Expert: Susie Minshew - 11/6/2009

Question
This has been happening to me quite frequently as of late. My thumb has been hanging up in my ball at delivery.  Sometimes the ball goes up in the air and lands in front of me to go down the lanes and end in the gutter. I have difficulty putting it all the way in the ball because I don't want it to happen again. My last series I barely put it in the ball. I know it must be in my release somehow....do you have any idea how I can overcome this and instill my confidence back?

Answer
Hi, Don!

Yuk. You are in a very ugly and embarrassing place, not to mention how this problem can hurt your tendons and elbow! The most common reason for hanging up in the ball the way you describe is that your span is too long and/or you have too much reverse pitch in the thumbhole. Unfortunately, this is a very pervasive problem. Make sure you are not putting your fingers in too far. That will cause the span to feel too long. That's a possibility but a rare one.

Assuming you have a fingertip grip, put your thumb all the way in the ball then lay your fingers across the finger holes. The edge of the finger holes closest to the thumb should be halfway between your two joints. You should be able to put your fingers in the holes and just drop your thumb in and out of the thumbhole easily and with no drag. If you can't do those things, you don't need your confidence back. You need the ball to be drilled properly. Find an IBPSIA (International Bowling Pro Shop and Instructors Association) pro shop and have your fit checked.

Good luck!

Susie