This week I would like to go over some common old school concepts of body position in bowling and combine them with today’s coaching techniques. Then I would like for you to decide which one is best for you.

First let’s touch on what I mean by “old school” teaching tips. How many of us have heard this “you need to keep your shoulders square to the foul line.”  Now that you are done nodding your head in agreement, I would like to tell you the good and bad of this “old school” method.

A long, long, time ago, in galaxy far, far away, bowlers never hooked the bowling ball on the lanes like we do in today’s environment. Sure we had the occasional bowler like Mark Roth who wasn’t a cookie cutter bowler of that era.

There are a lot of factors in why this method doesn’t work all the time in today’s bowling game.  It was a great tip back then, but how many of you hook the ball more then 5 boards today?

If you are parallel to the foul line upon delivery, then your targeting lines will be in proper position to have your bowling ball track to the pocket. This is still the same concept you use today when, and only when, you are playing closer to the gutter. Today you need your hips and shoulders opened to your intended target path AND NOT PARALELL TO THE FOUL LINE.

Let’s make this a littler bit simpler to understand.  Let’s say that you are standing left of the big center dot on the approach. You are trying to hit between the second and third arrow on the lanes, and your intended ball path is to have the ball get closer to the first arrow (where the usual dry boards are) and have the ball hook back to the pocket.  Ask yourself this question, “how in the heck is my body going to do that?”  It physically can not do that without creating stress or creating your arm swing to pull away from your body.  What happens to your swing and shoulders when you do that?  It causes excessive stress on your shoulder and back.  I know I don’t like to have that added muscle in my swing, do you?
So in order to create the body in the proper position to create this shot, you must have your shoulders and hips open more towards your target. Doesn’t that just make incredible sense?  Stand up in front of your computer now and try this for yourself. You will see that it is not feasible to incorporate the “old school” teachings to this, unless you forcibly swing your arm away from your body.

Let’s recap this simple tip, if you try to play a straighter line with your bowling ball then your hips and shoulders stay more parallel to the foul line. If you tend to create more of a “swing and bring” type of bowling style, you must have your hips and shoulders in line to the bowling ball path. If you still do not fully understand this, simply take a look at some videos of today’s Professional Bowling stars and you really see that the “old school” and the “new school” teachings are prevalent in both instances.  Next week I will touch on another “old school” teaching myth; Don’t drop your shoulder!

T.J. Yeip is the Manager of GLC Bowling and the Lead Technical Advisor. He is an IBPSIA Advanced Certified Member and former PBA member. You can email your questions to him personally at thomas.yeip@glcbowling.com

Last week we talked about the importance of cleaning your bowling ball. This week is part 2 of bowling ball maintenance; Resurfacing and Rejuvenating your bowling ball.

In last week’s tip I discussed how the pores of the cover stock absorb oil.  I also covered how oil build up will affect your balls performance. Simply cleaning and maintaining your bowling ball will help prolong the life of your bowling ball. But what if you have a bowling ball that you have had for a few years and no matter how much you clean it, it just doesn’t seem to react like it did in it’s hey day.  You may need to have the ball resurfaced or rejuvenated, or even both!

Here are some things to look for to decide if your bowling ball needs this extra care. First, look the condition of your ball track. The ball track is the area that has the most contact with the lane surface. If you bowl on wood lane surfaces, this track appears faster then if bowling on synthetic lane surfaces. One main reason is simply, would is grainier then the synthetic surface, which causes more friction to the ball and the lanes. So do you see all those scratches on that ball? That would be your track.

Resurfacing a bowling ball is a time consuming process. Your local pro shop operator goes through many stages of sanding a bowling ball to bring the original surface back to life. In the resurfacing process the pro shop operator will start with the lowest grit wet sandpaper and proceed to the highest. (Usually from 180 grit up to 4000 grit) Today they have machines that will do this which provides a much more efficient way of getting the job done. Resurfacing will get most of those scratches and nicks out of the bowling ball. Not all of them will come out, and mainly your only concern is the ball track. If you have a gouge or deep scratch on the opposite side of your track, don’t worry. It doesn’t affect your bowling ball performance. Remember your bowling ball only has contact to the lanes where your track is.

Now I hear this quite a bit, “Doesn’t resurfacing make your bowling ball smaller?” Well, if you want to get extremely technical, it does. The minimum USBC requirement for bowling ball diameter is 8.5” or 26.704” in circumference. The myth is that you can’t resurface more than once and meet these tolerances.  The truth is that very little material is removed when resurfacing. Under most circumstances you would have sand off all the logos on the bowling ball before you would have an issue.

Rejuvenating or extracting oil out of the cover stock is another very important key to regaining the life of your bowling ball. Today your pro shop will have machines for this that use heat to extract the oil.  Now before you say, oh I have an oven I can just put it in there.  Let me give you one bit of advice on that, DON’T!! When you reach a certain temperature, you can actually damage the plasticizers in the cover stock, causing it to become brittle, or even crack.  Heed my warning; don’t put your bowling ball in your oven. The safest way to extract oil out of your bowling ball is to take it to your local pro shop that has the tools necessary to do this job.  That said, I will give you one tip that you can do at home if your pro shop doesn’t have the equipment. You can simply submerge your bowling ball in a five gallon bucket of hot tap water with a couple drops of a dishwashing detergent. You will see the oil rise to the top of the water. Repeat this step a couple times until you don’t see any oil at the surface of the water.

Let’s recap today’s tip. When looking for your performance from your used bowling ball, take in to your local pro shop and have them resurface and rejuvenate your bowling ball. If you want to get oil out of your bowling ball’s cover stock, and your pro shop does not have the machines to do this, then follow my tip on the bucket of hot water.

Until next week, keep cleaning those bowling balls. Remember your adding longevity to your investment.

T.J. Yeip is the Manager of GLC Bowling and the Lead Technical Advisor. He is an IBPSIA Advanced Certified Member and former PBA member. You can email your questions to him personally at thomas.yeip@glcbowling.com

This week I have a few tips that will help prolong the life of your bowling ball and increase your consistency with your bowling ball reaction.

Bowling balls on the market today are made of a very porous cover stock.  I often hear people say “my bowling ball is dead”. It’s not dead; it simply needs some maintenance. The tip of the week will cover maintenance and how to prolong the life of your bowling ball.

Today’s bowling environment has more oil on the lanes then in the past. What happens to the oil that gets on your bowling ball?  It gets soaked up into the cover stock of your bowling ball which can create advantages or disadvantages for your game.  

The advantage is that your bowling ball will be more aggressive and it will have less hook potential. The disadvantage is it will not react the same way it did when the ball was new.  Assuming that you purchased your ball for the specific characteristics it offered when it was new oil build up is probably an issue for you.  If it has improved your game you most likely purchased the wrong ball.  You will not be able to count on the oil build up factor for consistency.

Your bowling balls cover stock is very much the same as your tires on your car. Good tread adheres to the pavement for better traction. So more aggressive cover stocks adhere to the lane surface creating more traction in oil. So what happens to your tires after a time?  The treads wear out, don’t they?  Well I am not saying that your bowling ball tread is worn out, simply filled.

What do I mean by filled?   Your bowling ball has absorbed the oil that is on the lane surface. Without cleaning your bowling ball every time that you use it, the bowling ball will have less traction in the oil every time, thereby creating less hook or to seem dead. So how do you know when you need to clean your bowling ball? The answer is simply this, every time you’re done bowling!!!

I can hear some of you asking the question; well what do I clean it with? I know you will be tempted to use a household cleaning product.  Do I use rubbing alcohol?  What about Windex?  The answer is none of these or any other household cleaning product. These are great cleaning agents for other uses. They are not great cleaning agents for your bowling ball. Glass cleaner has a polishing agent in it. That’s what makes the glass so shiny. Use this on the bowling ball surface and you will add a waxy solvent to the cover stock.  Rubbing alcohol will clean the surface of the bowling ball, but it will not remove the oil.  There is a vast array of cleaning products made specifically for bowling balls.

Remember, when you think your bowling ball is dead, why not try and clean it first. You may find that the small investment you make on purchasing a cleaning agent for your bowling ball will save you money in the long term.

Next week I will go over the processes of Resurfacing and extracting oil out of your bowling ball by your local pro shop. Until next week, keep your balls clean!!

T.J. Yeip is the Manager of GLC Bowling and the Lead Technical Advisor. He is an IBPSIA Advanced Certified Member and former PBA member. You can email your questions to him personally at thomas.yeip@glcbowling.com

Last week I wrote about proper fit and grip pressure. You could consider this week’s article a more in depth look at those tips. This week I am going to discuss “feel”. So, what does “feel” mean?  Feel is a personal thing. Some bowlers like the feel of their fingers when they release the bowling ball while others prefer to use finger inserts. There is no wrong or right feel. Every one should use what they like the best. This week I am going to answer some questions on finger and thumb inserts.

Every bowler that goes into a bowling pro shop and gets fitted for a fingertip grip for their new reactive bowling ball should get asked this question: “Do you want finger inserts and a thumb insert?” The majority of pro shops charge an extra fee for these items. So, do you need them?  

Finger and thumb inserts have been around for a while now but most consumers don’t know the benefits to using them. The biggest advantage to using finger and thumb inserts is for a consistent “feel” from ball to ball. Another reason to use them is the fact that they help protect your hand.

There are many different bowling balls in the market place and with this, many types of materials used to make these balls; therefore, if you own more than one bowling ball and have holes drilled in them, the insides of both of the holes are going to have a different feel from one another. Using inserts will solve this problem. Remember also that with different materials used, working out thumb holes can become very difficult to duplicate a “feel” from ball to ball.

Recently introduced are interchangeable thumb inserts. These inserts allow you to use the same thumb insert from ball to ball. As a result you should have the same feel from ball to ball. This is one of the best inventions introduced to the sport of bowling.

So, let’s recap: if you want a consistent release from ball to ball, I strongly suggest using finger and thumb inserts.  If you do not want to use the finger inserts, I still highly recommend using a thumb insert. Yes it will be a little bit more for the end price of the bowling ball, but the small price you pay to have the right “feel” is priceless!

T.J. Yeip is the Manager of GLC Bowling and the Lead Technical Advisor. He is an IBPSIA Advanced Certified Member and former PBA member. You can email your questions to him personally at thomas.yeip@glcbowling.com

Color: Amethyst/Violet Cover: R2S Solid Reactive Weight Block: Turbine RG: 2.55 Differential: 0.038

Fragrance: Grape Reviewed Ball 15 Lbs
Layout: 45 degree drilling angle 4 inch pin 50 degree angle to VAL (pin and CG 4.0 inches from PAP pin above fingers) Surface: 2000 grit Abralon® Weight Hole: N/A

All balls were equipped with Turbo Insert products including the #1 selling interchangeable thumb insert, Switch Grip. For details on their premium line of insert products and accessories, visit http://www.turbogrips.com/

On your shelf or counter….. Yet another great looking bowling ball from Storm. This is one that will definitely get some notice. It compliments the Fast with its softer violet & amethyst combination. You’ll want to have this ball on your shelf side by side with the Fast!

On the lanes….. I tested this ball on your average house condition at a center with an anvil lane surface. I tested this ball immediately following my ball review of the Fast. Once again I was wowed! Storm has done it again with the value and performance of this ball. The Furious is definitely stronger in the mid lane than the Fast with a stronger continuation. I made just a simple 2 and 1 move to the Fast and the results are the same. Great pin carry with ball predictability. When I got it in the oil, it simply stayed on line and absolutely crushed the pocket. Not much else I can say on the lanes with this one other then look out!

In conclusion….. The new Storm Furious is what it is expected to be, stronger than the Fast, with a greater mid lane move and unbelievable continuation through the pocket. Bowlers of all styles cannot go wrong with this ball in their bag. Although it may not stand up to the heavy volumes of oil, it can be your “go to” ball when they break down.

Last week I wrote about a proper fit for you and your bowling ball. I outlined the different types of spans and what you should look for to see if your bowling ball is fit properly. Do you remember that tip? If not, you may want to go back and read last weeks tip then come back to this one. If you have read it, then I thank you for taking a few more minutes to visit us again. Last week I mentioned how to determine if your span is too long or to short. I also touched on how to see if you have the proper pitches.  I also closed with the statement about squeezing your bowling ball. Let me make this clear, “Don’t Squeeze!!!”

First we will start with a simple question:  “Do you have to squeeze your bowling ball to hold on to it?”  If the answer is yes, then you have a fitting issue.  Back in the old days, bowlers had their holes drilled a little larger than necessary in case they experienced some finger or thumb swelling.  I would like to touch on why your fingers or thumb might swell and why you have to have a death grip on your bowling ball.

Swelling can be caused by a few things. Let’s first start with your diet. The most common cause of swelling is the retaining of fluids. If you’re the bowler that likes to have a couple adult beverages while you bowl, then it’s only a matter of time before your hand is going to swell. It is not just a matter of what or how much you drink. What you eat can also cause swelling. Food that contains high levels of salt can have a double hit. Eating high salt foods will not only leave you thirsty, resulting in drinking more, it will also cause you to retain more of what you do drink. Possibly the most common cause of swelling is repetitive use. When you are working out lifting heavy weights in repetition your muscles will swell with blood in the short term and grow in the long term. The same thing is going to happen when you bowl frame after frame with a 15 pound ball that you are squeezing with your finger muscles to hold on to.

So how can you avoid squeezing your bowling ball?

First look at your hand and the way it fits in your bowling ball. If you have to use a lot of grip pressure to hold onto the bowling ball, then your gripping holes are too big. That’s the easiest way to tell. What if you feel that they fit fine, but you still find you are squeezing the bowling ball because you think it will fly backwards in your swing? Well, the holes might be right, but your pitches might not be correct! What do I mean by pitches? Every hole in the bowling ball has either forward or reverse pitch in it. For example, if you take your hand, palm facing down and you bend your finger and thumb inward toward the center of your palm (like making a fist), then you are creating forward pitch.  Fingers going to the palm are considered forward pitch. Thumb going towards your palm is considered forward pitch. Fingers and thumb going away from the center of your palm is considered reverse pitch. If your bowling ball has excessive reverse pitch then your hand will be more open. Having a hand that is more open will result in the need to apply more grip pressure to hold onto an object. If you feel that the size of your gripping holes is correct, but you are still having issues squeezing the ball, then take it to your local pro shop and have them check your pitches. You may find out that you have incorrect pitches for your hand.

One last thing that I teach my students is this simple saying:  Hold the bowling ball like it was a bird. You’re not trying to hurt it, just hold it. That’s about the amount of grip pressure you would like to have on your bowling ball.

Until next week, don’t kill the bird, I mean the bowling ball.

Bowling is a sport of hand eye coordination. It is also one of feel. You need to have the proper feel of the bowling ball in your hands to execute a proper release. Having an improper fit can cause you to be inconsistent with your release and as a result not perform at your best. There is so much you need to think about when you try to execute a great shot. The last thing you need on your mind is “Don’t drop the ball in my back swing”.   This week’s tip of the week will be how to see if your ball fits properly.

There are two basic grips in the sport of bowling. The conventional grip and the fingertip grip.

The conventional grip is where your thumb inserts into the thumb hole all the way while your middle and ring finger fit to the second joint on your hand. This style of grip is most commonly used by the novice or beginner bowler. It gives the beginning bowler more control of the ball in the swing. The drawback of this grip is that it doesn’t allow for optimal revolutions on the bowling ball.

The second grip is called the fingertip grip. The finger tip grip allows you to create more revolutions on a bowling ball.  It is the most commonly used grip among intermediate to the advanced bowler.  This grip is used by placing the middle and ring finger to the first joint of your hand as well as inserting your thumb all the way into the thumb hole.  Did you catch that?  A finger grip tip does not mean you put your tip of your thumb in.

Now how can you tell if you have a proper fit?  Here are a couple things to look for in both grips.  First with a conventional grip, the easiest way to see if your grip span is correct is by placing your thumb in the bowling ball, and laying your fingers over the finger holes. If your second joint is approximately 3/8 of an inch above the bottom of the finger hole, then the span is correct.  If your finger joint is less then 3/8 of an inch then the span may be too long.  If it’s more then 3/8 of an inch then your span is too short. Having a span too short or too long will result in having to much grip pressure causing you to squeeze the bowling ball. In bowling, squeezing is not a good thing.

For a finger tip grip, do the same process.  What you are looking for is that the bottom edge of your finger gripping hole is about half way between your first and second finger joint.  If your first finger joint is close to the edge then the span will be too long. If your second finger joint is closer to the gripping hole, then your span is too short.

One more tip to see if your finger tip span is correct is to take and put your hand in the bowling ball, and if you see the tops of your finger nails, then your span is too long.  Another sign is excessive discoloration in your finger joints when you put your hand in the ball, this can also show that your span is too long.  This might also mean that your finger pitches in your bowling ball may not be correct.  Do these couple simple tests at home, and if you see any of these issues, then take the ball into your local pro shop, and get the necessary adjustments.  Last thing I want to touch on is my comment on squeezing the ball.  Ask yourself this question; do I have to hold on to the bowling ball, or does the bowling ball hold on to me? I will cover squeezing in more detail in next week’s tip.  Until next week have a great time bowling.

T.J. Yeip is the Manager of GLC Bowling and the Lead Technical Advisor. He is an IBPSIA Advanced Certified Member and former PBA member. You can email your questions to him personally at thomas.yeip@glcbowling.com

The sun is out, birds are chirping, the grass is green and I’m in the bowling center! Yes that’s right, the bowling center. Some of you may call me sick. With the beautiful weather outside, why would I be inside? The answer? To work on my game. Specifically, I am working on my timing, which is this week’s tip.

You hear people talk about timing in almost every sport.  In baseball you have to have great timing to hit the 90 mph fastball. In golf, you need great timing to hit the stationary golf ball while you are creating momentum with you body. Timing will keep your golf ball in the fairway and on target. That would be the complete opposite of me. You will be waiting in the fairway, while I will be fighting off the bugs in the woods trying to find my golf ball. 

So, why is timing so important in bowling?

Timing in sports is defined as the regulation of occurrence, pace or coordination to achieve a desired effect. Let’s break this definition down a bit more as it relates to bowling. Your bowling “pace” would be the speed at which you walk to the line during your approach to deliver the ball. Your pace combined with your arm swing and release is the coordination necessary for good timing. Without a good and consistent timing, your results would be inconsistent. How many of you see bowlers falling off their shot after release? I know I see it often.  Why is that?  It is a result of their timing or pace being off and as are result they miss their target.  We all know what happens when you miss your target. Do you see Norm Duke fall to the right after he lets go of his bowling ball? Do you know why?  Duke has great timing.

Great timing is the full effect of how you are controlling your body motion. Getting too fast with your approach will result in your body getting to the foul line too soon which makes your arm swing late. As a result, you are off balance or you fall off your shot.

Here are a couple tips to correct that.

First, slow your feet down!   Is there someone chasing you?  No!  So why run?  Slow down.  You might try to take a smaller first step in your approach. Also, taking smaller steps will slow you down.

Another tip is to lower the starting position of your bowling ball. If you hold the ball too high in your stance, you then create a larger arc which in turn will create more arm speed. Therefore your swing will be finished by the time your feet get there. As a result you will pull the bowling ball inside of your intended target.

No let’s recap: Falling off your shot at the foul line is a result of poor timing. Slowing your pace down will help improve this. Lowering your starting position with your bowling ball will also decrease your swing arc, thereby slowing your momentum down and creating your body to be more in time.

But don’t just take my words for it. Get out and go to your local bowling center and practice. I know that’s where I’ll be!

T.J. Yeip is the Manager of GLC Bowling and the Lead Technical Advisor. He is an IBPSIA Advanced Certified Member and former PBA member. You can email your questions to him personally at thomas.yeip@glcbowling.com