The Top 2 Most Important Things To Getting A Bowling Ball To Hook

A Beginners guide to getting a bowling ball to hook

Have you ever wondered why your bowling ball doesn’t hook? I know that for many of us, we have had this happen before and then the person next to us is able to do it easily. Well, here’s the top 2 most important things to do to get a bowling ball to hook. 

1) Having The Correct Type of Bowling Ball

If you’ve been trying to throw a hook with a house ball thats your first major issue. House balls are not made of the correct properties to create friction with the lane to hook and do not have cores inside the bowling ball to help it spin. If you want to get on the fast track to throwing a hook, you’re going to need a reactive resin ball.

A reactive ball is made of porous material and features a surface meant to grip the lane for better traction. Also most have cores that are imbalanced and help the ball create hook. House balls are much harder and smooth, so they will have problems hooking.

2) Having a Bowling Ball Custom Fit to Your Hand

Finding the right bowling ball is an ongoing process. Getting a good fit for your first ball and making subsequent adjustments easier is critical, and can be achieved with the help of any of our 50 BowlersMart locations across the country.

Getting a Fingertip Grip On Your Reactive Resin Bowling Ball

There are various grips, but if you’re seeking a nice hook the best one to use is fingertip grip. Your index finger and middle finger should be inserted up to the first joint crease.

Use Finger Grips In Your Bowling Ball

This is the best grip because you can create lift just by having your fingertips in the ball, which is the way rotations and hook is created. People who are new to a fingertip grip will likely want to use grips. They create additional lift and comfort making them a popular choice for new bowlers and professionals.

Put Your Thumb Completely In 

The next crucial part of a good fingertip grip is having your thumb completely in the thumb hole. Bowling is a sport that is built on consistency, but nothing is more important than a consistent release.

If this is your first bowling ball, it may feel awkward at first. Thats okay! If it did not feel different it would be what you were always used to, which is incorrect fitting bowling balls.

The Thumbhole Might Not Be To Small – It Might Be Your Kung-Fu Grip

This is always the hardest part of having a ball fit for your hand for a new bowler. The thumb most likely will feel tight. You’ll ask to have it opened up multiple times. We at BowlersMart will work with you on how to release the ball right so you won’t have to make the thumbhole to large that will force you to squeeze it like the improperly fit house balls. It takes some trust and an open mind but after 15 to 20 minutes of working with new bowlers with new fingertip grip bowling balls I have been able to put up to 10 pieces of tape in their ball after they relax their grip a bit. Like a lot of skill sports that rely on accuracy, the less muscle and squeezing usually the better and this is no different. 

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2 thoughts on “The Top 2 Most Important Things To Getting A Bowling Ball To Hook

  1. Pam Zielinski says:

    It’s not the index finger that is inserted into the drill site. Rather the middle finger and ring finger are inserted into the holes of the ball

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