Thumb trouble

[15brute]

I am starting to learn to throw a hook using a fingertip grip and I am having problems clearing my thumb. I know this is from gripping the ball in my backswing, but I cant break myself from this habit. I have went back to the pro shop multiple times for them to check and make sure the span is right and the holes are right and they assure me they are. To me it seems the span is a bit too far but I trust they are giving me the right setup. Any suggestions to help me learn this the right way? I have already sold a ball because I couldnt get it and been frustrated and am now on my second ball drilled this way and want to get it right, any help would be appreciated.

[Evan]

I can assure you your pro shop is correct. When I went from a normal straight throw to adding the the finger tips I too thought the span was to far, but it's supposed to be like that because without the increased span its very difficult to hook the ball. Just ask them to increase the size of your thumb hole so that you can still grip it in the back swing but it will be easier to let go on your release.

[Beech]

what i did befor i went to switch grips, was cary some emory cloth / sand paper in your bag and if you havnt the problem bevel the thumb hole some more and sand down the inside it takes very little off and that could mean the diffrence if you get emory clothi think it takes off .001 off the thumb hole but sometimes its all you need

[bigbowler76]

Did they put any "thumb pitch"on the ball? This is drilling the thumbhole at a very slight angle to allow your thumb to come out of the ball easier or with a "positive thumb pitch" - to make you hold onto the ball longer... They can always plug your thumb and put some pitch on it to help you get out of the ball

[15brute]

I remember him talking about the pitch of the thumbhole. He says that he put the right pitch for what it should be for me, what it is I dont know. If I had to guess from the way the ball feels coming off of my hand, I would think that if the thumbhole was angled more towards my middle and ring fingers, that it would help. Is this positive pitch?

[bigbowler76]

Yes, if your thumb is drilled with the hole angled towards your fingers then it is positive pitch. That could be part of the problem.. You could have them plug and redrill the thumb and put it to no pitch or reverse pitch on it. If he did indeed drill it with positive pitch I would probably just go with no pitch first. If you want to come out of the ball earlier after that than go with reverse...

Another thing, have faith that you won't drop the ball in your backswing unless you actually do! I got remeasured for my span this year since I did something different with my drilling patterns and my style has changes a bit since the last time... My first game with my new balls I was tugging the ball every shot, after halfway through a practice game I realized I was squeezing with my thumb while my backswing was going up and that was keeping my hand in the ball too long ( and I have reverse pitch, so my thumb comes out easy) to alleviate the problem I put some turbo skin tape on my thumb to close up a little space in my thumb and I just focused on keeping my hand fully relaxed in the ball during my whole swing.. After doing that I shot 199, 196, 213. I didn't have my plastic ball with me so I wasn't making my corner pins, so if I did you could just add 20 or more pins to those games

[threeripmin]

take your ball and have another driller check it. some drillers are really bad. i had to go to 3 before i found one i liked.

[15brute]

I really trust that my driller did the right thing, I am new to competitive bowling and I am learning that almost everything I have done in the past is absolutely wrong! I just have to work on it and get better. It just seems that the thumb has been a huge burden on me and I have already gotten frustrated once and ditched the hook idea. Now I am at the point where I am not scoring any better and I feel I need to learn this to progress in my game. I'll see what I can get figured out, practice will only help. I just need to quit sqeezing the ball so bad.

[threeripmin]

dont worry about hooking the ball, just practice coming straight through the ball(making sure that you thumb comes out frist). if you try to hook the ball youll most likely be turning your hand to early and that will make you hang up in the ball.

[15brute]

So yesterday I bowled 3 practice games, had my driller sand the edges of my thumbhole just a tad. I had very little trouble my thumb. When I did have issues, it was because I was turning my hand too early or trying to induce too much hook by completely turning my hand over instead of following through straight up. I am still "gripping" the ball too much though. I know its a mental thing but I cant keep myself from doing this. I am also throwing way too hard and my ball is pushing through the break zone and I am missing the pocket. I am getting good revs on the ball and need to slow it down. Tried slower approach, holding the ball way low, shorter backswing and all I can manage is about 1 mph. Down from 19 to about 18. When I try going really slow, I get my feet crossed up and really mess up. 3 lane faults in one game is ridiculous, when I bowl the way I feel comfortable, the ball comes off my hand good, hits the mark, but pushes through the break zone because of the high speed. I tried changing lines but same result. I know I didnt practice that much yesterday but thats all I had time for. Any suggestions on what else to do for the speed and break. I am using a 14 pound ebonite evolve and I had tried a 15 and 16 lb previously but I cannot use the heavier balls due to a shoulder injury from other previous activities so I am to the point where I need to make this weight work and slow myself down some.