Thumb question

[billf]

The pressure for the thumb should be at the base and very slight. It's hard to get use to for some but don't bend your thumb (gripping). Having interchangable thumbs you can always get a size bigger. Very helpful if your thumb swells.
I've had ITs since January. Now that I'm use to them my smallest one is too big. It's amazing how tight it can be and still release.

[ArtVandelay]

Thank you! And it's funny you say that because I just tried that "throw the ball from your knees softly into a pillow" and it released fine, but the base of my thumb is a little sore now. It's not unbearable. The problem is I'm doing this on the rug, so I can't really tell what kind of rotation the ball is getting since it straightens itself out immediately. But I can kind of feel what the idea is, and I was concentrating on feeling the ball come off my fingertips. I felt that quite a few times before I quit (I started getting a bit too eager to throw harder, and I'm just not into ruining the house and furniture!). Ya know... This transition might not be that bad after all. I had my concerns because it's so different than what I was used to...

I kept trying to feel it off my fingers and think of that football drill (throw an underhand spiral). Any other tips to try to make this transition easier?

And thanks, as always, for your advice, Bill. Do you think I'd be wise to go get another thumb (bigger size) asap to try to alleviate some of that soreness in the later frames/games? Or do you think I should wait it out and maybe go a size smaller for my next thumb hole? It seems you think snugger is the way to go, or maybe I read that wrong...

[billf]

Snugger is better without a doubt. But don't rush it either. It takes time to get use to and trust that the thumb will come out. The only time it will stick is if you bend your thumb. Mine is so tight now (thank you tape) that I have to actually force it in. As it swells during multi games then I just switch thumbs.

[ArtVandelay]

Good advice. Thanks! I was already thinking of going and buying a new one that's slightly bigger (for when swelling occurs, or my thumb gets sore), but you just probably saved me $20/30 bucks (I don't know how much they cost...)!

[ArtVandelay]

Sorry to necro-thread, I was just curious if anyone else has any input. As long as I've been bowling, the thumb release has been one of the more interesting things to me. I've seen people who don't stop playing with their thumb hole (not a double entendre) until their balls are back in their bag and they're leaving the alley (that either...).

The second post in this thread was good, because it shows I'm not the only person with this question. Hammer was very helpful with a good drill that ended up making a lot of sense to me once I figured out exactly what he was talking about.

What about everyone else? MOST of the Usual Suspects have chimed in. Is this a complete bowling non-issue?

[billf]

It's an issue. I get at least twenty questions a week regarding thumb holes and how it should fit.

[Tampabaybob]

Art....ok, I'll chime in here. To go along with what's already been stated and stated very well, for anyone having thumb release problems, a thumb pitch problem may relieve that. For years, I had a problem with this and because of it I was always "knuckling" the ball (see Bills comment). Had a friend in the proshop that suggest to me that it was the pitch. Long story short....changed the pitch, now use a tighter thumb hole and no thumb problems.

Bob

[Greenday]

I put a piece of grip tape in my thumb hole. Problem solved for me. My thumb hole is drilled straight down. I think eventually I'm going to need it changed though because my thumb comes out fast.

[ArtVandelay]

Art....ok, I'll chime in here. To go along with what's already been stated and stated very well, for anyone having thumb release problems, a thumb pitch problem may relieve that. For years, I had a problem with this and because of it I was always "knuckling" the ball (see Bills comment). Had a friend in the proshop that suggest to me that it was the pitch. Long story short....changed the pitch, now use a tighter thumb hole and no thumb problems.

Bob

Awesome! When I went to get my ball drilled, pitch came up and I had never really heard of it. He kind of explained it as the angle the ball is drilled, and said the interchangeable thumb makes changing that easy in the future if I decide I need to change it.

So, how do you know what pitch to use? Are there tests? One thing I liked about the ball driller guy is he had a lot of tests that didn't seem to be relevant but he was taking notes the whole time. The only thing is, doing that drill, it seems to release okay, so I'm inclined to believe he has it drilled spot on for me (aside from if I need a bigger hole for later games, which I can easily do now... Or if I should just get used to it and consider a tighter hole).

Thanks for bringing it up. Let me know if you have any more insight.

I hate beating a dead horse, but I'm horrible at just kind of understanding something... If a topic interests me, I want to learn everything I can. hahahaha.

[J Anderson]

I put a piece of grip tape in my thumb hole. Problem solved for me. My thumb hole is drilled straight down. I think eventually I'm going to need it changed though because my thumb comes out fast.

Is it fast or is it coming out early? From what I understand, fast is good. Early is not, as is too late.