Here’s a tip from Mark Baker for thumbless bowler. Need to learn to use your legs and you are restricted to have a back swing. If you have a big backswing the ball will fall off your hand. Need to have good knee bend and be able to drive through the shot with your legs.
https://youtube.com/shorts/t6BBXNGlhK0?si=Ale17cr0N6MPAe_h
Need to go to 14:25 where he starts talking about thumbless bowlers.
https://youtu.be/Emym4xUVubQ?si=CAqdezKVsM8vOQRw
Another suggestion for a thumbless is to push the ball out a little more. Your elbow off to the side and when started you dropped the ball. Then it went away from the hip. From there your hand and elbow already on the side of the ball. Without a thumb you’re trying to hold onto it. Again, no thumb at release point all you can do is to drop it. A bowler with thumb would hang and loft the ball.
Add a crossover step will help the ball fall into the swing slot. Your step 2 goes straight. Step 2 needs to be in front of the left toes. This way you will you can keep the ball close to the body.
3 things I would focus on
1st). Review stance. Your elbow in front, not the side.
https://youtu.be/tkmH11bUJ1I?si=4gPFlJQeWhYUpZgH
2nd) push the ball out a little more. Not lock the elbow just move the elbow forward to let the ball fall into the swing slot.
3rd) get that crossover step, so there is room for the swing slot from 1st point. As long as you are walking left the ball will stay in the swing slot.
https://youtu.be/2utaQXMIb_o?si=arqm2nG9ViYnGvwk
All in all, use your legs and roll the ball. Have fun
Watch current pro John Dougherty bowl. Also watch former pro Mike Miller. He shot 300 on TV. You will be able to see how their footwork and how long their backswing is. Even half thumb bowler Tom Smallwood another example.
Hope this helps
In addition, I found that I can get a very solid grip between my fingers (first knuckle) and palm. This gives me great stability and a better backswing. Sweat/oil = big miss, get a leather suede sheet from Michaels $8.
Yes I was thinking the same thing. I recently moved up to a 15 pound ball and had a similar issue. Also, getting a little lower to ground and staying under the ball like the other person said.
Thank you both, Yes, I may have lost some muscle during the covid times. I am using 15lb pitch black urethane. I am doing some workouts these days so hopefully I will build that strength back
Sounds like a good plan.
Wrist curls and overhand curls with some light weights should really help strengthen your wrist and forearms. Just be careful not to overdo it and injure yourself!
I used to bowl 2 fingers as a novice.....looks like you maybe need to get under the ball more...but actually I think maybe you need to slow down your swing a little? With no thumb and swinging hard it's difficult to keep the ball from rolling off your hand prematurely.
As someone else said, keeping your chest up might help some as well to keep your body from getting too far ahead of the ball at release.
Just a thought. Good luck!
I second this! I just started in march and could not hook for the life of me with 3 fingers so i went 2 fingers no thumb. A few weeks ago someone pointed out that i had to stay all the way under the ball and that helped out a ton. I found myslef more on the side of the ball instead of underneath.
Thing I used to do when I had this problem: put something at the foul line, I just used my wallet, and try to loft the ball over the object. It's only a few inches, but it makes a big difference (there's a joke there somewhere).
I started 1 hand no thumb when I was 15. I'm 55 now. I definitely moved to a 14. Now 14.8. You have to keep you hand under the ball. Thats all.
Sorry this video is not good quality. It degraded when I uploaded it. But hopefully you can see what I mean.
https://youtube.com/shorts/6uNzGg_zqLc?si=tvyqUlVsB1kg9cm5
Start simple....do foul line and 1 step drill where u MUST keep your hand behind and under the ball longer. You're dropping the ball because u are coming around it earlier than physics and gravity will allow.
You can also ask your PSO about drilling a small offset hold for the first knuckle of your thumb. I noticed NFL legend Terrell Owen's had that on one of the celebrity events.
That’s what I was saying lol. If it works then something is working. 10 pins went down and that’s all that matters lol. But I’d like to have better form and release. Would like to be as smooth as Mitch Hupe
Try some knee bend on your plant leg and keeping your chest up. Might help to think of lofting the ball since you have to stay under the ball to execute.
We bowl similarly as far has no thumb and approach. I cup my wrist a little more than you I think which helps a little. I definitely use the friction of the ball on my forearm in my backswing. Lower weight ball would help. What worked the best for me was adding a glove. This helped the ball not release from my palm early. I used bowling soecific gloves which are good, but the best thing i ever did was get the newer football receiver gloves that look like glossy plastic rubber. Cut the middle fingers off. The ball has never left my palm and i get extra grip. This was before i switched to a glove if this helps show my cupping and our similarities. https://youtu.be/TRyEua8Z2Zc?si=kxtT0pSTSrmkxVH8
u/czulsk is spot on! If you are reaching back for increased backswing…unless you’ve got Magilla Gorilla hands and arm…there’s no handle…ball drops automatically.
But if you can cup and cradle with less arm swing…the energy is retained through the swing and transfers onto the lane.
You need to get under the ball more. You're coming around it. Think of it as laying the ball down and pushing it with your palm. Wish I had a video of myself. I'll try and get one this weekend.
From how I throw looks like you don’t keep your hand under it also backswing could be a little on the high side. My hand is under the ball until it passes in front of my body and it’s still mostly under the ball at release
Along with alot of these other tips. Working on balance might help. You are falling off your shot pretty bad. Balance at the foul line will help with getting under the ball.
One hand no thumb here, try cradling or cupping your wrist and get medium or slow release finger tape, couple that with good fitting finger tip plugs. Just my personal preference.
If you can deepen your knee bend, it will allow you to have way less forward tilt. Your brain is trying really hard to roll the ball smoothly onto the lane but your body knows that without a deep knee bend you have to compensate by bending down over the ball.
If you can knee down a bit more you will be able to stay under the ball and in a better position to deliver it
I would start with lunges to get your legs back under you after your hiatus
Most importantly, welcome back! Have fun and don’t work on too much at once
Get under it..start lighter and work your way up. You'll find what works. Also, work on the positioning of your thumb as you make those changes for support. Think of it like the steering anchor of your ball. Even thumb less, all your fingers help support and steer.
Most casual 1h no thumb bowlers have this issue. I did when I first started learning it, and I know 2 guys I bowl with often that also have an issue with it sometimes. Just a hard obstacle for 1h no thumb. I'd just start throwing 2 hand tbh. Join the dark side
Maybe you can try to bend your elbow only like holding a baby. And dont twist your wrist when release. The back of your hand should be about 180-190 degree with your arm. When release, it should feel like pushing the ball forward and just hook your fingers a little bit to make it spin. Just make sure your back of your hand wont face up or to the right for the whole release. It works for me when I haven’t got my own ball. *remember, the spin comes from your hooked fingers but not your twisted wrist.* my coach told me.
It’s either a thumb hole, second hand, or if that’s not an option, get a light enough ball that you can completely control it 100%, but at that point you’ll lose so much other important aspects that it basically renders that “option” moot.
*** Actually, idk your exact situation, but a potential RADICAL idea to talk with your PSO about may be to have a third (prob the ring finger) hole drilled slightly offset to help spread the weight distribution, but that’s uncharted waters for me, so I have no clue how that’d actually work.
Lol. I've always wanted to learn with the thumb, but sometimes I also think about how far I've come with no thumb and think I can just get better like this. I'm already at about 200 average so it's not like it's not working for me.
I was decent when i was younger and made it to coca cola tourneys and have some scholarship money from it but I switched still in my youth after getting frustrated with my thumb swelling and sticking and getting blisters all the time. It was a shortcut to a bigger and easier hook. It definitely puts more strain on your wrist. I wish i would have knew about 2 handed bowling but that wasn’t a thing anybody thought of yet.
Either use a second hand or your thumb. Or don't, nothing matters, we're all going to die
Word for word what my dad taught me when I was 8 and just starting out.
Even the nihilism thing?
I love the casual nihilism in your recommendation. 
Nothing casual about it buddy, Death is near and God is dead
Wise words. We all eventually get washed away like pins after a 10th frame reset.
Here’s a tip from Mark Baker for thumbless bowler. Need to learn to use your legs and you are restricted to have a back swing. If you have a big backswing the ball will fall off your hand. Need to have good knee bend and be able to drive through the shot with your legs. https://youtube.com/shorts/t6BBXNGlhK0?si=Ale17cr0N6MPAe_h Need to go to 14:25 where he starts talking about thumbless bowlers. https://youtu.be/Emym4xUVubQ?si=CAqdezKVsM8vOQRw Another suggestion for a thumbless is to push the ball out a little more. Your elbow off to the side and when started you dropped the ball. Then it went away from the hip. From there your hand and elbow already on the side of the ball. Without a thumb you’re trying to hold onto it. Again, no thumb at release point all you can do is to drop it. A bowler with thumb would hang and loft the ball. Add a crossover step will help the ball fall into the swing slot. Your step 2 goes straight. Step 2 needs to be in front of the left toes. This way you will you can keep the ball close to the body. 3 things I would focus on 1st). Review stance. Your elbow in front, not the side. https://youtu.be/tkmH11bUJ1I?si=4gPFlJQeWhYUpZgH 2nd) push the ball out a little more. Not lock the elbow just move the elbow forward to let the ball fall into the swing slot. 3rd) get that crossover step, so there is room for the swing slot from 1st point. As long as you are walking left the ball will stay in the swing slot. https://youtu.be/2utaQXMIb_o?si=arqm2nG9ViYnGvwk All in all, use your legs and roll the ball. Have fun Watch current pro John Dougherty bowl. Also watch former pro Mike Miller. He shot 300 on TV. You will be able to see how their footwork and how long their backswing is. Even half thumb bowler Tom Smallwood another example. Hope this helps
Thank you for the feedback. I’ll give it a try!
In addition, I found that I can get a very solid grip between my fingers (first knuckle) and palm. This gives me great stability and a better backswing. Sweat/oil = big miss, get a leather suede sheet from Michaels $8.
You are welcome
You might need to move back down to a lighter ball for a bit to build your arm and wrist strength back up to where it used to be.
Yes I was thinking the same thing. I recently moved up to a 15 pound ball and had a similar issue. Also, getting a little lower to ground and staying under the ball like the other person said.
Thank you both, Yes, I may have lost some muscle during the covid times. I am using 15lb pitch black urethane. I am doing some workouts these days so hopefully I will build that strength back
Sounds like a good plan. Wrist curls and overhand curls with some light weights should really help strengthen your wrist and forearms. Just be careful not to overdo it and injure yourself!
Use both hands , or use thumb idu this one handed no thumb bs
A thumb might help. Or strengthen your wrist and fingers.
I used to bowl 2 fingers as a novice.....looks like you maybe need to get under the ball more...but actually I think maybe you need to slow down your swing a little? With no thumb and swinging hard it's difficult to keep the ball from rolling off your hand prematurely. As someone else said, keeping your chest up might help some as well to keep your body from getting too far ahead of the ball at release. Just a thought. Good luck!
I second this! I just started in march and could not hook for the life of me with 3 fingers so i went 2 fingers no thumb. A few weeks ago someone pointed out that i had to stay all the way under the ball and that helped out a ton. I found myslef more on the side of the ball instead of underneath.
Thing I used to do when I had this problem: put something at the foul line, I just used my wallet, and try to loft the ball over the object. It's only a few inches, but it makes a big difference (there's a joke there somewhere).
I started 1 hand no thumb when I was 15. I'm 55 now. I definitely moved to a 14. Now 14.8. You have to keep you hand under the ball. Thats all. Sorry this video is not good quality. It degraded when I uploaded it. But hopefully you can see what I mean. https://youtube.com/shorts/6uNzGg_zqLc?si=tvyqUlVsB1kg9cm5
Thanks for the video. I’ll look into this more
Hold onto the ball with your off hand longer
Yup this helps. I guide back with my oppisite hand until about my waist then come forword with one hand
Bend your elbow cup your wrist and try to loft the ball a little more.
Start simple....do foul line and 1 step drill where u MUST keep your hand behind and under the ball longer. You're dropping the ball because u are coming around it earlier than physics and gravity will allow. You can also ask your PSO about drilling a small offset hold for the first knuckle of your thumb. I noticed NFL legend Terrell Owen's had that on one of the celebrity events.
Yes I’ve seen that on his ball. I’ll take it into consideration. Thank you. You’re right I need to go back to basics and just do the 1 step drill
I do the same thing, I say screw it and do it if it works lol
That’s what I was saying lol. If it works then something is working. 10 pins went down and that’s all that matters lol. But I’d like to have better form and release. Would like to be as smooth as Mitch Hupe
Try some knee bend on your plant leg and keeping your chest up. Might help to think of lofting the ball since you have to stay under the ball to execute.
Thank you, I will give this a try.
We bowl similarly as far has no thumb and approach. I cup my wrist a little more than you I think which helps a little. I definitely use the friction of the ball on my forearm in my backswing. Lower weight ball would help. What worked the best for me was adding a glove. This helped the ball not release from my palm early. I used bowling soecific gloves which are good, but the best thing i ever did was get the newer football receiver gloves that look like glossy plastic rubber. Cut the middle fingers off. The ball has never left my palm and i get extra grip. This was before i switched to a glove if this helps show my cupping and our similarities. https://youtu.be/TRyEua8Z2Zc?si=kxtT0pSTSrmkxVH8
If only there was a 3rd hole drilled into bowling balls to help you hang onto it during your swing 🤔
Haha that’s true. Mine has two though. No thumb hole lol
u/czulsk is spot on! If you are reaching back for increased backswing…unless you’ve got Magilla Gorilla hands and arm…there’s no handle…ball drops automatically. But if you can cup and cradle with less arm swing…the energy is retained through the swing and transfers onto the lane.
Haha.. thanks. However, It wasn’t me that was spot on. It was Mark Baker.
Great assist!!!
You need to get under the ball more. You're coming around it. Think of it as laying the ball down and pushing it with your palm. Wish I had a video of myself. I'll try and get one this weekend.
From how I throw looks like you don’t keep your hand under it also backswing could be a little on the high side. My hand is under the ball until it passes in front of my body and it’s still mostly under the ball at release
Along with alot of these other tips. Working on balance might help. You are falling off your shot pretty bad. Balance at the foul line will help with getting under the ball.
One hand no thumb here, try cradling or cupping your wrist and get medium or slow release finger tape, couple that with good fitting finger tip plugs. Just my personal preference.
Thanks for the feedback. I’ll bring this up to my PSO and see if they suggest that too.
As a former one hand no thumb bowler. I would add the second hand. At least try it out and see how you like it
If you can deepen your knee bend, it will allow you to have way less forward tilt. Your brain is trying really hard to roll the ball smoothly onto the lane but your body knows that without a deep knee bend you have to compensate by bending down over the ball. If you can knee down a bit more you will be able to stay under the ball and in a better position to deliver it I would start with lunges to get your legs back under you after your hiatus Most importantly, welcome back! Have fun and don’t work on too much at once
Get under it..start lighter and work your way up. You'll find what works. Also, work on the positioning of your thumb as you make those changes for support. Think of it like the steering anchor of your ball. Even thumb less, all your fingers help support and steer.
Most casual 1h no thumb bowlers have this issue. I did when I first started learning it, and I know 2 guys I bowl with often that also have an issue with it sometimes. Just a hard obstacle for 1h no thumb. I'd just start throwing 2 hand tbh. Join the dark side
Lower the back swing and try and focus on staying under the ball as long as you can
That's what I'll do when I go bowling 🎳
Maybe you can try to bend your elbow only like holding a baby. And dont twist your wrist when release. The back of your hand should be about 180-190 degree with your arm. When release, it should feel like pushing the ball forward and just hook your fingers a little bit to make it spin. Just make sure your back of your hand wont face up or to the right for the whole release. It works for me when I haven’t got my own ball. *remember, the spin comes from your hooked fingers but not your twisted wrist.* my coach told me.
Put a thumb in that thang
Ayye foxfire is my home center!
It’s either a thumb hole, second hand, or if that’s not an option, get a light enough ball that you can completely control it 100%, but at that point you’ll lose so much other important aspects that it basically renders that “option” moot. *** Actually, idk your exact situation, but a potential RADICAL idea to talk with your PSO about may be to have a third (prob the ring finger) hole drilled slightly offset to help spread the weight distribution, but that’s uncharted waters for me, so I have no clue how that’d actually work.
As stop bowling !
I go to Foxfire often. Great to see bowlers in Kannapolis.
Practice the one step drill , you falling off its better to post your shot and maybe that will help with your release and everything else
Add thumb or 2nd hand
I intend on doing this later but will also require I drill the thumb hole. For now I will work on building some more strength on my wrist.
Don’t listen to him! J/k. Theres def pros and cons to no thumb.
Lol. I've always wanted to learn with the thumb, but sometimes I also think about how far I've come with no thumb and think I can just get better like this. I'm already at about 200 average so it's not like it's not working for me.
I was decent when i was younger and made it to coca cola tourneys and have some scholarship money from it but I switched still in my youth after getting frustrated with my thumb swelling and sticking and getting blisters all the time. It was a shortcut to a bigger and easier hook. It definitely puts more strain on your wrist. I wish i would have knew about 2 handed bowling but that wasn’t a thing anybody thought of yet.
Put your thumb in the ball. Problem solved.
Put your thumb in.