Duke Harding
09-11-2008, 11:07 AM
UPDATE: Some of the ideas & information expressed here may be considered outdated, because of current modern ideas & methods.
MODERN LANE CONDITIONS AND TODAYS DRILLING VARIATIONS
-----------------------------------------------------
Continued regarding PBA and sport type patterns.
The result being that balls delivered with a ton of side turn, finger lift, and lots of retained energy at the break point LEAP of the Non buffered transition area and pursue all sorts of ending positions to the pins(not necessarily the pocket.)
How do I know? First time I came in after bowling about a 700 with my friends in some fun dollar matches and used the same leverage drilled equipment and shot about 450 in my home house(the one I bowled about 700 the night before. Next time out I brought some duller weight hole on PAP mild stuff and shot about 660 scratch. Same bowler similar execution!!!
What is going on in the pattern is the explosive move off the breakpoint from the buffed house shot with a crown. The power, turn, lift, and side roll created by the Bill Taylor drilling is TOO much for some. Such Esteemed posters as Kimbo has stated that with the new conditions she felt she had to change her sideroll from 60 degrees to 40 to 45 for the new conditions.
So what happens.
To reduce side roll many bowlers change their lateral thumb under palm pitch to 0 or even lateral out! In addition power bowlers who are having too much lift at the break point are adding reverse pitch to the fingers.
Both of these items designed to reduce side roll and lift however reduce the holding power of the grip. Bill Taylor says each 3/8 of reverse makes the span feel 1/16 shorter. I say each 1/8 inch of reverse makes the span feel 1/16 shorter(sort of like Bill's thumbpitch tables). Therefore if a person starts with a span of 4 1/2 and has 0 forward and reverse and now has .
Span lengths and pitches continued
-----------------------------------
Therefore from the example above.
A person from above has a span of 4 1/2.
They decide to reduce lift and hold by adding reverse pitch of 1/4 to the fingers!
In my book the span now feels like a 4 3/8 span. THe amount of reverse pitch for the span should be 1/8. But the ball is no longer held as strongly so the bowler goes to 1/16 reverse.
Now the bowler also decides because of the sport conditions that they want to also reduce side roll a little so they change their proper anatomical lateral under palm of 1/8(as measured by coke bottle test) to 1/8 lateral out from palm.
This reduces side roll for many bowlers and but also induces a little chicken winging to get any side roll. HERE is the compensation for this. Many bowlers will now shorten span. A standard span with a lateral out for a person who's hand says lateral under does not lead to good turn. Howerver, if combined with a very relaxed span (maybe 1/4 under Bill Taylor measured span). Some turn can be reestablished for the bowler.
(In golf the similar adjustment was for the golfer to have a softer left elbow if he took a less than ideal strength grip , ie he took a 1 1/2 knuckle grip when his anatomy called for 2 1/2 knuckles he could still have adequate though slightly weaker rotation with this softer elbow). So it is with the bowler.
A shorter span coupled with lateral out for the bowler who's hand says lateral under reestablishes some rotation for the bowler. (not as much). Final step to convert to this modern setup is getting the thumb it's necessary holding power. This will happen by moving the thumb forward by at least 1/8 for the lateral out(less holding power for this person who tests 1/8 lateral under), and another 1/8 forward for the shortening of the span 1/4.
To catalogue changes:
Spec..........Bill Taylor..........SPort condition drill
Span...........4 1/2...............4 1/4
Finger pitch 0...................1/4 reverse
thumb lateral..1/8 under palm......1/8 away from palm
Thumb for/rev..1/8 reverse..........3/16 forward at least!
THis set of changes on the right will straighten the axis rotation and supply less lift.
Do I believe most of us need these changes- no!!
Most of us trying to average over 220 for the first time can easily go with standard Bill Taylor!!
My opinion.
Thumb holes and bevel
---------------------
Most bowlers today use a variety of holes, inserts or custom made thumbs.
Here are some thoughts on that.
Some sayings often heard.
Never use a tapered grip!
Never use anything but Urethane slugs!
Always use Urethane slugs!
Never use vinyl!
Always use vinyl!
Just a round hole works!
Never use an oval!
Always use ovals!
Never use bevel!
Always use bevel!
Never use a thumb straight device! It adds reverse pitch!
All sayings above are crap!
THe right answer is LOOK at YOUR thumb.
What shape is it?
Round? Oval? Tapered? Evenly?
Or is it tapered just front to back?
Many people who have oval shaped thumbs use round thumbholes and then tape both the front of the thumbhole in line with the flat spot of the thumb, and then the back of the thumbhole in line with that.
This in essence creates your own manually created oval.
When I started out I used tapered thumbholes. Round tapered thumbhole.
I loved the feel of them and the heavy roll they gave me on the ball!
After a while I was talking to a famous bowler(who I greatly respect) and he stated "Never use a tapered thumbhole", "you will rub some place and then release early". I switched immediately to non taper and have been dropping non stop the whole time!
Now I think I have gleaned the important thing he said!!!
It is this!
"You will rub somewhere in the hole, and in response to that overcompensate and exit too early!"
This is true, if you rub somewhere in your thumbhole you will tend to start exiting early!!!!
But where you rub is dependant on YOUR thumb shape and the type of insert you choose to match up with YOUR thumb!
You see I have an unusual thumb. I taper dramatically from front to back!!! And yet I have no taper from side to side!!!! NONE! Therefore any pre made taper either round or oval taper, taper equally on both the front and side. I don't need any side taper, none!
This is the hang spot for me, side taper. Therefore I take it out. You are propably different, you must observe YOUR thumb shape.
For me two solutions to get the perfect fit.
1. A straight oval insert(mine was custom made from an ovalmatic jig),
with a thumb straight added. This device adds approximately 1/8 reverse to front of the thumbhole and yet supplies the front to back taper I need due to my extreme front to back thumb taper. (Yet it has NO side taper, which I don't need) I drill this at about 1/8 forward from what I intend my final front of thumb surface to be. For example, I drill for my 4 3/4 span 1/16 reverse and then when I add the thumb straight the effective surface is about 3/16 reverse.
2. The second method is a premade tapered oval, note this is tapered from front to back and then side to side! I take the insert and turn upside down and take out the side taper with a bevel knife from the bottom of the insert!!!! Due to front to back taper I drill this insert about 1/16 forward from where I would drill a straigt oval. In my case 1/8 reverse versus my expected 3/16 ending front surface position. (Drill bit goes in at 1/8, front surface of thumbhole is actually 3/16 reverse due to taper, note less taper than thumb straight).
This is working wonders for my holding power!
The key to this all is to look at your thumb.
Carefully note it's shape. Take measurements to decide am I tapered, am I oval what am I.
If you are dropping, try vinyl or reducing bevel. If you are hanging try Urethane or add bevel before that.
If you are pulling add side bevel,if you are lofting and have pain under flat surface of front of thumb add front bevel(see beveling tips I've learned from Mo Pinel in this section). If you want to add more front forward pitch to the thumbhole than the Bill Taylor tables guide you to. Then add bevel to the front edge of the thumbhole to prevent damage to the sensitive area of nerves near the top of the thumb!!
Note Del Warren a great bowler, I understand uses forward that is right off the caharts!!! I also under stand he couples this with a ton of front bevel.
THe actual words I have heard is that he hacks the front of the thumbhole all to hell!!!!.
Proper reverse pitch only moderate bevel is needed, dramatically forward pitch in relation to the tables always extra bevel needed for the same individual who did NOT need bevel at a more reverse setting! Note same person, different amounts of bevel needed based on pitches of the thumb introduced!
ANY PAIN on front of thumb, WARNING nerve damage occurring, MAYDAY add front bevel to pain gone!!!!!
My thoughts on proper fit! Hope this wasn't too boring,
HOPE YOU ENJOYED MY FRIEND'S THESIS ON PERFECT FIT... :)
MODERN LANE CONDITIONS AND TODAYS DRILLING VARIATIONS
-----------------------------------------------------
Continued regarding PBA and sport type patterns.
The result being that balls delivered with a ton of side turn, finger lift, and lots of retained energy at the break point LEAP of the Non buffered transition area and pursue all sorts of ending positions to the pins(not necessarily the pocket.)
How do I know? First time I came in after bowling about a 700 with my friends in some fun dollar matches and used the same leverage drilled equipment and shot about 450 in my home house(the one I bowled about 700 the night before. Next time out I brought some duller weight hole on PAP mild stuff and shot about 660 scratch. Same bowler similar execution!!!
What is going on in the pattern is the explosive move off the breakpoint from the buffed house shot with a crown. The power, turn, lift, and side roll created by the Bill Taylor drilling is TOO much for some. Such Esteemed posters as Kimbo has stated that with the new conditions she felt she had to change her sideroll from 60 degrees to 40 to 45 for the new conditions.
So what happens.
To reduce side roll many bowlers change their lateral thumb under palm pitch to 0 or even lateral out! In addition power bowlers who are having too much lift at the break point are adding reverse pitch to the fingers.
Both of these items designed to reduce side roll and lift however reduce the holding power of the grip. Bill Taylor says each 3/8 of reverse makes the span feel 1/16 shorter. I say each 1/8 inch of reverse makes the span feel 1/16 shorter(sort of like Bill's thumbpitch tables). Therefore if a person starts with a span of 4 1/2 and has 0 forward and reverse and now has .
Span lengths and pitches continued
-----------------------------------
Therefore from the example above.
A person from above has a span of 4 1/2.
They decide to reduce lift and hold by adding reverse pitch of 1/4 to the fingers!
In my book the span now feels like a 4 3/8 span. THe amount of reverse pitch for the span should be 1/8. But the ball is no longer held as strongly so the bowler goes to 1/16 reverse.
Now the bowler also decides because of the sport conditions that they want to also reduce side roll a little so they change their proper anatomical lateral under palm of 1/8(as measured by coke bottle test) to 1/8 lateral out from palm.
This reduces side roll for many bowlers and but also induces a little chicken winging to get any side roll. HERE is the compensation for this. Many bowlers will now shorten span. A standard span with a lateral out for a person who's hand says lateral under does not lead to good turn. Howerver, if combined with a very relaxed span (maybe 1/4 under Bill Taylor measured span). Some turn can be reestablished for the bowler.
(In golf the similar adjustment was for the golfer to have a softer left elbow if he took a less than ideal strength grip , ie he took a 1 1/2 knuckle grip when his anatomy called for 2 1/2 knuckles he could still have adequate though slightly weaker rotation with this softer elbow). So it is with the bowler.
A shorter span coupled with lateral out for the bowler who's hand says lateral under reestablishes some rotation for the bowler. (not as much). Final step to convert to this modern setup is getting the thumb it's necessary holding power. This will happen by moving the thumb forward by at least 1/8 for the lateral out(less holding power for this person who tests 1/8 lateral under), and another 1/8 forward for the shortening of the span 1/4.
To catalogue changes:
Spec..........Bill Taylor..........SPort condition drill
Span...........4 1/2...............4 1/4
Finger pitch 0...................1/4 reverse
thumb lateral..1/8 under palm......1/8 away from palm
Thumb for/rev..1/8 reverse..........3/16 forward at least!
THis set of changes on the right will straighten the axis rotation and supply less lift.
Do I believe most of us need these changes- no!!
Most of us trying to average over 220 for the first time can easily go with standard Bill Taylor!!
My opinion.
Thumb holes and bevel
---------------------
Most bowlers today use a variety of holes, inserts or custom made thumbs.
Here are some thoughts on that.
Some sayings often heard.
Never use a tapered grip!
Never use anything but Urethane slugs!
Always use Urethane slugs!
Never use vinyl!
Always use vinyl!
Just a round hole works!
Never use an oval!
Always use ovals!
Never use bevel!
Always use bevel!
Never use a thumb straight device! It adds reverse pitch!
All sayings above are crap!
THe right answer is LOOK at YOUR thumb.
What shape is it?
Round? Oval? Tapered? Evenly?
Or is it tapered just front to back?
Many people who have oval shaped thumbs use round thumbholes and then tape both the front of the thumbhole in line with the flat spot of the thumb, and then the back of the thumbhole in line with that.
This in essence creates your own manually created oval.
When I started out I used tapered thumbholes. Round tapered thumbhole.
I loved the feel of them and the heavy roll they gave me on the ball!
After a while I was talking to a famous bowler(who I greatly respect) and he stated "Never use a tapered thumbhole", "you will rub some place and then release early". I switched immediately to non taper and have been dropping non stop the whole time!
Now I think I have gleaned the important thing he said!!!
It is this!
"You will rub somewhere in the hole, and in response to that overcompensate and exit too early!"
This is true, if you rub somewhere in your thumbhole you will tend to start exiting early!!!!
But where you rub is dependant on YOUR thumb shape and the type of insert you choose to match up with YOUR thumb!
You see I have an unusual thumb. I taper dramatically from front to back!!! And yet I have no taper from side to side!!!! NONE! Therefore any pre made taper either round or oval taper, taper equally on both the front and side. I don't need any side taper, none!
This is the hang spot for me, side taper. Therefore I take it out. You are propably different, you must observe YOUR thumb shape.
For me two solutions to get the perfect fit.
1. A straight oval insert(mine was custom made from an ovalmatic jig),
with a thumb straight added. This device adds approximately 1/8 reverse to front of the thumbhole and yet supplies the front to back taper I need due to my extreme front to back thumb taper. (Yet it has NO side taper, which I don't need) I drill this at about 1/8 forward from what I intend my final front of thumb surface to be. For example, I drill for my 4 3/4 span 1/16 reverse and then when I add the thumb straight the effective surface is about 3/16 reverse.
2. The second method is a premade tapered oval, note this is tapered from front to back and then side to side! I take the insert and turn upside down and take out the side taper with a bevel knife from the bottom of the insert!!!! Due to front to back taper I drill this insert about 1/16 forward from where I would drill a straigt oval. In my case 1/8 reverse versus my expected 3/16 ending front surface position. (Drill bit goes in at 1/8, front surface of thumbhole is actually 3/16 reverse due to taper, note less taper than thumb straight).
This is working wonders for my holding power!
The key to this all is to look at your thumb.
Carefully note it's shape. Take measurements to decide am I tapered, am I oval what am I.
If you are dropping, try vinyl or reducing bevel. If you are hanging try Urethane or add bevel before that.
If you are pulling add side bevel,if you are lofting and have pain under flat surface of front of thumb add front bevel(see beveling tips I've learned from Mo Pinel in this section). If you want to add more front forward pitch to the thumbhole than the Bill Taylor tables guide you to. Then add bevel to the front edge of the thumbhole to prevent damage to the sensitive area of nerves near the top of the thumb!!
Note Del Warren a great bowler, I understand uses forward that is right off the caharts!!! I also under stand he couples this with a ton of front bevel.
THe actual words I have heard is that he hacks the front of the thumbhole all to hell!!!!.
Proper reverse pitch only moderate bevel is needed, dramatically forward pitch in relation to the tables always extra bevel needed for the same individual who did NOT need bevel at a more reverse setting! Note same person, different amounts of bevel needed based on pitches of the thumb introduced!
ANY PAIN on front of thumb, WARNING nerve damage occurring, MAYDAY add front bevel to pain gone!!!!!
My thoughts on proper fit! Hope this wasn't too boring,
HOPE YOU ENJOYED MY FRIEND'S THESIS ON PERFECT FIT... :)