For many years I was bowling with an incorrect span...and never knew until recently. I was often puzzled as to why I was getting so much friction and soreness on my fingers, and yet at the same time was unable to get even half as many revs as someone else. I attributed it to the fact that my hands are small (4 1/4 inch span), and because of that I have to put in more effort on the fingers to get more rotation. Basically the No pain no gain thinking.

I made a post ranting about my lack of revs about a week ago, and got many excellent replies from the folks here. Out of curiousity (and perhaps due to some unseen forces at work), I decided to PM Pin-Chaser for some recommendations. After giving him some details about my fittings and bowling style etc, he gave me a recommendation that seemed totally crazy and contradictory. I'm not going to elaborate on them, but basically it involved shortening the span to an almost (seemingly) semi-fingertip length, and adding forward pitch to the thumb AND fingers in order to get (as what he would call) a claw-grip type of fitting. With so much forward pitch, I was expecting to lock up and launch the ball towards the roof.
But nevertheless, I decided to give it a try, and when I did I was AMAZED by the feeling of cleaness I got on the release. I could hang on the ball throughout my swing with minimal squeezing, and the ball felt much lighter. No more sore fingers or erratic release points, and I could actually bowl with less tape in the thumbhole.
I proceeded to bowl 6 games and by the end, my wrist and fingers still felt just as good as before I started. Although I didn't see a huge increase in revs, I know that with some practice (working on my balance and release), this will change soon.

Moral of the story? Don't be afraid to make changes to your span/pitches, even if it seems crazy. Alot of things in bowling don't make sense, and it doesn't have to as long as it works for you. Find a good ball driller who's willing to work with you, and be prepared to spend some $. The long-term benefits of getting the perfect span is well worth the money.

Edited on 3/31/2004 10:27 AM

I changed to  CLT with sharp bevels and this week I'm going to add a claw drilling with it.

it only gets better and better.

This is about my 10th drilling over the last 2 years.

my avg has gone up as well. coincidence?


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"deserves got nothing to do with it."
-- William Munny

Rev-less had a grip that was considered correct a decade ago. By todays standards it was long. As well, he had 5/8 left lateral which is extremely unusual considering he had no malformation of the hand. As well, he had some tell tale signs that his grip was long, excessive pressure on the fingers despite away pitch in them and strained ligiments in this finger. Another tell tale sign was despite his nick being Rev-Less he has had 3 x 300 games meaning he is a good bowler as evidenced by his 200+ averages. After several emails over several days, I learned that he was gripping the ball and his swing was forced and that he had poor balance. These effects all pointed to the grip needing tuning.  After getting very specific information from him, we reduced the span about 1/4", reduced the left lateral to 1/8" (1/2" change) and went from 1/4" reverse  to 1/8" forward in the thumb. As well, we went 1/4" and 1/2" forward in his fingers (reducing the middle finger becuase of previous lagiment troubles). This was a BIG change, expecially for someone who is experiencing success. I beleive that the more he uses this equipment, the more he relaxes, the more he will note increased revs and the more consistant his relase will become. One final note, despite the fact that this was such a huge change, his thumb had great dexterity as evidenced by the fact that he was throwing 5/8 left. I suggest more of a change in his laterals so as to encourge rotation as he tracks next to both the fingers and thumb. He felt uncomfortable making this big of a change so he went with less of a change. I dont necessarily think that we have "solved" his grip issues, but more, that we are closer. Grips are like bowling balls, they are constantly changing. And they can be changed to encourage different releases.
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Getting all the pins I can.