Span dictates the initial angle...flexibility grip strength and length of digits would be next plus length of arm

It's a lever...the longer the lever the easier it is to support

Thanks for the input.

 
So given all the input you've received, what are you going to try to adjust next??

And you are?
Thank you but if your only defense is an insult it proves my point...do you understand levers and how they work? Do you understand support and how that works...
I'm NOT a self-appointed anything BUT there are numerous individuals that understand what I 'teach'...but I guess it's much satisfying hiding behind a screen name...sorry no one has appointed you anything...

Thanks for the question Steven. Getting this one back on topic, I've actually gone twice more since the original post, bowled 6 games with six balls, and revisited the PSO. Found a few things...

- Added bevel - first change. It helped, but still too high percentage of hangups
- Remeasured span after PSO noticed fingernail almost touching the back. Span is 1/16-3/32 longer with the current oval slug. I brought a ball with a shorter span (as frequently mentioned, I've been experimenting, so had one available). Big improvement.We're quick plugging a ball that hangs, coming back 1/8 on ring and 1/16 on middle.
- Actually found 2 balls that were not locking consistently, sometimes 10-15 degrees off, in other words, hard to get that final lock. That of course messes with the oval angle, which of course I didn't notice with round, but it matters more now.
- And finally, found that things get better as I get to game 3. My thumb shrinks as I bowl. So expanded the sides just a little.

So, bevel accomplished, side expansion accomplished, lock is now consistent, and the next thing is pitch change, which I'm confident will be the final solution once I get the change right. We chose to go shorter instead of increasing reverse, since I changed to a bit less reverse 6 months ago with great results.

It needs to be said at this point that all the experimenting has been great. If I may do a small FIGJAM, the changes have resulted in my first 800 at age 62, and I had back to back 299's (robbed on one, my fault on the other) during that set with numerous 230+ since then. Bowling better than ever in my life. So why try oval? Because the thumb is so #$%^ flat that I've got 7-8 pieces of tape and it's very uncomfortable. When I release well, I'm gold, but I'm confident the oval will be a more consistent and comfortable release, as I've already proven to myself.

Good progress, almost done.

Hello Rico. Always a pleasure to have you trolling my threads. Please read back. You'll see you started answering other questions, not mine.... Fair topic, but not this thread, brother. As I mentioned, bevel helped (As the PSO also mentioned since I use so little normally). It's a fair adjustment, but it isn't the answer, we agree on that.

Btw what's the title of YOUR post? Change span or pitch correct? Fairly certain if YOU read back I answered those questions

Hmm, some musings...

Ric is no troll. This is akin to having Einstein show up at a local dive bar and have the town drunks call him a smartass. We have several very knowledgeable people on these boards, but if they don't tell you what you want to hear, they're a troll. Go figure.

Second, a man I respect and got to share time with also believed that all sorts of body measurements (arm length included) factored into ball fitting. In fact, he even wrote a book "How to fit and drill a bowling ball". But I bet Bill Taylor is just an old fool.

Here, let me chime in. Unless the webbing on your thumb is all sorts of jacked up, proper span and pitches will need minimal bevel. Drillers use bevel for 2 reasons. 1, to provide people who squeeze and muscle the ball more comfortable so they don't come back saying "Owie, it hurts when I do this" and 2, to mask span and pitches inaccuracies.

That's it.