Expert: - 12/5/2007

Question
QUESTION: I am a left handed bowler and when I was younger I cut my finger off with a power saw,  they were sewed back on in the hospital.  My problem is that my ring finger will not take the pressure of the bowling ball coming off of it, so I have to use my index and middle finger to throw the ball.  Any suggestions on the best way to have a ball drilled and the best way that I could bowl using these fingers?

ANSWER: Your local ball driller should be able to check the flexibility of your fingers, and other elements of fit adjustment to see what could work the best for you. But, if everything was wonderful you probably wouldn't be writing.

I must assume you are a newer bowler, but you didn't mention what style of grip, either conventional or finger tip, so to recommend something sight unseen would be presumptuous.

I'd like more information about your current efforts to see where you've been, what you are trying now and what you hope to accomplish? The length and style of your grip, the pitches (angles) of the holes, when delivering the ball does it hook, go straight? What are you looking for? What do you have to work with?

Your desire for success will drive how and what to drill. Do you want to bowl without discomfort? First question? Only question?

If you trust your driller, confide that: what's been done isn't working as well as you'd like and you've requested a "second" opinion. If the driller isn't absolutely confident that the problem can be solved, I'd like to work with your driller, hopefully, together, we can solve your problem. Please let me know at revbowl@gmail.com more about your current situation and we can address your question better. Thanks for your questions, I look forward to hearing back from you.

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

QUESTION: Thank you for your response.  I am a beginning bowler once again I used to bowl before I cut my fingers off and have just restarted.  My bowl right now is a tzone and I am pretty much throwing a straight ball and trying to figure what to do.  I would like to throw a hook ball and use fingertips,  I do not know the pitch or length of my grip.  After having the bowl redrilled my index finger is a fingertip and my middle finger and thumb are conventional.
Thank you for your time.

Answer
The Target Zone ball you roll is a shiny, smooth, hard plastic ball which is a little bit of a challenge to hook.

Start with your right (slide) shoe about the middle of the lane (the big Dot at the 20th board is the center of the approach and lane, side to side).

If you can, position the ball in front of your armpit with the thumb at 2 o'clock (as a left hander). Try to swing the ball, straight back and straight forward (let momentum and gravity do most of the work). Try to maintain the hand position throughout the approach, swing, and delivery.

As the ball rolls out of your hand, continue the hand forward (toward your target)and up, like throwing an imaginary glass of water up and over your (left) shoulder.

Maintaining the hand position will provide the axis tilt you want. Keep your first step short and measured, you want to stay balanced, starting slowly. The faster you go the easier it is to get out of balance, or mess up your timing, or both, bad idea.

Also, try to use your back and shoulders to provide leverage at delivery (try not to bend at the waist). With some knee bend, you should be in an "athletic pose." The knee bend maintained as you move to the foul line will enable you to absorb some of the wobble of your approach (benefits your balance), and provides stability, to deliver the shot with consistent speed and rotation.

You've got a lot to think about and work on. Practice and adjust just ONE thing at a time. It takes games before you unlearn your current muscle memory. If you try to adjust to much to fast your game will be in flux and too many things will be evolving, creating chaos.

Good execution is your short term goal. Don't micro-focus on pin count or pin carry, you can learn to adjust your position at set-up (to control what the ball does on different conditions), once you are more consistent. Let me know how you progress. Each change is a building block.
Good luck, be patient, good bowling.