Expert: - 3/26/2010

Question
QUESTION: I know that the bowling ball should roll in a counter clockwise motion in order to move right to left.  What I am having trouble understanding is the explanation of the release.  It says rotate hand in a counter clockwise motion just before release and the thumb will fall out on its own from lift from fingers.  But I am having trouble and notice it isn't clear to me which way the hand is rotating in a relation to the axis of the counter clockwise motion.  Is the counterclockwise motion of the release a vertical counterclockwise motion or a horizontal counterclockwise motion?   Because I noticed from watching videos that the hand comes around the ball in a horizontal counter clockwise motion and then they release it.  Any help would be great.  Thanks.

ANSWER: Karl,
Ball fit is crucial in having the ball exit properly. The ball should let go of you, so there is no need to control when the ball falls away.

The motion you are looking for is three dimensional and all the nuance is hard to detail. But, if you take a Nerf football (or smaller size football, to large a ball and it will be hard to hold onto, too small and like with a bowling ball, slight deviations will cause erratic rotation). Practice spiraling the football underhand to a friend or into a couch or what ever. The hand action to deliver a tight spiral is just what you are trying to do. Don't underestimate the practice with the football. It will take awhile to get 5 or 10 perfect spirals in a row, but this skill drill is extremely helpful in understanding the hand action and great to reinforce it.

To commit to the change in your release, you'll need to spiral the ball effectively. Start with 20-30 repetitions work up to about 50 when at least half are done well, but as you get more proficient, you should be able to do 10-20 perfect spirals in a row. DO NOT Practice a bad release. If you don't get it right away, put it down. Try again later.

Thanks for the question. Let me know how this works out for you. Good bowling.

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

QUESTION: Thanks.

I think I have a different issue.  I have almost mastered the underhand spiral and almost mastered the underhand or mine is similar to two handed bowling.  However I want to keep my hand on the top hemisphere of the ball like the pros do.  If you watch a two handed bowlwer release you will see what I am talking about.   Their fingers come out before they rotate past the top equator of the ball.  But like a chris barns doesn't release till past the top of the ball on the front end.  So I just think I would be able to improve my game down if i just knew the exactness of a basic release one handed style on top of the ball not under.

Answer
Karl,
You are a two finger/no thumb player?

Some two handers use the top hand to help control axis tilt and axis rotation. If you want to gain consistency look to adapt this style (with reservations to how it might beat up your body and strain muscle groups you don't use much, possibly, now).

Put a piece of tape on your Positive Axis Point (PAP). Observe that the PAP is stable when you deliver the ball. Most two finger bowlers can't keep the axis/ball stable with any consistency, but today's easy lane conditions provide a nice bumper on the outside of most lanes to help errant shots recover and return toward the middle of the lane.

I hope I understand your question, but I don't understand what you mean by "keep my hand on the top hemisphere of the ball". You may be interested in the (close to) zero rotational axis that Barnes, Duke and WRWilliamsJr employ sometimes. Keeping their hand behind the ball so as it rolls off, they come up the back of the ball (forward roll) with very little horizontal rotation. The ball is above, then below their hand as they uncup their wrist, so it may look like the hand is on top of the ball, but the thumb is out and fingers have cleared and line of sight blocks the ball because you can't see through their hand.  Please follow-up. Thanks for the question.