Advantages of Finger Grips + Thumb Slugs

[ShortAssassin]

Just wondering what the advantages of finger grips + thumb slugs are. Whenever anyone posts a pic of their ball they always have the above. I got my own ball a week ago and I'm wondering if I should get grips and a thumb slug.

[dizzyfugu]

PM sent
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[Gregask]

whats the answr I too am curious

[billy2gun]

The short answer is yes...get finger grips and a thumb slug. The advantages are with a thumb slug, it's easier to release your thumb at the bottom of the pendulum swing, which will allow you to hook your ball. Finger grips help with gripping the ball better during the swing and also with hooking the ball. Your strike ball should have finger grips and a thumb slug. Your spare ball should also have finger grips and perhaps a thumb slug, though, what I have gleaned from the board is that thumb slugs aren't really necessary for a spare ball since you are pretty much throwing the ball straight instead of hooking.

My spare ball [Columbia White Dot] does not have a thumb slug, but does have finger grips. However, I may have a thumb slug installed to be consistent with my entry-level ball [C300 Scout/R] which has both grips and slug.

Hope this helps...

Billy

[ShortAssassin]

Thanks a lot Billy, it did help.

[shelley]

The merits of grips/no grips is debatable.  A lot of folks say they get a cleaner release with no grips than with.  Some say they get more revs with, some get more without.  Remember that ball material is much harder than grip material, so you have to be much more precise with your spans and pitches if you don't use grips.  A bad drill can tear the shti out of your fingers if you don't use grips, there's more leeway with them.

The thumb slug, though, seems almost like a no-brainer.  Not many people that I've seen don't use one.  It provides a consistent feel from ball to ball.  You can change the size of the hole and even move it a small amount without having to plug the thumb, just drill out the old slug and put in a new one.  Even the people I know who prefer no-grips still have the thumb slugged.

SH

[themagician]

I prefer to not use finger inserts, one they are expensive and with properly fit finger holes I like the feel better. Its just a feel difference some like them, some don't.

Thumb Slugs are a must for me, to get a consistent feel ball to ball you can mold and replicate your thumbslugs and that is a huge deal for me to get the same feel ball to ball.
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iBowl

[ShortAssassin]

I'm definately going to get a thumb slug because right now my thumb does get torn up a little. I want to try the finger grips, but I'm worried about not liking them, and then having finger holes that are too big if I take them out. The recent thread about balls cracking and finger grips being a potential cause also worries me.

[ShortAssassin]

Hmm, I've seen "Finger Slugs" available on some online proshops. Is it just another way of saying finger grips are they different somehow?

[shelley]

quote:I'm definately going to get a thumb slug because right now my thumb does get torn up a little. I want to try the finger grips, but I'm worried about not liking them, and then having finger holes that are too big if I take them out. The recent thread about balls cracking and finger grips being a potential cause also worries me.

If you go back from grips to no grips, you have little choice but to plug it.  You don't really have the "finger holes that are too big" problem.

A lot of bowlers use grips, it's probably 50:1 or more in my house.  If cracking because of grips were a major concern, there'd be a lot more cracked balls.  I've had eight balls with inserts, none of them cracked, either around the fingers or thumb.  I would not let fear of cracking make that decision for you, the chances are extremely small that the grips are the culprit.

SH

[ShortAssassin]

Alright, thanks a lot Shelley, I appreciate your time helping out the beginners

[JohnP]

quote: Hmm, I've seen "Finger Slugs" available on some online proshops. Is it just another way of saying finger grips are they different somehow?

No, a finger slug is a vinyl or urethane (I'm not sure which) solid, just like a thumb slug only 31/32" diameter to fit a hole that has contained a grip.  --  JohnP