How to tell if you're thumb is getting out first?

[zdawg]

So, I've changed a bunch of my mechanics per my lesson last week, and it feels like my ball just isn't hooking the way it used to when apparenlty I was just "muscling" every throw.

Since I'm still new I'm wondering if maybe my thumb isn't getting out fast enough...any way to tell easily?? Just as an FYI, I didn't even know I was supposed to put my thumb completely in the ball (fingertip grip) until about 4 weeks ago. So it took me about 4 weeks to get to the point now where I don't tear the skin on the inner part of my thumb every session from inadvertently squeezing with my thumb.

[dnhoffman]

If the fit is right, and your hand is loose, it will happen on its own.

- The ball should be so tight on your thumb that it will not come off unless in motion.

- Don't grip the ball with your thumb - it should be so tight that you KNOW if you don't have your hand completely relaxed then it WILL stick and you'll loft halfway down the lane and miss.

Do this and it should happen on its own

[zdawg]

If the fit is right, and your hand is loose, it will happen on its own.

- The ball should be so tight on your thumb that it will not come off unless in motion.

- Don't grip the ball with your thumb - it should be so tight that you KNOW if you don't have your hand completely relaxed then it WILL stick and you'll loft halfway down the lane and miss.

Do this and it should happen on its own

Ok thanks, yeah it fits pretty good. At this point I'm just trying to eliminate possible causes of my lack of hook, I didn't think this was the case but figured it doesn't hurt to ask

[dnhoffman]

I saw in another post you talked about upping your ball speed as one of the changes - you may need to move out quite a bit and let the ball arc in as opposed to having that big swoop that slower speeds tend to lead to. I throw about 19.5 mph at the heads and on a 38' THS I'm usually throwing out over the 9 board... 5-7 board on longer patterns. I just don't have a ton of revs and throw the ball pretty hard (even though my backswing is lower than a limbo contest....) so I have to let the ball read the dry a bit earlier to get the right entry angle.

Good luck - also, if you post a video some of us around here would be happy to see what we can find.

[zdawg]

I saw in another post you talked about upping your ball speed as one of the changes - you may need to move out quite a bit and let the ball arc in as opposed to having that big swoop that slower speeds tend to lead to. I throw about 19.5 mph at the heads and on a 38' THS I'm usually throwing out over the 9 board... 5-7 board on longer patterns. I just don't have a ton of revs and throw the ball pretty hard (even though my backswing is lower than a limbo contest....) so I have to let the ball read the dry a bit earlier to get the right entry angle.

Good luck - also, if you post a video some of us around here would be happy to see what we can find.

Thanks, and stupid me I forgot to try to film some of it today.

The thing is, when I went up to take my lesson with Mark Baker it was an alley I've never bowled on before and seemed MUCH dryer than I'm used to (I'm not sure if it was wood or synthetic as I have no idea how to tell the difference), I just know when I first got there and was throwing some warmups it was hooking like crazy and I was missing way left. Once he got me lined up on 25 and aiming at 10 I was nailing the pocket, I can't do that at my regular lane.

The problem is, I've made so many changes so quickly, I want to make sure I didn't screw something up like my release...today's practice was better and I hit maybe around 80 -85% of my spares, but I was still missing the pocket like it is going out of style (which isn't bad because I got spare practice). Since my lesson and in the last 3 practice sessions (24 games or so), I haven't hit a single turkey and today I didn't even get a single double...I normally get at least one or two turkeys per game (or a four bagger), so I just am not striking at the present. And while the points don't matter so much presently, I need to know if I'm doing the right thing or if I'm completely screwing something new up because of the other changes.

Anyway, hopefully I plan on hitting the lanes again tomorrow and I'll try to record some video, wish I had some video from prior to my lesson but that's ok, this is only my 11th week of bowling so no matter what I'm sure there is a lot to correct.

[vdubtx]

If the lanes are real dry on the outside 10-1 boards, try moving left 5+ boards with your feet and target over the 15-20 to get into some more oil. Throwing out to 10 board is gonna just end up biting you.

Read this article by Rob Mautner from the now defunct BTM magazine - LINK Page 37 it starts

[zdawg]

If the lanes are real dry on the outside 10-1 boards, try moving left 5+ boards with your feet and target over the 15-20 to get into some more oil. Throwing out to 10 board is gonna just end up biting you.

Read this article by Rob Mautner from the now defunct BTM magazine - LINK Page 37 it starts

Funny you mention that, that's how I was lining up prior to a league night about a couple weeks ago where I was suddenly hooking too much and missing the headpin left. One of the more experienced bowlers suggested I start aiming for the 10 board which helped that night. Prior to that I was lining up on 25 and aiming at 15.

I'm still getting the hang of trying to figure out how to adjust my game based on the lane conditions (and I've decided to only practice at my league alley since it seems to have much heavier oil than the other three lanes I've tried). I guess I've been stubborn and instead of adjusting during the practice sessions, I've been trying to force the ball to do what I want, mainly because the lanes I had my lesson with Mark Baker on the 25 10 thing was working so well LOL

Thanks for the link will definitely check it out. My team has a makeup bowling session tomorrow so I'm gonna get a little extra practice/warmup in and see if adjusting back to standing at 25 and aiming at 15 helps, I think it will I'm not missing the pocket by that much...but as I'm sure everyone here knows missing the pocket consistently even by "not that much" equals lots of practice picking up spares.