Bowling or baseball

[Golfbeat]

The movements of a golf swing are unique but comparisons with other sports are regularly made. Baseball and hockey are often used but recently I have heard that a comparison with bowling might be more helpful. A mixture of an underhand throw and a side hand throw. Certainly can also help with better staying in posture through impact.

 

What do you think?

[Millbrook]

Tony Luzcak describes it as an underhand throwing action with the trail arm so yes I do think there are comparisons. perhaps not just physically but also as mental pictures to grasp the action.

[Ghost of Snead]

Maybe you've seen this ...

 

[Kuuuch]

Maybe you've seen this ...

 

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Good stuff.

[bph7]

Bowling seems to have way too much active hand/arm movement to be useful for a body release. I think it would be much for useful for a "stall and sling" draw.

[Michael C.]

Maybe, with posture. With golf, as in a lot of sports, you're standing perpendicular to your target. With bowling, you're face forward. With baseball you have a pivot and lead with your elbow whether you're hitting or throwing.

 

The one correlation I do see living in a true four season climate is the same guys that play in golf leagues during the summer are often on bowling leagues in the winter. Most of these guys are retired. I know that doesn't help the topic along. :)

 

[Ghost of Snead]

Bowling seems to have way too much active hand/arm movement to be useful for a body release. I think it would be much for useful for a "stall and sling" draw.

 

I'm guessing that bowling was brought up as GG mentions the bowling motion in some of his vids.

[Doppelganger]

Seems like a waste of time relating one sport to another sport someone may not have even played or put in the same level of effort to perform correctly.

[Kuuuch]

Seems like a waste of time relating one sport to another sport someone may not have even played or put in the same level of effort to perform correctly.

 

I learned how to shallow the club by rehearsing a side arm baseball throw, helped me click what Monte says about leading with right elbow. So it's had merit for me

[GLG20]

Bowling seems to have way too much active hand/arm movement to be useful for a body release. I think it would be much for useful for a "stall and sling" draw.

As a one time very good bowler, multiple 300 games and 800 series, had a league average peak at 220. I would have to agree, and it may be what is holding me

back as a golfer as I am very much a right sided body person and my main golf problems relate to getting this moved over to the left.

[Petunia Sprinkle]

I think it's more like golf than sidearm throwing, or bowling. In other words, the differences make them not useful comparisons.

[MonteScheinblum]

I've seen a lot of bowling in the golf course...

 

There are many similarities to many sports.

 

A right handed golfer makes a very similar motion to a left handed, cross court back hand in tennis.

[Daniel Eason]

Bowling seems to have way too much active hand/arm movement to be useful for a body release. I think it would be much for useful for a "stall and sling" draw.

As a one time very good bowler, multiple 300 games and 800 series, had a league average peak at 220. I would have to agree, and it may be what is holding me

back as a golfer as I am very much a right sided body person and my main golf problems relate to getting this moved over to the left.

 

I bowled for England...league peak about similar. Do you have issues with Left side and shallowing?

 

Hardy in his plane truth vids used bowling analogy and I thought great... but i think it was no good for me you got to shallow it out while turning.

 

Release a ball backup maybe more appropriate for release style?

[Daniel Eason]

I've seen a lot of bowling in the golf course...

 

There are many similarities to many sports.

 

A right handed golfer makes a very similar motion to a left handed, cross court back hand in tennis.

 

Try that releasing a bowling ball

[Palauan Hammer]

I was a competitive bowler for many years, I don't know that my bowling mechanics relate to the swing at all. I can say the visualization of various shots in bowling transferred nicely to the putting green, for me at least.

[bluerrpilot]

There can be similarities to the golf swing and arm swing in bowling...although the baseball swing is much more similar than the bowling motion.

 

The hips must be clear in order to let the arm swing freely under the shoulder socket. There is rotation of the hips back, but they need to stay back during the arm swing. Also with bowling, the arm swing must drop into a slot before it is accelerated to the release point. The fastest part of the arm swing should be past the release of the ball. Contrary to popular belief, there is much less hand movement and rotation then most think there is.

 

Looser and a more free swing with the arm will create faster arm speed as well as more accuracy. The breaking motion of sliding to a stop and then letting the arm whip through is very similar to the breaking motion and releasing of the club.

[harolease]

The sidearm motion is not correct either. The shoulders are more at an angle of a submarine thrower at impact

Regular pitching mechanism is exactly like over the top move

[JustTheTips]

Mentally it is the same type of game. You are directly competing against anyone and you can go at your own tempo. And the pressure can build (i.e. get 4 strikes in a row the next one is really important score wise.)

 

I sort of agree unless you are an expert in the other sport, I am not sure how useful the comparision are. I do blame hockey every time I fat a shot. I sped 10 years practicing hitting a couple inches behind a puck to generate power. Doesn't work as well in golf:)

[games]

I was a very good bowler (Tier 1 collegiate champion) and I still average 225 in a once-a-month couples league. But, I am nowhere near where I used to be in terms of accuracy or ball speed. In full disclosure, I've never been able to directly apply the feels or timing I mention below, and I believe it is due to me being left-handed in most things (including bowling and baseball), but right-handed in golf (and also, oddly, throwing a frisbee).

 

From a mental standpoint, I think the best analogy that has already been mentioned is visualizing breaking putts entering "the pocket" of the hole, not the center of the hole. For left-to-right putts it is the bowling equivalent of rolling into the 1-2 pocket; for right-to-left it enters the 1-3 pocket.

 

Physically, there are CONCEPTS very similar between golf and bowling, but not many that directly relate. A couple of examples:

- in bowling, excessive out-to-in swings lose power (just like golf); excessive in-to-out in bowling swings tend to lose accuracy and consistency (equivalent of golf "stuck");

- as has been mentioned, clearing the hips is critical in both sports, it is just performed in different ways;

- dropping the thumb early in bowling is the golf equivalent of "casting" and results in "dropping" the ball around the foul line; better bowlers release the ball out and onto the lane (my personal bowling "good feel" was hitting it "late" or slightly on the upswing);

[oikos1]

Hmm, I'm thinking about bringing a bowling ball to the course and rolling it around in the parking lot for a 15 minute pre-round warmup...

[Ghost of Snead]

Hmm, I'm thinking about bringing a bowling ball to the course and rolling it around in the parking lot for a 15 minute pre-round warmup...

 

Better yet, bring your bowling ball and your lawnmower for a true pre-round warmup.