier to swing (without muscle).
Now the good stuff!
There is an answer to keeping the ‘holes’ out of one’s Swing-Path but it requires some practice and perseverance. The results will be more than satisfying once the Bowler develops a resistance-free swing.
‘Going Back to the Edge to Get Your Edge Back’ consists of moving way out to the Gutter and getting lined up to play STRAIGHT down the 1 st or 2 nd board (WITH A PLASTIC BALL). NOTE: Using a ‘reactive’ ball will hook too much playing the edge! By taking a PLASTIC ball and practicing straight down the EDGE, it will make the Bowler get ALL the ‘holes’ out of their Swing-Path or the ball will keep going into the Gutter. When the Bowler is used to playing ‘inside’ and swinging ‘outside’, the ball always goes behind the back too far and this is what is meant by having ‘holes’ in the swing. A swing without ‘holes’ is straight back & straight through.
Playing the EDGE makes him/her eventually swing straight back and straight through to keep the ball out of the Gutter. Make sense?
This can be a little frustrating at first, but remember the bigger picture is to get ALL the ‘holes’ out of the swing so he/she can have solid timing from day-to-day while the swing simply flows.
Another part of the bigger picture is this:
By ‘Going Back to the Edge to Get Your Edge Back’ and getting all the ‘holes’ out of one’s Swing-Path, the Bowler will be even better when they go back to their normal ‘inside’ playing line because they will have much more accuracy too! How cool is that?
So, by learning to play the edge (straight down the Gutter), the Bowler is actually much more proficient playing all areas of the lane.
An additional ‘positive’ to this technique is that the ‘EDGE’ can be played on ANY THP (Typical House Pattern) using a Plastic AND the Bowler will NOT have ‘transition’ issues because no one plays out there and the Plastic does NOT hook much.
Hence, playing the EDGE with a Plastic is much easier (once the ‘holes’ come out of the swing) because the Bowler will have the ‘Power of the Angle’ going into the Pocket. Also, by using a Plastic ball, it will not be hooking ‘Brooklyn’ unless the Bowler pulls the ball badly.
Once the ‘holes’ come out of the Swing-Path and the swing is resistance-free; we have our everyday goal of ‘LIVING IN THE POCKET AND STAYING CLEAN’!
Another ‘positive’ to playing the Edge is that the Bowler will move only once or twice all day.
Cool, huh?
Keeping things simple, quiet & easy for everyday timing & scoring!!
Wouldn’t everyone want a Swing-Path with NO ‘holes’ in it?
Wouldn’t YOU??????
Keep ROCKIN’!
- Randy Chism -
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