Holding the ball for maximum hook

[zdawg]

I'd bet dollars to donuts you're squeezing the ball. Does the inside of your thumb hurt?

No, it used to though...I used to tear a chunk of skin off the inside of my thumb from squeezing it, thankfully I stopped doing that, it also used to "pop" off my thumb when I first started but I also correct that as well.

Doesn't mean I'm not still squeezing it in another fashion though I guess.

[J Anderson]

I wish there was an easy way to test a new ball without buying one,

Some times pro shops and / or alleys will have demo days. Often these are sponsored by the ball manufacturers so you might be limited to only one or two related brands. The demo balls are fitted with interchangeable grips and they'll have a few different spans.

[zdawg]

Some times pro shops and / or alleys will have demo days. Often these are sponsored by the ball manufacturers so you might be limited to only one or two related brands. The demo balls are fitted with interchangeable grips and they'll have a few different spans.

Thanks for the tip, I stop by the pro shop a lot these days so I know the guys pretty well I'll ask them and see if there is anything like that coming up.

[Aslan]

I watch folks that can barely walk up to the foul line sort of drop their ball in a forward motion and they hook. It just leaves me shaking my head as to what happened to me...I'm at a complete loss

Oh well, this post was mostly me just venting hopefully my coach will know what to make of it because bowling has now become more of a chore than anything else at this point

Z-
I went through a similar issue...when I started I had a real high loft and more of a muscling/should action type of swing. And the ball naturally had a good amount of revs to hit because I was putting so much muscle into the release and releasing it on the upswing (rather than next to my sliding foot.

Then I realized that while that was great on low oil conditions...it was too much speed on heavier oil conditions. I tried EVERYTHING to keep that same throw/release because it felt so natural and I DID have success with it early on. But at the end of the day...I was averaging 118 on heavy oil despite averaging 182 on low oil. And since most alleys were moderate to heavier oil...I HAD to change. A new ball isn't going to help. I tried that. De-oiling isn't going to help. A wrist support isn't going to help...that actually reduced my hook potential because I couldn't cup my wrist. Sanding the ball surface isn't going to help; that just made it worse because the ball rolled out sooner.

At the end of the day...no matter how "weird" it felt...and as hard as it was early on...I HAD to slow the ball down...release earlier...use the lane. I don't have a big hook, more of a "curve"...but by simply slowing it down (from 19.5mph to 14.5mph) I can play the inside ...play the outside...and get the ball to move. I have lost that "umpff" that gave me more revs...but I'm trying to improve my release to try and get a little of that back. But until then...just slowing it down works.

Like I said before...next time you practice...if you have a lane that shows the speed...just experiement. Try throwing it 1mph less than usual. See if it hooks. Then try 2mph slower....etc... I bowl with a woman in her 70s on Friday night. A tiny old asian lady. She essentially drops the ball with a little helicoptor spin. Takes the ball about 60 seconds to reach the pins (maybe not that long...but it feels like AGES). And guess what? It hooks. From the far left gutter (she's a lefty) sometimes across the headpin...coast to coast. It's not the ball...the ball is a urethane ball... a "spare ball" essentially. She averages about 153-157. She gets a lot of splits...has trouble with pin carry at that insanely low speed with a light ball...but it HOOKs.

Slow it down...EXAGGERATE it...see how slow you can throw it!! If it doesn't hook...then maybe your alley is on some kinda magnetic pole with gravity problems or something...but I'm 99.7% sure it'll hook. Try it...prove me wrong. If ya do, you'll be that much popular around here!! Win Win!!

[sprocket]

Here's a catch phrase that I find kind of irritating: "Work the inside of the ball".

I'm not saying that isn't good advice, but how many lower to mid average bowlers are there beating their heads against the wall trying to work the inside of the ball? They get all muscled up, force their hand open, open their shoulders, cut off their back swings, contort their wrists, over turn it at the bottom, hang up in the thumb hole.....all because working the inside of the ball is such great advice.

It IS good advice but save it for when you are more advanced. Some youth bowlers seem to have this down pretty quickly but if you don't have it naturally, you are probably not going to get it easily.

Here's my advice: Simplify your form. Will your hand end up partially on the side of the ball at release? Yes it will so give it a head start in that direction. Once the ball is already tipped even slightly to the inside this wonderful thing called gravity will come to your aid.

[dnhoffman]

Sorry but I disagree sprocket, working the inside does not equate to muscling or contorting anything if you're doing it right.

[sprocket]

Sorry but I disagree sprocket, working the inside does not equate to muscling or contorting anything if you're doing it right.

I agree, but so often they do it completely wrong because they don't understand how to do it and I personally think it is a hard thing to learn without a good coach watching.

Yeah, I could be wrong. Do you personally think working the inside is something you can talk someone through or do you think you need to be there?

I guess I see so many really messed up and overly complicated swings that I wonder what the heck they are trying to do. Obviously they are trying to accomplish SOMETHING and I often think they are trying to get their hand in a strong position and are failing miserably.

[Hammer]

The easiest way for beginners to hook the ball is to hold the ball with the palm facing up and then just rotate your hand towards your
body about an inch or two. After you do this make your swing with your wrist straight and keep your hand in this position all the way through the release. This way you don't have to worry about turning your hand a little through the release. You keep your hand in the same position through the whole swing. Two things to remember. Make sure your body is tilted to the ball side a little before you start your approach. This will make sure your swing stays under your head going into the backswing and then through the forward swing.
Doing this will give you more energy into the shot. The other thing is to make sure that after your thumb comes out of the ball your two fingers that are in your ball stay bent when the ball comes off your hand. This is what puts revs on the ball. And don't grip the ball hard
with your thumb. If you do your thumb knukle will raise up and that will slow the thumb down from coming out of the ball and that is a
rev killer. So doing this is the easiest way for a beginner or someone that lost their ability to put revs on the ball to curve the ball. Just leave your hand turned a little to the inside all the way through the backswing and through the forward swing. You can get some cheap
entry level balls that are good for learning to hook the ball. By cheap doesn't mean that they are garbage. You can look at them on
bowlingball.com site.

[zdawg]

Thanks to all that have responded to the thread, just to give a quick update. Met with my coach earlier today, the first thing he did was rub an abralon pad on my ball (it's a used entry level ball that I have been throwing the hell out of for 3 months) and voila instant hook. After that we worked on my release for a while, a couple things he mentioned:

1) He thinks I was most likely trying too hard to rotate the ball and turning my hand too much, I'm not positive about this but he showed me exactly how much to turn at the release point and things improved immediately

2) He also told me to add a little bit of loft near the beginning, prior to I was setting the ball just at or just past the foul line, he wanted me to add about a foot and a half of loft which also increased the revs

3) He assured me as I continue to practice with the smooth release I will get better and the revs will come, also if I find myself getting frustrated and spinning the ball/no reaction on the backend to slow down the release and go back to the basics he worked on with me today.

Also on a non-technique note, he mentioned that he feels I've improved drastically on my fundamentals to the point where he recommends me moving up a notch in ball quality - he mentioned some specific balls to check out, and the guy that owns a local pro shop here has a bunch of "old" balls (from the beginning of the year) that he wants to get rid of for some really good prices so I'm planning on picking one up soon and practicing with it once my league goes on a temporary break.

He also suggested getting/using an abralon pad 1000 (grit I think its the same idea as sandpaper) for that particular ball if I want to make it tad bit more reactive in the meantime. I'll probably shoot some new video over the next week or so and post it here for more expert dissection of my game

[the_grimace]

I think being directly behind the ball is the way you get the most revs. Being inside the ball is not easy to pull off even though there is potential for more revs if done correctly. Being outside you don't get as much rev potential compared to being directly behind the ball. Getting revs is more about a strong snap of the wrist as you uncup it anyway.