I have been bowling for years...Im 76 now and recently found a little arthritis in the knuckles on the ends of my fingers...I have dropped down to an 11 lb ball..whick helps but I lose alot of action..I have finger grips that expand also a powell grip..there use to be an aid call roll-aid which allowed you to grip the ball without putting your fingers in it..havent been able to find them..also wondering if there are any gloves that fit the whole finger so it wont hurt the knuckles...if you have any ideas to help go back to at least a 13 lb ball..i would apreciate it..thanks..Bill Joslin

They have balls with retractable handles in them... a google search for handle bowling ball brings up some results. Looks like Ebonite makes them, possibly others as well. You could try that. They are legal in USBC competition, as far as I know.

Welcome Magicjoslin. There is a fellow that I have met at the center. He is 76, and was an old Chicago Classic Pro Bowler. He still carries over a 190, but in our talks, he has shed some light on the same problem you express. His fingers are not as agile, and also has some arthritis. To combat this, he has had his thumb hole offset left because his fingers are turning at the knuckles. The offset relieves much of the pressure on his finger joints. He hasn't dropped in weight, and still rolls a 16 pounder, but a ball that fits your hand is the important thing.

Another thing. You say you have dropped to an 11 pound ball. This ball has no internal weight that will help you. Those weights usually disappear at 12 or 13 pounds. You will get a lot of deflection with an 11. So, explore the offset drilling with your Pro Shop driller, and if you are capable, step up a couple of pounds for better reaction.

Another thing that I have done, since I have a touch of arthritis in my middle finger is to reverse the pitch, just on that finger. This relieves the strain quite a bit.

there are a few guys i know that have the same problem and they jsut use a golf glove or batting glove over their hand while bowling

Welcome to the site, look into a device called steel fingers: http://steelfingers.com/

Welcome to the site Bill. With all the other great suggestions, have you thought about going to a full roller instead? Maybe taking a bit of hand out of the release may help relieve some of the strain as well.

Bill,
Welcome to the forum. I have arthritis in my hands also. One of the problems with arthritis is that the fingers do not flex so good anymore and it is more difficult to make a fist. 10 years ago when I was in my 50's I had zero pitch in my fingers but no inserts. Currently I use soft inserts but use 1/4 and 1/8 reverse on my middle and ring fingers to accommodate my fingers that are now arthritic.

There must be other problems that you aren't mentioning besides arthritis if you are using an eleven pound ball and are contemplating using a ball with a retractable handle.

Have you ever considered going back to a conventional grip? No, a conventional grip may not hook the ball as much as a fingertip drilling would but it would allow you to go back to a heavier ball and would take some of the strain off of your fingers. It would certainly beat using a ball with a retractable handle.

With a conventional grip there are several options to aid in gripping the ball such as putting in "EZ lifts" or hollowing out the finger holes for the tips of the fingers. Ace Mitchell cork strips work well in a conventional grip. If you really have problems gripping the ball there is what is known as a "slot grip" where your middle, ring, and pinky fingers all go into one elongated hole.