Bowling is a sport that everyone could take advantage of. It is incredibly personalized and enjoyable and allows people to bring their techniques and skills into the alley to play the game. One such very recently popularized technique is the Two-Handed Bowling technique.
You might be thinking, what is a two-handed bowling technique, and how does it work?
Well, that is precisely what I am here to tell you.
In this article, I will talk about this technique, its rules, how you can learn to bowl, and a few tips and tricks you would want to know about the two-handed bowling technique.
So, make sure you read this article until the end before you use or adapt this bowling technique.
Two-handed bowling technique
This bowling technique is a trick for throwing the bowling ball with both hands to generate better revolving motion and increase energy while throwing the ball.
Historically, bowling is considered to be only one-handed, and every bowler learned to throw the bowling ball with one of their hands, putting their fingers into the grip holes and hooking the ball simultaneously, occasionally providing a bit of support from their non-bowling hand.
But that’s not what you’re doing with the two handed bowling technique. The idea is similar to supporting the ball with your non-bowling hand, but the non-bowling hand plays an essential role in the ball’s release, which isn’t the case in one-handed bowling.
Throughout the last few years, this technique has become very popular. Many bowlers have adopted this technique because of the thrill and the opportunistic movement it provides to the ball, along with the control and throwing finesse.
But in no way, shape or form is the two handed bowling technique easy to learn.
If one-handed bowling technique needs a few months of training, then this will take twice as much effort and practice to get right so you can consistently throw the ball with the same movement and motion and get strikes and spares every time you make a throw. So, I would suggest you try out this incredible technique and experience the wonders it holds.
Famous Two-Handed Bowlers
To give you an idea of how successful two-handed bowlers have been in the international scene, I’m going to show you the top 3 two-handed bowlers. They have created waves in the bowling community and are rated as the top bowlers worldwide. Let us take a brief look at these bowlers.
Kyle Troup
Kyle is one of the most unique bowlers and is the son of the 8-time PBA Tour winner, Guppy Troup. He’s made an excellent name for himself by winning over ten regional championships and having about 15 perfect games in 10 seasons as a professional, so you’ve got a lot to learn from this guy.
Jason Belmonte
The pinnacle of this bowling technique, often referred to as “Belmo,” Jason Belmonte is one of the best in the business. The native Australian has gotten 23 perfect games as a professional and has won over 22 championships since 2008, which is an incredible achievement if you ask me.
Anthony Simonsen
The youngster of the lot, Anthony Simonsen is a Texan who joined the PBA tour around the age of 16 and has won over 7 PBA titles; he’s also one of the best two-handed bowlers in the international circle. So, you can say he is another great player you can follow and take a lot of style guidance from.
So, there are many inspirational people around the world that you can look up to and idolize to learn from when it comes to the two-handed bowling technique. All you need is talent, dedication, hard work, and sheer willpower that keeps you practicing until you reach two-handed glory.
Two-handed bowling rules
As fine as the bowling technique involving two hands is, there is no way to have avoided any controversy in the ruling department. Now, bowlers worldwide who do not consider two handed bowling an official technique give their reason that it provides the player with an unfair advantage, even though that is not the case.
According to the USBC, this bowling technique is perfectly normal as long as it agrees to the rules and regulations of a bowling delivery which requires bowlers to throw the bowling ball towards the pins.
One rule that has been recently added to the rulebook of the USBC for two-hander bowlers is to use a bowling ball with a proper “+” mark on the area where the palm is to be placed on the bowling ball.
Other than that, the same rules that apply to single-handed bowling techniques apply to two handed bowling techniques as well. So, that is not a thing to be concerned about. The ideal method would simply be reading and understanding all the USBC rules of bowling in general. This will clear the air if there is any uncertainty around the two handed bowling technique anyway.
How to Bowl two-handed
So, how can you bowl with two hands? What is the secret? Lucky for you, I’ve made a list of crucial factors you need to take care of to make sure you can learn the two-handed technique as fast as possible. Let’s take a look at the step-by-step learning guide for the two handed technique.
Keep Your Bowling Elbow on Your Hip
When you are at the starting position, make sure you lift the ball and keep your elbow straight with your hip touching it slightly and stand straight, making your aim.
Support the Ball with a non-throwing hand
With the other hand, you will place it directly opposite in angle to the throwing hand and make a cradling gesture with the ball, which will help move it and hook it better.
Lower Your Upper Body
As you take charge and move with the ball, you’re going to lower your upper body to get as close to the ground as you can so you don’t loft the ball up when you release it from your hands.
Bring Your Non-throwing shoulder in front
To swing the ball back before you push it forward and release it, you are going to bring the non-throwing shoulder ahead and charge your throw by moving the throwing arm and shoulder backward.
Collapse your wrist at the time of release
Finally, you are going to collapse the throwing arm’s wrist at the release time to make sure that the ball hooks and moves according to the pattern of movement you devised for it to go on.
Two-handed bowling tips
Now that you know how to use this bowling technique, what tips and tricks can you use to make learning faster and the overall accuracy better? Let us look at some of the best tips and tricks for bowlers who use it to knock down pins.
Practice a lot
First and foremost, you might not pay too much attention to this tip, but it is the most realistic and useful trick. You need to work hard and give a lot of time and effort to practicing to make your posture and throw better overall.
Keep your elbows straight while throwing
Next, you need to make sure at the time of the release of the ball, you keep your elbows straight while throwing because that will make sure the ball does not move out of the desired path.
Lift your back leg
Lifting your back leg when you throw the ball will help keep the balance at the time of the throw and initiate the perfect movement of the ball itself.
Spin the ball with the non-throwing hand
Taking advantage of the second hand, you will get the ball to spin and hook mainly with the help of the non-throwing hand when you bring it to the front throw the ball.
Keep your palm beneath the ball
Always keep your throwing palm under the ball because it will allow you to control the ball better throughout the movement, which is crucial when using the two-handed technique.
Conclusion
Two-handed bowling is becoming amazingly popular in the international bowling scene now. It is here to stay, and I believe you need to experience it and learn it as fast as possible.
With the help of the tips and tricks mentioned above, you will be able to make your form and throw better and ultimately become better at two-handed bowling. So, make sure you use the proper technique the next time you go bowling, and you are going to have a fantastic time!
