My average is 178 and I have a ball that weighs 15 pounds. When I throw the ball, my index finger hurts me tremendously, and it's hard for me to control the ball. Right now, my average is down to 150. Do you have any suggestions to help me control the shot?

Think of the position of your hand during the release as like a normal handshake. The thumb should be pointed at about 12 o'clock, with the pressure on the middle and ring fingers during the release. Also, work on keeping your arm close to the side of the body during the backswing and downswing. You should experience greater accuracy and less pain.

have a relatively low roll and I was wondering if there is some drilling method that would raise it. I'm trying to get more early roll and less snapping in the back end.

A few of the players on the Denny's PBA Tour have gone to a Sarge Easter grip to increase the amount of forward roll and create a more even path down the lane. The Sarge Easter grip has the ring finger drilled as a conventional span and the middle finger drilled a la a fingertip. Among the pros who have used this type of grip are Michael Fagan, Mike DeVaney and Robert Smith. With this grip, the middle finger is controlling the ball more than the ring finger, resulting in the roll being more end-over-end. For anyone trying this grip for the first time, it will take a while to adjust to the different feel of the ball. You also must adjust your shot alignments to compensate for the ball's earlier roll. I would not recommend this grip for bowlers who throw the ball slowly and use high-tech equipment. But if you can keep up the speed on the ball, you should develop a straighter path to the pocket and experience greater control.

I've bowled for more than 30 years, and just recently experienced a strong pain in my shoulder that will not let me follow through very far. Do you have any suggestions on how to cure this problem?

I'm not comfortable giving you advice for this type of problem because you could have a serious injury. So, before doing anything else, I'd strongly suggest you see a doctor. The problem could be any of several things, including some type of tear in the shoulder. It's also possible you could have a condition called "Frozen Shoulder," which can result from many years of bowling. About ten years ago, I had a similar problem, and that was the diagnosis. My doctor gave me a cortisone shot and I was required to do about three months of specialized exercises. After the three months, I was as good as new. So, by all means, consult your doctor.

In your opinion, what is the easiest way for me to increase the speed of my ball? I am 58, and just can't seem to generate enough speed to control the new bowling balls.

Probably the easiest way to gain ball speed is to go with a lighter-weight ball. If you currently use a 16-lb. ball, as most bowlers of our generation have used for years, drop down to 15 pounds. I've talked to many good bowlers about this, and they feel that the one-pound decrease in weight does little to harm carry, and the added speed more than compensates. A little trick that some bowlers utilize is to start their practice sessions with the heavier bowling ball, and then drop down to the lighter ball for the last two or three practice shots. This has the same effect as a baseball hitter warming up with a heavy bat or one with a "donut" weight on it, and then switching to his regular bat when it's time to step up to the plate.

As a left-handed bowler, I like to play an inside line, but it seems that I'm never able to get inside the 4th arrow and still be successful. I see many right-handed bowlers play deeper than that, but seldom do you see a lefty in that deep. Is there any reason for this?

It could be that when you move deep inside, the right-handed bowlers have also moved inside and are setting their balls in the same head area that you want to use. Since there are usually more right-handed bowlers than lefties, the inside shot on the left side disappears very quickly, making it almost unplayable. If there were no right-handed bowlers playing inside, we southpaws could play as deep as we wanted. So, I feel your pain.