Left Handed vs Right Handed Bowler: Bowling Differences

Just like writing, people can bowl with either their right or left hand. Some bowlers even use both of their hands to bowl. So what is your dominating hand? Which hand do you use to bowl? Bowlers are discussing whether there are any differences between left-handed and right-handed bowling for so long.

Doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or a professional, it is normal to wonder which bowling style is more advantageous so that you can improve your skill. This article is written to clear out any confusion between a lefty and a righty bowler. So stay tuned to know their bowling difference. Let’s begin.

Are there any differences between right-handed bowling and left-handed bowling?

Simply put, bowlers who use their left hands to bowl are left-handed bowlers, and those who use their right hands are called right-handed bowlers. Based on which hand a bowler uses, there are some significant differences that you can’t just avoid.

One of the most extensive conversations in bowling is what is the difference between right-handed and left-handed bowlers, what are the strategies they follow, and the balls they use— a whole shebang behind these two styles of bowling.

Difference in Stance and Approach:

So where do you stand as a left-handed bowler? If you’re blind going into a tournament, and you need to throw your first shot, you should probably just stand aligned with the gutter and throw it close to the channel and see what happens. So when righties are standing a bit to the right side or in the middle, the left-handed bowlers take their stance a bit on the left side and approach in a straight line. How a bowler will take their approach varies from person to person. Whether it is a 3-step, 4-step, or 5-step approach is entirely up to them.

Difference in Ball Swing:

One of the benefits of having left-handed bowlers is their natural hooks. When the balls leave their fingers, their left hand is already turning. This is why they get to experience a more pronounced ball swing than righties.

Difference in Targeted Board(s):

Depending on the bowling oil pattern, a bowler needs to either bowl from the outside or from the inside. When they need to bowl from the outside, it means they need to move to the side. When a right-handed bowler moves outside, they usually target any board between the 1-15 arrows, and a left-handed bowler targets any board between the 25-40 arrows. Some bowling alleys have special lanes for left-handed bowlers. If they don’t, you will probably see two colors of arrows in the regular lane. The black ones are generally for the left-handers, and the red ones are for left-hander bowlers.

Difference in Lane Oil:

Have you ever participated in any tournament? If you look carefully, you will see that there are only 5 or 10% of the bowlers are left-handed which is not that much. As we all know, there’s a bunch of oil, and when the ball goes down the lane, the oil moves. We like to call it transitioning. So the more you bowl on one particular side of the lane, the more the oil will transition. Right-handed bowlers are compelled to learn how to deal with this lane transition, something left-handed bowlers think about too much.

During the transition, a righty might move in or out, or change their bowling balls. A lefty doesn’t have to do any of these. Basically, left-handers don’t have to face traffic and faster lane transition and necessary adjustments like right-handers. When a pattern starts out easy but gets harder as you bowl on it, the lefties have the most advantage. But when the pattern starts hard but gets easy with time, right-handers enjoy more advantage.

Difference in Ball Motion:

If you notice a left-handed bowler’s bowling ball motion carefully, you will see that their ball goes a lot straighter than right-handed bowlers. On your normal house shot, you get a pretty large over under and the easiest way to score on that would be to get as close to it as possible. Righties just start to blend it out and move inside, and as the head oil goes away lefties also have to chase it in that direction.

It is a constant battle for high-rev lefties because they can’t hook their bowling ball much. So are forced to play more traditionally. Whether it is bowling ball angles, speed, or ball rotation, left-handed bowlers always try to find ways to play as straight as possible. This is why lefties often prefer bowling balls that aren’t too high-hooking, but still strong enough to hit the pins hard.

Difference in Pocket-hitting:

While the right-handed bowlers mainly target the pocket between the 1 and 3 pins, the left-handed bowlers hit the pocket between the 1 and 2 pins. This is why the 1-3 pocket is called the right-hand pocket, and the 1-2 pocket is called the left-hand pocket.

Do left-hander bowlers get advantage?

It’s not every day you get to see a left-handed bowler, but when you do see one, I’m sure you keep on staring. As a right-hander myself, I do like to observe how lefties bowl and often wonder if they bowl better because of playing from the other boards. Whether a bowler bowls better or not has nothing to do with the hand they use to play with.

Never have I thought (when I was an amateur) that left-handed bowlers get to enjoy some advantages because of their dominating hand. But it is true. Most bowlers all over the world believed that left-handed bowlers have quite a lot of advantages.

The biggest advantage of being a lefty bowler is having more oil on their side of the lane. This is because other right-handed bowlers throw on the right side of the lane, and every right-hander does this, no exception. Because of throwing on the same side, again and again, they dry up the lane, but the left side of the lane remains untouched. They get to enjoy the non-broken down lane for a longer time.

Let me warn you, friends, don’t get tempted by this huge advantage lefties have. If you now try to convert into a left-handed bowler, it would be almost impossible. So don’t run to your local bowling alley and start bowling with your left hand to become a left-handed bowler. It won’t do you any good. If anything, it will make your current bowling skill go down.

Can a lefty use right-handed ball or right-handed bowlers use left-handed ball?

It is wise for both left and right-handed bowlers to start with a benchmark ball that is not too crazy and going to roll smoothly. Left-handers bowlers need to choose a ball that is going to have predictable motion because they already have risks playing from the outside. So if it reacts too aggressively, the ball is gonna go into the gutter. Left-handers always use left-handed balls, whereas right-handers use right-handed balls.

Left-handed bowling balls differ in two ways from right-handed bowling balls. The main difference is in the spacing of the finger and thumb holes and where it is placed (location) on the bowling ball. The second difference is in the ball’s center weight. Generally, the ring finger hole in a left-handed bowling ball is behind the middle finger hole. The middle finger is the last finger that leaves the bowling ball of a lefty bowler.

So if right-handed bowlers use a left-handed bowling ball, they will have trouble getting their fingers out on time during the ball release. It will also be troubling for left-handed bowlers to use right-handed bowling balls as their middle finger will get out of the ball too early and jeopardize their shot.

What adjustment left handed bowlers have to do ?

To be a good left-handed bowler, you have to be a high-level spare shooter as well as a good strike shooter. For that, you have to spread out your versatility, almost like the Pro bowler Rhino Page. The more versatile you can be the better you are gonna be in different situations. And being versatile means, you have to make adjustments with your shots.

So on the lane, a left-handed bowler needs to make some adjustments to perfect their game. First is the drilling layouts and its positing on the ball, then the stance location and approach. Left-handers also need to target different boards to roll their bowling balls down the lane and aim for 1-2 pin pocket for maximum pin knockdown.

When the lane breaks down, the left-handed bowlers keep making their shots straight and move farther to the side for better hooking angles. But the right-handed bowlers move inside when the lane starts to transition. This is when they eat up a lot of the head oil from the lane. So, these are the basic adjustments you have to make to to bowl better as a left-hander.

Conclusion

There you go, my fellas! Now, you know the differences between left and right-handed bowlers and their bowling strategies. Once you know the differences, you will be able to bowl with your left-handed bowler mate in a more compatible way. So practice what you need to practice, and get better at bowling. If you have any more questions that need to be answered, don’t hesitate to leave a comment and I will reply to you shortly. Good luck!