Expert: - 4/17/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hi Warren.  I hope you can help me with these two questions I have for you.  The first one is what is the benefits between using a Oval thumb grip compared to a round thumb grip?  Alot people says that oval is the way to go.  My pro shop dosent even hold a lot of round thumb grips.  Which one do you reconmend?  

The second question is about Pro CG bowling balls and Pro pin  bowling balls.  What are these bowling balls and what do they do?  I hear they are bleams and not to buy them at all.  Bowlingball.com has alot of these balls cheaper than regular balls.  So tell me if it good investment or it is just a defective ball that they are trying to sell.

thank you for your help


ANSWER: Robert,
Thumb grips, especial oval grips give you more room where most bowlers need more room (sides of their thumbs).

Unfortunately, an oval grip almost demands a perfect shot/release.  I like them for better bowlers. less working out, but if you don't throw consistently they can cause the ball to hang on some shots and provide a bad release/bad ball reaction.

Tapered grips, worked out a little (for the pudgy of knuckle, like myself) are cleaner to come out of, because they are smooth and they get larger as the thumb slips out of the hole. I work out ovals for my customers in a way that helps if you overthrow a ball, or don't come out exactly right.

So, the ovals are a good practice tool, but if your delivery isn't first rate you might want to fudge with tapered thumbs for awhile. Of course customer preference is always my indicator for what's best in any particular ball. But without a brief warning to a new customer about the possible downside with ovals, i don't believe I'd be doing my job. Operators should not impose what they feel is a good idea, or their way of doing things for themselves on others, sometimes it just doesn't work for everybody. You have to fit the hand and fit the game.

Pro CG and Pro Pin balls are basically defects. But some can provide pin location/mass bias location/ease of layout for some players, especially when no weight hole is preferred or a specific weighthole location is desired. The balls are bought cheap (as defective merchandise) by the Internet ball sellers and usually sold to bowlers that see the cheap ball and have no idea what they are getting themselves into. I have refused to drill some Internet balls for customers because occasionally the big CG (Center of Gravity) or big Pins come with unworkable top weights or other problems for a particular customer. Getting a Pro Pin or Pro CG ball to work right sometimes takes more of my time when doing a ball for someone, and I don't get paid more for the extra time. Customers buy the drilling service not the "Drill It In 20 Minutes Service or the Under an Hour" Service.

If you know exactly what kind of ball reaction you want and your operator knows your game, you can sometimes take advantage of a Pro Pin or Pro CG deal. Unfortunately, again, what you want and what you get are not necessarily the same.

A blem by the way is a ball with a blemish (miscolored, nicked, wrong colors, etc.) different problem than a Pro Pin or Pro CG. Thanks for the questions. Please follow up if you have more.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your help on that.  I have another question for you.  When I watch the pba on tv I see alot of the bowlers with the pin exactly above the ring fingers. To me it looks like the pin in above and right in the middle of the ring and middle fingers.  Why they use this layout so much on tour.  Could you tell me other layouts that will help me on difficult shots.  I am a stroker.  Not a big power player.  Maybe that can help you with answering the question.

Answer
Hello again Robert,
Placement of the pin (top of the weightblock) in identical positions for two different bowlers can cause completely different reactions, because the two players roll the ball differently, with potentially different axis, tilt and/or rotation.

Often TV layouts are fairly mild, so the skill of the bowler can utilize as much or as little of the performance characteristics of a ball as they need.  When a performance ball is layed out very strong, under the TV lights and pressure of 10 or less shots determining a large chunk of cash, the ball can become too much in a matter of minutes/couple shots. You don't want the ball to cost you a title, just assist in attaining it.

Your layouts should provide you the look (and reaction) on the lane that you prefer. Why throw a violent reacting layout on a medium to dryer shot, if the slightest mistake might cause a big split or a washout? Yet some bowlers like the violent reaction. If the reaction is all in the ball, and that's all you brought, your done! Throw what works for you, not what someone else likes or what looks cool (no extra points for pretty). It might take a different layout to get a strong ball to work the way you'd like on heavy oil, while a different layout gets a similar look on the lane in a milder ball on THS (Typical House Shot).

The best bowling advice I've heard (hangs in a framed poster in my store) You CAN NOT Out Perform Bad Ball Reaction.