Ball Fit

Excerpt from Bowling Fundamentals - Second Edition By Michelle Mullen



9/9/2018

There are three aspects to ball fit: hole size, span and pitch. Hole size speaks for itself. The span is the distance from the finger holes to the thumbhole. This is carefully measured to ensure that both the fingers and the thumb insert securely at the joints. Finally, the pitches are the angles at which the holes are drilled into the ball. Proper pitches are very important and are based on flexibility and hand span.



HOLE SIZE:

Having proper size holes (see photo) is important. You should be able to get your fingers and thumb in all the way, without the holes being so large that you need to squeeze the ball to keep it on your hand. The holes should provide a snug fit, but they shouldn't be so tight that you cannot get your fingers or thumb in all the way. Hole shape also is a consideration for a good fit. The thumbhole can be drilled to accommodate the shape of your thumb, whether it's thicker on the sides, has an oval shape, or any other quality. This allows you to keep the thumbhole snug while preventing any unnecessary friction on release.

SPAN:

The span is the distance between the finger holes and the thumbhole. Your hand has to be carefully and skillfully measured for span. With a proper span, you can get both your fingers and your thumb in all the way with ease. If you have to stretch your hand to get your fingers and thumb in all the way, or if you have to choose between one or the other, the span is likely too long. At the same time, you do not want the holes so close that there is a lot of space between the ball and your palm. A span that is too long or too short will cause you to squeeze the ball.

Although the proper way to put your hand in the ball is to put your finger in before the thumb, try this raw test to check your span. Put your thumb all the way in and lay your fingers out on top of the ball over the finger holes. The joints should be about three-fourths the way over the holes, rather than barely making it to the front edge of the holes (closest to the thumb). Considering how your fingers line up with the holes in a straight line allows you to properly gauge if you will be able to properly reach the span once your fingers are inserted.

PITCH:

Pitch (see photo) is the angle at which a hole is drilled into the ball. When the hole is drilled directly toward the center of the ball, the hole is considered to have no angle or zero pitch. A hole drilled at an angle in either direction away from the center of the ball has pitch, either forward or reverse. Forward pitch is a hole drilled on an angle toward the palm of the hand. Reverse pitch is a hole drilled away from the palm. A gauge is used to measure pitches.

Forward pitch provides a more secure fit to help you hold on to the ball. Reverse pitch helps you release it sooner. The proper pitches for you depend on your span and flexibility. Again, your hand has to be carefully and skillfully measured to determine the amount of pitch you need in each hole.

Generally, the shorter the span is, the more help you need holding on to the ball, so forward pitch is necessary. That is why forward pitches on both the finger holes and thumb hole are necessary with a conventional span for proper grip pressure. The amount will further depend on your flexibility.

THUMB PITCH AND BACKSWING:

Although some reverse pitch may be necessary (depending on your skill level and span) for a clean thumb release, excessive reverse pitch leads to excess gripping in the backswing, leading to swing and release issues. The top of the backswing is the first time your hand is actually on top of the ball during the swing. If the pitch is excessive, you will have to squeeze it at that point so the ball does not come off your hand too soon.

When the thumb pitch is off, the grip pressure forces you to tighten up the swing and can cause you to hand up in the thumb at release. But then, when you try to relax your grip pressure (as my students often do during lessons), you end up dropping the ball. This indicates the need for a different pitch.

Caution: Although reverse pitch helpd the bowler clear the thumbhole a little more quickly, there has been an epidemic of putting too much reverse pitch in the thumb and too much forward pitch in the fingers. Excessive reverse thumb pitch forces the bowler to squeeze the ball to keep it on the hand long enough. This has created an epidemic of bowlers who end up grabbing and pulling the ball in the downswing. I was a victim of this for years! There is a difference between having enough reverse pitch in the thumb so you can get it out of the ball clean and having so much pitch that you have to squeeze so that your thumb doesnt't come out too soon. Fortunately, through a better understanding of progressive fitting techniques, we've been able to help many bowlers get rid of or even avoid this problem.



FINGERTIP PITCHES AND FLEXIBILITY:

With some exceptions, most players who use a fingertip grip need some reverse pitch to accommodate the lack of flexibility in their fingertip joints. In a fingertip grip, the hand is spread across a longer span, which requires more joint flexibility to bend the fingers forward and have the finger pads flush against the front of the finger holes. Reverse pitch helps the bowler achieve this feel. It used to be common to drill the finger holes forward to try to create lift on the ball. But that was when the balls were much weaker and needed more action. Now, with much stronger bowling balls that naturally hook more, you want to release the ball more cleanly off your hand and roll it into the lane for the best reaction. Although many bowlers still refer to the concept of lifting the ball, I haven't taught it since I've been coaching!

Mullen, Michelle. Bowling Fundamentals- Second Edition. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2014.