Thumb question

[ArtVandelay]

So, my new ball is drilled and ready to go. I paid extra to get the interchangeable thumb feature, because... Well, my last ball wasn't drilled very well and I had thumb problems that would occasionally make me go back to the two finger approach due to pain.

So this new ball has a MUCH, MUCH better span. I couldn't be happier about the span, but the thumb hole is much tighter than my last ball. And that's fine. I spoke to the pro shop guy at length about possible fixes to make life easier on me, plus I have the interchangeable thumb now, so making changes will be much easier.

My question is: This feels pretty tight. If I just put my hand in the ball and try to take my thumb out, it takes a little effort, and my last ball took no effort at all. I've been told by a couple people that this is correct and I'll get used to it and like life better. But how do you guys get your thumb to release in the down swing? Sometimes my thumb gets stuck and it ends ugly.

With my last ball, I had to hold on pretty tight and then know when to release the pressure my thumb had on the ball, because that pressure is all that was keeping my thumb IN the ball, and the ball on my hand. With this tighter set up, should my thumb be relaxed throughout the process? It almost feels tight enough that it SHOULD be relaxed throughout the process, but I'm scared to death I'll end up dropping it that way.

What are your opinions/tips? How can I fix this and get a good, consistent, release? Is it too tight? Should I get it drilled bigger? I don't want to, yet. I'm trying to keep an open mind and learn this new way and become better. I'm down from my 185 to a 184 average now. hahahaha.

[jbeck]

This is a good question and I'm inquired to know the answer myself! I've always wondered if my thumb hole was too tight because it's very snug if I put it all the way in and I've launched my ball once, but if that's how it's supposed to be then I guess it's ok? I don't put my thumb all the way in now unless I cup the ball to keep it from coming out in the backswing.

[ArtVandelay]

Good! I'm glad I'm not the only one with that question. I'd really like to hear what other people think. What kind of pressure do you have on your thumb? Do you use pressure at all, or does the snugness take care of that for you? What do you feel when the thumb releases? When does your thumb release?

I have my OLD way figured out just fine, but I'm not getting younger and I need a NEW way (that's hopefully less painful... Stupid golf injury!!!).

Hopefully we can get a good discussion going. I think any input can help.

[Hammer]

If you take your ball and put your fingers in it first and then your thumb like you are getting ready to bowl and while holding your ball you try to pull your thumb out the thumb will hang up some but that is normal for a fingertip ball. It does that because of the span. It is different when you throw the ball because your thumb is laying flat in the thumb hole and the weight of the ball makes your thumb slide out if you keep your hand behind the ball when your are entering the release zone. What will hang up the thumb is if you are gripping the ball with your thumb which will make the thumb knuckle raise and once raised will hang up when the thumb tries to come out. Your thumb in reality does almost nothing in the swing accept stay in the thumb hole to balance the ball until it is thrown. So all you do with the thumb is squeeze lightly and you make sure when doing this is your whole length of the thumb is lying flat inside the hole and stays that way throughout the swing. Another thing that will hang up a thumb is if you start turning your hand before the thumb comes out and now the thumb is facing inside on the swing and will have a hard time coming out. To find out if the thumb hole is right try this. Put your fingers and thumb in the ball and with your hand behind the ball and your wrist straight put the ball down on a carpeted floor while you are kneeling down and your arm is straight. If you have to do this by your couch with a pillow in frnt of it that will catch the ball. Now all you have to do is slide the ball back a little and then push the ball on the carpet towards the pillow leaving your wrist straight and your hand behind the ball and let your thumb slide out and then your fingertips pushing the ball into the pillow. Make sure the ball stays on the carpet the whole time. If your thumbhole is correct this little drill will let you know so. Make sure when doing this the entire length of your thumb is laying flat in the hole and you are not gripping tightly. You don't have to slide the ball fast or hard when you bring it forward. Doing this little drill with the ball on a carpeted floor takes the fear out of finding out if your thumb whole is too tight or not. This is a lot better then being at the alley and taking a full swing and ending up going down the alley with the ball. Let me know if this little drill works out for you.

[ArtVandelay]

I don't think I completely understand your drill, but if I'm reading this correctly your thumb SHOULD have pressure on the ball, BUT that pressure must be generated by holding your thumb flat? I think that's where my problem is... I think my thumb naturally bends in the ball when I apply any kind of pressure. So is that a "pitch" issue, do you think?

I'm not keen on throwing a ball at my couch. Pillow or not. hahaha. I think I get what you're saying though. I'll give it a go against something else and see what results it gets. Thanks for the tip. I really do appreciate it. I really want to get this new style to work for me, but my team can't afford a huge drop in my average either (currently in first by half a game, but my 184 average carries us against some of the other teams. The next highest is a 169).

I think this transition will be tough, but I'm excited about the possibilities. I think your comment cleared a couple things up for me. Thank you!

[Hammer]

When you do this drill you are not trying to knock the couch over. The position you take is you take your sliding leg and put it at a 90 degree angle. Your other leg is the one with the knee on the floor. So you are setting up like you are in your slide position on the alley. Now you put your fingers and thumb in the ball. After this straighten out your arm so your hand is behind the ball and your wrist is straight and your thumb is lightly pressing it's entire length in the thumb hole. Now making sure your ball is on the carpeted floor with your arm straight pull the ball back a foot or two and then slide the ball forward on the carpet hard enough to make your thumb slide out and your fingers come out last. If you are not gripping hard with the thumb it should come out fairly easily. Make sure that thumb knuckle doesn't come up when you push the ball forward. If it does it might be a habit that you have to break. If you want to do any kind of gripping of the ball it should be done with the fingers but not a death grip. What will make you grip the ball on the way down is if you muscle the ball from the top of the backswing to the release. When you do this the weight of the ball multiplies and makes it hard to hold onto. If you let gravity bring the ball down to the release your hand will not have to death grip it all of a sudden. So make sure your hand stays behind the ball until right before the release and then your thumb if gripping with it's entire length lightly will slide out easily and then your gripping fingers will hit the ball with some good revs. At practice you might have to focus on your hand the whole time to make sure that it is staying behind the ball all the way to the release. When your thumb comes out you want to make sure that your fingertips stay hooked and don't straighten out to let the ball come off your hand. If the fingertips straighten out you will lose any good lift on the ball which will then lose some revs for you.

[ArtVandelay]

That makes more sense to me. Thank you for the clarification. I'll try that.

[bowl1820]

A easier to read version of the clarification:


When you do this drill you are not trying to knock the couch over. The position you take is you take your sliding leg and put it at a 90 degree angle. Your other leg is the one with the knee on the floor. So you are setting up like you are in your slide position on the alley.

Now you put your fingers and thumb in the ball. After this straighten out your arm so your hand is behind the ball and your wrist is straight and your thumb is lightly pressing it's entire length in the thumb hole.

Now making sure your ball is on the carpeted floor with your arm straight pull the ball back a foot or two and then slide the ball forward on the carpet hard enough to make your thumb slide out and your fingers come out last. If you are not gripping hard with the thumb it should come out fairly easily.

Make sure that thumb knuckle doesn't come up when you push the ball forward. If it does it might be a habit that you have to break. If you want to do any kind of gripping of the ball it should be done with the fingers but not a death grip.

What will make you grip the ball on the way down is if you muscle the ball from the top of the backswing to the release. When you do this the weight of the ball multiplies and makes it hard to hold onto.

If you let gravity bring the ball down to the release your hand will not have to death grip it all of a sudden. So make sure your hand stays behind the ball until right before the release and then your thumb if gripping with it's entire length lightly will slide out easily and then your gripping fingers will hit the ball with some good revs.

At practice you might have to focus on your hand the whole time to make sure that it is staying behind the ball all the way to the release. When your thumb comes out you want to make sure that your fingertips stay hooked and don't straighten out to let the ball come off your hand. If the fingertips straighten out you will lose any good lift on the ball which will then lose some revs for you.

[Hammer]

Thanks bowl1820, that is easier to read segmenting it that way. It makes more sense to me too now and I wrote it. LOL. I hope it can help anyone who reads it.

[ArtVandelay]

Paragraphs make a difference! hahahaha.

I just read something that said switching from 2 fingers to 2 and a thumb takes a while. One person said they've been working on it for 6 weeks. eeeeeek. I hope it doesn't take that long to adjust. I never saw a huge rev rate difference on my old ball when I'd go from 2 to 3, but this new ball is so dramatically different, I wonder...

[billf]

The pressure for the thumb should be at the base and very slight. It's hard to get use to for some but don't bend your thumb (gripping). Having interchangable thumbs you can always get a size bigger. Very helpful if your thumb swells.
I've had ITs since January. Now that I'm use to them my smallest one is too big. It's amazing how tight it can be and still release.

[ArtVandelay]

Thank you! And it's funny you say that because I just tried that "throw the ball from your knees softly into a pillow" and it released fine, but the base of my thumb is a little sore now. It's not unbearable. The problem is I'm doing this on the rug, so I can't really tell what kind of rotation the ball is getting since it straightens itself out immediately. But I can kind of feel what the idea is, and I was concentrating on feeling the ball come off my fingertips. I felt that quite a few times before I quit (I started getting a bit too eager to throw harder, and I'm just not into ruining the house and furniture!). Ya know... This transition might not be that bad after all. I had my concerns because it's so different than what I was used to...

I kept trying to feel it off my fingers and think of that football drill (throw an underhand spiral). Any other tips to try to make this transition easier?

And thanks, as always, for your advice, Bill. Do you think I'd be wise to go get another thumb (bigger size) asap to try to alleviate some of that soreness in the later frames/games? Or do you think I should wait it out and maybe go a size smaller for my next thumb hole? It seems you think snugger is the way to go, or maybe I read that wrong...

[billf]

Snugger is better without a doubt. But don't rush it either. It takes time to get use to and trust that the thumb will come out. The only time it will stick is if you bend your thumb. Mine is so tight now (thank you tape) that I have to actually force it in. As it swells during multi games then I just switch thumbs.

[ArtVandelay]

Good advice. Thanks! I was already thinking of going and buying a new one that's slightly bigger (for when swelling occurs, or my thumb gets sore), but you just probably saved me $20/30 bucks (I don't know how much they cost...)!

[ArtVandelay]

Sorry to necro-thread, I was just curious if anyone else has any input. As long as I've been bowling, the thumb release has been one of the more interesting things to me. I've seen people who don't stop playing with their thumb hole (not a double entendre) until their balls are back in their bag and they're leaving the alley (that either...).

The second post in this thread was good, because it shows I'm not the only person with this question. Hammer was very helpful with a good drill that ended up making a lot of sense to me once I figured out exactly what he was talking about.

What about everyone else? MOST of the Usual Suspects have chimed in. Is this a complete bowling non-issue?

[billf]

It's an issue. I get at least twenty questions a week regarding thumb holes and how it should fit.

[Tampabaybob]

Art....ok, I'll chime in here. To go along with what's already been stated and stated very well, for anyone having thumb release problems, a thumb pitch problem may relieve that. For years, I had a problem with this and because of it I was always "knuckling" the ball (see Bills comment). Had a friend in the proshop that suggest to me that it was the pitch. Long story short....changed the pitch, now use a tighter thumb hole and no thumb problems.

Bob

[Greenday]

I put a piece of grip tape in my thumb hole. Problem solved for me. My thumb hole is drilled straight down. I think eventually I'm going to need it changed though because my thumb comes out fast.

[ArtVandelay]

Art....ok, I'll chime in here. To go along with what's already been stated and stated very well, for anyone having thumb release problems, a thumb pitch problem may relieve that. For years, I had a problem with this and because of it I was always "knuckling" the ball (see Bills comment). Had a friend in the proshop that suggest to me that it was the pitch. Long story short....changed the pitch, now use a tighter thumb hole and no thumb problems.

Bob

Awesome! When I went to get my ball drilled, pitch came up and I had never really heard of it. He kind of explained it as the angle the ball is drilled, and said the interchangeable thumb makes changing that easy in the future if I decide I need to change it.

So, how do you know what pitch to use? Are there tests? One thing I liked about the ball driller guy is he had a lot of tests that didn't seem to be relevant but he was taking notes the whole time. The only thing is, doing that drill, it seems to release okay, so I'm inclined to believe he has it drilled spot on for me (aside from if I need a bigger hole for later games, which I can easily do now... Or if I should just get used to it and consider a tighter hole).

Thanks for bringing it up. Let me know if you have any more insight.

I hate beating a dead horse, but I'm horrible at just kind of understanding something... If a topic interests me, I want to learn everything I can. hahahaha.

[J Anderson]

I put a piece of grip tape in my thumb hole. Problem solved for me. My thumb hole is drilled straight down. I think eventually I'm going to need it changed though because my thumb comes out fast.

Is it fast or is it coming out early? From what I understand, fast is good. Early is not, as is too late.

[ArtVandelay]

I just thought of another question: I think someone on here spoke about having the thumb drilled in an oval pattern before and getting a better release that way. Anyone have input on that? I'd imagine that if snug is the key, oval wouldn't be a good idea. I'd imagine it's good to have that pressure on the sides of the thumb.

[billf]

Isn't your thumb oval? Most are. If yours is then you just answered your own question. If your thumb is round, get a round slug. If it's oval, get an oval slug.

[Tampabaybob]

Awesome! When I went to get my ball drilled, pitch came up and I had never really heard of it. He kind of explained it as the angle the ball is drilled, and said the interchangeable thumb makes changing that easy in the future if I decide I need to change it.

So, how do you know what pitch to use? Are there tests? One thing I liked about the ball driller guy is he had a lot of tests that didn't seem to be relevant but he was taking notes the whole time. The only thing is, doing that drill, it seems to release okay, so I'm inclined to believe he has it drilled spot on for me (aside from if I need a bigger hole for later games, which I can easily do now... Or if I should just get used to it and consider a tighter hole).

Thanks for bringing it up. Let me know if you have any more insight.

I hate beating a dead horse, but I'm horrible at just kind of understanding something... If a topic interests me, I want to learn everything I can. hahahaha.

If you have a good driller in the proshop he'll get you into the right pitch. With that said, I've had many drillers over the years and it took one guy to realize what was going on with my thumb. And thank God for that ! It made a HUGE difference. Sometimes it will take a while to figure this out and sometimes the driller hits it right the first time.

Going along with what Bill said, my new ball, I went back twice to have him work on the fingers and the thumb. Taking just a little at a time out until the feel gets just right. Most peoples thumbs, even if round will flatten out once inside the ball, and that actually turns that round thumb into an oval once your holding the ball. Just taking a little off each side of the thumb hole usually will work.

Bob