What style of release do you use , and why? What do you call them?

[Tony]

I am primarily using the handshake / suitcase style release but am working on behind the ball pulling up style release.

I know in coaching the recommended release is the behind the ball 1/4 turn release but I can't seem to duplicate the exact motion from shot to shot so sometimes its great and others just junk.

I am not trying the cocked wrist type release because I don't want to put that level of strain on my wrist.

It has also occurred to me that if there are designated names for these releases, I don't know them, if there are not, maybe we should designate some names.

No I don't think Ice-Man God type release is a good name ....

[billf]

Usually I try to stay inside during the swing and behind at release. If I'm playing way outside like up the gutter then I try to stay behind the whole time with more projection through the fingers. When I'm going real deep I tend to come around the ball more which ticks me off. There is no need for that much axis rotation on a house shot.

[Tony]

If I'm playing way outside like up the gutter then I try to stay behind the whole time with more projection through the fingers.

Interesting that you mention that, I have been playing more outside with the new ball I have and found once I got out near the first arrow that staying behind the ball and rolling off the fingertips I am less likely to slide it out into the ditch.

[billf]

Coming around and through the ball enable more of the flare potential. Definitely not something you want playing between the 1 and 5 boards.

[Tony]

Coming around and through the ball enable more of the flare potential. Definitely not something you want playing between the 1 and 5 boards.

Since I've started to figure out this ball and it seems to give me a nice reaction and leave very few 10 pins when playing outside 2nd arrow, I'm curious to find out how long that shot lasts on league night. It seems like most of the league plays between 2,3
I can play in there also but seem to leave a few more 10 pins.
I also can try staying out there and switching to the DV8 outcast if the line dries out a little.

[billf]

Most house shots are dry outisde of 8. Usually what I see is I can start with a ball then as carry down takes affect I go to a stronger ball or adjust my hand position. Playing far outside the oil at the breakpoint is paramount.

[Mike White]

Coming around and through the ball enable more of the flare potential. Definitely not something you want playing between the 1 and 5 boards.

What does "enable more of the flare potential" mean to you?

To achieve the full flare potential requires a high rev rate.

[RobLV1]

There are as many kinds of releases as there are bowlers in the world. While much of this thread has focused on hand position, also very important is release timing. There are two types of release timing: lift and turn, and turn and lift. Most bowlers who learned to bowl before the modern era embrace turn and lift timing. Most young, modern bowlers use lift and turn. It is very difficult to use lift and turn release timing as it requires a very strong wrist to stay behind the ball long enough to use it. The most obvious example of lift and turn timing is Chris Barnes who is strong enough to keep his hand on the inside of the ball despite his late timing by maintaining a cupped wrist. A modern player who utilizes turn and lift effectively is Sean Rash. When you combine the release timing with the hand position at the beginning of the release, you have all the elements that determine a bowlers release. Please note that I referred to "the hand position at the beginning of the release." Where you start at the beginning of your approach is irrelevant.

[Aslan]

Release: Mine is usually termed: "sub-par"....although depending on the person I've also heard "erratic", "humerous", "distracting", "generally distateful", "horrible", and "pathetic".

Why?: Because I kinda suck at bowling.

What do You (I) call them: I like to call my releases "works in progress".

[mc_runner]

I am what would be called a tweener. On a THS my comfort zone is between boards 10-15 at the arrows, while starting between 20-33 depending on the angle I'm trying to play. Over the last year I've transformed a lot from "around the side of the ball" to "up and through" with a cocked wrist flick motion on release. Rob's totally on point here, every single person is different because every single body is different. I changed because I wanted to get better and more versatile... was what I was doing before "wrong"? Depends, if you're happy being a 185 THS bowler socially with a few high games, probably not. If you want to get serious, it takes a large chunk of time to adjust and re-learn some fundamentals of a different shot. I've said it before, this site has been a huge benefit for my personal game... listen to what people say on here (even if people argue, a lot of the time it's not on the basic point but on details) and practice!

[jlwonderley]

I used to really come around the ball at first, so that I nearly threw a spinner. I eventually got better an cupping my wrist a little, and staying behind it more. I think now I am almost right behind with my hand, just a tad to the outside. I do have trouble creating any kind of wrist action at the release though, so I end up just following through in the same position.

[billf]

What does "enable more of the flare potential" mean to you?

To achieve the full flare potential requires a high rev rate.

What do you consider a high rev rate? Axis migration which can be controlled through hand position, actually has more to do with flare potential than rev rate. My rev rate is only around 410 yet I can flare more than the advertised potential yet before the arthritis my rev rate was about 550 with the same flare.

[Mike White]

What do you consider a high rev rate? Axis migration which can be controlled through hand position, actually has more to do with flare potential than rev rate. My rev rate is only around 410 yet I can flare more than the advertised potential yet before the arthritis my rev rate was about 550 with the same flare.

1) If you flared the ball more than the advertised potential, that tends to say the advertised potential was improperly marked.

2) How did you do to measure the flare, such that you could claim it remained the same?

[jlwonderley]

What do you consider a high rev rate? Axis migration which can be controlled through hand position, actually has more to do with flare potential than rev rate. My rev rate is only around 410 yet I can flare more than the advertised potential yet before the arthritis my rev rate was about 550 with the same flare.

Only? I thought 410 was considered fairly high?

Have you changed anything since developing arthritis? This clip at about 4:15 min, Walter Ray talks about changing his grip due to arthritis. Says he went with a relaxed grip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa5I7l05Wr4
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa5I7l05Wr4)
I ask because I feel that my grip was made too stretched on my first (current) ball, which I believe could lead to that kind of problem further down the road. I've read (probably on this forum) how the old-school way was to stretch the span out as much as possible, and I'm thinking the driller I went to is probably old enough to have learned during that time.

[billf]

Only? I thought 410 was considered fairly high?

Have you changed anything since developing arthritis? This clip at about 4:15 min, Walter Ray talks about changing his grip due to arthritis. Says he went with a relaxed grip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa5I7l05Wr4
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa5I7l05Wr4)
I ask because I feel that my grip was made too stretched on my first (current) ball, which I believe could lead to that kind of problem further down the road. I've read (probably on this forum) how the old-school way was to stretch the span out as much as possible, and I'm thinking the driller I went to is probably old enough to have learned during that time.


After six shops in eight years I finally went to The Golden Approach. Bob Kelly drills for the PBA50 tour and was accustomed to fitting with various hand/wrist issues. He actually lenghtened my span by 1/16" and removed finger pitch. That was February and the knots in the first knuckle on my middle and ring finger are now barely noticeable. I had also developed bruising undeer those nails that has since gone away. The finger pitch changed so much the ball wa literally banging the finger nails on release. The rev rate went way down for awhile.

[billf]

1) If you flared the ball more than the advertised potential, that tends to say the advertised potential was improperly marked.

2) How did you do to measure the flare, such that you could claim it remained the same?

1. I doubt all 57 balls were improperly labeled. Not sure how much if any affect wood lanes factors in versus synthetic.
2. fabric tape measure comparing previous readings of each ball to the new readings. My Nexxxus actually increased flare by .5". I considered that neglible or an inaccurate measure previously seeing as it was the only ball that did increase. All the others were within 1/4"

[Mike White]

1. I doubt all 57 balls were improperly labeled. Not sure how much if any affect wood lanes factors in versus synthetic.
2. fabric tape measure comparing previous readings of each ball to the new readings. My Nexxxus actually increased flare by .5". I considered that neglible or an inaccurate measure previously seeing as it was the only ball that did increase. All the others were within 1/4"

So you are measuring from the first oil ring, around the ball to the last dry ring?

That isn't exactly measuring axis migration, it's measuring track flare.

They are slightly different is that the distance from the axis point to the track decreases as the ball loses tilt.

A ball thrown with higher rev rate will lose less tilt, and that throws off the comparison.

[jlwonderley]

After six shops in eight years I finally went to The Golden Approach. Bob Kelly drills for the PBA50 tour and was accustomed to fitting with various hand/wrist issues. He actually lenghtened my span by 1/16" and removed finger pitch. That was February and the knots in the first knuckle on my middle and ring finger are now barely noticeable. I had also developed bruising undeer those nails that has since gone away. The finger pitch changed so much the ball wa literally banging the finger nails on release. The rev rate went way down for awhile.

Hmm. Did you have forward pitch before? Doesn't removing forward pitch have a similar effect to decreasing span? If you had a significant amount of forward before, then even lengthening the span by 1/16 inch might have still resulted in a net effect of a more relaxed grip. I think I remember reading something that said bruising under the nails is a sign of too long span or too much forward pitch.