Grip it and rip it, or relaxed hand release?

[J Anderson]

"Just relax your grip on that ball, Mr. Anderson"

Hey! Leave me out of this!

[Hammer]

Gripping the ball with your thumb can be a hard habit to break. What you should be doing is gripping the ball with your middle and ring finger and press your index finger and pinkie on top of the ball. Doing this will keep your wrist cupped or straight and it stays that way into the release. All the thumb does is take up space in the thumb hole. When the thumb isn't gripping the thumb will come out quickly near the release and that will let the ball fly off the tips of your bent fingertips as you hand quickly goes forward through the end of the swing. If you grip with the thumb as you are coming to the release you will lose accuracy to your target, lose revs and it could possibley cause you to pull your shot. You want to leave the thumb lying flat in the thumb hole and not pressing down on the thumb in the hole which will cause the thumb knuckle to rise and touch the other side of the hole which will cause it to stick. There are bad releases that can cause a thumb to stick even if the hole is drilled correctly.

[Tampabaybob]

AZ.......I also used to grip the heck out of my ball and always paid the price for it after bowling. This season, something I've been working on is a relaxed release. If you read several of the top coaches advice, these new balls are so strong that you no longer need to "grip it and rip it". Fast forward to yesterday, I drilled out my new ball that I won here, the Roto Grip Shatter, and I tried it right after drilling, using the relaxed release. No pain, no forced lift, just an easy release and rotation of my wrist, and the ball reacted as violently as if I had ripped it. The ball is a skid snap ball and it did exactly that. Great reaction, and hitting power and I didn't have to kill myself doing it. Hope that helps answer your question.

Bob

[AZBowla]

Well an update on this - took my new Matrix ball that I won here to the pro shop to get drilled today - the guy pulled up my measurements from the last ball and asked me if everything was alright. I said yeah, except the thumb was too tight and I had to come back a couple times to get it adjusted as it kept getting hung up on my thumb. He says hmmm, let me see... and found out it was drilled not one but TWO sizes too small! How I wasn't getting hung up on it more often is beyond me (and him). He adjusted my Marauder to the correct size and drilled my Matrix ball to match. All I can say is wow what a difference! Both balls feel PERFECT now and I don't get hung up on either one at all. I can grip both of them nice and relaxed and these balls fly down the lane now and hit like a freight train. The Matrix ball is just the ticket for the dry lanes on open bowling, but I stuck with the DV8 for strikes and did pretty respectable - high score for the day was 188 and the new matrix ball takes care of single pin spares like it has a laser sight on it. I am now VERY happy with both balls and doing much better than I was before - no more need to knuckle the thumb hole.

[Tampabaybob]

It's nice to have a ball driller that can recognize a problem and help you fix it. There are probably plenty of bowlers that have a similar problem, but don't go to have it checked out. Glad you did, and as you can see, no more reason to 'grip it and rip it'. Good luck let us know how you're doing.

Bob

[AZBowla]

So last night after bowling like an idiot for the first 5 games, I'm not sure quite how it happened but something "clicked" and I went from an off-balance awkward looking swing to a nice relaxed almost Norm Duke form and my consistency improved dramatically. I wish I could figure out what I did but I went from bowling like a hunchback to standing nearly straight up at the point of release with my balance arm right where it needed to be and the ball doing exactly what I wanted and expected for the shot I was taking. I went from leaving opens on nearly every frame to two strikes, four spares in a row and another strike. The final game of the night I was also closing out almost every frame but time ran out and I didn't get a chance to finish up, but I was on track to at least a 180 game if not higher. Very exciting! I can't wait to go back out and continue to work on this. If I can keep this going I think I'll be ready to upload a video for some critiques.

[75lockwood]

Sounds great! i hate bowling by the hour because of this the machine just shuts off, if i throw my ball i tend to have to ask that the machine be turned back on so i can get it back...

Just think about the, 600 series on the horizon!

[AZBowla]

I just got a free two games coupon in my inbox from AMF (my GF did too) so I'm going to see if I can convince her to go with me on Friday and we'll each bowl our two free games and then pay for a third to get an average. That will tell me if I should bother with next month's upcoming ABT tourney or if I should wait until next year to start those.

[75lockwood]

I just got a free two games coupon in my inbox from AMF (my GF did too) so I'm going to see if I can convince her to go with me on Friday and we'll each bowl our two free games and then pay for a third to get an average. That will tell me if I should bother with next month's upcoming ABT tourney or if I should wait until next year to start those.

Go for it regardless!

go have fun at the tournament, will you win it all? probably not, but who cares? go have fun and get a feel for what its like so your ready next time!

[AZBowla]

Go for it regardless!

go have fun at the tournament, will you win it all? probably not, but who cares? go have fun and get a feel for what its like so your ready next time!

If I do, I'll go for the $25 win-a-spot option. Normally the entry fee is $75 but if you want you can pay just $25 and your first 3 games can win you a paid spot in the actual tournament. The way I figure it, if I do lousy than I'm only out $25 (most likely scenario) instead of $75 and if I do well then I get to bowl in a tournament for just $25. They also let you bowl even if you aren't a member, but if you win the winnings are applied towards your dues. So maybe if I'm lucky I'll win a free membership for next year out of it. We'll see. I need to get an ABT shirt though I think, or at least one with my name on the back from what the guy was saying. I'll have to shoot him an email and ask him if I need that before this next tourney or if I can just bowl in a normal shirt.