Would a heavier bowler need slicker soles?

[boatman37]

Pretty much what that says. I'm about 270lbs and don't have much slide, if any, and my knee has been bothering me and I hop at the release to keep my balance. I'm thinking the off balance is due to not having any slide? I have the Dexter Pro Am II with the fixed S8 sole. Thinking of upgrading to a better shoe with interchangeable soles to get a little more slide in hopes of easing the impact on my knee?

[fordman1]

I use the slide sole #8 it some times won't slide enough. The #10 is too slick. I got up to 279 and my knees were barking. I lost and am down to 243 this morning. At my age it has helped enormously.

[Phonetek]

Since I'm 6'2" and 165 and have very little to hardly any slide I can't think my weight has anything to do with it. In my case it's probably just a body angle thing. My height combined with that angle or lack thereof is likely why I have not much of a slide but it don't hurt (usually). Face it man, we aren't young and flexible as we used to be. Perhaps sliding more would give your body a better angle to prevent pain, new shoes could probably help some. I'd also be looking to see if you're not doing something incorrectly causing the pain. Moon walking to the foul line may not be the only answer.

[GrumpyCatFace]

The S8 “microfiber” that came with my shoes is about useless. I got an S10 and haven’t looked back.

You may well be right about heavier bowlers needing more slide. Either way, I know I did.

(260 lbs)

[djp1080]

I'm using Dexter Tank shoes and have S8 soles. They work just fine. Have the S10 sole, too, but it's a bit too slick. The heel I typically use is H5 (standard). Tried going to the H7 and found it was too slick, too.
Have you checked your sole to see how it's holding up? Is it in good shape and clean?
What's keeping you from sliding at least a bit? Is your heel stopping you? Have you practiced sliding on the approach a few times during practice without the ball?
I'm around 6 feet and 210 lbs. If you're hopping at the release point, you probably have very late timing. Get the ball out in front of you and fix your timing. A good coach might be your best bet...
Good luck...

[jaypeesmith]

This is a very timely thread. I was just thinking today about trying an S10 again. The last time I did, I felt like I was going to break my neck. I am will wait until my next practice session, though. I am not trying to lay myself out a league.

[boatman37]

I just bought these shoes in February or March and have had this issue since returning to bowling in January. When I quit in 2002 I was about 40lbs. lighter. May have had the hop then but if I did it didn't bother me so never noticed it.

I check the approach before we start and cannot slide then either. The shoe just doesn't slide for me. Maybe 1" or so tops. I don't bend much at the knees either so that probably adds to the issue.
As for timing, after watching myself on video a few months ago I realized I was late but worked on that. Seems ok now but that is just my opinion. I don't know of any coaches around here (Pittsburgh). I wouldn't hire a coach to bowl better because I do it for fun and if my average is 150 then so be it. That's what handicaps are for. But I would be interested in a coach if it helped save my knees or other joints.

[J Anderson]

I use the slide sole #8 it some times won't slide enough. The #10 is too slick. I got up to 279 and my knees were barking. I lost and am down to 243 this morning. At my age it has helped enormously.

I've had the same experience. The #8 is fine at my usual center. I bowled upstate one time and the #8 was sticking. Tried the #10 and fouled. The next season Dexter came out with a #9 sole that should be in between.

I think there is a thread that mentioned some one cutting the removable soles in pieces and by using pieces of different numbered soles was able to customize their slide.

[djp1080]

Boatman, Glad you came back. Not too sure about the hop you're mentioning, but it sounds like you're falling off to the right on each shot, is that right?
So your sole is clean and no too old. You test the approach and cannot slide more than an inch. Your knees are beginning to hurt after bowling.
Perhaps new shoes aren't going to help much either. If I rub the S8 sole on my shoe, it's pretty darn slick. The S10 sole is even slicker.
I do recall when I first got my Tank shoes I was wondering if I'd fall with them. Previously I was using a new pair of cheap Brunswick shoes which were universal shoes for right or left handed bowlers.
Your style must be such that you body wants you to plant your left foot as you release your ball. In my case I do what comes naturally and get a bit of slide. When I tried the slicker heel and sole, it was just too much slide for my and took me away from my game. I was paying more attention to my feet than anything else...

[fordman1]

I've had the same experience. The #8 is fine at my usual center. I bowled upstate one time and the #8 was sticking. Tried the #10 and fouled. The next season Dexter came out with a #9 sole that should be in between.

I think there is a thread that mentioned some one cutting the removable soles in pieces and by using pieces of different numbered soles was able to customize their slide.


I have half an 8 on the outside of my shoe the other half is a 10. I bowl on wood approaches which are different than the synthetic stuff. Didn't know about the 9's might check them out. Heal is the red and I wish there were slicker ones.

[JasonNJ]

I think falling off balance is usually more of a timing issue than a sliding issue. People will naturally slide what they are comfortable doing unless you specifically practice on footwork and sliding.

The sore knee I would imagine is just the force on your knee from your weight, as Fordman mentioned, him dropping about 30 pounds made a difference. Also in my case, I was around 255 and I'm about 230 now and I rarely get a sore knee now. There was an ESPN Sports Science show with Sean Rash and they measured that there was 7 times his body weight in terms of pound per pressure was applied to his knee when he slide. So in my case, 255x7 = 1785 pounds of pressure on my knee compared to 1610, almost 200 lbs of pressure off of my knee for every ball I throw.

[boatman37]

That is a lot of force. I am going to try to work on my timing but like I said, my shoes don't feel slick at all. They are more like the rough side of leather. I do think I throw to hard and Rob watched one of my videos and mentioned I was 'heaving' the ball. I would love to slow my ball a little which would probably help my game and my knee. Our lane sensors show me at about 17.1-17.5 MPH consistently where most others are at about 16.0-16.5. My spares are closer to 18 and I'm not trying to throw those any harder.

[djp1080]

Boatman, With my S8 sole I can take my thumb and rub in cleanly over the sole. It's pretty smooth. Just beyond the sole itself is a hard rubber part that's not as smooth as the S8 sole. Next is the heel and it's a solid piece and it's pretty smooth as well. At the back edge of the heel part though, it's kind of sticky and apparently provides some braking abilities.
I was watching a couple of the recent PBA50 tournaments last night on YouTube and the announcers were commenting about the speed of the senior bowlers. Parker Bohn III was the highest speed guy at around 17.5 mph. Most of the guys were somewhere around 14.5 to 15.5 mph from what they said. I'd say that you are heaving the ball, too. :)

[boatman37]

Boatman, With my S8 sole I can take my thumb and rub in cleanly over the sole. It's pretty smooth. Just beyond the sole itself is a hard rubber part that's not as smooth as the S8 sole. Next is the heel and it's a solid piece and it's pretty smooth as well. At the back edge of the heel part though, it's kind of sticky and apparently provides some braking abilities.
I was watching a couple of the recent PBA50 tournaments last night on YouTube and the announcers were commenting about the speed of the senior bowlers. Parker Bohn III was the highest speed guy at around 17.5 mph. Most of the guys were somewhere around 14.5 to 15.5 mph from what they said. I'd say that you are heaving the ball, too. :)

yeah. not sure how accurate our sensors are so might not be 17.5 but either way it is a good 1 MPH faster than most in my league (about 100 guys in our league)

[boatman37]

Seemed a little better tonight.