Like Wednesday's outing and last week's 9-pin No Tap, I occasionally announce that "I'm working on something" regarding my bowling. As Doug pointed out the other day, once you watch a bowling clip on Facebook you get inundated with similar clips and videos. Below is a nugget that appeared on my Facebook page this morning and just happens to be something I've read about and have been trying. Notice that the pinky finger tight to the ring finger is shown as the "Normal" grip for bowlers trying to hook the ball, something that I was not aware of. The fingers spread is an adjustment to minimize the hook or for more "forward roll and less backend." That would be the appropriate grip for our "straight path" bowlers or for the rest of us when the lanes are so dry, we can't keep the ball on the right side of the head pin. I've also experimented with the pinky tucked, but my hand got painfully sore after about a game and a half using that method.
NOTE: The following is only applicable if your release if from behind the ball (rolling), not from the side or or on top of (throwing) the ball.
Pro Tip: Finger Adjustments to Change Ball Reaction
(Text description from Facebook)
Subtle differences in your hand positioning can make a big difference in your bowling game. More specifically, changing where your non-bowling fingers (your pointer finger and pinky finger) are in your setup will change the way the ball comes off your hand.
🖐️ The most common adjustment people make with their fingers is by tucking their pinky. If you try to put your hand in the ball and keep your pinky flat, then tuck it, you’ll notice that your ring finger tends to curl towards the palm while you tuck. This adds just a little of extra pressure on your ring finger and lets the ball roll off your hand with more side tilt. If you’re throwing it good but not having good ball reaction, tucking your pinky may get the ball spinning through the front of the lane.
🖖 Another option to adjust is by spreading your pointer and pinky away from the middle fingers, creating more forward roll with less backend.
Little tweaks with your non-bowling fingers can allow you to release the ball differently on different conditions and maximize ball reaction.
Side note: (my commentary) Something I'm occasionally guilty of. If you make more than one change at a time, whether you are having success or racking up the splits, you can't know which change is having which effect on your game. So, one thing at a time.
Despite Sky Lanes scoreboard hiccup, our individual games were incorporated into our averages. There were a few handicap adjustments, but only one minor pecking order change.
