Many people enjoy a fun time bowling with their friends, but many wonder what’s the right way to bowl. Should one bowl with one or two hands? Well, the Brighton High School bowling team can offer some insight for that answer.
After a poll taken in the heat of competition season, it shows that there’s a 60-40 split on whether the athletes bowl with one or two hands. Before revealing which one is favored by the team, let’s look at why some prefer one over the other.
Those who bowl with one hand often claim that it is most accurate.
“It is less moving parts, and one-handed helps with accuracy and control,” junior Reid Thomas said.
Sophomore Jack Risner said also said that he prefers “one-handed because you can generally be a bit more accurate than two-handed, and if you get good revs on the ball, you still get plenty of power and hook.”
Another major reason many chose to bowl with one hand is that it’s how they learned how to bowl, and they have just continued with that technique into high school competition, a sentiment both junior Sara Brock and sophomore Avery Willim agreed with.
Senior Jackson Alexander offered a more unique answer.
“[I prefer] one-handed because it is the traditional way to bowl. You have the opportunity to be more direct and accurate with your shots. You can still have lots of power and direction doing it one-handed than two. It might take longer to learn, but it is worthwhile. You will get more respect from the community also,” Alexander said.
However, not all bowlers believe that one-handed is the way to go. Freshman Hudson Laurie said that he prefers “two-handed because it gives more revs and more power.”
Others also emphasized how two-handed bowling offers the potential to send a ball down the lane with more power, increasing the potential of knocking down pins.
“Two-handed is superior and is way more consistent, and you can throw it harder with more revs and can cook all ten pins,” freshman Asher Ramsdell said.
When picking which way to bowl, it’s not always a permanent decision.
“My first season when I started, I originally bowled one-handed, but as the year went on, I made the switch to two-handed,” senior Sam Anderson said.
Though teammates are divided on which bowling technique is best, there is a definitive “better” choice among them. In this close 60/40 split, one-handed comes out on top of two-handed. Ultimately, though, it is an individual choice, and bowlers using both techniques have achieved success.
