Finger Positions? What do they do?

[WolfGirl1980]

Pinky and index finger close to the your middle and ring finger what does that do I see a lot of pro's do that but why? I usually spread them outward cause its comfortable and by habit but what does it do to the balls hook and for what lane conditions cause I was just reading the post about what to do when the lane is dry I think the lane was bone dry last Monday at AMF Rose Bowl cause the only way it went into the pocket was to throw it out there way right but not too right but hood wide and and it had a big wide hook and it went straight into to the pocket anything else went Brooklyn even though I got a strike Brooklyn style but still not suppose to hit it there if your a righty like me. So saying what I just said does that mean the lane was dry? If don't have an answer for me I can ask my coach on facebook which I should probably do anyway but let me know how do I tell when the lane is has a lot of oil and when the lane is dry or is that a question for my coach? Like I said in my other post I have a lot of basics to learn and I am ready and willing to learn them at a moments ready, at least I think that's the right phrasing.

[J Anderson]

Pinky and index finger close to the your middle and ring finger what does that do I see a lot of pro's do that but why? I usually spread them outward cause its comfortable and by habit but what does it do to the balls hook and for what lane conditions cause I was just reading the post about what to do when the lane is dry I think the lane was bone dry last Monday at AMF Rose Bowl cause the only way it went into the pocket was to throw it out there way right but not too right but hood wide and and it had a big wide hook and it went straight into to the pocket anything else went Brooklyn even though I got a strike Brooklyn style but still not suppose to hit it there if your a righty like me. So saying what I just said does that mean the lane was dry? If don't have an answer for me I can ask my coach on facebook which I should probably do anyway but let me know how do I tell when the lane is has a lot of oil and when the lane is dry or is that a question for my coach? Like I said in my other post I have a lot of basics to learn and I am ready and willing to learn them at a moments ready, at least I think that's the right phrasing.

Here is a good article by Ron Clifton about finger positions. I can't explain them any better than he does.
http://www.bowl4fun.com/ron/tip11.htm

[WolfGirl1980]

Here is a good article by Ron Clifton about finger positions. I can't explain them any better than he does.
http://www.bowl4fun.com/ron/tip11.htm

Thanks for the Article J That really Helped a lot!! Thanks again!!

[ghetto24]

Here is a good article by Ron Clifton about finger positions. I can't explain them any better than he does.
http://www.bowl4fun.com/ron/tip11.htm

in all the years i have been bowling i never knew any of this. thank you for posting that!!! i will definitely have to try them out and see how my ball reacts

[Greenday]

I used to do the index and pinky both spread as my normal strike ball. Lately I've switched to the index in/pinky spread. It gives my ball more length before hooking, saving its energy.

[ghetto24]

ive always thrown in a "spread eagle" way.

[WolfGirl1980]

I knew it played some role in how well we bowl and what our ball does I just didn't know exactly what, cause every Sunday I watch The PBA Tour on ESPN and I paid close attention to there Finger Positions so from that I knew it had something to do with the reaction of the ball of what they wanted the ball to do. Anyway I want to try my index finger wide and pinky curled and get a strong back end to get the 10 pin out or turn the corner a little harder then normal.

[WolfGirl1980]

ive always thrown in a "spread eagle" way.

Me too That's always the way I have thrown but gonna try different and new things Monday when I get lessons and practice after.

[GeoLes]

This is the stuff that makes bowling seem such a casual sport (just throw the ball hard enough to knock down all the pins). In reality it is more like pitching a baseball. Very basic on the surface but extremely nuanced I'ts the little things to make a big difference. I was taught by my coach to roll a straight ball by essentially stacking the weight block as far right as possible and allowing the ball to roll off the index and middle fingers on release. This is essentially the same as tucking the index finger to promote more roll. I also noted that the pros often spread the index finger. It makes sense that they get more "grab around the ball" so to speak , promoting more revs upon release.

It makes perfect common sense. Close index finger=more roll; spread pinky=more revs.

A very revealing article. Thanks. I can't wait to try the variations next bowling practice.

[TCJ]

Believe it or not, I figured out changing finger positions gave the ball a different reaction on my own. I used to have both fingers spread out for stability, but then one day I thought to myself that the pinky being out like that might keep the ball from turning over as much, so I held it in close to the other fingers. The result was a ball with a tad more turn, so from then on I began bowling with that position. I did the opposite for spare shots so I could keep my shot as straight as possible. I did try folding the pinky under one time, but that hurt a lot so I decided it wasn't worth it.