Quote Originally Posted by Astropin View Post
It's not the drill pattern...I have three balls drilled from aggressive hook to neutral (my spare ball) and if I come straight through the ball from the back they all go straight. The aggressive one will hook a tiny bit.



Well that's what everyone keeps saying...but if you watch the pro's in slow motion that is not what appears to be happening. It looks like the thumb comes out but then the fingers ROTATE through the ball. They do not come straight up the back. By the time their fingers actually leave the ball there is a definite motion towards the gutter with the fingers....putting revs on the ball that are not directly at the pins. The ball is spinning towards the gutter (but the path is away from the gutter). That's the only way I can even imagine a big hook happening. When the ball heads down the lane it's revving pretty hard towards the gutter...generating the eventual hook. No way to do that if you release straight up the back towards the pins (which is what people keep saying...and I've tired).

The only way I can see that happening (letting the ball turn your hand) is if your hand is in the right position as soon as the thumb comes out. Which would be a little more on the side of the ball then completely behind. Then your finger would naturally push through the ball at a slight angle creating spin (revs) at an angle away from the pins...allowing it to hook.

So my question to the experts - where are your fingers when the thumb exits? Where are your fingers when they exit? (I guess use a clock for reference). I'm a lefty but can figure it out if you describe it "righty".
From what I’ve seen (and, mind, I haven’t tried the modern release yet) is that the hand is behind the ball, but not DIRECTLY behind the ball. That is, the Palm is offset — like at the 5:00 position, not 6:00 (righty). This puts the weight of the ball more toward the pinky side of the palm, which weight would pull the hand to the outside slightly at the release. Yes?