How To Use Bowling Tape
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Originally Posted: 1/1/2013; Updated: 8/8/2021Bowling tape is a must have item to keep in your accessory bag for those times when your bowling fingers or thumb shrink more than normal prior to or during your session on the lanes. Using bowling tape will eliminate the loose feeling in the gripping holes and prevent you from squeezing the ball too tightly in order to get a good grip. Use any
bowling tape on the market today and you will get a proper grip on your
bowling ball.
Here are a few tips for using bowling tape:
1. Insert a piece of pre-cut tape in your thumb hole about an eighth of an inch below the surface of the ball with the rounded edge upward.
2. The tape can be inserted with
scissors or a small knife blade, both of which may be stored in your accessory pouch.
3. Curve the tape slightly into the contour of the hole to make it easy to insert the blade. Using the blade, push the tape down into the hole to the desired depth.
4. The tape should be inserted slightly below the top edge of the hole to prevent the tape from pulling up and fraying over the hole edge while you bowl.
5. Position the tape either in the front or back portions inside the gripping hole, depending on your preference. Both locations will eliminate the loose feeling in the thumb hole when gripping the ball and prevent you from excessively squeezing the ball.
6. For a secure thumb grip, use a
textured tape where your thumb grips the ball.
7. Fill the looseness inside the hole directly behind your thumb as it is positioned inside the ball. Use a piece of a smooth surface tape to avoid skin irritation as your hand exits the ball.
8. Placing
smooth tape in the gripping portion inside your thumb hole will help you exit the ball very quickly with little thumb drag at the critical moment of release.
9. Use multiple pieces of tape for very loose holes by layering the pieces on top of one another until a sufficient number of pieces are inserted and the grip area inside the hole is restored to an acceptable size.
Some pieces of tape are manufactured with a greater thickness than other brands and require fewer pieces layered in a very loose thumb or finger holes. To state the obvious, removing a piece of tape when your hand expands from the friction created by bowling will help you to release the ball cleanly and on time.
10. Bowling tape may be inserted into the fingers holes as a space filler regardless of whether or not you use inserts. The tape may be inserted in either the front or back of the finger holes as preferred. Use of tape in finger holes will tighten the hole for improved finger releasing action.
Cut the tape to a shorter length so it fits easily into a finger hole (about an eighth of an inch below the top edge of the hole) because the finger tip grips are typically drilled with less depth than a thumb hole.
With some experimentation, you will learn precisely where the placement of bowling tape in your finger and thumb holes benefits you best. Cleaning the hole when replacing old tape can be done with any ball cleaner solution.
A properly fitted bowling ball will help you add pins to your score.
