Just wondering if anyone has used one of these devices to prevent them from bending their thumb and to help give them a cleaner release?

Cannot put down the site because it is a banned url, but if you do a google search under "thumb straight" it comes up. Thanks.

That the one from Brunswick ? I used simlar device back a year ago when i first was getting back into bowling. However, i found have Pro Shop open the thumb whole a little because i could hardly get my thumb in the ball with it on.

A thumb strait is a useful tool to help learn to keep your thumb straight in the hole and learn proper gripping technique.

The problem is that unless the pitch is right for your hand to where you don't need to knuckle the thumb to hang onto the ball. It doesn't fix a grip that has too much reverse pitch in the hole and you will still have to excessively squeeze the thumb to hang onto the ball.

I know what it is and I think it is kind of a gimmick. If you timing is out of wack this device may keep your thumb staight but you will still deliver a bad ball due to bad timing. Keep your thumbhole shaped so that you can turn your thumb 360 degrees and you shouldn't have a problem with the knuckle rubbing against the back of the thumbhole if you crimp your thumb.

It is a device you put down into the thumbhole so that you cannot bend your thumb while in the ball because it forces your thumb to be straight by the shape of it. Keeps your thumb against the back of the hole. Like Coach Jim said though... it will only work if the pitch in your hole is correct otherwise you wont be able to hold onto the ball. I just thought it sounded interesting.

As I said, I am familiar with the thumb straight as it has been on the market for several years now. Should you decide to get one, you'll need to drill a hole a bit larger than normal, and remember that this devise adds 1/8" reverse to whatever pitch you choose because of the thickness of the device.

I don't have a 'thumb straight' device because my thumb is severely injured and the joint at the tip is not able to bend.

But I can testify as to the necessity of having the correct thumb pitch. It was extremely difficult to hold onto the ball until I found a good Pro Shop with an experienced driller. Thanks to him, my ball now fits like a glove.

I'm having hand surgery on April 18th. There are still some glass shards lodged in the base of my thumb and I hope that the surgeon will be able to find and remove them.

Hopefully, bowling will be less painful after that!

Gee, I'm no surgeon, but if I had to guess I would say it is going to feel much more comfortable without the F-ING GLASS SHARDS IN YOUR THUMB! Are you crazy?

You are almost as bad as me, I exploded my patella tendon and am laying at the foul line with my knee cap sticking out of my leg wondering how I am going to be able to continue bowling, then when the paramedics show up and help explode the patella tendon in my right knee while trying to pull myself up, I finally gave up and decided I would have to get someone to sub for me in league.

There is another guy on here asking how to bowl with a sprained thumb last week. Are we all insane or what?

I went almost 3 months with a torn ACL before I went to the doc to see what was wrong. During that time, I was still working out 3 times a week running a couple miles during each session. Sometimes, guys just aren't the smartest mammals

I find bowlers, mainly males, will try to bowl through anything. I have a teammate that broke his ankle of his slide/plant foot in a motorcycle accident around this time last season. Once he got into a walking cast he was on the lanes with that foot just balancing him as he stood at the line. Then he had shoulder surgery for a torn rotator cup, once he could move his arm properly he was at the lanes trying to get his swing back using lighter equipment. I call it the Yoda effect. You can be hurting all the way up until its time to bowl, once you get on the lanes no pain.