Great to see you back, hope you heal well. Would love some Full Roller performance content for us seniors who still bowl like they did in the 50's and 60's.
I finally drilled myself a ball using this suggestion. My pitches were 3/8 reverse and 3/8 lateral in both fingers. I rolled both fingers right by an 1/8 (left hand 2H), added 3/8 reverse to the ring, and 3/8 forward to the middle. Now my pitches are MF - 0f x 1/2 right, RF - 3/4 reverse x 1/4 left. The 1/8 roll right moved my track about 3/4”… enough to go from clipping the MF, to being completely clear of it. The addition of 3/8 forward and reverse is giving me a bit more forward roll, and changed my PAP from 6.25 left x 0 to 6.25 left x 3/4 down. I’ve thrown 10 games with it so far, with no adverse effects, blisters, soreness, etc, and it’s been super comfortable. The only thing I might change is to add another lateral, but if I stay clear of the MF consistently, I’ll hold off on doing that.
I'm a partial thumb, one handed full-roller bowler ( loke Tom Smallwood). I've asked about 4 proshop guys to give me that left lateral pitch and they denied me every time! It's nice to see that I'm not crazy in my assumption of that left lateral pitch.
Nice video. Personally seen a mix of things. I was seeing Some of 2 handers with that issue tracking over the middle finger and this pitch change did help significantly, especially if they’re just finger tip. The farther you dig semi - conventional, or extreme reverse like a lot of pros, the focus is to be more rev dominant. They are sacrificing their hands when you bowl as many games as they do. See injuries all the time. There is much more oil in the lanes and often you see a pair one game so the goal becomes hook it more than the other guy. In a competitive environment this is beneficial. For recreational / entry level and hand longevity fingertip and 1/4 roll is very helpful!
Funny enough, dad used to teach 3/8 fwd and 3/8 rev. I added more reverse from what I learned from great players and my experience transitioning to 2 hands.
Thanks for the video Mikey! I've been learning how to bowl two hand for the past year and have a similar track flare to you, just clipping the edge of the middle finger on the first line, but the track is nearly vertical straight up and down, not slanted left or right. I've been throwing all my one hand pitched balls and that's how they end up rolling, but I'm finally going to get a ball drilled just two holes and follow the pitches you gave as a guideline. It's been tough to get that good palm feel and I really have to force staying behind the ball, so I think the new pitches slanted left more should help a lot. My balls already have some reverse at 1/4" MF and 3/4" RF due to finger stiffness, so would 1/2" left - 1/4" reverse on the MF, and 3/4" reverse - 3/8" right be a good starting point? This is with a 1/4" bridge, so hopefully it doesn't create a sort of Vulcan grip, but I assume pitching left helps with that as well? I want to try to avoid too excessive of pitches cause gluing grips are a pain beyond 3/4" in any direction, but I'll manage if that's what it takes to make it work. Thanks again and I miss your content!
Would this also apply to a one handed thumbless bowler? I do tend to be rev rate dominant with low ball speed… I also have a lot of roll over on the middle finger hole. Also, would you be able to recommend a base PAP? My local pro shop doesn’t seem to be very knowledgeable on my style of bowling. Thanks.
This would work for one hand as well as a starting point. And your pap has to be measured. It’s a measurement based on how you throw the ball. However. I can definitely recommend a layout. Checkout our PAL LAYOUTS videos. I think the strong layout and the short pin layout from that system are the 2 most versatile layouts for no thumb bowlers.
Would these pitches help the ball sit straighter in my hand? Currently I have 3/8 reverse in both fingers and my wrist turns a lot just to hold the ball comfortably but if I turn the ball in my hand the grips end up really turned to straighten it out
hi mikey..the video was great. I am left handed. my monopoly finger pithes middle 11/16 right 1/4 reverse ring finger 5/16 left 3/8 reverse. do i have to do middle finger 5/8 forward now? Do I also need to change other values?
Sounds like you are already rolled for more rotation and have some middle finger dominance. If you hit the holes or have very low axis tilt, you could go to zero or 1/4 forward in middle. But if your tilt is good and you miss the holes, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Sorry I'm late to the party after the video release, but awesome information. I'm a 1 hand no thumb bowler. When drilling the finger holes, is it preferred to use fingertips or insert the fingers to the 2nd knuckle? I experiment with both, but undecided what to stick with when I drill my 2nd ball.
I'm not a 2-hand bowler but I bowl very similarly with 1 hand. Something like the style of Tom Smallwood. I only use half of my thumb as a balance support. Do you think two-handed pitches would work in my situation?
I believe Belmo and Osku both have a ton of reverse pitch and pretty close to the same, not one forward and one reverse as you are recommending. Any insight on why that works for them but maybe not most bowlers?
As they were “the first”, I suspect they used what felt comfortable and taught themselves how to create tilt despite the pitches not aiding in that cause. In my experience, 90% of bowlers will clip the holes and have zero or negative tilt with 1” reverse in both fingers (like belmo’s pitches)
Most other opinions I have heard are based on people just copying them. I said in the video that this is for most players not every player. I understand that every hand is different. I appreciate the positive manner you interacted with the content. Thank for watching sir!
@@BowlingScience I really appreciate you taking the time to help us with this! I have always tracked over my fingers. My axis rotation is 20 degrees, tilt is 7 degrees and PAP is 6 over and 1 and 3/8 down measured by Rick at Kegel. I tried your suggested pitches and it moved my track left, just not quite all the way off. I also love the way the ball is rolling, it is a big improvement! Would you suggest I try a little more forward in the middle finger, maybe 1/4 forward? And if so, should I move the ring finger with it making it less negative or leave it where it is? Thank you in advance, I have been wrestling with this issue for years (mainly frustrated about the balls cracking from rolling over the fingers) and I had given up hope but you know what you are talking about!
@@jasonferrill have you tried positioning your non ball hand in different ways to change axis or tilt? I don’t recall what video shows it but I now use this method to control how much axis/tilt I need for any given shot. It goes like this: Fingers in the ball and loaded wrist. Non ball hand- middle finger between the ball hands middle and ring, straightens up the axis and produces an almost straight ball. Ring finger between the two ball hand fingers imparts a nice medium shaped shot. The pinky’s another story. As soon as you put the pinky between the fingers and loaded correctly, you should feel very open and loaded for massive revs and pretty much a skid flip. I personally like that method being it eliminated my guess on ball angle and rev rate at the release. I’m just a league guy but that helped me so I hope that helps you too!
I measured my PAP and found that I'm 6½ over and 1 down. Not sure about my lateral pitches but I know I have ¾ reverse in both. I'm a two-handed righty and the first oil track clips the very edge of the right side of my middle finger. Any recommendations on what pitches to start with or should I start at base and keep adjusting?
I would start by adding 3/16 left to both fingers and changing the reverse to 1/4 in the middle and 1” in the ring. This will get you some more mf dominance and help get your hand “inside” the ball.
What do you mean "roll left"? Are you changing the lateral pitches more toward the left? I typically do (31/32" grips) .450 left and right. The idea of more lateral to move the oil ring away from the finger holes makes a ton of sense. I'm now sure how much is a good starting point. I have from the video 1/2 for the middle finger and 3/8 for the ring. Is there more or less to that should be adjusted for those values? BTW, I'm doing a ball for a left handed bowler with no PAP info --- so this is a real test of assumptions!
Have him throw literally any ball even if it has a thumb hole to get an approximate pap. The Lb you wanna flip the laterals for a lefty. 3/8 left by 1/2 right to start. Can roll further right to move the track on a lefty.
I just switched to 2H and my fear is settling in that my plan to just plug all my thumb holes isn't going to be ideal! Lol I hope your shoulder heals well man, looks like you haven't posted in awhile I hope you're coming along.
Great to see you back, hope you heal well. Would love some Full Roller performance content for us seniors who still bowl like they did in the 50's and 60's.
I finally drilled myself a ball using this suggestion. My pitches were 3/8 reverse and 3/8 lateral in both fingers. I rolled both fingers right by an 1/8 (left hand 2H), added 3/8 reverse to the ring, and 3/8 forward to the middle. Now my pitches are MF - 0f x 1/2 right, RF - 3/4 reverse x 1/4 left.
The 1/8 roll right moved my track about 3/4”… enough to go from clipping the MF, to being completely clear of it.
The addition of 3/8 forward and reverse is giving me a bit more forward roll, and changed my PAP from 6.25 left x 0 to 6.25 left x 3/4 down.
I’ve thrown 10 games with it so far, with no adverse effects, blisters, soreness, etc, and it’s been super comfortable. The only thing I might change is to add another lateral, but if I stay clear of the MF consistently, I’ll hold off on doing that.
I'm a partial thumb, one handed full-roller bowler ( loke Tom Smallwood). I've asked about 4 proshop guys to give me that left lateral pitch and they denied me every time! It's nice to see that I'm not crazy in my assumption of that left lateral pitch.
What is your recommendation on finger depth for two handers?
Nice video. Personally seen a mix of things. I was seeing Some of 2 handers with that issue tracking over the middle finger and this pitch change did help significantly, especially if they’re just finger tip. The farther you dig semi - conventional, or extreme reverse like a lot of pros, the focus is to be more rev dominant. They are sacrificing their hands when you bowl as many games as they do. See injuries all the time. There is much more oil in the lanes and often you see a pair one game so the goal becomes hook it more than the other guy. In a competitive environment this is beneficial. For recreational / entry level and hand longevity fingertip and 1/4 roll is very helpful!
Oh totally agreed! Conventional and semi brings different needs to help the fingers clear.
Funny enough, dad used to teach 3/8 fwd and 3/8 rev. I added more reverse from what I learned from great players and my experience transitioning to 2 hands.
Thank you for the positive interaction and watching the video. ❤️
Hello Mikey, does this apply to bowlers that go down to the second knuckle in the bowling ball?
About to get a new ball drilled today, ima ask for this setup and see how it goes! Thanks for the video!
Thank you for posting this video. Just starting out as a pso, and this helps considerably. Have quite a few 2 handers on our College team .
Thanks for the video Mikey! I've been learning how to bowl two hand for the past year and have a similar track flare to you, just clipping the edge of the middle finger on the first line, but the track is nearly vertical straight up and down, not slanted left or right. I've been throwing all my one hand pitched balls and that's how they end up rolling, but I'm finally going to get a ball drilled just two holes and follow the pitches you gave as a guideline. It's been tough to get that good palm feel and I really have to force staying behind the ball, so I think the new pitches slanted left more should help a lot.
My balls already have some reverse at 1/4" MF and 3/4" RF due to finger stiffness, so would 1/2" left - 1/4" reverse on the MF, and 3/4" reverse - 3/8" right be a good starting point? This is with a 1/4" bridge, so hopefully it doesn't create a sort of Vulcan grip, but I assume pitching left helps with that as well? I want to try to avoid too excessive of pitches cause gluing grips are a pain beyond 3/4" in any direction, but I'll manage if that's what it takes to make it work. Thanks again and I miss your content!
I forgot to add, my current laterals on my one hand pieces are 5/16" left MF and 1/2" right RF.
How deep do you drill the finger holes? 3.5” deep on both?
Would this also apply to a one handed thumbless bowler? I do tend to be rev rate dominant with low ball speed… I also have a lot of roll over on the middle finger hole.
Also, would you be able to recommend a base PAP? My local pro shop doesn’t seem to be very knowledgeable on my style of bowling. Thanks.
This would work for one hand as well as a starting point. And your pap has to be measured. It’s a measurement based on how you throw the ball. However. I can definitely recommend a layout. Checkout our PAL LAYOUTS videos. I think the strong layout and the short pin layout from that system are the 2 most versatile layouts for no thumb bowlers.
How much pitch forward on the middle finger? Did understand it clearly from what you said in the video.
Would these pitches help the ball sit straighter in my hand? Currently I have 3/8 reverse in both fingers and my wrist turns a lot just to hold the ball comfortably but if I turn the ball in my hand the grips end up really turned to straighten it out
hi mikey..the video was great. I am left handed. my monopoly finger pithes middle 11/16 right 1/4 reverse ring finger 5/16 left 3/8 reverse. do i have to do middle finger 5/8 forward now? Do I also need to change other values?
Sounds like you are already rolled for more rotation and have some middle finger dominance. If you hit the holes or have very low axis tilt, you could go to zero or 1/4 forward in middle. But if your tilt is good and you miss the holes, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Sorry I'm late to the party after the video release, but awesome information. I'm a 1 hand no thumb bowler. When drilling the finger holes, is it preferred to use fingertips or insert the fingers to the 2nd knuckle? I experiment with both, but undecided what to stick with when I drill my 2nd ball.
Some prefer conventional fit. I use fingertip. These pitches are definitely for the latter, most of the conventional fits use reverse in both fingers.
I'm not a 2-hand bowler but I bowl very similarly with 1 hand. Something like the style of Tom Smallwood. I only use half of my thumb as a balance support. Do you think two-handed pitches would work in my situation?
My middle knuckle is always swollen and sore in my middle finger. Seems like my PSO and I keep adding more and more reverse. Any thoughts?
Mike, how much left pitch do you recommend?
I believe Belmo and Osku both have a ton of reverse pitch and pretty close to the same, not one forward and one reverse as you are recommending. Any insight on why that works for them but maybe not most bowlers?
As they were “the first”, I suspect they used what felt comfortable and taught themselves how to create tilt despite the pitches not aiding in that cause. In my experience, 90% of bowlers will clip the holes and have zero or negative tilt with 1” reverse in both fingers (like belmo’s pitches)
Most other opinions I have heard are based on people just copying them. I said in the video that this is for most players not every player. I understand that every hand is different. I appreciate the positive manner you interacted with the content. Thank for watching sir!
@@BowlingScience I really appreciate you taking the time to help us with this! I have always tracked over my fingers. My axis rotation is 20 degrees, tilt is 7 degrees and PAP is 6 over and 1 and 3/8 down measured by Rick at Kegel. I tried your suggested pitches and it moved my track left, just not quite all the way off. I also love the way the ball is rolling, it is a big improvement!
Would you suggest I try a little more forward in the middle finger, maybe 1/4 forward? And if so, should I move the ring finger with it making it less negative or leave it where it is?
Thank you in advance, I have been wrestling with this issue for years (mainly frustrated about the balls cracking from rolling over the fingers) and I had given up hope but you know what you are talking about!
@@jasonferrill have you tried positioning your non ball hand in different ways to change axis or tilt? I don’t recall what video shows it but I now use this method to control how much axis/tilt I need for any given shot. It goes like this:
Fingers in the ball and loaded wrist.
Non ball hand- middle finger between the ball hands middle and ring, straightens up the axis and produces an almost straight ball.
Ring finger between the two ball hand fingers imparts a nice medium shaped shot.
The pinky’s another story. As soon as you put the pinky between the fingers and loaded correctly, you should feel very open and loaded for massive revs and pretty much a skid flip. I personally like that method being it eliminated my guess on ball angle and rev rate at the release. I’m just a league guy but that helped me so I hope that helps you too!
Good stuff! Keep it coming!
I measured my PAP and found that I'm 6½ over and 1 down. Not sure about my lateral pitches but I know I have ¾ reverse in both. I'm a two-handed righty and the first oil track clips the very edge of the right side of my middle finger. Any recommendations on what pitches to start with or should I start at base and keep adjusting?
I would start by adding 3/16 left to both fingers and changing the reverse to 1/4 in the middle and 1” in the ring. This will get you some more mf dominance and help get your hand “inside” the ball.
@@BowlingScience thank you so much!
Where can I find that shirt?
Great video very informative
It’s a question I get all the time, figured it made a good topic for some desk content!
What do you mean "roll left"? Are you changing the lateral pitches more toward the left? I typically do (31/32" grips) .450 left and right. The idea of more lateral to move the oil ring away from the finger holes makes a ton of sense. I'm now sure how much is a good starting point. I have from the video 1/2 for the middle finger and 3/8 for the ring. Is there more or less to that should be adjusted for those values? BTW, I'm doing a ball for a left handed bowler with no PAP info --- so this is a real test of assumptions!
Have him throw literally any ball even if it has a thumb hole to get an approximate pap. The Lb you wanna flip the laterals for a lefty. 3/8 left by 1/2 right to start. Can roll further right to move the track on a lefty.
How do I get approved to comment and post on the bowling science forum Facebook page?
Definitely agree with reversing the pitches. Recently just moved mine 7/8ths reverse and man is it more comfortable to throw the ball. Great stuff.
Nice cat! hehe. Oh yeah, I also use 1/2 reverse pitch on my bowling balls for 2 handed release! I will try forward pitch for the middle finger.
I just switched to 2H and my fear is settling in that my plan to just plug all my thumb holes isn't going to be ideal! Lol
I hope your shoulder heals well man, looks like you haven't posted in awhile I hope you're coming along.
Good stuff !
😵💫😵💫😵💫
kitty