Helen Duval’s Bowling Tips
Around The Corner
And Up The Block
By Red Pfeiffer
Why Spread Your Fingers on the Ball?
Which way do you position your fingers on the ball? Or do you
really know where you position your fingers?
I have talked to and watched many bowlers deliver balls. And
I’ve seen hand position ruin a delivery. Can you believe that?
First, you must determine whether you roll a full-rolling ball or a
semi-roller.
Consistency in delivery is something we all strive for—to roll
the ball the same each time. So if your delivery is consistent,
your ball develops a track or marking on it in the area where it rolls. This is caused
by the friction of the ball sliding, rolling and hooking on the lane’s surface.
There are two areas of ball tracks related to the full-roller and semi-roller types of
balls. Look to see if the track is in the center of the ball rolling at an angle between
the thumb and finger holes. If the track is there, you are delivering a full-roller. Most
bowlers roll a semi-roller (or three-quarter). The track from a semi-roller will be outside the three finger holes and at an angle. This gives the ball the lean into the pins
with three-quarters of the ball doing this.
It seems easier to deliver a semi-roller and many of the pros have changed from a
full-roller to a semi. The reason is the rotation of the hand in delivery and followthrough seem to be more natural.
Let’s analyze the relation between finger positions and what good and bad can
result from them.
For a full-roller, spread the little finger, keeping the others close together. Why?
Because you have to rotate the hand (thumb) from right to left. Therefore, the little
finger helps to lift and rotate. If you want better pin action and a better ball, try this.
Be sure to keep your thumb pointed toward the audience in the backswing, then rotate it in a right to left motion. Your thumb, remember, must come out of the ball at
the release point at the 10:00 or 11:00 position no matter what kind of ball you roll. If
your thumb is at 10:00 or 11:00, then your two lifting fingers (knuckles) will be at 4:00
or 5:00.
If you have a ball that has a definable mark behind the two finger holes, learn to
use it. How? That mark when it hits the pins will be in the position where your thumb
came out of the ball. Thus the mark, when it hits the pins, should be at 10:00 or
11:00. If the ball is thumping down the lane, it should tell you that your thumb came
out at 12:00 and the ball will not be effective because there is no hooking action into
the pins. Your thumb controls the hook and no matter what kind of ball you roll, the
thumb should come out at 10:00 or 11:00 (for right-handers).
Now to get to the semi-roller. Spread the forefinger to achieve this. As indicated,
more people can deliver this type more naturally and, it seems, with better results.
It’s easier to control and there is less possibility of “thumpers”. The thumb or hand
(Continued next column)
(Continued from page 14)
Random Thoughts
In fact, the first New Mexico Activities Association State High School Bowling Championship is expected to attract a capacity 36
teams to a Center in Bernalillo on May 20,
another outreach of BPAA initiative.
Bits & Pieces
• The 42nd Qubica/AMF Bowling World Cup
will return to Caracas, Venezuela from
November 4-12, after a 32 year absence
from that South American country.
• The USBC Open Championships, underway at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, TX, drew 12,606 five-person
teams, more than 4,000 greater than
when it last was held in the Texas gulf
coast city in 1992.
• Bowling Center web-sites are becoming
the norm, attracting hundreds of bits, including ours that had almost 3,000 visits
last month from people in 32 different
countries.
In 1951, May 9th top bowler Hank Marino, veteran Milwaukee bowler, won honors
for the outstanding bowler of the past 50 years. The award was voted by the Bowlers Writers Association of America in a nationwide poll.
It appears that some disgruntled bowlers actually do throw their bowling balls
away after a particularly bad game or series. A massive river cleanup project in the
Chicago, Ill., area recovered a large number of bowling balls, how large a number
you ask, well I’m here to tell you, over 100 and still counting. Sorry we were not able
to break it down to how many Brunswick, AMF, Manhattan, Ebonite, or the short
lived Ripley balls. Along with the balls there picnic tables, trash barrels and a Volkswagen beetle all ending up in the Chicago River.
May 15, 1953. The California State Tournament pin boys at Albany and Pacific
Bowls treated the bowlers to precision pin setting.
Highlights of each squad are an exhibition of precision pin setting that left spectators gasping. As a whistle is blown each pin boy counts “one-two-three”, and down
come the racks in perfect unison.
Six East Bay Bowling Centers had a promotion where they gave away six Gruen
watches a month to league bowlers. The houses were: Midway Bowl, San Leandro,
Neptune Bowl, Alameda, Broadway Bowl, Oakland, Albany Bowl, Albany, College
Bowl, Oakland, Pacific Bowl, Oakland, a total of $2,145.00 in watches were given to
league bowlers. The cost of each watch was $71.50 each. Watches were given out
to both men and women. A couple of winners we were able to track down were Jack
Talcott, Albany Bowl, Ted Doolin, Broadway Bowl, Bill Meder, Midway Bowl, Clyde
Craic, Neptune Bowl, Jerry Knight, College Bowl, Dick Dwyer, Pacific Bowl. Bill
Meder score was 1308, after a re-check of averages showed that Earl Strain had
bowled 1309, so Bill had to give back his Bruen watch.
New products on The Block in 1953: Cheez Whiz, Danny’s Donuts (became
Denny’s Restaurants), Welch’s Howdy Doody Jelly Glass, and Sugar Smacks cereal.
A Thought To Remember: Advice is like snow…the softer it falls, the deeper it
sinks in.
rotation in the forward swing is from right to left (for right-handers) with the thumb
still coming out at 10:00 or 11:00.
So you see, no matter which type of delivery you prefer, the secret of a good release is getting that thumb out at 10:00 or 11:00 and knowing it. How? After you
release the ball, stay at the foul line. Where is your hand and thumb and in what position is the thumb?
Good luck with either delivery. The main thing is, try what comes naturally. Brushup hint: Firm up all fingers to keep your wrist straight, so you feel lift at the delivery.
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