I Have Bowlers Thumb...Options?

[J Anderson]

realllllly ??????

About twenty years ago, one of the bowlers in our Wednesday night league injured the shoulder of his dominant arm at work. Rather than give up bowling he switched to bowling lefty.

Four years ago I switched to bowling lefty because I needed a cyst removed from my middle finger and would have missed about 6 - 8 weeks of bowling. I had averaged 177 the previous season throwing a conventional grip Ebonite Signature. I dropped to 153 for the season bowling lefty with a used Track Delta Rule. That summer entered the sport league right handed, throwing a second hand Hammer Black Widow and averaged 177. I stayed on the wrong side on Wednesdays the next season and moved up to 161. Right handed in the sport league I had a composite 176 ( winter and summer). 10-11 season I went back to all right-handed in both leagues for a 174 sport ave. and a 186 regular ave. Last season I went all left-handed and dropped to 142 sport and 173 regular. This season I'm back to Left on the house shot and right on the sport except for when I'm asked to sub in which case I usually bowl with the same hand as the bowler I'm subbing for.

[Tampabaybob]

Wow.....that's amazing. I've only seen one other bowler in all of my years bowling that could do that and do it effectively. If I had to switch to left handed I'd probably kill myself on the approach. There are times when I've wished that I was a lefty. My Dad bowled left handed, wrote right handed and played golf right handed. Never could figure that out.

If it works for you then, more power to you. When you left that post, I thought you were just trying to be funny, but now I can see you were serious. Good for you to overcome a problem.

Bob

[Rdmonster]

Explained my issues to the pro shop.... The thumb hole looks to be the correct size.... He beveled the hole quite a bit and we put some tape in it to change the feel up a bit.... No bowling yet but it feels better in my hand. I also noticed it is far more likely to touch the nerve area of my thumb if I cock my wrist. I've been trying to not cock my wrist as much. This would seem a good time to learn.As always I will update after the next time I roll.

[kmf]

My dad eats and writes left handed. He usually bowls righty but can also bowl lefty. Last weekend he entered a non-sanctioned doubles tournament as his own partner. His usual doubles partner had to work. He only averages 162 lefty. I also saw him average in the 190s blind including an 800 series. Strangest thing I ever saw was with his eyes bandaged he would listen to the hit and usually could tell which pin or pins were left. He always knew which side it was when he was wrong. Joking around somebody handed him another of his balls rather than what he was using. As soon as his hands grabbed it he knew which ball it was. They all feel round to me.

[Rdmonster]

Well.....looks like I'm gonna be ok....the beveling wasn't the complete answer but it helped. That coupled with a few pieces of tape and a slightly different grip allowed me to keep pressure of the nerve in my thumb....took me the better part of my first game to figure it out....in that time I felt the ball shift and pinch the nerve.....ouch.....happened a couple of times as the ball moved during the drop into the backswing.....by adding tape it reduced the depth I could insert by about 3 mm and kept my thumb tighter until release....no bowling next week so I plan on coming back strong....and getting a little practice in...