Expert: Susie Minshew - 11/20/2009

Question
My wife has been bowling for over 5 years and has a 115 avg. She bowls 3 times a week. My wife is petite and does not have much strength in her wrists and hands. The ball she uses is 12 lbs with a conventional grip. Her release is inaccurate and she tends to drop the ball close to her slide foot. She ends up throwing a backup ball. Would it benefit her to go to a finger tip release I am afraid that she is going to quit bowling if her accuracy and scores do not improve.

Answer
Hi, James!

Averaging 115 is certainly no fun. It takes a lot of skill to throw with a fingertip grip so that is probably not a good solution for your wife.

If she is letting go of the ball too soon, the fit may be an issue. Find an International Bowling Pro Shop and Instructors Association (IBPSIA) shop near you and have the fit checked. It would be really awful if the ball or the fit were causing this misery, so eliminating them as a cause is important. If she wears a wrist brace, be sure she is measured with it on. Then, get a coach. If she can handle a 12 pound ball, she could be up in 140+ average range with a bit of help. I would suggest she bowl three times a week all right, but not three competitive sessions. A league, a lesson and a couple of practice sessions will see her enjoyment rise quickly. To keep bowling, particularly under competitive fire, doing the same things and expect to get better doesn't work. Good luck!

Susie