Expert: - 2/24/2009

Question
QUESTION: Mr. Frield, Answer to your questions. I drill at the center. Have drilled my equipment for awhile, but without anyone here to drill , have begun drilling for others. No call backs yet!!  As to ur questions about leaves and action when I hit the pocket related to not winning tourns. My ball hits hard, but I think late, and 7  7  7. It seems my tilt is low. It looks like more skid. As I told you earlier, I changed my span. and you said looked good as related to the pitches I have. I will know in about a week . I shoot a scratch tourn. in Baton Rouge. You asked where the center is.. Bayou Bowl  Monroe, Louisiana. 40 lane wood. We still keep our own score, and the lanes have not been resurfaced in many years(at least 10). No more need be said. We have approx. 500 bowlers in our association. The only game in town. I want so dearly to build another center. We have several schools in the area. We have lost several of our bowlers due to the conditions and center conditions. Anyway, that answers the questions you had ask in your response to my previous question. It would not let me ask another followup question so had to start over. I have a 15/16 thumb and my hand is not very meety with pretty good flexibility in my thumb. As I see it. No arthritis at my age(Yet). I am just very interested in helping others and my self. I am still very active in tournaments, winning our state dbls. tourn last year , SASBA, and ASBT. So, I am just wanting to improve my carry and was making sure I had the right idea on the increased span keeping my hand under the ball more. Thanks again for all you do and your help. Jerry Miles

ANSWER: Hi Jerry,
You may have the answer to your concern for carry. Lower tilt means an easy ball to get down the lane. If you feel the ball is skidding to far and transitioning to it's roll too late for effective carry (in the tourney finals, on fresh conditions???), you can adjust the surface to get the ball to pick up a little earlier.

If your ball is dull, take the surface down SLIGHTLY with a slightly rougher Abralon pad, say from 4000 to 2000 (smaller number-rougher pad, 2000 to 1000, 1000 to 500, etc.). If the ball is shiny, change the surface under the polish (4000 to 2000, 2000 etc. or 1500 to 1000) and re-polish with the same polish used at the factory. Try the surface adjustment first.

A longer span won't necessarily change the roll of the ball. If the span was short and you got around the ball to easily (quickly) causing the lower tracking, lengthening will help some. If you feel the longer span is a solid improvement (the 5/8 away pitch in the fingers is pretty drastic but I'm still concerned about the soreness), thumb pitch will facilitate staying behind the ball.

Try away pitch (you mentioned you are 1/8 under palm with the thumb pitch, 1/8 left lateral). I've found for some that pitching the thumb away from the palm (for you, 0 or right lateral), allows easier exit, hopefully earlier exit, keeping you behind the ball (reducing the axis rotation, and tilt). Try the adjustment in a ball you know, very little at a time (maybe start at zero then go to 1/8 right lateral).

If you feel the thumb hole is tight, possibly a tapered thumb grip, will help with feel. If you like the thumb looser, you may want to adjust the thumb pitch, lessening the reverse for every 1/8 you change laterally.

The away pitch (angled away from center of grip, ^) of your fingers (assuming 5/8th away on both) should trigger an adjustment in thumb pitch in your original grip. Given what you've told me of your hand, flexibility, etc. a 4 1/2 span would normally require 1/8 reverse to get the average length thumb out of the ball at the right point. But, you've adjusted the finger pitch away (away ^ from the center of grip) which I would then adjust thumb pitch to allow for a comfortable relaxed grip, with no need to squeeze. I'll send a graphic of what I know of your grip, please complete it and return it. Thanks for hang in. Good bowling.


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

QUESTION: U are the man! U need to move here. I received an insert with your answer showing some of my fit. Is that what you want me to complete? Here goes. Vise Grip finger inserts, no pitch side. No lateral in either finger. THumb is as stated. Zero with 1'8 left lateral(under). I have been shooting well at home, wooden old house. I only know my track is probably the length of a finger away from my fingers and thumb, hence the increased span. I only, now have soreness middle finger. But I think that was due to one ball having to much length on the middle finger. My tourn. equipment I haven't thrown yet due to the conditions at our house being so damaging to balls. But the tourn. coming up this weekend, 27 of Feb. will tell. I am currently avg. 207 now. I am just concerned about the track related to the roll being late. I throw, during tournaments, mostly shiney stuff. I have a Resurgence, factory outer cover shine. I use mostly Raid shiney from factory, NVS, factory shine, Playmaker, shiney form factory. I just don't know, oh, My span used to be about 4 1/8 to 4 1/4, From the rear of the finger holes(closest to thumb) the edge of the holes came to the middle of my fingers, thinking that was causing my low track . We moved it to around 4  1/2. But not all of the balls hurt my had. Only 1 hence me telling you that maay have been drilled slightly longer. Anyway, Phil, owner of a center 80 miles away, where I practice watches me and is aware of my style and said I sometimes chickenwinged my releases, now they are not bad at all. My elbow stays under the ball and threw the release. I am just confused. I want , so desperately , to be very good at this I try anything . Oh, the tournaments are no frest conditions during the finals. I am now practicing for USBC in VEgas. We have a university 30 miles from here. New 6 lane center for the girls team. He is going to set up the USBC shot for me each time I get over there, 2 time weekly starting next week. Will that help me with my mechanics, since it is a new house synthetic with no traffic to say? Anything I can send you to help with your determinations? OH, use thumb inserts . The tightness in my thumb is self inflicted with the use of tape. Oh, I forgot to tell u. I used to have an off set thumb hole. They said it helped me get out of the ball earlier. Now they tell me when I release the ball , I am getting out to early, causing the ball to maybe do what it does, spin more. I am not over the top of the ball at release, cause I can see the under side of my hand after release. But the off set thumb was corrected and grip now is a normal T grip. Thanks for all of your advice and please excuse the lengthy reply. Any thing further you need please let me know. Thanks Jerry MIles

ANSWER: Jerry,
I have done some convention presentations and teaching and my own clinics in the centers I've had stores. Maybe we can set up a clinic? Do you think you'd have enough bowlers that would want help?

Please give me the last of the info. If your finger pitches are zero for both fingers, the holes will meet at the bottom (bad idea) and it voids most bowling ball warranties. Let me know finger grip sizes, and style (pitched, oval?).

For your delivery, I'd change them to at least 3/8 lateral, see attachment). Middle finger strain could be just the angle of your lateral pitch torquing on your finger. Most people's finger spans aren't the same size in a bowling ball. Normally, middle finger is 1/16 to 5/16's shorter. Because of the strain and since your changing pitch in the middle finger anyway, plug a couple balls and change the middle finger length and pitch and see if it helps.

An offset thumb is just a T-grip with span and pitch combo that is out of the ordinary. If, as a ball fitter, you see the need for more unique pitch and span combinations, you can get the same feel as an off-set.

FYI, Resurgence is a dull ball, with a 1000 Abralon finish. If yours has an oil shine and is working good, it's fine, but one reason it may be getting down the lane to late is it's no longer as aggressive as the surface used to be.

Please let me know more details. Thanks.

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

QUESTION: Thanks for the reply. I will get info on my exact span today and send. I appologize for the mis-information on finger pitches. 5/8's is correct on away pitch, but lateral is 1/2 left on ring finger andf 1/2 right on middle. I may have a little arthritis in my middle finger but if so it just started with span change(Ha). I am going to measure exactly the pitches and cut to cut span. The Resurgence is factory cover with approx. 20-30 games. I may have misled you on this. I use it at times to break down the lane prior to competition. Could our old center with it's wood surface and not being resurfaced for so long, cause me to have trouble with axis tilt and rotation causing my track to be low? Just a thought. We have a center, as I said , on campus, about 20 mins. away with new synthetic , would that be better to practice prior to most tourns.? As for a siminar, our association is made of approx. 500 bowlers and most of them could care less about improving. They are the old generation , like me, but are not interested in competition, so are not to concerned with improving, as long as they can shoot in this house. I only wish they were, I wouldl get you here somehow. I venture to say I could get only about10 or maybe 15 and that would be stretching it a little. Anyway , I will get as much info on my layout. I do know I use Vise inserts. Thanks again for your trememdous help.

Answer
Jerry,
Look forward to the follow-up.

Vise has several kinds of grips. Oval, pitched, semi-pitched. see attachment.

Best to practice on the surface you expect to bowl on. If tourney is on wood you have wood (though it's badly kept, do they at least recoat?) and you have the choice of new synthetics.

If you promoted a trial clinic, where bowlers could roll some current brands of bowling balls (Columbia, Ebonite, Hammer, Track,) would the bowlers in your center, pony up $20-25 bucks to try the balls? The deposit pays for the linage and refreshments and the pro shop/center can offer a coupon for the same off a new ball purchase. Selling 10 or 15 new balls, would help pay to get me down there. The center benefits with bowlers throwing new stuff (excited customers), they make a little cash and you do a good thing for the customers you are trying to build into a viable customer base for a store.

We can work on a couple of your concerns with center operations people (if they would be open to advise). I could offer some help on organization and operation of your retail operation. Do you have a business license? Does the center buy the balls for you? What distributor do they use? Thanks for your interest.