I pre-set my hand for hook on the ball....

[Hammer]

I tried staying behind the ball as I reach release and then turning my hand, and not whole arm, to get hook on the ball. It is okay but I find that I can sometimes turn too little or too much. To me anyway it seems like pre-setting my hand for the amount of revs I want is easier. The only thing about this is you have to make sure you stay in that hand position at release. Also you want to make your ball swings close to your slide foot ankle to make it work well. If your swing ends up like a foot away from your slide foot ankle you can easily end up with a pulled shot or a shot with not enough revs that you wanted. In this pre-setting I make sure that my ring and middle finger's pads are pressing against the finger holes and that my thumb's whole length is pressing down it the thumb hole. If you press your thumb with just the thumb pad your knuckle will raise which means you are grabbing and your thumb will get hung up trying to come out and that is not good for the shot. With the fingers you want to keep them hooked at release to put spin on the ball and by pressing the whole length of the thumb I don't mean in a death grip. Remember at release you want the thumb to fly out so it transfers the weight of the ball onto your hooked finger tips which will cause the ball to get good revs on it. The hard part about pre-setting the hand is making sure you don't change anything through the release. For me this is easier.

[Zothen]

Whatever works for you as long as you get the results you want! Thats why we bowlers are a unique breed,not 1 style is the same! I've seen them all! I saw 1 guy put 1 hand behind his back,pick up his ball and hold it straight out and then bowl that way. I must say he was consistant and avg 180's. I've seen guys stick their arms straight(Think T)and bring their ball back to slide foot and torque the hell out of the ball. So like I said whatever works for you!

Zothen

[MisterSinister]

Some people can manipulate the ball on the downswing to do anything they want, some people are better locking in thier wrist position. Either way works, just make sure you not.so locked that there is tension on your arm as well.

[Hammer]

There was a time when I would unconsciously straighten my middle and ring finger as the ball was coming off my hand. Then I realized I should keep those two fingers hooked like they are when in the ball before you release it. Since then I make sure that I am aware to keep those fingers hooked all the way through the release to get the revs going.

[billf]

So you're generating revs with lift rather than rotation. It works..better for some than others but still works.

[Hammer]

So you're generating revs with lift rather than rotation. It works..better for some than others but still works.

Seems like pre-setting the hand and wrist before making the approach is easier for folks that just can't get the hang of staying behind the ball and then turning the hand after the thumb comes out to get some or a lot of revs on the ball. So it turns out whatever works for you is what you do.

[billf]

I don't pre-set but I do keep my fingers hooked for extra lift. I actually pre-set my wrist with my thumb at 1 and ring finger at 8 then rotate and lift. I know you don't need lift with today's balls but the extra feels better to me and as long as it works, I do it. When it doesn't then I alter it.