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