Coach’s Corner Tip

Hand Positions

Success in today’s game depends upon having a solid arsenal of equipment. However, you cannot combat every situation with another bowling ball. Sometimes you must make the ball you have do something a little different in order to score. Great players like Walter Ray Williams and Norm Duke have become legendary for their ability to take a ball and a lane condition and make them work by changes to their hand positions.

Basic Hand Positions

So, what are some basic hand positions? You natural game will impart a certain amount of “axis rotation” on the ball. If the ball is rotating in the same direction as the lane, you have 0 degrees of axis rotation (a straight ball). Similarly, if your ball is turning in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which it is traveling, it has 90 degrees of axis rotation. A ball with a lot of forward roll has low axis rotation (20 to 35 degrees), and a lot of “side roll” has a high degree of axis rotation (55 to 90 degress). In order to achieve this, you want to minimize the amount of “turn” with your hand at the release point for minimal axis rotation, and maximize that same turn in order to get a lot of axis rotation.

Axis Rotation

What does axis rotation do for you? In short, it “stores” energy for use later down the lane, and makes the ball enter the pocket at a sharper angle. When the lanes are drier, or you are playing an inside line to the pocket, more axis rotation is a good thing. It allows the ball to skid farther down the lane, and creates a sharper angle of entry when it gets there. A higher degree of axis rotation gives you more hook.

How can you get more axis rotation? If you move your index finger farther away from your grip, keep the pinky finger close to your ring finger, and allow your wrist to rotate quickly to the side of the ball at release, you will generate more axis rotation. You must practice until you can repeat this motion consistently before using it in competition.

Creating Low Axis Rotation

What does forward roll, with less axis rotation do for you? This roll works very well if you want to make the ball reaction very stable. Low axis rotation will not react much to the lane surface, which means the ball will stay on line better on slightly errant shots. This type of ball roll also works best when playing the outside
portion of the lane. Since the ball is already entering the pocket from farther out on the lane, the sharp angle of entry already exists. A lower degree of axis rotation gives you more control and less hook.

You can generate low axis rotation by making a minimal turn with your hand at the release point, If you think of your fingers as being on a clock face, you might rotate the fingers from 6 o’clock (behind the ball) to 3 o’clock to get your hand around the ball. When you want to stay behind the ball, that rotation is typically more like 6-to-5., so that you make the ball come off your hand with minimal turn.

Creating Higher Axis Rotation

In order to “really” get you hand around the ball, you want to create as much rotation in your wrist as possible. Keep your fingers to the inside on your backswing, and keep the weight of the ball to the outside of your hand as long as possible through the downswing, the rotate the fingers from a starting position of 7 o’clock to about 3 o’clock.

Remember, use minimal turn when the lanes are fresh, or when the lane conditions are very tough. As the lanes start to break down, you can use more turn until you reach the 3rd arrow on the lane. For angles inside the 3rd arrow, or when the lanes get dry, get your hand around the ball in order to store energy and get the necessary angle to the pocket to carry well. For straighter players in today’s game, I believe this is an essential part of “keeping up” when the scoring pace gets higher as the lanes “open up”.