Thumb swells over time?

[DLP]

The two balls I have (my Pyramid Path and my T-Zone), I had the pro drill the thumb hole out a little bit because it always felt like my thumb was sticking.

Today I got a chance to throw the Ebonite Cyclone that was my husbands but I adopted. When the pro drilled the thumb hole he didn't make it a little bit bigger so when I first tried the ball it was a little tight. Or at least I thought it was.

After bowling two games by adjusting my grip to have the thumb release more cleanly, I tried switching back to my T-Zone and the thumb hole felt to big. That is until I got about 2/3 of the way through my second game. Between the slurping and audible popping noises from there on out I am certain my thumb started to swell. By the third game it was catching enough that I was lofting it down the lane and it was no longer releasing cleanly off my thumb.

Is this a common problem?

And if so, how can I compensate for it?

I'm reluctant to even touch the thumb hole because frankly during my first game and into my second the ball just felt REALLY REALLY good in my hands.
Considering I went from a 96-69-98 series to a 109-105-77 with just the ball change and the awareness of the change in my release to make sure my thumb doesn't stick... I'm doing something better!

[e-tank]

i wrap a towel around my thumb while im waiting for my turn. Havent had a problem since i started doing this

[DLP]

Thanks. I'll have to give it a shot.

Hubby decided since we won't be bowling this weekend because it's our Relay For Life event that we're taking advantage of the Memorial Day deal at the local Brunswick and going to go throw a few more lines.

This will probably not end well

[Greenday]

I have my thumb holes drilled larger so there's room as my thumb expands. While it's smaller, I put grip tape in it.

[DLP]

I think I need to rename the thread to "getting your ball drilled right = learning how to throw the damn thing". We ended up at the lanes again for 2 hrs tonight. And yes, the ball stuck on my thumb, more times than I care to admit. But.. and I say BUT... there were also times when it rolled off perfectly, right down the lane, and right where I wanted it to. And it wasn't game specific, but 100% release specific. I would know immediately right before the point of release if I was going to have the stuck thumb issue, the other extreme of that ball dropping off my hand before the foul line and merrily rolling its own way down the lane, or it actually doing what it was supposed to.

I noticed that if I didn't wear my wrist support, my thumb placement would be all wrong and my thumb would get stuck just picking the ball up. This led to more than one instance that required the assistance of my hubby in order to help me ease my thumb out of the ball.

Wearing my wrist support, I noticed that if I placed my fingers first and let the palm of my hand roll and relax against the ball and let my thumb slide into the hole before picking the ball up I would get the exact feel of how the ball should feel in and on my hand and how it should feel releasing.

Which led me to, due to my extremely keen sense of the obvious and through sheer power of deduction, come to the conclusion that I've been throwing the ball WRONG since day 1!!! Not completely wrong, I mean the ball wasn't ending up in the snack bar, but incorrect enough that, well, that I thought all along my thumb hole on my prior to balls, despite being fit for them by the local pro, was to small. Three cheers for the Pro sticking me with the smaller thumb hole!

Hubby is telling me I should get the hole sanded down a hair to ease the sticking problem but I am very reluctant to do so because I KNOW I can throw that thing, and throw it with consistency if I get the release right.

I know what I am doing wrong and now it is just a matter of time to grow out of the consistency of doing it "the wrong" way. There were times when the stars aligned tonight and I was even learning how the mild adjustments in my fingers were giving me my intentional fade (yes the whole leftie hook thing from a righty) and actually getting some very minor hook (that rescued me from the gutter more than once).

Btw - the wrapping the thumb in the towel worked as I was trying to work all this out in my head. It gave me some slight "play room" while still adjusting to the new, that was old, but is new again drill pattern.

[Tampabaybob]

DLP....One thing you can bank on during the summer is that your hand will swell. Likewise in the colder parts of the country during the winter months walking in out of the cold, your thumb hole will feel too big. The answer (as already mentioned) drill the hole 1/64" larger and use bowlers tape....problem solved.

[DLP]

Is using tape a preference thing? One brand over the other? Recommend how to tape?

I still consider myself a newbie bowling and am learning between what the Pro provides, things I learn here, youtube, watching others bowl, and guidance from my husband.

[billf]

http://www.bowlingboards.com/threads...and-thumb-tape Our forum thread on how to use and apply tape.
If you use bowler's thumb tape, the curved edge goes up. Many, including myself, at first try putting the curved edge down so it looks like your thumb. That's not why it's curved though. The curving helps to keep the tape in place and not curl.
The black tape is slicker and designed to go on the knuckle side of the thumb. The white tape is coarse, goes towards the inside of the thumb and increases grip. If your span is correct, using tape in front of the thumb can/will alter your span.

[DLP]

Great thread! Thank you

[Gunz1911]

Billf, Have you ever tried a thumb cover? I've been bouncing between my thumb cover, tape and just bare naked thumb. I have to say it is slightly wierd using the cover, but you get no friction or blisters on your hand.

http://www.bowlingball.com/products/...ht-Handed.html

This is the thumb cover I have and it works decent, but does make your thumb a bit bigger.