Hey what do you guys think is a good speed to throw on a typical league shot? On average what do you think most people throw?

There is alot of other varibles to consider, but with my revs and ball surface on med/heavy oil I'm on my game when I come in around 15 mph. C.A.T.S. system has it off my hand at 18 1/2 to 19. I dont like to make big adjustments so I play with speed and hand release alot.

Asking what is a good speed for a house shot is like asking how long should you be driving a golf ball on a par 4. The answer? As far as you're comfortable hitting it without trying to do too much and short enough to give you a good second shot into the green.

Bowling's no different. Like a lot of things in this sport, speed is relative; relative to the conditions you face, relative to the shot that you need to be playing, relative to what you impart to the bowling ball and affected by the conditions and shot. There is no "should be" number for speed. Optimally, you want your speed to match your revs, but again, that's optimally and some people can do that and others aren't able to do that.

So what it boils down to is you need to throw the ball in a comfortable range; fast enough to knock the pins down yet slow enough to remain in control. That's pretty much it. What number that is, exactly, depends on the individual.

I was asking on average what speed does the average league bowler throw.

And I can tell you it depends on the league and the bowler. Trying to give you numbers is nearly impossible because it depends on a lot of factors. Typically, for handicap leagues, men will average anywheres from 10-20+ MPH. Women will mainly be in the 8-14 MPH range. For higher average bowlers and scratch leagues, most men are 14-20 MPH and most women are in the 12-15 MPH range.

I hope that's what you were looking for because that's pretty much the best I can do.

I'll just second what Brian has said. There are high average bowlers (200+) in my leagues that throw at 13-14mph, some at 15-16mph, and some at 17+mph. There are others with middle averages (140-150) that throw 10mph and some that throw 17mph. Ball speed really does vary greatly.

As a reminder the mph listed on the overhead scoring system is measured at the pins, the ball has slowed down drastically from when it left your hand. Higher friction between the ball and the lane slow the ball down more. Crossing more boards makes the ball slow down more at the pins, as it has a longer distance to travel.

As a rule you generally want your ball speed to match your rev rate, so watch the ball read the midlane, if the ball is not reading the midlane chances are your speed is faster than your rev rate, if the ball is rolling too soon then chances are your rev rate is faster than your ball speed.

I have seen baseball pitchers pay more attention to how fast they are throwing the ball than the batter, and they usually get rocked so bad there is a conga line around the bases. Don't get too involved with what the overhead says since the speed isn't your actual speed anyway and increasing the overhead mph can adversely affect your ball reaction and pin carry.

You can't ask this question like you are. Well you can, but it's meaningless. As Coach Jim said, speed is only part of the equation. Speed and rev rate go together. If you throw the ball 16mph and get 3 revs on the ball, the ball isn't going to hook. If you throw the ball 16mph and get 30 revs on the ball, you're too rev dominant.

You're generally going to see bowlers throw the ball between 14 and 18mph. Some even throw it slower or faster and there's really no way to corelate who does better by their ball speed. Extremely slow or extremely fast will generally not work as well, but there still have been people to have success at those speeds.

Is the speed posted during the ESPN telecasts also measured at the pins or off the hands?

They use Digitrax which measures off the hand speed.

I started focusing on ball speed, too much, and ended up causing myself more problems than I was ready to deal with.

Based on the balls I throw, how they are drilled and the surface, along with my rev rate (which i haven't taken the time to messure), I carry best when my ball speed (at the pins) stays around 15 to 15.5mph

When the ball speed drops below 15, I start leaving weaks 7's from hitting the 1-2 pocket flat. Or, I leave weak 10's from hitting the 1-2 pocket light.

If my ball seed starts increasing above 15mph, I am ok till I go over 16mph, then I start leaving a lot of solid 7's, 9's and ocassional 8's

Thanks guys, what is the best way to raise you rev rate?

1. Make sure your ball fits your hand so you don't have to squeeze the thumb to hang onto it. This way your thumb exits the ball on it's own without you having to let it go.

2. Learn to use your legs more, by that I mean bend your knees more going into the slide.

3. Keep the ball in tight to your ankle at the release.

4. Increase your wrist strength so you can keep your fingers on the inside and below the equator of the ball at the release, this way your fingers are in the ball longer and drive through the ball when your thumb comes out.

What happens if you have a fast speed but not a high enough rev rate?

Your ball won't hook as much.

EDIT: Ok ok, I'll be serious. The first part still holds true though! This can cause problems because you might not get enough entry angle into the pocket. Your ball is also more likely to be skidding as it enters the pocket, which can lead to over-deflection.

if the speed is higher than the rev rate the ball will not pick up friction a fast, like driving too fast on a slippery surface.

You wouldn't turn left at an intersection going 60 would you? Same principal in bowling. There are a few guys (Robert Smith comes to mind) who has tons of speed but also gets the ball to hook a lot. He has a tremendous amount or revs on the ball. Best thing to do is to Track your speed and the break-point on the lane with your current speed. You should be able to tell if your speed is too fast/too slow based on it's reaction on the lane. You don't want it with a bunch of energy left when it gets to the pit but then again, you don't want it to roll out at 50 feet. Best advice, post a vid and let some of us help.

Will try to do. I used to throw it much slower and it hooked fine but now that I have increased my speed everything goes straight.

I interested PB220, with the average you have stated and your 300 games why not stay with the game you have. Dont take this wrong but it seems your asking questions that I should be asking, giving your ave.

Because if you stay the same that is not good in my mind. I am looking to get better b4 I was throwing it so slow I was using low end stuff since it was the only stuff that would not hook to much now that I have better equipment I should have better carry. If you don't believe me check on the usbc website under find a bowler.

I am sorry I am now the all knowing bowling god like you.

I am by no means a "bowling god". I was just impressed by your stats and wish mine were like that. Thats the bad thing with forums, we mistake comments wrong sometimes. Sorry.

Having a 220+ average and multiple 300 games doesn't really mean you know about technical side of the game or even some of are a great bowler. I know a bowler that averages 230+ on a house shot in two different houses. He is a hard throwing cranker that likes to stay on the same line, he gets most of his strikes from pure power, not so much accuracy. Take him out of his comfort zone, like a house with more oil and less backend and he will have trouble, I've seen this personally. Put him on a more demanding pattern such as a sport/PBA shot and he will really struggle.

Throw in the equipment and lane conditions of today and many people are averaging way higher than their skill, with out much knowledge of the game.