Well ladies and gentlemen, I finally worked out the last of my squeezing tendencies! I had a solid practice on Monday and was truly rolling relaxed, smooth, NON-gripped shots. Wow, what a huge difference it made. I'm glad I was able to make myself keep a relaxed hand and put all the "I used to use a house ball" grip habits behind me. I know I've put into place a major part of proper technique now, and that excites me to bowl even better.

Thanks to everyone on here who hammers home the point of not squeezing. It will surely make a massive difference in my consistency this coming season

Congrats! I remember that feeling of learning to stay relaxed and staying under the ball. It made for alot more fun and consitantcy.

Thanks MJA, it feels good to do the right thing.

Congrats eastwest. I'm glad you got it. It gives me hope that someday I'll get it (although I don't think I'm that far away from acheiving this).

Thanks Demo', keep up the good work as well.

Well done, light bulb moments are always fun!

Nice work!!!

Next time I go practice, I'm going to stop by the Pro Shop and see if I can get some tape, or maybe a thumb insert so my ball fits properly....step 1 in the lengthy process of learning not to squeeze, hehe.

Since no one has asked I will... what did you do to stop squeezing the ball?

Thanks for the kind words, guys.

** jman - It was all mental, really. I worked hard on telling myself during the approach to trust that the ball would stay on my hand and lead to a better follow-through. There was a conscious effort on my part, to not press my thumb, and stay as relaxed with my hand as I was/am when I hold it before the approach. Once I began to feel how natural a non-grip technique felt (and GREAT ball reaction), it egged me on to go completely free of any squeezing. The squeezing I though was helping me before, was actually the cause of many issues.