Thumb trouble

[15brute]

I am starting to learn to throw a hook using a fingertip grip and I am having problems clearing my thumb. I know this is from gripping the ball in my backswing, but I cant break myself from this habit. I have went back to the pro shop multiple times for them to check and make sure the span is right and the holes are right and they assure me they are. To me it seems the span is a bit too far but I trust they are giving me the right setup. Any suggestions to help me learn this the right way? I have already sold a ball because I couldnt get it and been frustrated and am now on my second ball drilled this way and want to get it right, any help would be appreciated.

[Evan]

I can assure you your pro shop is correct. When I went from a normal straight throw to adding the the finger tips I too thought the span was to far, but it's supposed to be like that because without the increased span its very difficult to hook the ball. Just ask them to increase the size of your thumb hole so that you can still grip it in the back swing but it will be easier to let go on your release.

[Beech]

what i did befor i went to switch grips, was cary some emory cloth / sand paper in your bag and if you havnt the problem bevel the thumb hole some more and sand down the inside it takes very little off and that could mean the diffrence if you get emory clothi think it takes off .001 off the thumb hole but sometimes its all you need

[bigbowler76]

Did they put any "thumb pitch"on the ball? This is drilling the thumbhole at a very slight angle to allow your thumb to come out of the ball easier or with a "positive thumb pitch" - to make you hold onto the ball longer... They can always plug your thumb and put some pitch on it to help you get out of the ball

[15brute]

I remember him talking about the pitch of the thumbhole. He says that he put the right pitch for what it should be for me, what it is I dont know. If I had to guess from the way the ball feels coming off of my hand, I would think that if the thumbhole was angled more towards my middle and ring fingers, that it would help. Is this positive pitch?

[bigbowler76]

Yes, if your thumb is drilled with the hole angled towards your fingers then it is positive pitch. That could be part of the problem.. You could have them plug and redrill the thumb and put it to no pitch or reverse pitch on it. If he did indeed drill it with positive pitch I would probably just go with no pitch first. If you want to come out of the ball earlier after that than go with reverse...

Another thing, have faith that you won't drop the ball in your backswing unless you actually do! I got remeasured for my span this year since I did something different with my drilling patterns and my style has changes a bit since the last time... My first game with my new balls I was tugging the ball every shot, after halfway through a practice game I realized I was squeezing with my thumb while my backswing was going up and that was keeping my hand in the ball too long ( and I have reverse pitch, so my thumb comes out easy) to alleviate the problem I put some turbo skin tape on my thumb to close up a little space in my thumb and I just focused on keeping my hand fully relaxed in the ball during my whole swing.. After doing that I shot 199, 196, 213. I didn't have my plastic ball with me so I wasn't making my corner pins, so if I did you could just add 20 or more pins to those games ;)

[threeripmin]

take your ball and have another driller check it. some drillers are really bad. i had to go to 3 before i found one i liked.

[15brute]

I really trust that my driller did the right thing, I am new to competitive bowling and I am learning that almost everything I have done in the past is absolutely wrong! I just have to work on it and get better. It just seems that the thumb has been a huge burden on me and I have already gotten frustrated once and ditched the hook idea. Now I am at the point where I am not scoring any better and I feel I need to learn this to progress in my game. I'll see what I can get figured out, practice will only help. I just need to quit sqeezing the ball so bad.

[threeripmin]

dont worry about hooking the ball, just practice coming straight through the ball(making sure that you thumb comes out frist). if you try to hook the ball youll most likely be turning your hand to early and that will make you hang up in the ball.

[15brute]

So yesterday I bowled 3 practice games, had my driller sand the edges of my thumbhole just a tad. I had very little trouble my thumb. When I did have issues, it was because I was turning my hand too early or trying to induce too much hook by completely turning my hand over instead of following through straight up. I am still "gripping" the ball too much though. I know its a mental thing but I cant keep myself from doing this. I am also throwing way too hard and my ball is pushing through the break zone and I am missing the pocket. I am getting good revs on the ball and need to slow it down. Tried slower approach, holding the ball way low, shorter backswing and all I can manage is about 1 mph. Down from 19 to about 18. When I try going really slow, I get my feet crossed up and really mess up. 3 lane faults in one game is ridiculous, when I bowl the way I feel comfortable, the ball comes off my hand good, hits the mark, but pushes through the break zone because of the high speed. I tried changing lines but same result. I know I didnt practice that much yesterday but thats all I had time for. Any suggestions on what else to do for the speed and break. I am using a 14 pound ebonite evolve and I had tried a 15 and 16 lb previously but I cannot use the heavier balls due to a shoulder injury from other previous activities so I am to the point where I need to make this weight work and slow myself down some.

[threeripmin]

i throw the ball 18.5 mph so thats not a big problem. what you need is a free arm swing and if that comes with throwing throwing the ball 18-19 then so be it. you dont want to muscle the ball for speed or to slow it down.

i use a mongoose lifter and i feel that it makes me release the ball a lot better, more revs and just a cleaner release.

if youre going to be throwing the ball 18-19 then you might need a heavy oil ball. i use a reign of fire which is one of the most hooking ball out there. the harder you throw the ball the less time it has to hook on the back end so you need something that will hook a lot.

hope some of this helps a little.

[15brute]

Before the evolve I used a roto grip mutant cell, and I have been told that it is a heavy oil ball. I had the same issues with it pushing through the break point, but that was also when I was having alot more release issues and not getting the revs that I am now. Most people I play against have huge sweeping hooks and play way across the lane, I want to play outside all the traffic and have a quick snap at the end, I just dont know if that is attainable with the way I throw the ball. When I get the release right, I get that kind of reaction out of this ball but I feel like I am concentrating so much on my swing and release, that alot of times I miss my mark and miss the pocket. I guess I will have to keep working on it and eventually it will come around. I am waiting til the end of the current league to start bowling with this ball and start the next league, 33 weeks with the new ball/style of bowling. So with that said, I am limiting myself to very little practice so I dont catch myself in-between forms and really screw my game up and in turn screw my team up. We will see how it goes!

[threeripmin]

you should practice as much as possible! its all muscle memory. your arm swing should be as free as possible and you shouldnt have to think about it much. work on keeping a STRAIGHT free arm swing!

about the line youre playing, try moving moving to the first arrow with you feet at around the 15 board. if it still comes in light then move your feet 2 boards at a time until you hit the pocket good. if you come in high standing at the 15 board then move 2 boards at a time to the left until the ball hit the pocket. if that doesnt work try the same thing throwing over the 3 board then the 4 then the 6 then the 7.

to get better you have to practice! find the best bowler that you can that is bowling when you are practicing, ask them questions and ask them if they could help you out a bit.

during the summer is when most people work on their game since summer leagues dont count for an average.

[15brute]

Three more practice games yesterday, still no issues with clearing my thumb, that issue may be over! Starting to get my follow through to be consistent but I am still consistantly missing the pocket. Average speed is at 19 mph. When I slow down to 18, then the ball does exactly what I want it to do, smashes the pocket an strike! Everytime I got my speed down to around 18, I hit the pocket and the ball reaction was beautiful. Problem is, my natural comfortable throw is right at 19 mph, I have to make myself slow down. I can do this a few times and then I find myself slowly creeping back to the natural throw and in turn my speed raises back up to the 19-19.5 range. So I guess I should change this post from "thumb trouble" to speed trouble!! I feel very goofy when I am approaching and trying to force myself to slow down, the results are there but I just cant make myself slow down very easily. Any tips besides the obvious? I tried holding the ball lower, smaller backswing, shorter approach and they work for a couple frames and then right back to the usual! It usually happens when I have to try to pick up a spare and throw my spare ball which is a straight throw and I'm usually bringing the heat!!

[threeripmin]

where are you playing on the lanes, 1st 2nd 3rd arrow? does your ball break at all on the back end when you throw it your normal speed? there might be a more optimal line to play. hope this helps, i throw the ball 18.5 when its breaking good on the back end but if i pull it left 3 boards my ball speed will be 19-19.5 just because there is more oil in the middle of the lane causing less friction. my spare ball speed is 19.5 to 20. im just saying, try out some other lines before you start messing with your speed.

[15brute]

I usually throw between 2nd and 3rd arrow, with my normal speed, ball breaks a foot or so. Gives me a sweeping arc. Last night in league, that line worked pretty good. If I move right, say between the first and second arrow, the ball hooks more but its a snappy hook in the back end and I miss the pocket. So when that happens, I move my feet right and throw between the first and second arrow, then it seems the ball over hooks and hits the 1-2 pocket. I dont like to make alot of adjustments cause I know that my release and form is lacking right now, and over adjusting will just make some of my issues worse. I feel like its coming around, and I used a line last night that was working but probably not the most optimal but I did get some consistency. Now that the ball is coming off my hand much better, I find myself not thinking as much about the release and I can concentrate on my line more. I think I'm only a couple boards off on my line and I just need to keep working with it.