Question about throwing a hook

[water]

I saw on another thread a link about when you release the ball, that your thumb should be pointing to 11 oclock.



Now this makes sense, but how do you hold the ball before that?


wouldn't your thumb be at 3 oclock and then you turn it before releasing, causing it to hook?


thanks

[mrbill]

I never noticed where my thumb was on releace but yeah 10:00 seems right.

[water]

Was the rest right as well?



I appreciate the advice.

[Efusjon]

Is there a good picture of how you hold the ball?

[water]

no there isn't

[JAnderson]

A good coach once told me to think about hand position in the downswing and hand position in the follow-through and the release will take care of itself. Over the years, I've found the advice to be invaluable.

Assuming that you keep your wrist flat with your forearm throughout and that your thumb exits the ball before your fingers, a basic hook can be achieved by:

1. Thumb at 12 O'clock in the downswing
2. Thumb at 10 O'clock in the follow-through

For step 2, a thumb at 11 or at 9 will also produce a hook, but at a different angle of rotation.

[JAnderson]

In my expanded "avatar" picture, it is pretty easy to see my thumb position in the follow-through because of the red hada patch I wear on my thumb. In this picture, my thumb is at about 11:30 which produces an end-over-end type roll that will hook slightly if my thumb is at 12:00 in the downswing.

http://www.pugnest.com/jay10pin.jpg

You can also see the rapidly expanding bald spot at the top of my head which is only surpassed by the blinding reflection from my forehead. Thankfully, this picture was taken from the rear.

[dpmusic70]

Hey J. what is the red patch for?

[kev3inp]

I told her.

We only saw your avatar as a small pic and we both thought it was Tommy Jones. Oh, and that's whats known as "ingrown" hair.

[JaxBowlingGuy]

In my expanded "avatar" picture, it is pretty easy to see my thumb position in the follow-through because of the red hada patch I wear on my thumb. In this picture, my thumb is at about 11:30 which produces an end-over-end type roll that will hook slightly if my thumb is at 12:00 in the downswing.

http://www.pugnest.com/jay10pin.jpg

You can also see the rapidly expanding bald spot at the top of my head which is only surpassed by the blinding reflection from my forehead. Thankfully, this picture was taken from the rear.

Also keep in mind that with this hand postion that this shot is picking up a 10 pin. It will be slightly different on a strike shot.

[JAnderson]

When shooting spares, my thumb is at 9 o'clock in the downswing and 11:30 in the follow through (like opening a round door handle), so unless the ball has a bunch of side weight it isn't going to hook.

I know I need to get video on the web. Not necessarily video of me, but video that demonstrates a particular topic. A couple of people on the site have actually helped me identify the software and hardware that will make it easy for me to post video. Now it is a matter of finding money to get the supplies.

[WAC4504]

The best way to discribe the hook process is to think of shaking hands with someone, throw a straight ball to start with and when the ball comes off the thumb shake hands with your target arrow. Make sure you keep your arm straight and complete your follow through as though you were reaching for the stars.