BOWLING OVERHAUL

Today was a big day for my bowling life. I bought my first ball. Here she (rather, one of her identical twin sisters) is:

I started doing my homework on how to choose a ball yesterday, and I learned about the different basic types of balls: polyester or "plastic", urethane, reactive resin, and particle. Urethane balls are the cheapest and are the house balls that you find at bowling alleys. They have a hard cover, so they're the most durable, and they roll the straighest. Urethane covers are a little softer and offer more potential to hook the ball. Resin particles added to urethane covers offer more hook, and these reactive balls fill the midrange category. For even more hook, particles like glass or ceramics are added, and these particle balls allow the best bowlers to put maximum hook on their shots.

I also came across the difference between conventional drilling and fingertip (FT) drilling, something that I've noticed in passing but have never considered using myself.

So with this limited information, I decided to go to the pro shop at an AMF nearby and have the pro flesh out more details and my options. I ended up learning more about the equipment and got a few tips for good bowling as well.

- Three things to keep straight: Elbow, thumb, and wrist.
- In the release, the thumb should come out first.
- The typical oil pattern in public alleys, known as the "house shot", has oil from until about 35 feet, where the oil tapers to the 40 foot mark. After that point, the lane is pretty dry. Most of the oil is in the center of the lane, and the last two or three boards are pretty dry. This is a pretty easy setup where you can keep the ball straight or hook it if you want.

I was interested in the lower end of the reactive balls, and I was told that the performance of all of them was pretty similar. And these balls aren't going to magically start hooking by themselves, so no matter which one I selected I would be okay.

The last remaining question was whether to stick with conventional drilling or go straight to the FT. With the conventional drilling the holes for the fore- and middle fingers are deep enough for two knuckles, while the FT holes fit only the first knuckle. I've heard from some that it is a radical jump and that you have to relearn the way you bowl, but the pro said it's easy to switch over. In any case, I decided to go for the FT from the start. I figure that if I keep bowling regularly and improve, I will want to switch to FT anyway, so why not?

I picked out the ball I want (which happens to smell like lemon-lime - for some reason, the Tropical Storm balls come scented - whatever...) and then had my hand measured for a custom drilling. I picked out white finger inserts, and then the order was placed. I should be getting my ball in a couple days.

I bowled a couple games afterwards with the house balls, and I started to try and feel the difference between the conventional grip and the FT. After hearing the pro talk about how light the ball should feel with a proper fit and how the weight of the ball should rest on the palm of the hand, I realized that the way I've been using two knuckles causes me to really strain all three of my fingers just to hold the weight of the ball. When I tried straightening my thumb and putting it deeper into its hole, allowing only the first knuckle of my other two fingers into the ball, the weight of felt much lighter and more comfortable in my hand.

I still wasn't completely used to it through my two games, but I shot a few strikes with this grip that felt really strong and controlled and with less effort than before. It's crazy to think how much strain I've been putting on my fingers up until now. No wonder a 14 lb ball used to feel so heavy - you're not meant to hold and swing that weight with just three fingers!

So now that I've reached a comfortable 150 average, it's time to start over and learn to bowl more properly.

Oh yeah, and the ball will have my name on it. That's a good-looking, and good-smelling, bowling ball.