Stupid thumb - part 2

[JoeBeavis]

in my studies of release techniques I read and hear over and over "Don't grip with the thumb hard"

I find myself doing this shot after shot. I have 2 balls drilled by two different pro shops. Both have told me that things are correct but I suspect they wouldn't tell me if it was wrong.
When I grip tight with thumb, then it doesn't get out of the ball when it should and I wind up throwing a straight ball.

Am I correct in saying If the balls thumb hole is drilled right and at proper pitch just having my thumb straight in the thumb hole relaxed but straight should be enough to maintain a grip on the ball until release? Is it wrong to apply pressure during back swing and then just relax on downswing acceptable?

[Amyers]

I've struggled with this myself one of the things I worked on that helped was actually trying to press against the hole with the nail side of your thumb to help break the gripping habit after a few weeks of or acting this way I was able to break the habit

[JerseyJim]

The answer is sometimes. My thumb varies in size over the course of a season. Sometimes I resort to a piece of tape to give me the snug fit that I like. Other times just a puff of air into the thumbhole helps keep the snug feel. You have to experiment.

[DLP]

To quote Mo Pinel: "If a bowling ball fits properly, the bowling ball will let go of the bowler at the release, rather than the bowler letting go of the bowling ball!"

[JoeBeavis]

Ameyrs, that sounds like a great suggestion. Will try it out.

[HowDoIHookAgain]

If you find that you are constantly having to tightly grip your thumb hole to hold on to the ball, then you probably need to add some tape. Most people say the tighter your thumb hold is, the more consistent your shot will be because there is not much space for your thumb to go in the hole, thus reducing the risk of any less-than-ideal release. I don't think that applying a bit of pressure is a bad thing, but if you need to apply pressure to avoid knuckling the ball, then you probably need tape inside your thumb hole. But as a side note, I would try what Ameyrs said and see if that works first. If it doesn't then I would definitely suggest putting tape in your ball where necessary.

[Jessiewoodard57]

Joe, I have 4 balls that where all drilled by the same driller each fit differently ( he used no drilling sheet to record my drill specs) one hurt to throw. I was recommended a different Pro Shop and found out that they all had different pitches and spans. I was regularly dropping the ball or holding so tight that I crossed over a lot. After Rob fixed them and I learned how comfortable the ball should feel bowling has been much more fun. I still not the greatest bowler but I have not dropped a ball or fail to release it since the redrills.

[GeoLes]

My wife has had ongoing thumb issues for a while. What helped her was the mental image of a straight thumb that hugs the back of the thumb hole. If you can imagine your thumbnail caressing the back wall until you are ready to relase the ball it may help you.


Funny how mental images work (or don't work) for some people. In other words, the classic disclaimer "you results may vary".

[CardShark613]

To quote Mo Pinel: "If a bowling ball fits properly, the bowling ball will let go of the bowler at the release, rather than the bowler letting go of the bowling ball!"

This took me a lot of focused effort to fully understand. At first I refused to accept that I was "squeezing". I just recently got a new ball, and had it drilled with a "proper" thumb hole as opposed to my previous ball which had a little extra room to tolerate my little squeeze. My first instinct as many other newbs was to request them to widen it. But the pro looked at me like I was on crack and said "it looks like you have plenty of room in there, maybe we should put some tape" huh? At the urging of the PSO I left it alone and forced myself to make it work.

The "light bulb" moment for me was when my thumb swelled a tad, and my grip was forced to relaxed even more. Three consecutive sticks until the 4th came off perfectly and hooked more than ever. Once I saw that it COULD come off smooth, I knew instantly that anytime it did not, it was my own fault.

The next few sessions my new drilling acted like a trainer, only allowing a clean thumb exit IF and WHEN I did it all correctly. One small error and it hangs up even just a tad.

I recommend sucking it up, forgetting about your score, and practicing with a nice tight thumb hole until it clicks. It really is night and day and you can most definitely feel the difference when it comes off right