Left-handed bowlers are just as talented and skilled as their right-handed counterparts, and that’s a fact. But we also have to admit that lefties have it harder than righties and here are a few reasons why.
Instructions Confusion
Generally speaking, the instructions for bowling are geared toward right-handed bowlers, an understandable decision since majority of the population are right-handed. Left-handed bowlers are then advised to reverse the instructions and get on with their lives, so to speak.
But it’s easier said than done because there are many aspects of bowling that cannot be reversed so easily. For example, the pocket for lefties is the one and two pin while in the double wood, it’s the three and nine pin.
Adjustment Differences
Just like right-handed bowlers, lefties also have to adjustments in everything from their approach to their throw. But this can be difficult due to the misconceptions that surround lefties and their game.
For example, lefties are often told that it’s an advantage to have the entire side, a statement that implies lefties have an easier shot. It also implies that whatever right-handed bowlers are doing to the lanes have little to no effect on the lefties. Both are obviously false but it takes an observant bowler to realize it.
Think about it: As right-handed bowlers start to move farther and farther to the left on the approach, the left-handed bowlers will experience infringement on their lanes. The right-handed bowlers’ laydown point on the lane is encroaching on the shot of the lefties.
There’s also the changes in lane conditions brought by each throw of the ball. As the ball rolls down the lane, it changes the oil placement that, in turn, requires bowlers to make adjustments regardless of their throwing hand.
Right-handed bowlers are likely to make bigger moves on their approach and their target places. Left-handed bowlers, however, may have to make smaller moves so as to match the lane conditions. In many cases, their smaller moves affect their ball speed and hand position.
There’s an effect on the differences in adjustment on making spare shots, too. Left-handed bowlers have a slightly more challenging task of shooting their spares with a hook. The reason: The oil in the middle of the lane is so unpredictable that making calculated predictions isn’t possible always.
With that being said, give your left-handed fellow bowlers a chance to maximize their shot, even if it means waiting for just a little longer than usual. But that doesn’t mean that you should just hand them the game because it’s still a contest, after all.