And since you now have the feel for having your hand in the ball with your arm and hand completely relaxed, That's exactly how relaxed they should be when you swing the ball too.

When you guys are right, you're right. I didn't trust the ball/my grip enough. I just did a full swing in my living room across the floor (haha). There's a slight pop, but it feels great not to clench the ball.

Now my question: Should I still be gripping the ball at the top of my swing as to assure it from flying off of my hand, or does the force only reach the point of popping off of my hand when following through on the roll?

You are trying to throw the ball too much. You need to swing the ball and the swing needs to be from your shoulder. Your arm needs to be fully extended. Your hand needs to be fully in the ball. That means, thumb sunk deep in , fingers only to the crease, no more. And then swing it, don't throw it.

Your current style is what I see most thumbless house ball users do. Which is very inconsistent.

Also your pictures seem to have a too short measurement for your middle finger. Now this could be because you are not putting your thumb in all the way. I dunno. Typical technique is that you put your fingers in first, to the first knuckle, and then the thumb. Make sure you are doing that.

Erin

When you go by the Pro Shop tomorrow, ask them about lessons. Until you get lessons, it may be hard to tell if the ball is fit properly.

You shouldn't have to grip the ball at any point of your swing really. And as Erin said, just let the ball swing on it's own, from your shoulder, and don't try and force it at all. The ball should come off your hand at the right point. Another thing that you can try is to throw the ball onto the couch while you're standing still. When the ball gets to the point where it should release, flex your middle and ring fingers just a little bit, like you're squeezing the trigger of a gun like you're tapping the pads of your fingers against the finger holes. When you do that, the ball should release at that instant.

I wouldn't even worry about trying to get the ball to hook. Just work on getting your swing down. Just letting the ball come off your hand naturally will put some revs on the ball and you are going to be way more consistent.

Good luck and try to get a decent coach that can spend some time with you. You have a lot to work on.

Alright, gents. I took it after work today. I was able to get it off by just letting it swing, but after a while, my thumb started to swell, and it didn't come off at all. I had the Pro Shop widen it twice slightly, and here's what I've got:

Feb 22, 2008
(Sorry for the bad angle. It was in my shoe. I was alone. :()

I've watched it several times. Things I see:
- 7 steps, wtf?
- I slightly go left before throwing.

I'm sure you guys can find more. Hopefully this is actually something to work with compared to my last video.

That looks a lot better, but you're a long long way from just letting it swing. There's still a tremendous amount of muscling going on. Like everyone else, I'd highly recommend a coach. A coach will help you improve much faster than we here could. This site works well when you've got an established game and you're working to correct a flaw or two. You need someone to teach you the fundamentals from the ground up. That's really hard over the Internet.

i've been in the same boat as you, but have jumped ship a bit. my first ball was a bit off drill-wise, so i HAD to hold on to it, my second ball was done by another shop, and fits 100 times better. i put my fingers in first [to the first knuckle], then as a reinforcing reference point, i bend my fingers back slightly to make sure the knuckle can move both ways [i.e. not in the ball too much], then i put my thumb in all the way, at this point, my hand matches the curve of the ball, and i have slight pressure on my finger knuckles, and my finger nails [for me, this equals comfort, and proper hold of the ball], once i get this 'feel', i KNOW the ball isn't going anywhere untill i get thru my swing.

bottom line for me is, if the ball fits well, the comfort level increases to the point where you almost forget you're holding on to it, this in turn lets you get the relaxed arm swing, that's how i feel anyway, and i've also noticed that i don't have to 'crank' the ball on release, just the way the ball comes off my hand gives it the 'rev's' it needs to do it's thing. i'm no pro, just trying to share what is working for me as a fairly new bowler.

I only see 5 steps ... drive with your fourth step pushing off into the slide.