Expert: Russ King - 2/23/2007

Question
ok, last question. Which weight ball should i start out with. My Hyde which I use every Saturday in league is 15 but my Super Beast is 16 and my NightHawk is 14. And also, where should I stand on the lane. Thanks for your help
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Ok so just to be clear. I need to work on my stance and approach/follow through for a month before i work on curve?
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

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He Russ. I'm 17 and my name is Randy. I have been bowling for about 8 years and for about the last 4 years I have been throwing a hook using just my middle 2 fingers, no thumb. I do all right, average 173 right now, but its isn't always consistent. I have a Columbia Hyde with finger tips, a AMF NightHawk with fingertips, and a Columbia Super Beast Titanium with fingertips. I want to learn to bowl with 3 fingers like the pros do and throw a nice hook. Another problem I have is that I slide on my left foot but I get off balance and then kind of jump/slide to my right. I want to be a better bowler. Bowling is all I have. Any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated. And I know it takes time so I'm willing to be patient. Thanks.
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Pick the ball you like the least to experiment on. You need to drill a thumb hole & bowl a while say 20-30 games then refine the thumb like changing pitches,length of grip & bevelings.You need to get it feeling good. Then plug & redrill another one.A perfect grip is sooooo important!!!!
Your bouncing,skipping & off balance shots will disappear after a short time with a thumb.
I have bowled next to 3 bowlers without a thumb. All 3 open way up. They sink & rotate their shoulder way around & back & swing it to the front when releasing the ball. Their hips are way open (pointing to the right) & have bent elbow & rotate the wrist.You now with a thumb need to square up to the target to start training with the thumb.RIGHT WAY FIRST!! THEN HOOK.As you stand on the approach,you need to face your target with 60%-75% of the weight on your second step foot.Picture your self like a 2x6x6 board. Your hips & shoulders are the edges of the board with the flat side facing the target.If you open your hips, the board twists & now is off target.Square your shoulders , hips,knees,feet,eyes,ears & everything else to your target. Any left/right movement knocks the shot off target & waists energy.Walk on a straight line to target NO FADE STEPS.As you followthru, you point your thumb up to the sky at release.
TRY THIS FOR A MONTH.THEN, GET BACK WITH ME TO LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING GOOD ON & MOST IMPORTANTLY WHAT FEELS BAD SO WE CAN GET IT CORRECTED.
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YES! LEARN STRAIGHT BEFORE HOOK. IF YOU CAN'T HIT YOUR TARGET GOING STRAIGHT, YOU WILL MISS THE TARGET EVEN FURTHER WITH A HOOK & A HOOK MULTIPLYS THE GOOD & THE BAD.
Learning to simply throw the ball without all the bells & whistles first will help in learning basics & developing style & form.You need to shake off the old style first & move foreward step by step to seperate the old from the new.
The old style without your thumb has many flaws when changing over to a thumb hole.Really needing to start slow & steady working up to a moderate hook.This bwill also help you when you are throwing a hook & need a straight ball for spares or a down & in type line.

Answer
I would do it with the one you like the least or don't use much. This way if you need to (but not recommended)refer back to something, you can use the others that you are ok with.But only for reference 2-5 frames max.You will feel strange bowling that way without your thumb after drilling one.Weight doesn't mean a whole lot when experimenting.Once you get close to what you need, then redrill the others with the corrections you need from finding out the feel from the first thumb hole. Then at that point, you should not ever go back to the old ways .
You will not know what weight you will like best until you drill all 3 & throw them for a while.My guess you will like the 15 & 16.Thats why I would start with the 14 if you like that one the least.It is very rare to get a new grip perfect on the first try.And it will feel funny for a while until you get used to it & adjust into it.So give the first one a little time until you smoothen out your new style.Then improve the grip into the next one.