new fit = starting all over

[nathan]

Is it common to have trouble adjusting to a properly snug thumb hole, or have I made things difficult for myself by squeezing a bit too much for the year and half I've been bowling?

I have been improving a lot the past few months, and then I decided to get a new ball. The pro shop guy (same guy who drilled my last ball) made my thumb hole really tight. He insisted it was supposed to be that tight. I know it's supposed to be snug, but wow. Now, I'm finding it difficult just to let go of the ball. When I do get out of it, it rolls nicely and I think my rev rate maybe even went up a little, but if I even think about squeezing, the ball sticks at my thumb knuckle and the ball goes 3 feet in the air and then slowly rolls down the lane.

I bowled several games today just focusing on getting out of the ball. Releasing it this way feels completely different to what I've been doing, which I guess confirms I have been squeezing a lot more than I thought. I feel like I'm learning how to bowl all over again. Rather than focusing on my target or anything else, I have to just concentrate on keeping my hand loose and relaxed. It's a little discouraging considering how steadily I was improving, to now feel like I've never thrown a bowling ball before.

I had been trying to increase my rev rate (under200 now), but now I can't try anything with my wrist or hand because I squeeze. I'll have to work on that later. I don't understand how people are able turn, flick, etc and not squeeze at all. I can't seem to keep my wrist firm and my thumb loose at the same time.

...maybe I should try two handed again.

That's far more than I intended to write, sorry for the novel.

[kev3inp]

No problem about length. You may pick up not squeezing faster than you think. It almost sounds like, though, that your thumb pitch has been changed to forward, then almost any squeeze would cause it to hang. I cheat my thumbhole, though. It's purposely large so I can put a piece of magic carpet in the back and tape in the front until I like the fit. My thumb usually shrinks as the night goes on, so I'll add more tape.

[J Anderson]

First, don't give up! It takes time to replace bad habits with good ones

Secondly, the hole might be just a little too tight. Thumbs change size for reasons that I don't fully understand. Most serious bowlers have the hole fit just slightly over and the add tape until its snug. Then they can add or remove tape as needed depending on what their thumb is doing.
You might want to check out Ron Clifton's site for advice on sizing.

[nathan]

I used to cheat my thumbhole like that (my old ball has 3 pieces of black in the back plus 1 black and one white in the front), this time I only had him make it very slightly bigger only to compensate for a piece of skin protector tape and maybe one piece of thin tape in the hole.

Today, I noticed something interesting. My old ball is actually tighter on the top/bottom (or front/back) with all the tape then the new ball. The tape must be too slick. The sides are tighter on the new ball. I know he shortened my span, he may have changed my thumb pitch, too. You think I should try more reverse pitch? How will that affect the release?
I also think I need more right pitch (or less left pitch, whatever). That side of my thumb gets roughed up a bit.

Are pitches easy (cheap) to change?

[nathan]

First, don't give up! It takes time to replace bad habits with good ones

Secondly, the hole might be just a little too tight. Thumbs change size for reasons that I don't fully understand. Most serious bowlers have the hole fit just slightly over and the add tape until its snug. Then they can add or remove tape as needed depending on what their thumb is doing.
You might want to check out Ron Clifton's site for advice on sizing.

I know it's not too tight because I had the pro shop guy open it up a little to allow for tape. I think it's a pitch issue + bad habit...but mostly bad habit. Tuesday night league will be interesting.

[nathan]

Well, thanks mostly to the Reign Supreme, my scores tonight in league were ok considering my problems. I was able to get 3 pieces of white tape in the back of the thumb hole and do without my usual piece of skin protection tape.

I'm pretty sure the pitch is too far forward. The hole is still not quite snug, so the ball comes off a little and hangs on my knuckle. If I add any more tape to tighten the hole, I can't get out of it. I'd like to go to a pro shop this week and have them fix it (more reverse pitch).

However, I can tell I'm getting better at not squeezing because I tried my old ball, and even with an extra piece of white tape, I completely dropped it. Also, a few times I grabbed the new ball, but just lofted it out a little instead of actually getting stuck.

I'm just amazed at how different it feels. I can't wait till Saturday, when I can take some video and see how it compares to my old release. It will probably take a few weeks or months to get back to level I was at previously.

there I go babbling on again...

[beazy22]

i like my thumb a little loose, i guess after running into the same problem as you (3' toss and slow roll down the lane) i got really conscious about my release. so i got my thumb drilled a little bigger and have been releasing much smoother ever since. it was different but i'd rather not have the fear of the ball getting stuck and having a consistent release than having it be perfectly fitting. my thumb also changes size like most.

[nathan]

yeah, I know what you mean. I'm going tomorrow to have the thumb hole redrilled with more reverse pitch. I hope that's the issue. I just bought the ball and I like it. I'd hate to ruin it by redrilling it every week (not to mention what that would cost).

I'm going to tighten up my old ball and if that works, I'll just have them copy that.

[WAC4504]

I used to feel the same way about not trusting the thumb hole, and I really have done the Flinstone, throwing the ball onto the neighboring lane after bouncing on my lane from 3ft in the air. And of course after that happens you don't care about anything, except getting the ball off your fingers, and try not to give anyone anything else to laugh at. Now 3 & 1/2 years later my thumb holes are just the right size, like they're supposed to be. What I found out was that the ball was hanging on my thumb due to my release, and once I fixed that I fixed my problem. Now, I know if the ball hangs on my thumb I either didn't stay low at the point of release or I came over top of the ball. I know it's not easy, but once you perfect your release your thumb problem should ease up quite a bit. I hope this helps you as much as it did me. Good luck.

[nathan]

I guess I should post an update. I had my thumb pitch changed (thanks to Mike Wolfe). I think it needs to be a bit more oval, but it fits much better now and I'm better at letting go. I also discovered that I prefer smooth black tape at the back of the thumb hole instead of the rough white tape.

Tuesday at league, I shot 640 (203-191-246), for my first league 600 series. Of course that was mostly down to much better mental focus, consistency, the lanes, and good carry (thank you, Reign Supreme), but the new thumb hole sure helped a lot.
I only grabbed and hung up once, first ball in the 10th frame of the first game. Gutter, 8. That shook my confidence just enough to mess up my second game until the tenth frame, where I pulled it together and struck out.

Today at practice I was even able to try turning my wrist at release for a few more revs (got to work on my tilt though). This didn't help my score at all, but the fact I could do it without hanging up was encouraging. I didn't hang up any until game 8 or 9, after my friends left and it was just me bowling non-stop. My thumb warmed up and swelled. I think if I get the hole more oval, I can tighten it with more tape and still get out clean.

I hope Tuesday wasn't a fluke.