Ways of creating revolution?

[xjoe87x]

Hey guys, I am new to this board and I have been struggling lately... Right now I am throwing a HawgZilla and it is not hooking as much as it should be... What are some things or techniques that I could do that will help me increase my revs. Thanks in advance...
Also, I have read some things around here as people classifying themselves as a "stroker" bowler... What is a stroker bowler and also what other types of bowlers are there? Thanks again.

[can-ham]

There is a great thread about this on bowl.com: http://forums.bowl.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=109823 and there is a link to a cool video showing the differences http://www.buildanarsenal.com/videos.php.

When I need more revs I tend to cock my wrist more, and keep my elbow slightly bent.

I'm sure there are a few coaches on this site that will have some great advice.

[JoshWithrow]

For alot of people, there are 2, and only 2, big revolution generators. However, the last mentioned "technique" generates rotation independently of the first, the first doesn't generate revolutions, so much as they enhance them.

The first is your wrist position at different points throughout your swing. All through the back swing and into the fore swing, your hand should be BEHIND the ball... no funny stuff. The trick is to create a "snap" during the end of your fore swing. Keep your hand BEHIND the ball until it is just about to your ankle (i keep mine behind the ball until it IS beside my ankle) and then snap your hand so that your hand is in a "handshake" position. This should occur VERY quickly, and is why you wait until the very end of your foreswing, and should be a regular part of your release. Basically, this snap will take place WHILE your thumb is leaving the ball... not before, not after. This will not, so much, generate revolutions but rather enhance them. WHEN DOING THIS BE SURE that you are not coming OVERTOP of the ball... your hand shouldn't go ANY FURTHER than a 90° thumb up/pinky down handshake... any more than this and you're trying way too hard. Alittle bit of this goes a LONG way.

The second is what is referred to as "fingering" the ball, or "getting finger". This is much simpler than the first technique and will generate more revolutions. At the point where your release the ball, your fingers should violently "snap" up to where your middle and ring fingers are touching the palm of your hand. The more your fingers SNAP to this position the greater the revolutions will be. Be sure to not trick yourself into thinking that you're fingering the ball more than you really are by jerking your arm funny... this only pertains to your fingers... not your thumb, not your arm... just your middle and ring fingers.

If you can "master" the coupling of these techniques you're sure to grow a larger, and maybe more productive, hook.

And in hindsight, you'll probably want to concentrate on the last technique before the first.

THERE ARE PEOPLE that will tell you to cup your wrist in an almost 90° angle... and I say to steer clear of that unless you want a sprained/strained wrist. Just be sure to try and keep the back of your palm straight with your forearm... no more cupping is necessary until you can build more strength in your wrist/forearm.

[xjoe87x]

For alot of people, there are 2, and only 2, big revolution generators. However, the last mentioned "technique" generates rotation independently of the first, the first doesn't generate revolutions, so much as they enhance them.

The first is your wrist position at different points throughout your swing. All through the back swing and into the fore swing, your hand should be BEHIND the ball... no funny stuff. The trick is to create a "snap" during the end of your fore swing. Keep your hand BEHIND the ball until it is just about to your ankle (i keep mine behind the ball until it IS beside my ankle) and then snap your hand so that your hand is in a "handshake" position. This should occur VERY quickly, and is why you wait until the very end of your foreswing, and should be a regular part of your release. Basically, this snap will take place WHILE your thumb is leaving the ball... not before, not after. This will not, so much, generate revolutions but rather enhance them. WHEN DOING THIS BE SURE that you are not coming OVERTOP of the ball... your hand shouldn't go ANY FURTHER than a 90° thumb up/pinky down handshake... any more than this and you're trying way too hard. Alittle bit of this goes a LONG way.

The second is what is referred to as "fingering" the ball, or "getting finger". This is much simpler than the first technique and will generate more revolutions. At the point where your release the ball, your fingers should violently "snap" up to where your middle and ring fingers are touching the palm of your hand. The more your fingers SNAP to this position the greater the revolutions will be. Be sure to not trick yourself into thinking that you're fingering the ball more than you really are by jerking your arm funny... this only pertains to your fingers... not your thumb, not your arm... just your middle and ring fingers.

If you can "master" the coupling of these techniques you're sure to grow a larger, and maybe more productive, hook.

And in hindsight, you'll probably want to concentrate on the last technique before the first.

THERE ARE PEOPLE that will tell you to cup your wrist in an almost 90° angle... and I say to steer clear of that unless you want a sprained/strained wrist. Just be sure to try and keep the back of your palm straight with your forearm... no more cupping is necessary until you can build more strength in your wrist/forearm.
Thanks alot that helps alot ... I will try that today in between classes and let you know. I was actually studying some videos on what other pros do with their release and I noticed the breaking of the wrist so I was going to practice that ... but I will practice the "snapping" technique first and then once I master that I will go ahead and practice the first technique. Once again Thank you.

[Daorge]

Another thing to watch out for is gripping the ball with your thumb at any time in your backswing. Doing so will cause your thumb to release later than it should and kill your revs, what helps me on this is to always keep my thumbs fingernail pushed against the ball at all times, this allows my thumb to exit smoothly and when it should so i have the time to add lift with the fingers to create revs.

I highly recommend having a coach watch you for an hour (costs 30 bucks or so, atleast mine does)

Its not that your a bad bowler, but having someone watch you can easily determine whats going on, practice is great but practicing wrong habits doesnt do any good, practice is only good when you practice good technique.

Also where are you standing on the lane? what board do you start / end at?

[USAFbowler]

THERE ARE PEOPLE that will tell you to cup your wrist in an almost 90° angle... and I say to steer clear of that unless you want a sprained/strained wrist. Just be sure to try and keep the back of your palm straight with your forearm... no more cupping is necessary until you can build more strength in your wrist/forearm.

yeah, this is totally true. i was told to do this growing up and when i first bought my sharp blade,3/4 years ago, i snapped my ring finger tendon, which still pains me to this day, but at least now i know when i throw a bad ball. cupping is good if you're in really heavy oil and you can't figure out anything else to possibly do. but like he said, be careful, it hurts.

Another thing to watch out for is gripping the ball with your thumb at any time in your backswing. Doing so will cause your thumb to release later than it should and kill your revs, what helps me on this is to always keep my thumbs fingernail pushed against the ball at all times, this allows my thumb to exit smoothly and when it should so i have the time to add lift with the fingers to create revs.

i also used to have a problem with this as well, which caused "bowler's thumb", large blisters turning into caluses and large swelling throuhgout your games. mine was caused by too short of a span, and too sharp of a forward angle of the thumb. so i had it refitted and had the pitch dropped back to a 1/2 reverse.

i've been struglling lately with my release and have been taking video of myself, mainly to watch hand release (and so we have some videos of a sharp blade :)) josh hit it right on the head...keep your hand BEHIND the ball until you're about even with your ankle. snap your wrist and lift with your legs and arm and shake hands. a good practice technique i used to do, and have picked back up is to put a square on your wall about waist/chest high. get a tennis ball or racquet ball, mark a line right down the middle of it all the way around. go through your approach and practice flipping your wrist, lifting, all that, and hit the square. watch the mark you put on it, this will tell you how you're releasing the ball. this helps with release (a bit...teaches your hand to stay behind the ball and come through to shake hands, while letting the ball roll off and flip off your fingers.) and your aiming and consistency (hitting inside the square, making a smaller square every week, and keep doing it) can't think of anything else right now to babble about. just follow josh's steps and you should be getting a little more rev over time you'll be cranking in no time!

[xjoe87x]

Another thing to watch out for is gripping the ball with your thumb at any time in your backswing. Doing so will cause your thumb to release later than it should and kill your revs, what helps me on this is to always keep my thumbs fingernail pushed against the ball at all times, this allows my thumb to exit smoothly and when it should so i have the time to add lift with the fingers to create revs.

I highly recommend having a coach watch you for an hour (costs 30 bucks or so, atleast mine does)

Its not that your a bad bowler, but having someone watch you can easily determine whats going on, practice is great but practicing wrong habits doesnt do any good, practice is only good when you practice good technique.

Also where are you standing on the lane? what board do you start / end at?

In Heavy oil conditions I start anywhere from the 10-15 board... I know I am not a bad bowler, I am just in a funk right now and hopefully I will get out of it soon. People tell me that I have almost perfect mechanics so that boosts my confidence up alot, I just need to focus on my Rev's right now... I think as soon as I am able to conquer heavy oil patterns my average will shoot up.

[Daorge]

any chance you can take a video of you throwing a few? that may help a bit as far as release advice.

[JoshWithrow]

In Heavy oil conditions I start anywhere from the 10-15 board... I know I am not a bad bowler, I am just in a funk right now and hopefully I will get out of it soon. People tell me that I have almost perfect mechanics so that boosts my confidence up alot, I just need to focus on my Rev's right now... I think as soon as I am able to conquer heavy oil patterns my average will shoot up.

Something caught my attention here... it seems to me that you may be trying to hard to work the ball. Instead of trying to get the ball to do something it doesn't want to I would like to suggest getting a new ball.

Get a ball like the Black Widow or, maybe for you, No Mercy. Get something that's going to hook alot anyway... then you don't have to try to overwork the ball.

Todays technology gives the common bowler ALOT of options to make the game, and their equipment, work for them. Something that too many people try to do is muscle a ball to do something other than what it wants. Instead, have the ball drilled to suit your bowling style... then your adjustments are minimal.

Just my 2 cents. You could hurt yourself (your score AND your body) by doing something that's uncomfortable. And nobody wants that to happen.

[xjoe87x]

yea I will try to get a video in as soon as I can ... also I think I am going to get the infinite one, because that is what my pro shop guy suggested me to.

[drw02]

one of my friends just got a infinate one and he hooks the ball and lot and its not that strong of a ball for him, if u want a big ball then no mercy/ black widow get a strong drilling , for heavy oil

[xjoe87x]

Aren't those balls supposed to hook slightly more than the HawgZilla though?

[JoshWithrow]

Aren't those balls supposed to hook slightly more than the HawgZilla though?

Yes... but isn't the OP complaining about lack of ball?

[JoshWithrow]

yea I will try to get a video in as soon as I can ... also I think I am going to get the infinite one, because that is what my pro shop guy suggested me to.

Has your proshop guy ever actually seen you bowl? Or is he just making an "educated guess"? If he lives anywhere near the lanes, and he's any good, he might consider following you to the lanes sometime so he can make note of your style and mechanics and then drill the ball accordingly.

[xjoe87x]

I bowl in 3 leagues with him ... he knows how I bowl ... But I FINALLY figured out what I was doing wrong thanks to some people here ... I was starting to rotate through the ball, while my thumb was still partially in the ball. So tonight I practiced before league and concentrated rotating after my thumb left and boy does it look good! I still need to make a few suggestions, but thank you all for your help.

[JoshWithrow]

I bowl in 3 leagues with him ... he knows how I bowl ... But I FINALLY figured out what I was doing wrong thanks to some people here ... I was starting to rotate through the ball, while my thumb was still partially in the ball. So tonight I practiced before league and concentrated rotating after my thumb left and boy does it look good! I still need to make a few suggestions, but thank you all for your help.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!

awesome!!! Glad you're on the road to recovery!!!

[EIGHTBALL033]

Thanks alot that helps alot ... I will try that today in between classes and let you know. I was actually studying some videos on what other pros do with their release and I noticed the breaking of the wrist so I was going to practice that ... but I will practice the "snapping" technique first and then once I master that I will go ahead and practice the first technique. Once again Thank you.

RON CLIFTONS COACHING ARTICLES IS GREAT SITE FOR TIPS:cool:

[xjoe87x]

where can I get those?

[EIGHTBALL033]

Another thing to watch out for is gripping the ball with your thumb at any time in your backswing. Doing so will cause your thumb to release later than it should and kill your revs, what helps me on this is to always keep my thumbs fingernail pushed against the ball at all times, this allows my thumb to exit smoothly and when it should so i have the time to add lift with the fingers to create revs.

I highly recommend having a coach watch you for an hour (costs 30 bucks or so, atleast mine does)

Its not that your a bad bowler, but having someone watch you can easily determine whats going on, practice is great but practicing wrong habits doesnt do any good, practice is only good when you practice good technique.

Also where are you standing on the lane? what board do you start / end at?I HAVE HAD 4 LESSONS SO FAR AT 30 BUCKS A POP AND ITS HELPED ME,2YRS IN LEAGUE AND ON BOOKS COMING IN THIS YEAR 150AVERAGE,ABOUT 169 NOW:cool:

[EIGHTBALL033]

where can I get those?

TYPE IN SEARCH RON CLIFTONS COACHING ARTICLES IT SHOULD COME UP:cool:

[IzzyGoofy]

i also use a hawgzilla and have the same issue. my ball goes too long b4 breaking. i wanted it 2 b drilled 2 hook early, midlane but it doesn't. i was told 2 sand it down 2 1000 grit. u might wanna try that. i haven't done it just yet but definitely will.