Expert: - 10/6/2009

Question
Hi Warren and thank you so much for your time and expertise!

Im 55 years old and after a 3 year layoff am getting back into bowling.

I have a question for you:

When i take my backswing i have a bad habit of opening up my hand (like pronating in golf) and wrapping the ball behind my back. Instead of taking it straight back i take in way inside and come around my body, creating a lot of pulled shots that miss to the left of my mark by 5-7 boards.

Ive tried very hard to over come this but the only way i can correct it is to actually feel like im rotating my hand counter clockwise on my backswing. When i do this my track comes up to around 1-2" from the thumbhole (as opposed to extremely low when i dont do this) and i seem to get a better roll on the ball and am much more accurate.

Do you think this is ok to do or should i try something else?  I hate to try to correct a fault by doing something else incorrectly but this seems to be the only way i can get the track on the proper place on the ball. Any other way and the track is very very low and i throw a spinner.

Please let me know what you think and thanks so much for your time, expertise and attention. I really appreciate it!

my best,

rick

Answer
Rick,
You sound like you need to grip the ball. Most spinners use too much grip pressure and are letting the ball go so late that it spins off their hands resulting in a very low track.

I'd check your grip out. If you haven't bowled in awhile but have aged a couple years, your strength is effecting your swing and delivery.

I describe the ideal fit as the ball letting go of you. I've found that a proper fit allows momentum and gravity to dictate when the ball leaves your hand, and since the effect of momentum and gravity never changes you gain consistency immediately.

Look to lessen the reverse pitch in the thumb, or maybe bump it a little forward (have a good ball driller evaluate all the pitches and see if spans are still appropriate#, keep grips fresh #worn finger grips get slick and big and don't help much), old tape should be removed and freshened. Even a short layoff from the game may mean a refit or change in grip to reflect where you are now.  Thanks for the question. Welcome back and I hope you bowl well.