Some updates

[Bowling Wonder]

Hi everyone. I've been away from the forum for a little while, since I've been busy with college starting back up, and I've also started taking guitar lessons. Over the past few weeks, my scores have improved. I've been averaging over 100 virtually every week, posting 2 games of 134. My highest official series this season, I believe, is 334.

As some of you know, I've been having trouble keeping my elbow straight on the downswing. I've been talking with another bowler who is very successful, and has had many 300 games. He thought that me bending my arm on the downswing might be a subconscious effort to add revs to the ball. As far as I know, this could be true- I don't have a better explanation for it. When I'm putting 100% effort into keeping my arm straight, I feel some minor tension or stretching on the "inside" of my elbow. Is this good?

Yesterday I went practicing. I did very well, with scores of 131, 110, and 136. Overall, it was a good day. However, I did have some issues. On 3 of my shots, the ball came off my hand during the backswing. I have 1 piece of white tape each in the thumbhole and fingerholes. As new to the sport as I am, intuition tells me that this is nothing more than the typical hand swelling and shrinking cycle.

On some of my shots yesterday, the ball seemed not to hook, sometimes only taking out the 6-9-10. Very late into my practice, I realized that I had been dropping the ball on some shots. Since pulling the ball results in missing left, I surmised that my missing to the right was caused by dropping the ball.

Lastly, after the 3 games of bowling a very small area of skin had peeled on the right side of my thumb near the base and aligned with (but not on) the "web" of my thumb. I've heard that calluses are a normal part of bowling, but if someone could tell me if this is due to an issue with the ball drilling or my release, I would greatly appreciate it.

Well, these are all the thoughts that I have for now.

Please don't hesitate to ask for clarification on anything.

Thanks in advance for the feedback, everyone!

[Hammer]

Are you using a fingertip bowling ball? If you are using bowlers tape you should be putting it only in the thumb hole and not in the finger holes. The ball might be coming off your hand in the backswing because your wrist might be breaking back as you swing plus you might be muscling the ball trying to help it swing back. When you swing back you want just the weight of the ball to make the ball go back into yoiur backswing.

Before you start your swing make sure you are not gripping the ball tightly with your fingers and thumb. Squeeze lightly with your fingertips and make sure that the whole length of your thumb is flat against the thumbhole and keep it that way throughout the swing.
When you start the swing the ball should be inline with your throwing shoulder. As you start your approach you push the ball straight out from the throwing shoulder and let just the weight of the ball take the ball into the backswing. When the ball swings back it should go close to your knee. As the ball is swinging you will feel some stretching in your arm because of the weight of the ball swinging.

Two things should happen on the forward swing. As soon as your ball hits the top of your backswing you should be going into your slide to make the ball come forward. As the ball is coming forward you want to keep your wrist straight or a little cupped. Actually you set your wrist like this before you start your swing. As the ball is swinging forward you want to make sure that your hand stays behind the ball until your thumb slides out of the ball which will be when your arm is pointing straight down to the floor from your shoulder and then you turn your hand just a little toward the left if you are right handed and doing this will put revs on the ball. To make sure that you put revs on the ball don't straighten your fingertips to let go of the ball. As the ball is pulling off of your hand you want to keep the fingertips bent like they were when you put them into your ball. This is what puts revs on the ball as the weight of the ball is pulling off your hand.

To get the feel of keeping your hand behind the ball put the ball on your hand with thumb and fingers inserted. If it is a fingertip ball fingers go in first and then the thumb. Next stand straight and let the ball hang straight down from your shoulder. Now bring your sliding foot forward about a foot from your other foot and lean your upper body about two or three inches toward the ball. Now letting the ball hang straight down from your shoulder swing the ball back and forth about a foot or two and make sure your wrist stays straight
or a little cupped and that it stays behind the ball the whole time. This will give you the feeling of what should happen in the actual swing. When swinging you want to keep your arm relaxed. This is what should happen in the actual swing. If you tense your whole arm from the shoulder to the hand the swing will not be able to work like it should from the backswing to the release.

You can do this drill on a smaller scale by kneeling on the floor with your sliding leg in front of you bent at a 90 degree angle and your balance leg knee on the floor behind your sliding foot, adjust for balance. Doing it this way you can actually let the ball go onto the floor
and into a pillow. This way you can make sure your hand stays behind the ball at release and your thumb comes out first and fingers last. Remember, keep those fingertips bent and let the weight of the ball pull off of your fingertips. If you straighten your fingertips to release the ball the thumb and fingers will come out at the same time and then you can forget about revs to make the ball hook. Good luck with your practice and future games. You might want to try and take at least one lesson from a qualified instructor. That would be a big help instead of trying to figure things out yourself.

[J Anderson]

As some of you know, I've been having trouble keeping my elbow straight on the downswing. I've been talking with another bowler who is very successful, and has had many 300 games. He thought that me bending my arm on the downswing might be a subconscious effort to add revs to the ball. As far as I know, this could be true- I don't have a better explanation for it. When I'm putting 100% effort into keeping my arm straight, I feel some minor tension or stretching on the "inside" of my elbow. Is this good?

Yesterday I went practicing. I did very well, with scores of 131, 110, and 136. Overall, it was a good day. However, I did have some issues. On 3 of my shots, the ball came off my hand during the backswing. I have 1 piece of white tape each in the thumbhole and fingerholes. As new to the sport as I am, intuition tells me that this is nothing more than the typical hand swelling and shrinking cycle.

On some of my shots yesterday, the ball seemed not to hook, sometimes only taking out the 6-9-10. Very late into my practice, I realized that I had been dropping the ball on some shots. Since pulling the ball results in missing left, I surmised that my missing to the right was caused by dropping the ball.

Lastly, after the 3 games of bowling a very small area of skin had peeled on the right side of my thumb near the base and aligned with (but not on) the "web" of my thumb. I've heard that calluses are a normal part of bowling, but if someone could tell me if this is due to an issue with the ball drilling or my release, I would greatly appreciate it.

Several pro bowlers have had great success with a bent arm swing. Don Carter and Amletto Monicelli are the most obvious but even Earl Anthony had a slight bend in his arm, so its no big deal if you can't throw with your arm straight. It is true that your friend may be correct, and one of the ironies of this game is that often the harder you try to get revs, the less you get.

As for the tension that you feel when trying to keep the arm straight, I don't know if this is "good", but it is normal when you make a change in technique to feel the difference in some part of your body. I assume that you arms are very muscular. It might be a good idea to do some extra stretching for the biceps and shoulders, as you get used to throwing with a straight arm.

On the dropped balls, yes that is going to keep the ball from hooking properly. an extra piece of tape in the thumb hole should fix this.

Sorry, I don't have any insight on the thumb blister or skin tear.

[J Anderson]

Are you using a fingertip bowling ball? If you are using bowlers tape you should be putting it only in the thumb hole and not in the finger holes. The ball might be coming off your hand in the backswing because your wrist might be breaking back as you swing plus you might be muscling the ball trying to help it swing back. When you swing back you want just the weight of the ball to make the ball go back into your backswing.

If Wonder is using a conventional grip tape in the finger holes isn't a big deal. When I used a conventional grip I occasionally would have to put tape in the finger holes, although back then it was usually a piece of 1/2" electrical tape on the back side of the hole.

[Bowling Wonder]

If Wonder is using a conventional grip tape in the finger holes isn't a big deal. When I used a conventional grip I occasionally would have to put tape in the finger holes, although back then it was usually a piece of 1/2" electrical tape on the back side of the hole.

Thanks for the replies, John and Stan. I do in fact use a conventional grip. My thumb has been healing nicely, but I am still looking for resources which would tell me the exact cause of the problem. I already have a piece of tape in my bowling balls, but I might consider adding another piece. Regarding the bent elbow, I read somewhere that a bowler was having the same issue; he took a milk carton, cut out the top and bottom, and put his arm through it around the elbow while working on his swing. I tried this, and I really think that it will create good muscle memory. Again, thank you for the feedback!

[Hammer]

If you are using a conventional grip drilled ball you might want to consider getting a fingertip drilled ball. The fingertip ball will let you hook the ball a lot easier. You can get some ideas for balls on the bowlingball.com web site that you can access from the upper left side
of this forum. A fingertip ball takes a little time to get used to but it isn't that hard. If you do get a new fingertip ball go with one that is a least 14 pounds. Some ball makers put a good core weight in balls that are 14 to 16 pounds only. Lighter balls get a core weight that looks like a hockey puck. That won't help you hook the ball much. Those type are good for straighter shots up the boards over the first or second arrow on the alley from the gutter. You can find some instruction on the proper way to throw a ball on this forum at the top were it says frequently asked questions. Good luck with your bowling.

[Hammer]

A couple ideas for balls that might be good for you if you go fingertip are the Brunswick Slingshot and the Storm Tropical Breeze. These are both entry performance balls that are for beginners learning to hook a ball. They are for people with slower ball speeds and that bowl on dryer lane conditions which are usually on your regular bowling leagues that bowl on THS patterns. Right now bowlingball.com site has real good prices on these balls.