About PBA T.J. revolutions

[SAW]

Hi there fellow hammerheads,
I know I might sound childish, but I really would like to know how does Tommy Jones get so much (if I am not mistaken 580 RPM) revolutions on the ball. When I see him bowl, he gets revs so easy, but I just don't get it.
Huge thanks in advance, SAW.

[Stampy79]

I dont know buddy, I wish I did. I would do it if I could.Some people have a natural ability to do it too, but he has worked hard also. I cant rev it up no matter what I do. But I still take the Pro Release off and practice with out though. I will get it someday

[WAL]

like tony reyes, they raise the ball so high and able to get more momentum to rotate the ball without losing the speed.

[Stampy79]

Well, like I said, I cant do it, but I guarantee you there is a lot more going on in his release than just raising it higher ! Those guys (TJ and Maximum Bob) hit the snot out of the ball when they want to ! Not everyone can do that no matter how hard you try !

[Rowdy]

Go to the PBA Fantasy League homepage. There is a picture of Tommy with the ball at the top of his backswing. You'll notice that the ball is hanging off the right side of his hand. He's got the arm loaded up to unwind at the release point and allow his hand to rotate around the ball. The fact that he unwinds really hard and fast is what allows him to put all those revs on the ball.

[BubbaRay]

Rowdy beat me too it. Like he said , zero in on his hand. Notice his hand is open and when he releases the ball lioke Rowdy said he snaps his wrist around the side of the ball. TJ is a talented and gifted person which allows him to accomplish this.

[blistershurt]

Yeah, all of TJ's revs come from his hand coming from around 9 oclock to 3 oclock, and very very hard.


If you want to see a release like his, but not as powerful (still very strong) look at the BW video on Buddies Pro Shop's site. The guy that throws the BW for the video does almost the same thing.

[Stampy79]

I use a wristband and my hand is pointing to my right and the thumb is straight up at the top of my backswing too ! Ok who stole all my revs ! Just kidding. That is one of the things I am working on. I have a great setup position, but I never wait long enough on the way through.

[TenPinSniper]

Think you have to rotate the hand really fast.

[BubbaRay]

You have to wait untill your hand gets to the slide heel of your foot and then come around the ball as hard as you can. Just make sure you do not turn it too early or past your slide foot which will be too late. It's a difficult thing to master but with practice you should be able to improve the revs.

[SAW]

Thank You all! Will try to do the turning, and see how it works. Maybe smth will be useful to adopt. Thanks again.

[trumanorme]

I taught myself to crank it, by using a pool table and cue ball. You can put the ball in your hand and try to quickly spin/crank it, while trying to make it into the pocket. Of course, you have to exaggerate it, but it is basically the same type of motion. I spent hours and hours doing this. You could probably do the same thing with a plastic ball or something similar. The key is to build up muscle memory. Then when you try it with a bowling ball, you will have the basic idea. Try to exaggerate your rotation/crank for many games. Move inside and watch where you ball goes. The more you do it, the easier it gets. After awhile, you don't have to exaggerate it, and it starts to feel more normal. Then you have to learn all new angles. This may sound stupid, but it really works.

[Rowdy]

How do you stick your fingers in those itty-bitty holes in a cue ball?

[BigDog]

How do you stick your fingers in those itty-bitty holes in a cue ball?

He must have itty-bitty fingers :p

My 3-year old has a little tikes bowling ball set where I can finger-tip the ball. That may help as well. I'm trying to show my 3-year old to stay behind the ball a bit more - he can learn to crank it later ;)

[thegoldenchild]

he can learn to crank it later ;)

Oh, Snap! The only time my mind is out of the gutter is when I'm on the approach :D