I've just started bowling again after a 20 year absence and I'm learning to throw a hook. Well I've developed a little annoyance, at the joint where my thumb meets the palm, I've torn the skin and needless to say it hurts when I try to throw the ball. I have a ball that was drilled for me and I'm not sure what to do, I have been using "Skin Patch" but it doesn't last long and I continue to bleed. I'm not sure what to try now. I do use a wrist brace, but this happened before I bought the brace. Is there a tape I could use or a glove of some sort? I work at the house I bowl at, so I have access to just about everything as far as a Pro Shop, plus a nice discount! Any suggestions would be greatly appreceiated! Thanks.

I'm no expert, so take my advice with that in mind. You may have an improper fit, which makes you grip the ball, rather than having a clean release. If that isn't the problem, you may just need to bevel the edge a bit to take away some of the sharpness. Be careful to not take away too much, because I think this can mess up your grip and it may take away some of the revs you could get otherwise. If I'm giving you bad advice, I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will correct me. Hope this helps.

It is a good sign that the ball is gripping your hand when it rubs there, most bowlers develop a callus there so it will take some time and pain unfortunately.

Your span might be a tad too long which will make it rub more. To check your span start by placing your thumb in the hole and laying your fingers across the holes with your hand relaxed, the front edge of the holes should be no longer than 1/2 way between the first and second knuckle of your fingers, if you have to stretch your hand to achieve this, then the span is too long.

Other than that I would suggest not bowling again until it heels to the point that you aren't bleeding and have your grip checked by the people in the Pro Shop. Once the callus develops the pain will go away and you will be good to go.

That happened to me with my first ball. My span was too long.

Early in my bowling career I had the same problem you are experiencing - a ripped callus where the thumb meets the palm. At the time I was trying to put "spin" on the ball thinking that the "spin" would get me more strikes. A few seasons later I learned how to stroke the ball instead of trying to manufacture hook by spinning it off of my hand (and thumb). Occasionally I would get a blister but knew enough to take precautions in preventing it from tearing in the middle of a bowling game.

It was when I found a driller who introduced me to the oval thumb and fingers that my blister problem completely disappeared.
At the time I was using plastic. The driller was Jim Lewis who is now a retired PBA member.

The reactive bowling balls are much more powerful than what you were using 20 years ago. When properly thrown they do most of the work in getting strikes. As far as your release is concerned, you get the most by doing the least. On a personal basis, in my stance I position my middle and ring fingers at 5:30 and at release those fingers are at 5 o'clock and I try and stroke through the ball towards 1 o'clock. As a result, wear and tear on my thumb and fingers is held to a minimum. I do get a bit of callus buildup but it is very slow and before it gets too thick I file it down with a callus sander that I picked up in the cosmetic section of the local drug store.

Other factors leading to a callus/blister where the thumb meets the palm are:

A bad edge or bevel.

A misfit ball - too long a span puts too much pressure on the base of the thumb - a too short span will cause you to squeeze the ball causing you to hang on to the ball by the edge of the thumbhole. When the ball is hanging by your side, in a properly fitted ball, the pressure of the ball should be felt in the thumbhole against the part of your thumb in front of the thumb nail.

You may need to check the size of the thumbhole and the pitch. Too large a thumbhole will cause you to squeeze the ball creating a blister, as will too much reverse pitch cause you to squeeze the ball giving you a blister.

Well gang, after taking my ball back to where it was drilled, the following was determined to be my problems. 1: My thumb hole needed honed out a little more. 2: The edge needed beveled a little more. 3: I was gripping the ball too much. Now the #3 problem was a minor adjustment and I've loosed up my grip and added tape to the thumb hole on my fingerprint side, also with some coaching I seem to be on the right Track now. Just wanted to thank everyone for their input & ideas.