Ok, so I keep getting a blister on the top of my last pinky knuckle and I was wondering first why? Second, can someone explain where I should be placing my pinky and it's relationship to revolutions.

Thanks a bundle.

Do you tuck your pinkie under when you throw the ball?

Moving your pinkie away from your ring finger tends to reduce axis rotation, and having it near your ring finger increases axis rotation. Moving you index finger away from your middle finger will tend to increase axis rotation, and moving it closer will decrease axis rotation.

Check out this article for more info about finger position: http://cmgbb.wordpress.com/2008/04/03/axis-rotation/

On the top of my pinkie, I have a calous. I tuck my pinkie. I have for years. When I try to untuck it, during my backswing it tucks. So, I just leave it.

If you are getting a spot there and you tuck your pinkie, it's normal. There is a small amount of friction between your finger and the ball. You can either a) Not tuck or b) Put something on your finger to protect it.

Yeah, well I haven't ever tucked my pinky before, but I have a feeling from the blister that I may be doing it through ozmosis anyway. I need some extra revs anyway, so maybe I will just tape it and tuck it.

Thanks for the insite.

It doesn't give you extra revs, it gets your hand around the side of the ball more.

when i tuck my pinky it seems to give me better control. i can hit where i want to better and i seem to get better revs, but i've also been trying a different release here lately and seeing how the pinky effects how things work. and its amazing how much it does. or does for me

Personally, when I tuck my pinky I end up with about 2-3 more boards worth of hook. I often feel as though since it helps me get my hand around to the side of the ball, I can lay it down a bit more smoothly and lift with my fingers better. However, my control as far as setting the ball down exactly on my mark is concerned, tends to be just slightly less than perfect. I usually tuck my pinky when I need to pull the ball over a bit more with the hook, for instance if I'm picking up a left hand spare with a hooking ball. I often combine a slower speed with the pinky tuck for even greater results. That's just my experience with it.

On the other hand, my father who is bowling with a power groove reactive as of now bowls mainly straight. the ball is mostly filler and it tends to hook ever so slightly just due to its coverstock. He has tucked his pinky in the last time he went bowling and found his mark to be about 3 boards left of where he wanted to hit. Since he was expecting it to hook a bit less he realized that tucking his pinky was actually hurting his straight bowl line. He felt rather foolish upon realizing this since when he sat back and thought about the physics of the pinky tuck he quickly saw that was not a helpful technique for his current style.

I started tucking my pinky under a couple months ago and really like the feel and action it gives me. I agree with Rack Wrecker that I see about 2-3 boards more movement doing this.

However, I was starting to get some irritation on the back of my finger so I picked up an Ebonite ReactR glove at a local Pro Shop (cheaper than online)...

http://www.buddiesproshop.com/product/2390/Ebonite_ReactR_Bowling_Glove.htm

Not sure if it's really helped with any additional action but it's definitely helped protect my finger and I like the additional grip it gives me.

I used to tuck my pinkie under the ball until my coach said that it could do damage to it. I don't know if he was right or if he was just trying to get me to stop tucking it but either way I no longer tuck it under the ball.

I honestly feel more in control of the ball with my pinkie out and my revs have always been low so I don't notice any difference in that regard.

I have always found it amazing that such a subtle difference in your fingers that aren't even in the holes of the ball could have such a noticeable effect on your bowling. Now there are undoubtedly some people who don't feel it alters things that much if at all, but I think there are plenty of people who acknowledge a difference, even if they don't choose to use it, that its still amazing that such a small alteration can make such a difference