How to Put Your Hand Into a Bowling Ball

It doesn’t matter which style of bowler you are; how you put your hand in the ball has an effect on ball motion down the lane. It is important to note that when you pick up the bowling ball off of the ball return, you need to use both hands. Using both hands eliminates excessive squeezing or grip pressure. Eliminating grip pressure will allow your fingers to come out of the ball faster, helping to create more revs.

In this free video, Scott Pohl, owner of On Track Pro Shop, explains how you put your fingers into the ball and where you place the other fingers that aren’t in the ball. By learning this, you can manipulate where and when the ball hooks.

Two-Handed Bowler

The non-dominant throwing hand should be parallel to the dominant throwing hand in the stance. Your hands and fingers need to be close together when getting set up in your stance with proper ball placement.

If you set up with your hands and fingers further apart, you will have a weaker ball reaction.

Traditional Bowler

Most traditional bowlers insert their fingers into the holes and roll the bowling ball onto the thumb.

If you have a really flexible thumb or are double jointed you can try to put your thumb into the bowling ball first. You should decide for yourself which method is better.

If you want more axis rotation on the ball, try tucking your pinky in resulting in the knuckle touching the bowling ball. If you are trying to get a more end-over-end roll down the lane, position your fingers more parallel to the approach.

The goal when holding your bowling ball is not to squeeze. To help avoid squeezing, try to shift a majority of the bowling ball’s weight onto your non-throwing hand when in the stance.

Many lane play and physical game issues can be traced back to bowling ball fit problems. If you find yourself grabbing the ball to keep it in your hand throughout your swing, visit your pro shop and get your span checked.

For more great instruction, check out our Lane Play and Physical Game libraries.