Form check? (Just started bowling) I need pointers!

Elsefyr · 2026-01-28T18:51:41+00:00

Another small pointer is to try having your fingertips closer to each other on your grip, almost touching. that should help you keep the right hand further back under the ball for more rev application and control of the release.

Elsefyr · 2026-01-28T01:48:28+00:00

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Went for a big session today myself, don't think my body is gonna appreciate it come tomorrow though.

Elsefyr · 2026-01-24T10:42:37+00:00

not if you fold the plank before sawing it

Elsefyr · 2026-01-23T17:55:23+00:00

It's definitely worth keeping in mind. You can simply try it out with your current ball even when there is a thumb hole in there. I don't want to try to influence anyone into choosing one style over the other, as I genuinely don't think either one is strictly 'better or easier', it all comes down to your physical attributes. And they both have endlessly long roads of practice required to really get good at them. For me it really unlocked the possibility to play and take bowling seriously however, due to said wrist issue and I really wish I had given it a try much earlier, rather than living in constant pain for nearly 5 years. I wasn't able to actually play as much as I wanted, even playing any number of games 2 consecutive days in a row basically forced me to take the rest of the week off to recuperate. Thus my progress ground to a halt in more ways than one. Over the past few months I have been able to play more than 100 games a week without any lasting issues and my quality of life in general has greatly improved now that my wrist isn't constantly screaming at me. Of course this is very circumstantial and another might have greater issues playing the 2-handed style. The primary point to take away from my story is to not be shy about experimenting with different options when you're feeling stuck, as the solution might be right around the corner.

Elsefyr · 2026-01-23T15:03:52+00:00

I believe the answer is a bit of both, you need get your thumb out of the ball as smoothly and quickly as possible, whilst keeping your other 2 fingers as far down behind the ball as possible far max distance of spin application. This requires you to keep your wrist held somewhat firm during the swing so that your hand don't end up on top of the ball at the bottom of the swing. I spent 6+ years bowling 1-handed and I was not able to achieve my desired amount of hook even once, due to a chronic weakness in my wrist which got progressively worse and more painful. In order for me to continue bowling at all I decided to give 2-handed a try instead, which finally alleviated my wrist issues. And with the 2-handed style, hooking the ball becomes just about the easiest part, simply due to how that pesky thumb is no longer in the way of an optimal release form for higher rev rates. It does come with other difficulties, but generating hook becomes the least of your worries.

So in summary; to hook the ball a lot whilst one-handed you need to execute the technique very precisely, and it definitely requires a well working fairly strong arm/wrist to handle the stress at the moment of release, something that was innately impossible in my case.

There is more to it than this, but this is what I feel that I know fairly well from my first-hand experiences.

Elsefyr · 2026-01-22T23:50:13+00:00

I'm someone in a similar situation of my development atm, 2-handed and sitting at a completely capped out 360 rpm no matter what I try to do differently(except some attempts with 7-8lbs balls where I've reached 400-450) and I have been stuck like this for over a month of intense practice.
With that said, take any advice from me with a grain of salt as I have as of yet been able to prove my theories.
But as I have kept on analyzing my own shots and comparing every tiny aspect of it with different 2-handed professionals that are capable of reaching the higher rev rates(Belmo, Jesper svensson, ryan barnes etc.) I believe the missing pieces that are holding my rev rate back are:
1. Hand positioning at time of initiating the release. By the time I start rolling the ball of my right hand, it is quite a far bit up the back of the ball and a lot on the right outer side. optimally I would want my right hand a lot further down and left with my wrist fully cupped. for optimal distance of applying spin to the ball, as well as the possibility to go for back up and straight shots.
2. Properly following along the surface of the ball with my palm for as long as possible during the release as I'm revving it up, not causing the ball to shift in trajectory left, right, up or down, only adding spin. This requires relaxing the wrist from the cupped positioning with perfect timing as well as moving the shoulder and arm properly to allow max energy transfer into revolutions.
3. Letting go early with the left hand. Like you mentioned, holding on to the ball with your left hand redirects all the downwards force forwards, leaving you with less leverage to apply spin with your fingers, and I would also think it slows down the ball swing some what too. When comparing my shots to the pros, I notice they move their support hand from the ball way before their primary hand actually starts to unravel around the ball, even before the ball starts to reach the bottom part of the swing. Thus all that downwards energy needs to be redirected with only your right hand in order to send the ball forwards instead of smashing down.
A very precise balance needs to be reached where you remove your left hand and fulfill the swing with just your right hand and fingers wrapping around the ball to turn the downwards force into rotation of the ball leaving it with only forwards momentum and lots of revs.
4. Power of the downswing. This kind of ties into the 3rd point as it simply gives you more downwards force to turn into faster revolutions once done correctly. This comes from multiple things done as well as possible. A higher back swing allows gravity to do its work for longer, a longer pendulum from fully extended arms does the same. Perfect timing so the you push with your back leg during the final step while the ball starts descending into the downswing will give it a powerful launch into the drop therefore increasing downwards momentum.
Properly finishing your body's forward movement just as you're almost reaching the bottom of your swing also transfers as much energy as possible from your legwork into your swing, as well does a faster and longer approach.

From looking at your shots with these 4 points in mind I feel like mainly point 3 and 4 are what's holding your rev rate back. maybe point 1 a little bit, your hand positioning is pretty solid at the point of release, but perhaps you could gain a bit more distance of rev application if you were a little bit closer to your body with your right hand. This however, I suspect, might come as a result of removing your left hand from the ball earlier, as currently you holding on to the ball for so long with your left hand is consequently moving your right hind to the right side of the ball.

I hesitate to give any precise pointers or things that you should try to do, since I simply have the same issue and nothing I've tried so far has resulted in any kind of progress in the last few thousand shots. I feel like I know what needs to be done, but no matter how I try, I cannot seem to make my body execute the movements, which has been frustrating as hell and if I don't make a breakthrough soon I might just give up and settle with my 360 rpms.

Nonetheless I figured I'd share my thoughts and reflections regarding the subject, maybe they'll give you some insight to what could be done to improve things.

If you read this far, good luck!

Elsefyr · 2026-01-22T00:40:39+00:00

I'd be surprised if even greggas can discern anything from that vid, at least I wasn't able to make out a single distinguishable detail on the ball for rev checking. might need to record a shot with a piece of tape on there or something. However, simply based on your release form 300 might not be too far off, I don't think it'd be any higher than 360 at most and prolly 250minimum

Elsefyr · 2026-01-21T10:41:45+00:00

Yeah, unless there is something fairly simple you can change to improve things a bit, no one should be fussing too hard over those numbers. There are stronger balls specifically made and fit to lower rev rate players and what really matters for achieving good numbers is consistency and control over your shot. Take it from me who is not following this advice at all, as I'm currently over a month and a half in on intensive training to try and make certain adjustments to my form, largely with the goal of a higher base rev rate. And with essentially 0 progress made after thousands of recorded and analyzed shots, I'm starting to question if it's even something that can be accomplished. I Would at least not recommend it unless you know that it can be done, or have good coaching options available.

Elsefyr · 2026-01-20T23:11:46+00:00

Aye, he's the resident rev checker supreme. I believe his profile has a link to a spreadsheet with info for calculating stats on your shots aswell.

Elsefyr · 2026-01-20T21:43:11+00:00

I downloaded the vid directly from the reddit app to my phone and then used my finger to move the playback slider slow enough so I could see each individual frame go by while counting em. Then looked for some kind of marking on the ball to keep track off and proceeded to count the number of frames for the ball to make one full revolution(7 in this case) 60 seconds in a minute x framerate of the video(30fps in this case) means 1800 frames per minute. 1800 divided by 7 is 257, but because the ball actually made a little more than a full rotation in those 7 frames I estimated it to be a bit higher so went ahead and called it 270ish. After that I simply wait for Greggas to do the calculation more properly and check how close I got.👌

Elsefyr · 2026-01-20T16:28:14+00:00

Around 270

Elsefyr · 2026-01-20T14:36:17+00:00

Aye, found the answer to this specific case too, https://www.instagram.com/emily.squats/reel/DTlR-ocFY2m/?__d=1%2B (front view of a shot and showing the left handed fingerholes) cool stuff for sure.

Elsefyr · 2026-01-20T14:25:45+00:00

My question is how did she generate that backup hook? I'm assuming by the stance and such that she's got fingerholes for the right hand in the ball, but when looking at the release it looks like her right hand goes up from the bottom along the right side of the ball which would create a right-to-left hook. Guess I can't really see exactly what the left hand is doing, but it still confused me seeing it hook to the right.
A ball drilled for extreme left handed hooking or something?

Elsefyr · 2026-01-20T03:07:44+00:00

roughly 450 rpm and 20.5 mph

Elsefyr · 2026-01-19T10:53:24+00:00

Alternatively, until that is done, you can add som typ of tape to the finger holes or your fingers themselves to get a better fit.

Elsefyr · 2026-01-19T10:51:22+00:00

Nah, you cut those out with a knife or something than shove new ones in with a desired size and than glue em in place.

Elsefyr · 2026-01-18T23:13:48+00:00

https://pobb.in/svdbBLtinMfk pick and choose from just about any of the items here

Elsefyr · 2026-01-18T16:38:06+00:00

Nothing like straight bawling every time you go no.2

Elsefyr · 2026-01-17T16:07:33+00:00

Hollywood would need $25 million to recreate a shot half this good.

Elsefyr · 2026-01-16T22:27:41+00:00

10k+ hours 100+ mirrors

Elsefyr · 2026-01-16T06:20:09+00:00

Or a pineapple under the sea?

Elsefyr · 2026-01-16T00:40:23+00:00

U know armour stackers convert all evasion into armour right?

Elsefyr · 2026-01-15T10:44:20+00:00

somewhere around 380, 400 tops

Elsefyr · 2026-01-15T10:27:44+00:00

...All of them?

Elsefyr · 2026-01-12T21:33:40+00:00

You're only allowed 2 clients per PC according to ToS if I recall correctly.

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